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Winchester 1873 Wins Idaho Vote

Idaho voters chose the Winchester Model 1873 as their pick for official state firearm in a nonbinding advisory vote, beating out five other historic firearms by a wide margin. Lawmakers must still pass legislation to make it official.

Steve DuskettNovember 9, 2026
Article Info

Winchester 1873 Wins Idaho Vote

LegislationDeveloping
Scope
JurisdictionIdaho
Impactstate
Key Entities
Must pass final legislation to make designation officialIdaho Legislature
Administered and reported the advisory voteIdaho Secretary of State's Office
Original manufacturer of the Model 1873Winchester Repeating Arms
Legal Issues
  • Advisory vote under House Bill 932 does not itself create law
  • Legislature must pass standalone legislation to finalize the designation
What It Means
  • Idaho could become the 12th state with an official firearm once the Legislature acts
  • The advisory vote is not legally binding; a separate bill is still required
  • Reinforces the Model 1873's cultural status as a symbol of Western frontier history
Timeline
November 3, 2026Idaho voters cast advisory ballots choosing the Winchester Model 1873
Related Laws
Guns & Ammo

Winchester 1873 Wins Idaho Vote

Gem State voters pick the lever-action classic for official firearm status, but it still needs a nod from the Legislature.

From The Boise Gun Club Handbook

Idaho voters picked the Winchester Model 1873 as their favorite from a field of six historic firearms, setting it up to become the state's official gun.

What happened: The November 3, 2026, advisory vote, created under House Bill 932, asked Idahoans to choose among six firearms with deep roots in American history. The Winchester 1873 won in a landslide.

By the numbers:

  • Winchester Model 1873: 164,405 votes
  • Winchester Model 1894: 133,877 votes
  • Colt Single Action Army: 80,696 votes
  • Remington Model 700: 65,826 votes
  • Colt M1911: 46,407 votes
  • M1 Garand: 37,506 votes

The two Winchester lever-guns combined for more than 56% of the total vote, which says something about how Idahoans see their own frontier history — mining camps, cattle drives, trappers and homesteaders, all backed by a rifle you could reload fast on horseback.

Catch up quick: The Model 1873 built on Winchester's earlier lever-action designs and became one of the first widely adopted repeating rifles chambered for a metallic cartridge, the .44 WCF. That round also worked in period revolvers, so a cowboy or rancher could carry one ammunition supply for both rifle and sidearm — a practical selling point that helped cement the gun's reputation as "the gun that won the West."

State of play: This was a nonbinding advisory vote. The result goes to the Idaho Legislature as a recommendation, not a mandate. Lawmakers still have to draft and pass a separate bill designating the Model 1873 as the state's official firearm before it's anything more than a popular vote.

Given the margin of victory and the symbolism involved, there's little reason to expect pushback in Boise. If it goes through, Idaho would become the 12th state with an official firearm, joining Arizona (Colt Single Action Army) and Utah (Colt M1911) — both of which, notably, were also on this ballot and lost.

What's next: Watch for a follow-up bill in the next legislative session formally codifying the Model 1873 as Idaho's state firearm. Until then, the vote is a strong signal, not law.

The bottom line: Idaho voters have spoken clearly. Now it's up to the Legislature to make it official.

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