The mid-1860s found the Winchester Arms Company looking to improve the Henry Repeating Rifle. A series of design improvements by the company's chief engineer, Nelson King, led to one of Winchester's most important rifles - the Model 1866. In this video Matt examines a prototype 'musket' with an experimental loading gate quite different from the one eventually seen on production models. The prototype is a really interesting example of iterative engineering. Be sure to check out our full video & the accompanying article on the Winchester prototype here - http://armourersbench.com If you enjoy our work please consider supporting us via Patreon, TAB is a viewer supported channel and any help is very much appreciated! We have some great new perks, check out our Patreon page here: https://www.patreon.com/thearmourersbench You can also now support us with one-time donations via https://ko-fi.com/armourersbench Ever wished all the best gun history content creators were gathered in one place? Check out - https://surplused.com - we're on there! Where to find TAB: https://armourersbench.com https://facebook.com/armourersbench https://ko-fi.com/armourersbench https://www.patreon.com/thearmourersbench https://www.instagram.com/armourersbench https://imgur.com/user/ArmourersBench https://discord.gg/DAjRSBc