.40-60 Winchester

The .40-60 Winchester is a centerfire rifle cartridge intended for 19th-century big-game hunting. Nomenclature of the era indicated the .40-60 cartridge contained a 0.40 in diameter bullet with 60 gr of gunpowder. Winchester Repeating Arms Company necked down the .45-60 Winchester cartridge to hold a bullet with improved ballistics for the Winchester Model 1876 rifle. The lever-action Model 1876's advantage of faster loading for subsequent shots was eclipsed two years later by the stronger and smoother Winchester Model 1886 action capable of handling longer cartridges with heavier bullets. The .40-60 and similarly short cartridges designed for the Model 1876 rifle faded into obsolescence as 20th-century hunters preferred more powerful smokeless powder loadings of cartridges designed for stronger rifles. Winchester production of .40-60 cartridges ended during the great depression.