Taylor’s Slicked Up ’73s

In December 1875, Texas Ranger James Gillett took a trip to Austin, Texas, in search of a rifle with greater firepower than his .50-70 Sharps carbine. “The new center-fire 1873-Model Winchester had just appeared on the market and sold at $50 for the rifle and $40 for the carbine... ten men in Company D, myself included, were willing to pay the price to have a superior arm,” he wrote. “I got carbine number 13401, and for the next six years of my ranger career I never used any other weapo