Howdy fellers!
to answer a few questions...
ndnchf - Can you tell us more about the die you made to swage/bend the rim a little thicker? Maybe a photo or two? I know BACO does that for some of their other brass.
Well, not so much as a die really, I just filed the sharp edge off an old gasket hole punch ( it punched about 3/8th inch wads) to fit inside the modified 44 Sp. cases, clamped that in the vise, slipped a short piece of hydraulic pipe( that the brass just fit into and cut just a bit shorter that the the length from the case mouth to the rim)--over the case; and then case onto the punch. The punch was positioned so that the hyd. tubing just rested on the edges of the vise face with the punch snug against the inside base of the case. Then I used another old hole punch(7/16") that I had ground the sharp edge flat, carefully positioned that on the base of the case and gave a gentle whack with a hammer.
Not very scientific, but I got 100 cases done in less time than trying to explain it., and there were a few that I repositioned as the rim was a bit lopsided, but in the end they came out remarkably consistent ( yes - should have taken some pictures...)
nativeshootist- How much ammo does it hold?
Aƞpétu wašté ... Well, it will hold nine for sure( I haven't tried more than that...)-- as you can probably see from the pictures, it has a short barrel. almost certainly cut from the original length,( I think that Madis' Winchester book says that only a few dozen have been documented as less than 20" barrels) though it sure looks right. If it was bobbed from original, whoever did it knew what they were doing... right now it measures 16 & 3/8 " .
Coffinmaker- While I don't know the "why" (nobody does) none of the '66 Central Fire rifles were retailed in this country. ALL of the manufacturing "run" went for export. Central and South America and Europe. The minuscule few that currently exist in THIS country had to have been re-patriated at some point.
I dont know much about its history, except for the letter from Cody Firearms Museum: says -
Type: Carbine
Caliber 44 CF
Received in warehouse on May 07, 1891
Shipped from warehouse on May 13,1891 Order number 4430
I have read that 44 CF model 1866 production is somewhere between 1200 and maybe 5000. , depending on the author of the source you're looking at....
Maybe Shrapnel has some better insight about that.
Alls I know is I always thought that I preferred long barreled rifles till I started totin' this little carbine through the woods. What a Joy!! ( you like short barreled guns, dont you Coffinmaker??
I think you're on to something....
That's all for now...
Big Goose.