.44-40 Cylinder

[Niederlander]

Gentlemen,  Do any of you know what USFA .44-40 cylinder throats measure? 

[GaryG]

On the US made cylinders, the 44-40 throats measured .4275-.4285. 

[Niederlander]

Thank you!  I should have asked before, but what does the bore measure (grooves)?  I ask because I'm trying to find a cylinder to match up with a Colt .44 Special barrel that measures .427.  (Yes, .427.  Is that normal for Colt barrels?)

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[GaryG]

When USFA started doing combo calibers (44Sp and 44-40) they went to a .428 barrel.  Prior to that, 44-40s used a .427 and 44Sp used a .429.

[The Pathfinder]

Niederlander, I seem to remember reading somewhere, maybe the back pages of a Dixie Gun Works catalog, that Colt only used 5 sizes of barrels for the majority of it's calibers. The 45 caliber one being used for 45 Colt, 455 Eley or Boxer etc, being changed from a .454 bore on the earlier guns to .451 once the 45 Auto came about. The 44 caliber barrel was the same .427 for 44 WCF, 44 S&W Russian and Specials. The 41 caliber barrel was used for the 41 Colt and the 38-40 both using a .401 bore. The 38 barrel was for the 38 short and long Colt and would go on to be used in the 38 S&W Special and ,357 Magnums being a .357 bore. And lastly the 32 barrel with a .311 bore was used for the small 32 caliber Colt cartridges and the 32 WCF. Were there other barrel sizes used? Probably. But those would have been the most common. Pathfinder

[Niederlander]

Good information, gentlemen!  Now, I've got a USFA .45 Colt cylinder I'm looking to trade for a .44-40 cylinder, if anyone has one they want to get rid of.