Evans Repeating Rifle
Evans Repeating Rifle Company · Rifle · Out Of Production · 1873
Also known as: Evans Old Model, Evans New Model, Evans Transition Model
Overview
The Evans Repeating Rifle is an American lever-action repeater designed by Maine dentist Warren R. Evans and built by the Evans Repeating Rifle Company of Mechanic Falls, Maine, from the mid-1870s. Its signature feature is a helical, Archimedean-screw magazine housed in the buttstock, which gave it the largest cartridge capacity of any 19th-century repeater - up to 34 rounds of .44 Evans Short in the Old Model. Cartridges were loaded one at a time through a trapdoor in the buttplate, and each stroke of the lever rotated the spiral divider a quarter-turn to advance every round at once.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 4300 g (151.7 oz) |
| Overall Length | 991 mm (39.02") |
| Barrel Length | 660 mm (25.98") |
| Action Type | Lever Action |
| Firing Mechanism | Hammer Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Stage |
| Magazine Capacity | 28 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Helical |
| Muzzle Velocity | 366 m/s (1201 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 1210 J (892 ft·lbf) |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Wood |
Calibers
- .44 Evans · primary — also known as .44 Evans Long, .44 Evans Short
Features
- Firing modes: Repeating
- Feed systems: Helical Buttstock Magazine
- Safety mechanisms: Half Cock Notch
- Features: Helical Archimedean Screw Magazine, Buttstock Magazine, Largest Capacity 19th Century Repeater, Buttplate Trapdoor Loading
Variants
- Evans Old Model — Early Model
- Evans Transition Model — Transition Model
- Evans New Model — Late Model
Service history
Conflicts
- War of the Pacific (1879-1884)
Production
Estimated total produced: 12,000 · Production years: 1874-1879
Approximately 12,000 rifles across Old, Transition and New Models; the company went bankrupt in December 1879
Origin
Country of origin: United States
Designer: Warren R. Evans
Discontinued: 1879
Notes
Old and Transition Models held 34 rounds of .44 Evans Short; the New Model held 26-28 rounds of the longer .44 Evans Long (this entry lists the New Model / .44 Evans Long as primary). The .44 Evans was a centerfire cartridge used in no other firearm. The proprietary underpowered cartridge and fiddly mechanism doomed the company, which went bankrupt in 1879.
Background
The Evans held the largest magazine of any 19th-century repeater - up to 34 rounds in its Archimedean-screw buttstock magazine - and its advertising leaned on colorful testimonials, including a buffalo hunter who claimed to have shot pennies from between his wife's fingers at 40 paces.