Howdy, looking at an 1873 sometime next year (been saying that for 5 years now, always something that gets in the way!) to complement my 1892 in .44 magnum.
I want to shoot black powder out of the '73 and that puts me in mind of the .44-40, but I already have two 44mag guns and getting the '73 in 44spl would allow me to reuse old magnum casings that have had casemouth splits by trimming down, and no having to look for or buying the much rarer .44-40 cases. 44 magnums are by all accounts much more abundant. I also cast bullets, the H&G #503 bullet being my absolute 44 favorite, it does feed in my 1892 as well. It would be nice to be able to use these molds to cast bullets for the '73 as well.
The only real issues I can see with going with the .44spl here is that of:
#1 Fouling the action, the .44mag/spl brass is thicker and stiffer and straight walled and I can see that to leading to more blowback into the action. One of the nice things I have read about the .44-40 is how it seals at BP pressures and keeps the action squeeky clean, meaning you pretty much only have to clean the barrel and breech. Anyone this forum shooting BP .44 specials in a '73 that can tell me their experiences with this cartridge?
#2 bullet fit, SWC keith style bullets have never been that easy to get to work with leverguns, I consider my 1892 to be something of an oddity in that I only had to file a little bit on it to make it run smoothly with these 250gr whoppers that have an OAL of 1.70" - if they don't fit it would probably require me to buy a separate RNFP mold for the '73 and in that case part of the reason for a .44 special goes away, might as well go for a .44-40 bullet then right?
Your thoughts and input on this would be appreciated. I essentially want to minimize the purchase of new reloading equipment and supplies as much as possible. I load smokeless 44spl/mag on a Dillon 650 right now, I will probably have to at least get a dedicated BP powder measure, hoping I could just charge the cases on that and do the rest on the Dillon.
To end this post, here's my 1892 just because I feel like sharing it, it's a Rossi and it's without a lawyer safety, stock is a work in progress as well, filled out the crescent with wood epoxy and ground it flat, will fit a grind to fit recoil pad soon to it: