Cas City Forum Hall & CAS-L
Special Interests - Groups & Societies => The Winchester Model 1873 => Topic started by: Doug.38PR on March 10, 2017, 11:05:51 PM
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The idea is an all purpose round. Historically accurate, shooting black powder every once in a while, shooting smokeless too, and usingvfor defensive purpose and even occasional vintage hunting. Im leaning towards .44-40, even though im already set up for .45 colt for my handguns in reloading equipment, but the only thing holding me back is i'm not able to find any HP or expanding ammo in .44-40 as i can in .45 colt. Only lead fp ammo. While a 200-225 big bore .44 bullet with .44 magnum handgun velocities will probably take care of just about anything, i woukd like to find some expanding ammo for the 1873 carbine.
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The idea is an all purpose round. Historically accurate, shooting black powder every once in a while, shooting smokeless too, and usingvfor defensive purpose and even occasional vintage hunting. Im leaning towards .44-40, even though im already set up for .45 colt for my handguns in reloading equipment, but the only thing holding me back is i'm not able to find any HP or expanding ammo in .44-40 as i can in .45 colt. Only lead fp ammo. While a 200-225 big bore .44 bullet with .44 magnum handgun velocities will probably take care of just about anything, i woukd like to find some expanding ammo for the 1873 carbine.
There is probably load data out there to be found. Modern Uberti rifles have a .429 bore so you can use the same bullets you would use in a 44mag.
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The idea is an all purpose round. Historically accurate, shooting black powder every once in a while, shooting smokeless too, and usingvfor defensive purpose and even occasional vintage hunting. Im leaning towards .44-40, even though im already set up for .45 colt for my handguns in reloading equipment, but the only thing holding me back is i'm not able to find any HP or expanding ammo in .44-40 as i can in .45 colt. Only lead fp ammo. While a 200-225 big bore .44 bullet with .44 magnum handgun velocities will probably take care of just about anything, i woukd like to find some expanding ammo for the 1873 carbine.
Well you answered to yourself. .45 Colt is out.
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Well you answered to yourself. .45 Colt is out.
Well yes technically I suppose so. But .45 Colt is more of an old west round like the .44-40 as opposed to the .38 spl, .357 magnum, .44 spl, .44 magnum
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Well yes technically I suppose so. But .45 Colt is more of an old west round like the .44-40 as opposed to the .38 spl, .357 magnum, .44 spl, .44 magnum
While not originally chambered in Winchester rifles, the .44 Russian was the father and grandfather of the .44 Magnum. The only difference, aside from using smokeless powder in the latter two rounds, was the length of the case. It was fairly common, back in the 19th Century to name cartridges, "name", long "name" and extra-long "name". So the .44 Special should have been called ".44 Long Russian", and the magnum, ".44 Extra-long Russian". I generally shoot .44-40 in both rifle and revolvers, but if I'm short of loaded .44-40, I'll change the cylinders in my OM Vaqueros and pick up a Rossi '92 both chambered in .44 Magnum. But my handloads are identical in bullet weight and muzzle velocity to the .44-40 loads, albeit the powder charges in the ".44 Extra-long Russian" (.44 Mangle-em) are lower than the charges in the .44-40 brass due to the latter having more case capacity than the magnum brass.
One problem with using .45LC in a rifle and .44-40 in your pistols is the potential for what happened to Texas Ranger George Lloyd during a firefight with some Indians. He inadvertently loaded a .45 round into his Winchester '73. Fortunately, he was able to use his knife blade to unscrew the sideplates and remove the offending round in time to save his scalp. Had he had a Henry or '66 the outcome could have been different, as it takes about 15 minutes to remove a .45LC round from a (modern) Henry chambered in .44-40. Don't ask how I know. :-[
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While not originally chambered in Winchester rifles, the .44 Russian was the father and grandfather of the .44 Magnum. The only difference, aside from using smokeless powder in the latter two rounds, was the length of the case. It was fairly common, back in the 19th Century to name cartridges, "name", long "name" and extra-long "name". So the .44 Special should have been called ".44 Long Russian", and the magnum, ".44 Extra-long Russian". I generally shoot .44-40 in both rifle and revolvers, but if I'm short of loaded .44-40, I'll change the cylinders in my OM Vaqueros and pick up a Rossi '92 both chambered in .44 Magnum. But my handloads are identical in bullet weight and muzzle velocity to the .44-40 loads, albeit the powder charges in the ".44 Extra-long Russian" (.44 Mangle-em) are lower than the charges in the .44-40 brass due to the latter having more case capacity than the magnum brass.
One problem with using .45LC in a rifle and .44-40 in your pistols is the potential for what happened to Texas Ranger George Lloyd during a firefight with some Indians. He inadvertently loaded a .45 round into his Winchester '73. Fortunately, he was able to use his knife blade to unscrew the sideplates and remove the offending round in time to save his scalp. Had he had a Henry or '66 the outcome could have been different, as it takes about 15 minutes to remove a .45LC round from a (modern) Henry chambered in .44-40. Don't ask how I know. :-[
I think you meant .45LC in pistols and .44-40 in a rifle. In my case, if i were in an a tual shootout and i had a .44-40 uberti carbine as my truck gun or woods rifle, my handgun would more likely be a .38 or .357 service revolver or 9mm beretta or .45 acp 1911 than a .45 Colt single action gun
I've been back and forth with the .44-40 and .45 Colt in a rifle with all tge pros and cons. Convinience, versatility and variaty say go with .45 Colt and Historical accuracy, black powder use and, more importantky, full potential for what the rifle was intended say go with the .44-40
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Well, the .44-40 revolvers were called Frontier models for some reason. ;D
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.45 more access to reloading items, cheaper to load for that reason.
I wish I had bought a .44-40 though, if you shoot BP in a .45 colt it gets nasty.
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Used to have an Uberti in .45 Colt. Lots of fouling even with smokeless powder. I now have an original in .44 W.C.F. that goes well with my Frontier Six Shooter. Doesn't have near the fouling. I like the .44 better in a rifle. Pretty much a wash in a pistol, in my opinion. To be honest, I'd much rather have a rifle caliber rifle in a fight, and then it's no issue at all.
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Well I went to a store in Houston today to look for one or the other. They did not have a Uberti 1873 in either .44-40 or .45 Colt. They did, however, have one in .44 Magnum. Handling it compared to the Rossi and Chapperal Arms ones that they had just sold me completely on the Uberti 1873. The action was like glass and the stock position (the Chapperal butt stock was too low for me, felt weird) in .45 Colt. They did have a few Uberti Henry Replicas in .44-40, but they were full sized rifles.
They did did contact Cimarron that did claim to have .45 Colt in stock in 19 inch Carbine but no .44-40. Price was about $1219 (I know I could get it a little lower than that other places, but my funds happen to be geared towards this store).
I am still somewhat torn between .45 Colt and .44-40 but still lean more towards .44-40. (I am tempted to go ahead and order the .45 Colt just because I have plenty of reloaded American Pioneer Ammo on hand and plenty more brass and reloading components).
Let me ask this: 1) Can you shoot .44-40 in a .44 Magnum Uberti Carbine? 2) Can you shoot .44 Special in a .44 Magnum Uberti Carbine? I know both take a .429 bullet.
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No 44-40 is completely different than a 44mag or special other than sharing bore diameter in the current production guns.
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I only have one 45 colt rifle and that is only because I got a real good deal on it. I honestly believe it's action gets dirtier shooting smokeless than the 44-40's do running BP. There is no way I would ever consider shooting BP or subs in a 45 colt rifle. Yes I know lots of people do but for the life of me I can't understand why since the 44-40 is so much better, the guns are available, brass is available, bullets, etc etc.
I suppose if a person already had a gun or got a good deal on a used one but it seems insane to me to buy a new one in 45 with intentions of shooting BP even part of the time.
This is my opinion and you know what they say about opinions, but I personally wouldn't even consider a new 73 in anything but one of the original WCF calibers.
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You were talking history, I have an original 73 that's now 135 years old and a frontier 6 shooter
to go with it . If you're not going to shoot a lot a lot you may consider an original. Rock Island
Auction sells a bunch of them . With a barrel reline I have about $1200 in mine. 20 years down
the road which will have more value. 44/40 is where I'd go
BTB
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I only have one 45 colt rifle and that is only because I got a real good deal on it. I honestly believe it's action gets dirtier shooting smokeless than the 44-40's do running BP. There is no way I would ever consider shooting BP or subs in a 45 colt rifle. Yes I know lots of people do but for the life of me I can't understand why since the 44-40 is so much better, the guns are available, brass is available, bullets, etc etc.
I suppose if a person already had a gun or got a good deal on a used one but it seems insane to me to buy a new one in 45 with intentions of shooting BP even part of the time.
This is my opinion and you know what they say about opinions, but I personally wouldn't even consider a new 73 in anything but one of the original WCF calibers.
Yes, if you watch the youtube clip of Hickok45 shooting the Winchester 73 in .45 Colt Black Powder, he shows you just how dirty the gun gets. He doesn't seem to mind and I guess I could live with it as long as the gun functions well for a few dozen rounds or before I have to clean, spray or lubricate things. But what bothers me most is: how much potential am I losing with all that blowback from powder that could be used to push the bullet forward instead of dirtying up my gun. Maybe I'm being too picky. Thinking it through, even a .30-06 or .22 LR feed area will get dirty over time with smokeless powder use....in fact any semi auto pistol if not kept clean enough will have problems.
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Yes, if you watch the youtube clip of Hickok45 shooting the Winchester 73 in .45 Colt Black Powder, he shows you just how dirty the gun gets. He doesn't seem to mind and I guess I could live with it as long as the gun functions well for a few dozen rounds or before I have to clean, spray or lubricate things. But what bothers me most is: how much potential am I losing with all that blowback from powder that could be used to push the bullet forward instead of dirtying up my gun. Maybe I'm being too picky. Thinking it through, even a .30-06 or .22 LR feed area will get dirty over time with smokeless powder use....in fact any semi auto pistol if not kept clean enough will have problems.
A better video would be one comparing how dirty the 45 gets and how much cleaner the 44-40 stays.
There is absolutely no comparison. I have some 44-40 guns that have not had the action apart in years after hundreds of rounds of black powder and I only shoot black powder in them.
I enjoy tinkering as much as the next guy but there's nothing really fun about taking a gun all apart just to clean all the crud out of it.
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Cimarron and Taylor, from what the dealer I visited yesterday found out, don't have any .44-40s available in 19 inch carbine right now. Cimarron does have .45 Colt.
I think I'm pretty well sold on the .44-40. Everything I've read on this forum and others as well as the fact that everyone appears to out of them tells me that they are probably the way to go. I just need for my dealer to be able to get one.
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I was in your shoes with the same decision a couple of years ago. I also already load the 45 Colt but ultimately decided on the 44-40, and haven't had a single regret. My rifle however is an 1866 Sporting Rifle. It has the 24" barrel and a ladder rear sight. I had a ball regulating the sights and even more fun shooting at 200 and 300 yds. once the sights were regulated. I load BP and smokeless interchangeably and neither is worse or better than the other.
I wouldn't worry myself much about an expanding bullet, just load one with a more generously wide nose than the.original and you'll be fine for hunting. Heck, the buck I shot last hear I did so with one of my old 38-40's and a non-expanding bullet. He died without griping. If you feel you must have an expanding bullet check with Matt's Bullets or buy a hollowpoint mould from NOE and cast your own.
CHT
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Well, I ask again for them to check another distributor and the gun store I'm using seems to have found a 44-40 in addition to the .45 for another distributor. I went for the .44-40. Paid for it up front and they are going to order it.
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That's good news. You'll be glad with your choice.
CC Griff
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Now I've got to find bullets and brass. Im guessing .429 bullets
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It depends on how dirty black do you want your lifter. With the .45 Colt chamber blow back really makes things dirty. With either smokeless or Gun Powder* lots of blow back.
With the .44 40 not so much. I cut the blow back down to manageable amounts when shooting Gun Powder using .44 40 cases fire formed to .45 Colt. A PITA to do so I just gave up, went to .45 Cowboy Special and use a lot Ballistol on the lifter when shooting.
*Gun Powder (aka black powder)
Yr' Obt' Svt'
Bunk
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Now I've got to find bullets and brass. Im guessing .429 bullets
I size my bullets to .429, but you may want to slug your bore first. I had also tried some at .430 early on, but found them to be difficult to chamber in my gun. It may take some experimentation.
CC Griff
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Now I've got to find bullets and brass. Im guessing .429 bullets
While 44-40 is not difficult to reload, you may need to make certain choices for chambering reasons. The Ubertis tend to have tight .44-40 chambers. To use a .429 bullet you may need to limit yourself to Winchester or Starline brass as they have the thinnest neck. There are discussions here and there about this. Depending on your dies, you may need to modify the sizing die to set the shoulder low enough. And try to use a bullet that lets gives you a crimp groove and keeps OAL under 1.6". After you get set, no problemo :)
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Now I've got to find bullets and brass. Im guessing .429 bullets
I cast and load for 5 different .44 Specials, a Uberti 1873 .44 Magnum, a Uberti .44-40 SA, and the above mentioned .44-40. They all get their bullets sized .430" and they all work great. I use Starline brass exclusively.
If you need some .430" bullets to try when your 44-40 arrives, shoot me a PM and I'll send you some.
Here's a super good price on 44-40 brass http://www.gunbroker.com/item/628851375 (http://www.gunbroker.com/item/628851375) $25.00/100 with free shipping.
CHT
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Well, the dealer I ordered the gun from told me yesterday that they had ordered from Taylor & Co in Virginia (I believe) and they had one left in stock but they opened it and found a big scratch on it and said they would not send it to my dealer. The dealer then contacted another distributor in Maryland and they had several in stock and it should be on it's way to my dealer. They apologized for the delay whereas I thanked them for not trying to give me a scratched gun. (if there is any wear and tear on it, I'm going to do it myself, LOL!!)
What dealer is there in Maryland? (the dealer employee couldn't remember off the top of his head) I know there is Cimarron in Texas and Taylor & Co in Virginia but those are the two big ones that I know of. Since Uberti is (or was) in Maryland (or did they move to Tennessee under the same umbrella with Beretta?) could they have ordered directly from the factory somehow?
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Well, the dealer I ordered the gun from told me yesterday that they had ordered from Taylor & Co in Virginia (I believe) and they had one left in stock but they opened it and found a big scratch on it and said they would not send it to my dealer. The dealer then contacted another distributor in Maryland and they had several in stock and it should be on it's way to my dealer. They apologized for the delay whereas I thanked them for not trying to give me a scratched gun. (if there is any wear and tear on it, I'm going to do it myself, LOL!!)
What dealer is there in Maryland? (the dealer employee couldn't remember off the top of his head) I know there is Cimarron in Texas and Taylor & Co in Virginia but those are the two big ones that I know of. Since Uberti is (or was) in Maryland (or did they move to Tennessee under the same umbrella with Beretta?) could they have ordered directly from the factory somehow?
There's dealers, distributors and importers. Generally a dealer is your local gun store. A distributor is a large wholesaler that sells to dealers. An importer is the one that imports guns and sells them to the distrubutors and dealers. Taylors is an importer and sells to distributors and dealers.
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Well, the dealer I ordered the gun from told me yesterday that they had ordered from Taylor & Co in Virginia (I believe) and they had one left in stock but they opened it and found a big scratch on it and said they would not send it to my dealer. The dealer then contacted another distributor in Maryland and they had several in stock and it should be on it's way to my dealer. They apologized for the delay whereas I thanked them for not trying to give me a scratched gun. (if there is any wear and tear on it, I'm going to do it myself, LOL!!)
What dealer is there in Maryland? (the dealer employee couldn't remember off the top of his head) I know there is Cimarron in Texas and Taylor & Co in Virginia but those are the two big ones that I know of. Since Uberti is (or was) in Maryland (or did they move to Tennessee under the same umbrella with Beretta?) could they have ordered directly from the factory somehow?
Probably Stoeger -Accokeek, Maryland also serves as an FFL for importing firearms by Uberti, also Benelli Beretta group.
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Honestly I would much rather have one from Cimarron or Taylors. The markings make for a much nicer looking gun.
The Stoegers have funky looking stamping on them and for whatever other reasons the ones I have owned and compared on average the Cimarrons or Taylors just seem to be nicer finished and better looking wood on them.
I hear all the time they are all Ubertis and all the same but I've compared and owned piles of Uberti guns and that is not necessarily true.
I have culled my herd to cherry pick the best ones and that has pretty much left every Uberti in my safe to be Cimarron except for some older Navy Arms Imported stuff.
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Honestly I would much rather have one from Cimarron or Taylors. The markings make for a much nicer looking gun.
The Stoegers have funky looking stamping on them and for whatever other reasons the ones I have owned and compared on average the Cimarrons or Taylors just seem to be nicer finished and better looking wood on them.
I hear all the time they are all Ubertis and all the same but I've compared and owned piles of Uberti guns and that is not necessarily true.
I have culled my herd to cherry pick the best ones and that has pretty much left every Uberti in my safe to be Cimarron except for some older Navy Arms Imported stuff.
Well that's not encouraging. My gun came in yesterday. I still have to go pick it up next time I'm in Houston. But I hope it looks good. But then my Schofield is a Stoeger and it looks pretty good.
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Well I picked mine up today. Distributed by stoger. .44-49 carbine 1873 winchester uberti.
Brought it to my mom and dads house in the box, dad ask me what kind of rifle i got. "1873 Winchester", said I.
"OH REALLY?!" he said, excited. He then said: "turn around and look what whats on."
I turned around and he haf JUST started watching Winchester '73 with Jimmy Stewart ON TCM. LOL
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Isn't carma great! Enjoy your '73. My '73 is my favorite repeater.
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If I'm not mistaking, the question is .45 Colt or .44-40 in a Uberti '73. We all know that the .45LC was never chambered in any of the early Winchesters. Because I like period original stuff, I would never buy one in a non-original caliber. Just my opinion.
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If I'm not mistaking, the question is .45 Colt or .44-40 in a Uberti '73. We all know that the .45LC was never chambered in any of the early Winchesters. Because I like period original stuff, I would never buy one in a non-original caliber. Just my opinion.
I trend to agree. I would not want any rifle in .38 spl or .357 magnum.
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If I'm not mistaking, the question is .45 Colt or .44-40 in a Uberti '73. We all know that the .45LC was never chambered in any of the early Winchesters. Because I like period original stuff, I would never buy one in a non-original caliber. Just my opinion.
I tend to agree however I have owned a couple 45's and still own one of them. It was a deal too good to pass up.
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I have kinda sorta agree with Buck & Cliff... :)
but the thing is I have both 44/40 & 45 in Henry's ( 2 each )
two were Gifts (1 each ) 1 45 was in a trade and the other 44/40 I bought ( in fact twice having bought it NIB sold it and bought it back many years later.)
I also have a 73 in 44 Special & am seeking one in 32/20....
like Doug...I pass on 38/357.............38/40 Hmmmmm
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Is the carbine supposed to have a saddle ring? Mine doesnt. I thought it was called a saddle ring carbine
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Is the carbine supposed to have a saddle ring? Mine doesnt. I thought it was called a saddle ring carbine
If it has a ring I guess you can call it a saddle ring carbine. Otherwise it's just a carbine. ;) I prefer not to have the ring on mine.
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If it has a ring I guess you can call it a saddle ring carbine. Otherwise it's just a carbine. ;) I prefer not to have the ring on mine.
If i had a choice i guess id rather not too. But i thought it came on all of them
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It would seem for whatever reason I managed to ignore/miss this thread for the longest time. At least until it is actually too late because Doug.38PR already made a decision and bought his rifle.
However ... It's Monday and I'm bored and my Dog wandered off down stairs and I'm alone and ................
There are several considerations for this question. Mostly from purely mechanical/practical stand points. First up is the .45 which is actually more versatile than the 44-40. With the 45 you have a choice of cartridges, 45 Colt, 45 Schofield and C45S (needs a carrier). The main drawback is Blow-By. With 45 cartridges, you get blow-back. The case will not expand to seal out modern chambers. The chambers are simply too generous. Blow-By results in crud building up on the Carrier Block and in the Mortice. A goodly amount of cleaning is required and some rifles will need a squirt of something in the middle of a CAS match to keep running. From a personal prejudice vein, NO lever rifles were ever charred in 45 Colt in the time period we portray.
44-40 or 38-40. The only versatility with the 44-40 is bullet weight and fillers for reduced charges. With a 44-40 you have a 44-40. No other cartridges will work. 44-40 is normally Clean, Free Running and Sanitary. The case seals the chamber so there is seldom any Blow-By at all. Normally the Carrier Block and Mortice will be as clean at the end of a CAS match as it was at the start. A Patch or two thru the bore and your done. From the personal prejudice vein, the 44-40 was the introductory cartridge for the 1873 Rifle. Historically correct.
If your desire is something resembling history, your only choices are 44-40, 38-40 and 32-20. If on the other hand, your crazy like I am and just can't resist messing with your rifles, go with the 45 and learn to put up with the Blow-By.
Burma Shave
Coffinmaker
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My first 1873 was in .45 Colt, which I never could get to shoot well, no matter how many different loads I tried in it. I bought it second hand and maybe that's why it was available. Some loads had more blow-by than others. Haven't replaced it, but my 1892 in .38-40 is wonderfully accurate.
If this is even mildly informative to someone, well - okay than.
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If i had a choice i guess id rather not too. But i thought it came on all of them
Naw you can order them either way.
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Well, I've had a lot of fun with this gun. All of you seem to have been right about the .44-40 over other calibers. Here is a video I did for the gun illustrating the inner workings and showing just how clean the gun is after having fired 10 rounds of CleanShot Black Powder substitute. The velocity of the original rounds fired was actually about 1230 ft per second (like the Cleanshot) and 8 gr of Unique 1180 ft per second. What I quote in the video for originals and Unique was what I was expecting whereas the gun performed beyond my expectations.
I like this gun. I am shocked at how clean it is after using that dirty so-called Clean Shot powder. <iframe width="854" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fAaUmfa23Zs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Does anybody else have experience with Clean Shot? I usually use American Pioneer in recent years. But this old can of Clean Shot is all I have that comes close to black powder right now. That stuff is a mess.
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I got to be the first to "like" your video! It was kind of funny watching you cycle the action with the sideplate off. I was saying to ,
myself, "That left toggle link is going to fall out. Yep, it's working it's way out. Ah, he touched it and could feel it out of place. Ah, he pushed it back. Oops, it's working its way back out. Yep, there it goes!" I don't want to think about all of the times I've done that. Nice video. I always like seeing other's guns and never seem to tire watching a toggle link action work. Thanks! Oh--mine is a 44WCF too. It's just a perfect match of cartridge and gun. A match made in Connecticut.
CC Griff
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I got to be the first to "like" your video! It was kind of funny watching you cycle the action with the sideplate off. I was saying to ,
myself, "That left toggle link is going to fall out. Yep, it's working it's way out. Ah, he touched it and could feel it out of place. Ah, he pushed it back. Oops, it's working its way back out. Yep, there it goes!" I don't want to think about all of the times I've done that. Nice video. I always like seeing other's guns and never seem to tire watching a toggle link action work. Thanks! Oh--mine is a 44WCF too. It's just a perfect match of cartridge and gun. A match made in Connecticut.
CC Griff
Hey thanks for the like. I just added a more extended version explaining why tge .44-40 doesnt have any blowback and the different powders.
Yeah, that toggle link is very loose and easy. Especially with the other sideplate off. (See my other thread about the pain in the butt that was getting it back on, lol). Anyway, this gun is really impressive. I have no regrets in my selection and am thankful for all of yalls recomendations and thoughts on the .44-40
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Hi
On a side note, I just finished reading Mike Venturino's books on both Cowboy pistols and Lever guns. He reviews the guns, and loads for them. The 44/40 was the most accurate load for SAA and most of the lever guns. .45 Long Colt wasn't, and wasn't even close.
I have several non-cowboy purchases to to work up loads for. After I get that sort of thing done, I think I'll get a couple of SAA in 44/40 and a 24 inch lever gun in the same caliber.
Later Y'all
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I got on the 44WCF band wagon this year.
In January we found a Marlin 1894 Century Limited in a local gun shop and trained for it. No box or papers and no testimony but it looks unfired. It's hidden in a sock in the safe.
I then ran into a nice pre-safey Marlin 1894 carbine in 44 Magnum at good price and trained for it. I knew Numrich Arms had a 44WCF barrel that would fit it. A local cowboy gunsmith swapped the barrels. No problems. Works and looks like it was made in 44WCF.
Then I had bought a brace of Taylor Smoke Wagon Deluxes in 44WCF.
Then I got the bug for a Winchester Miroku 73 in 44WCF and found a used one. I'm very impressed with the quality of the Miroku Winchester.
Meanwhile, I was negotiating a deal to buy a Marlin 1894 Cowboy Limited in 44WCF from another cowboy action shooters. By now I'm getting 44WCF poor! But this Marlin had all the custom parts installed and action worked over by Widowmaker Hill. It's as slick as oil on ice. And it's a reasonably rare gun in that it is one of 336 made by Marlin for Davidsons in 2000.
I load with BlackMZ in Starline cases with 160 grain bullet.
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Hi
On a side note, I just finished reading Mike Venturino's books on both Cowboy pistols and Lever guns. He reviews the guns, and loads for them. The 44/40 was the most accurate load for SAA and most of the lever guns. .45 Long Colt wasn't, and wasn't even close.
I have several non-cowboy purchases to to work up loads for. After I get that sort of thing done, I think I'll get a couple of SAA in 44/40 and a 24 inch lever gun in the same caliber.
Later Y'all
Yeah, i’ve hsd thoughts of getting a cimarron 7.5 in 44-40 but they are geting harder to come by and my vaquero .45 or Schofield uberti serve fine. Just load my gunbelt half and half when i have my rifle