If I was gonna get in a gunfight...

[Variola Major]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winchester_rifle#Winchester_Model_1873

Which round would you recommend chambering my Winchester 73 rifle in? Does chambering it in .45 (as the article mentioned Winchester never got around to doing) have any merit? Do you feel the Winchester 1876 has merit in a gunfight? Should I be using it?  

[Shrantic]

If you're going to reload, get .45 long colt. There're more manuals and home brews for it and you can load the round pretty hot and heavy. It's also easier to find SAA's chambered in .45lc.

If you're not going to reload, .44-40 is usually cheaper but not as common. It's also more accurate, (so I hear) and still plenty powerful out of a long barrel to take down small-mid game.

Now, both of those are fine choices, but unless you're going to historical accuracy, (in which case, get .44-40) I recommend you either get a gun in .44 magnum, .454 Casull, or if you've got a lot of money, .500 S&W. You can feed .45lc into a .454C, and can feed .44 special into a .44mag. .500S&W is just cool, 'cause you can kill any North American game with it.

Personally, I'm holding out from getting a pistol-caliber carbine until Taurus shapes up and makes this in .454 Casull or .44Mag.

Though I wouldn't recommend getting into a gunfight at all, the 1873 could still be used to defend yourself in one. It would not be suitable for long, but probably powerful enough to get you out of a small conflict/defend from home invaders. Don't confuse it with an AR-15, though. It is no longer a fighting gun; hasn't been for about a century.  

[Requiem ex Inferni]

Nah, rechamber the Judge in .460 Magnum. If done correctly, it will also be able to fire .454 Casull, .45 Colt and .410 gauge.  

[Fresnel]

Allow me to expedite this:

Assume you live in Arizona, circa 1900. Re-asses your answers.  

[Variola Major]

Fresnel

Allow me to expedite this:

Assume you live in Arizona, circa 1900. Re-asses your answers.

Thank you, Fresnel. I should have clarified that I'm using the Winchester because it's the most modern thing available.  

[ArmasTermin]

I once heard someone say that if you're going to use a rifle, make it fire a rifle round. Why water down something already plagued with increased weight and length compared to something handy like a pistol? Go for .30-30 or .45-70 if you're going lever-action. They both have insane power at short ranges, topping out most any pistol cartridge in existence and even the esteemed (why?) 5.56, and then you can get range out to 200 yards, a distance at which your average pistol round will have lost a lot of energy and accuracy--fired from a long barrel or not. Remember, there's no such thing as too much firepower, only not enough target. wink  

[Man of the Demoneye]

ArmasTermin

I once heard someone say that if you're going to use a rifle, make it fire a rifle round. Why water down something already plagued with increased weight and length compared to something handy like a pistol? Go for .30-30 or .45-70 if you're going lever-action. They both have insane power at short ranges, topping out most any pistol cartridge in existence and even the esteemed (why?) 5.56, and then you can get range out to 200 yards, a distance at which your average pistol round will have lost a lot of energy and accuracy--fired from a long barrel or not. Remember, there's no such thing as too much firepower, only not enough target. wink

+1. Make distance your friend.  

[Recon_Ninja_985]

ArmasTermin

I once heard someone say that if you're going to use a rifle, make it fire a rifle round. Why water down something already plagued with increased weight and length compared to something handy like a pistol? Go for .30-30 or .45-70 if you're going lever-action. They both have insane power at short ranges, topping out most any pistol cartridge in existence and even the esteemed (why?) 5.56, and then you can get range out to 200 yards, a distance at which your average pistol round will have lost a lot of energy and accuracy--fired from a long barrel or not. Remember, there's no such thing as too much firepower, only not enough target. wink

recoil, quick accurate shooting etc. usually

a .45 carbine can hit faster and more accurately (firing repetitively) than both a .45 pistol OR a rifle firing conventional full power rifle rounds

they each have their own set of advantages.  

[Kuuhaku-shou]

♪♫ Music speaks what cannot be expressed,
soothes the mind and gives it rest,

If you were going to get in a gunfight, the gun you had right then and there is the best.

heals the heart and makes it whole,
flows from heaven to the soul. ♪♫