While the great men of the Wild West were often closely associated with their handguns, it was the western rifles of the 19th century that truly shaped the course of American History. Rifles were the primary weapon of the American military, and were the instruments of victory in every great conflict of that era. In cultural nostalgia, the image of the U.S. Cavalry stands out in particular, charging into battle and firing their rifles in the ferocious battles of the Indian Wars. Rifle technology was a bit slower to evolve than with western guns, but manufacturers still made a number of innovations. Single-shot, muzzle-loading weapons gradually gave way to breech-loading and finally repeating rifles. Spencer rifles and carbines were popular guns during the Civil War, but it was the Winchester Company that produced the defining weapon of the Wild West era.

The Winchester lever-action rifle is a distinctly American image, well-crafted and incredibly popular among settlers of the time and immortalized by Annie Oakley and other heroes of the West. The western rifle has appeared in countless films; John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart helped to build its reputation as the trademark gun of the Wild West. In spite of the prominence of the Winchester, though, there were many other manufacturers in both the United States and Europe, and Americans used a variety of rifles that are now extremely rare. Our site has replicas of a number of different kinds of western replicas, Old West rifles, many of which are famous from Western movies and TV shows, all with working parts like the originals.