“1866 and 1873 Winchesters were available but genius army brass were leery of ammunition consumption.” [Bonemaker, post 43]
Winchester lever actions could indeed pour out a heavy volume of fire for a few seconds, but they fired cartridges little better than those for revolvers - not “real battle rifle rounds” - closer to the 5.56mm rounds for the M16, that gun enthusiasts were pleased to sneer at well into the 1980s. And reloading their tube magazines is a thumb-busting chore, during which anybody armed with one is helpless.
The 45-70 far outranged the lever action cartridges.
Aside from ammunition wastage fears, the military doctrine of the day favored long-range rifle fire laid down by masses of troops. Reloading a single-shot was less of a chore, and your vulnerability doesn’t matter so much if you are part of a formation lined up for battle. Trained troops were expected to annihilate any hostile force armed with repeaters, long before they closed the range.
It’s easy to critique leadership of the day, based on more recent knowledge. Doesn’t mean it’s intellectually honest.
Okay mate, at the Battle of Little Big Horn you take a trapdoor Springfield and I have dibs on a 44-40 1873.😀
The British fought the Zulu nation at the battles of Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift 3 years later on January 22 & 23, 1879. Dandyman mentioned that earlier.
In those cases there were claims about the copper cartridges used by the Martini-Henry rifles failing to extract after the barrel got hot after sustained fire.
I can see a comparison Isandlwana and Custer’s battalion fighting on an extended front and both getting over run and wiped out; while Rorke’s Drift and the Reno-Benteen positions being compact and more defendable. However, if the Zulus and the Sioux/Cheyenne had been willing to expend lives, I think both positions would have fallen. In both cases most likely due to the 2 units running out of ammunition. But I’ll leave that for speculation on another day.
And I still have visiting and walking the battlefield on my ‘bucket’ list.
BATTLE OF LITTLE BIGHORN: WERE THE WEAPONS THE DECIDING FACTOR?