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Did General Custer's men have repeating rifles at the Little Big Horn battle?

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No. The Army issue was a breech loading single shot .45 caliber rifle. The spent cartridge had to be ejected manually. The Native Americans had stolen Winchester .30 caliber repeating rifles, although not that many of them. The slow reload time for the Army rifle and the overwhelming superiority of numbers of Native Americans are what determined the battle.
The native Americans had some Henry rifles,1866 Winchesters,and possibly 1873 Winchesters,44 caliber.The troopers were armed with .45-70 Springfield trapdoor rifles,infamous for when hot having the fired case swell up jamming the riles.

First answer by Scootwhoman. Last edit by M.p.driver. Contributor trust: 0 [recommend contributor ]. Question popularity: 41 [recommend question].

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