.40-72 Winchester

The .40-72 Winchester, also known as .40-72 WCF is a centerfire straight-walled rifle cartridge designed for black powder rather than smokeless powder. It was introduced in 1895 for the Winchester 1895 lever-action rifle.

Description and performance


The original Winchester factory load consisted of a 300 gr bullet at 1420 ft/s or a 330 gr bullet at 1380 ft/s.

With the introduction of superior cartridges designed for smokeless powder, the .40-72 Winchester became obsolete and was soon dropped from production. Production of loaded cartridges by Winchester ceased in 1936.



Besides the Winchester 1895 lever-action, the .40-72 Winchester was chambered in the Winchester 1885 single-shot rifle.