New model

  • Carbine:
22” round barrel, short forend retained by a single barrel band, occasionally with a bayonet mounting stud. Estimated quantity made - 4,000 plus.

The more common new model Evans rifle used the 1.5” case. This was known as the “.44 New Model” cartridge. The original cartridges were loaded with 40 to 43 grains of black powder and lead bullets ranging from 275 to 300 grains. With a 280 grain bullet velocity was about 1200 fps. Both cartridges were loaded by Winchester up to the early 1920s.

The Evans Repeater is often considered to be one of the oddest rifles to ever be produced in the United States. The Evans was invented by Warren R. Evans, a dentist from Thomaston, Maine. With the help of his brother George, they perfected the rifle and started the "Evans Rifle Manufacturing Company" of Mechanic Falls, Maine in 1873. Their rifles were marketed by Merwin & Hulbert. The hope was that the rifle would be issued by the United States Army, but the rifle failed the standard dust test.

The rifle was the only firearm mass-produced in the state of Maine in the 19th century. In the 20th and 21st century, many firearms were, and are, mass-produced in Maine, including those by Bushmaster, General Dynamics, Smith & Wesson and Windham Weaponry. The Evans rifle also had the greatest magazine capacity of any rifle mass-produced in the 19th century.