<P> Of the guns owned by Lakota and Cheyenne fighters at the Little Bighorn, approximately 200 were repeating rifles corresponding to about 1 of 10 of the encampment's two thousand able - bodied fighters who participated in the battle </P> <P> The troops under Custer's command carried two regulation firearms authorized and issued by the U.S. Army in early 1876: the breech - loading, single - shot Springfield Model 1873 carbine, and the 1873 Colt single - action revolver . The regulation M1860 saber or "long knives" were not carried by troopers upon Custer's order . </P> <P> With the exception of a number of officers and scouts who opted for personally owned and more expensive rifles and handguns, the 7th Cavalry was uniformly armed . </P> <P> Ammunition allotments provided 100 carbine rounds per trooper, carried on a cartridge belt and in saddlebags on their mounts . An additional 50 carbine rounds per man were reserved on the pack train that accompanied the regiment to the battlefield . Each trooper had 24 rounds for his Colt handgun . The opposing forces, though not equally matched in the number and type of arms, were comparably outfitted, and neither side held a overwhelming advantage in weaponry . </P>

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