Colt Burgess
Colt's Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Company · Rifle · Discontinued · 1883
Also known as: Colt-Burgess, Colt-Burgess New Magazine Sporting Rifle, Model 1883 Burgess
Overview
The Colt Burgess is a lever-action rifle produced by Colt from 1883 to 1885, the only lever-action long gun the company ever manufactured. Designed by prolific firearms inventor Andrew Burgess, it was chambered in .44-40 Winchester and fed from a 15-round tubular magazine on the rifle (12 rounds on the carbine). Offered with full-octagon, half-octagon, or round barrels, it was Colt's direct challenge to Winchester's dominance of the repeating-rifle market.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 4000 g (141.1 oz) |
| Overall Length | 1090 mm (42.91") |
| Barrel Length | 650 mm (25.59") |
| Action Type | Lever Action |
| Firing Mechanism | Hammer Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Action |
| Magazine Capacity | 15 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Tubular |
| Muzzle Velocity | 380 m/s (1247 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 936 J (690 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 150 m (164 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 900 m (984 yd) |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Walnut |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- .44-40 Winchester · primary — also known as .44-40 WCF, .44 WCF
Features
- Firing modes: Repeating
- Feed systems: Tubular Magazine
- Safety mechanisms: Half Cock Notch
- Features: Octagonal Barrel, Tubular Magazine, Case Hardened Frame, Crescent Buttplate
Variants
- Colt Burgess Carbine — Carbine
Service history
Operators
- American civilian and frontier market · adopted 1883
Production
Estimated total produced: 6,403 · Production years: 1883-1885
Short production run of roughly 6,403 rifles and carbines combined.
Origin
Country of origin: United States
Designer: Andrew Burgess
Discontinued: 1885
Notes
Roughly 6,403 were built before production ceased. The rifle had a 25.5-inch (650 mm) octagon barrel; the carbine used a 20-inch (510 mm) barrel and weighed about 3.3 kg.
Background
Colt only ever built one lever-action rifle, and this was it. Legend holds that the Burgess was withdrawn from the market as part of a gentleman's agreement: Winchester had begun developing its own line of revolvers to threaten Colt's handgun monopoly, and the two companies quietly agreed to stay out of each other's territory, killing the Colt Burgess after barely two years.