Original Item: Only One Available. Invented by Warren R. Evans of Thomaston, Maine, the Evans Repeating Rifle was one of the most ambitious and mechanically fascinating firearms to emerge from the post–Civil War era. Production began in 1873 under the Evans Rifle Manufacturing Company of Mechanic Falls, Maine, but despite its ingenious design and advanced engineering, the company succumbed to the intense arms industry competition of the 1870s. Only about 15,000 Evans rifles and carbines were produced before the firm declared bankruptcy in 1879, leaving behind one of the most intriguing repeating rifles of the 19th century.

The Evans stood apart for its extraordinary 34-round tubular magazine ingeniously housed in the buttstock — a marvel of capacity for its time. If the Spencer was “the carbine you loaded on Sunday and shot all week,” the Evans could quite literally “shoot for a month.” Its unique Archimedean screw mechanism rotated four internal ammunition channels each time the lever was operated, automatically feeding a new round into the chamber.

Although it appeared destined for military adoption, field testing revealed that the system was susceptible to dust interference, preventing official acceptance. The original chambering was .44 caliber, firing a cartridge approximately one inch long, known as the .44 Evans Short.

Over its brief production run, the Evans design evolved through three main models familiar to collectors today:

Old Model – The earliest version, lacking a lower buttstock extension, which made the rifle difficult to aim comfortably.

Transitional Model – Introduced a revised buttstock and new buttplate for improved handling.

New Model – The final and most refined iteration, chambered for a more powerful .44 Evans Long (or “.44 New Model”) cartridge measuring 1½ inches in length. This change reduced magazine capacity from 34 to 28 rounds, but offered greater ballistic performance. The New Model also introduced a dust cover over the ejection port to prevent fouling — a key improvement addressing earlier reliability issues.

The majority of Evans repeaters produced were of the "New Model", and around 3000 were produced in the "Military Musket" configuration, which had a 30 inch round barrel and full fore end retained by barrel bands. Many of these were later converted to the "Sporting Rifle" configuration, and this is one such example. This was done by removing the fore stock hardware and carving the full length sock into a short hand guard, retained by a screw through the bottom. Original produced Evans "Sporting Rifles" have octagonal barrels, not round barrels, and use a different fore grip attachment system.

The barrel on this example is still marked with the complete Evan's patent stamping:-

This rifle is in nice condition, and has has a lovely patina of age. We only gave it a light cleaning and it really looks nice, looking to have seen light to moderate use during service. As with most we see, repeated cleaning to remove dirt and light oxidation has worn much of the original bluing away on the barrel, while the sides of the receiver and the rear of the magazine between the butt stock pieces still shows some great original bluing. The stocks show the lovely dark red brown color of aged and oiled walnut, and show some light wear and minor damage such as small chips, dings, and gouges.

The action functions well with a crisp dry fire, and you can see the rotating magazine through the ejection port. The action has very little slop, and we did not notice any of the usual finicky action we see from this type of firing system. The hammer can be manually cocked by pulling on the handle on the bottom of the lever in front of the trigger, and the small button in front of this is a safety, which holds the hammer at "half cock" to keep the pressure off the primer if a round is in the chamber. The loading door on the rear of the butt stock opens easily. We checked the butt plate thoroughly, but did not see any serial number visible.

The bore is in very good condition, with clear lands and grooves and a mostly bright finish. There is some overall wear, as well as evidence of past fouling and oxidation, now cleaned away. The rear sight is present with an intact sight slider, and the front sight looks to have had the upper sight in the dovetail replaced. The sight works well, though the slider is definitely loose on the ladder in areas.

We have handled only a handful of Evans repeaters over the decades, and this is really a lovely honest used example. Combining historical importance, mechanical innovation, and outstanding preservation, this carbine represents a true landmark in American firearms development and an essential addition to any advanced collection of 19th-century U.S. arms or early repeating rifles.

Specifications-

Years of Manufacture: 1870s
Caliber: .44 Evans "New Model"
Ammunition Type: Centerfire Cartridge
Barrel Length: 30 inches
Overall Length: 47 1/4 inches
Action: Lever Action
Feed System: 28 Rotating Round Tube Magazine

NOTE: International orders of antique firearms MUST be shipped using UPS WW Services (courier). USPS Priority Mail international will not accept these. International customers should always consult their country's antique gun laws prior to ordering.

IMA considers all of our antique guns as non-firing, inoperable and/or inert. Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 921(a)(16) defines antique firearms as all guns made prior to 1899. This law exempts antique firearms from any form of gun control or special engineering because they are not legally considered firearms. No FFL, C&R or any license is required to possess, transport, sell or trade Antique guns. All rifles and muskets sold by IMA that were manufactured prior to 1899 are considered Antiques by the US BATF (United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms). Therefore, all of IMA's Antique guns may be shipped to all US States and most nations around the world.

These antique guns are not sold in "live" condition, and are not tested for the the ability to feed or load any type of cartridge. They are sold as collector's items or as "wall hangers" not for use, and we make no guarantees regarding functionality aside from what is stated in the description. Any attempt at restoring an antique gun to be operational is strongly discouraged and is done so at the risk of the customer. By purchasing an antique gun from IMA you thereby release IMA, its employees and corporate officers from any and all liability associated with use of our Antique guns.

Pre-1899 Manufacture, no licenses required, allowed to ship to almost any deliverable address across the globe. Please note that for international shipping, these MUST be shipped using UPS WW Services. International customers should always consult their country's antique gun laws prior to ordering.