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Back in the last of the 1800’s were these always chambered in the .44 Henry rimfire cartridge? Is that what most of the users of this rifle would have carried?

41

Yes. The .44 Henry Flat cartridge was a rim fire cartridge developed for the Henry Rifle in 1860 and also used in Winchester's First Rifle with the Winchester name Model 1866 "Yellow Boy" because of the shiny Yellow Brass receiver nicknamed by the Early American Indians. The 44-40 was a center fire cartridge designed in 1873 for the Winchester 1873 Rifle and never chambered by Winchester for the Model 1866.

HS 58

Ok, so the 1873 offered the advantage of 1 ammo type in both revolver & rifle, that’s well known. Now, was the 44 Henry rimfire cartridge ever offered in a handgun type?

I believe it may have been offered in conversions.

The Colt SAA was available in 44 rimfire, so users of the Henry rifle & Winchester 1866 could pair them up

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.

HS 58

.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 centerfire.

I can agree with you on that.

HS 58

Thanks for the information

I picked up a Uberti last year in .44 Special because I felt like that was about as close as you can come to the original chambering.

If you were to have a replica 1866 and want the proper period correct revolver to go with that rifle, the proper revolvers would be:

Colt 1871-1872 conversion on the 1860 .44 frame
Remington 1858 conversion
S&W No 3
Those were the revolvers that were chambered in .44 Henry back in the day. Many would later be converted to .44 Colt centerfire.

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.

HS 58

Interesting thread!