POTD: A Single Shot Lever Action Muzzle Loader – Whitney-Howard

Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! Here we have the unique Whitney-Howard chambered in a rimfire cartridge. The Whitney-Howard rifle was a really cool lever-action design dreamed up by the Howard brothers and patented in the 1860s. When Whitneyville Armory started making them from 1866-1870, they produced less than 1700 total. The rifle versions in .44 rimfire had this funky cylindrical breech that fit everything in a tube. The army tested them in 1867 but ultimately passed. This rifle just couldn’t compete with guns like the Henry and Spencer when the Civil War left behind tons of surplus. It was a totally unique silhouette housing some innovative mechanics inside. You don’t see many guns with the lever action all enclosed like that. The rare Whitney-Howard was definitely ahead of its time!