Finally after years of searching and surfing........
The elusive 44 Winchester 73' Prototype Milbank Primed Cartridge.



This photograph of the cartridge and the x-ray of the cartridge answered so many questions but leads to several more. It used the extremely short lived Milbank primer and a shorter cartridge case than we use now. The length was 1.177" rather than today's 1.300". The bullet only seats about .21" into the case.

I am only limited to 2,000 words so I had to delete most of my text.   For more information, please visit the 44 Winchester Center Fire Cartridge

Was fun stepping back into history handloading this vintage design...other than a milbank primer. An inferior design for sure, but fun nonetheless. Can't wait to shoot them in my 73'.

Lyman's 427098 Bullet...slightly different from Winchester's original


Images from the Winchester's 1875 Catalog

Thanks.  The link was very informative.

Very cool. That is a great link!!