Back in 1860 when the .44 Rim fire Flat Cartridge was designed, Colt used the Cartridge in their 1860 Army, along with their Colt 1871 and 1872 open top Models, as did Horace Smith and Dan Wesson, (Smith & Wesson), in their S&W #3 Revolvers.
The Cowboys of the West naturally enjoyed the Convenience of Having the availability of the use of the same cartridge for their Rifles and their hand guns. Prompting Winchester to Develop the
44-40 Winchester First Metallic Center Fire Cartridge to be used in their Model 1873 Rifle. More umph was needed, (better Ballistics), as the .44 Rim Fir Flat was limited. Other Manufactures, such as Marlin, Colt, S&W etc............
Union Metallic Cartridge, (UMC, Founded in 1867), also started producing the cartridge making availability easier.
This a condensed version of a Historical Timeline that I find Interesting.
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.44 Henry Rimfire was the only official chambering in '66 Winchesters, however toward the tail end there were some that were ".44 Centerfire", which was basically .44 Colt. Early Colt cartridge conversions of cap & ball revolvers, as well as newly manufactured cartridge conversion revolers were also chambered in .44 Henry Rimfire, and .44 Colt. There were some 1873 Colts (SAA) that were chambered in .44 Henry but they were very few.
Converted 1866 Winchesters are not uncommon as many were converted to .44 center fire.
I've often wondered how many were actually converted,(Originals). As to my knowledge I'm pretty confident that number is not known exactly.
Historically Winchester along with some Professional Gunsmiths from back in the Day did convert some 4th,(last), Model 1866 Winchesters. As GunGeek stated!
These Original Model 1866 Conversions were apparently at approximate serial numbers starting with #140,000 and later.
The best documented information that is known and referenced was a batch of 1,020 center fire Rifles to Brazil in 1891 from Winchester. Serial Numbers from 167,000-169,000 as an approximate total production of Winchester Model 1866's at 170,101 from 1866-1898.
Not sure as to any breakdown from Saddle Ring Carbines, Rifles, or Muskets that could be truly called a conversion or a later after market conversion to misrepresent an honest Original.
With this in mind I'm quite confident it has no bearing on the modern after market production of Some of the more Finely made Replicas that make it more affordable for interested parties to enjoy the older fire arms and appreciating the many developments along the way.
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