Forgive me Father, for I have sinned - but I have repented!

[Tuolumne Lawman]

Ode to an "Open Top"



I have a pair of 1871/1872 Open tops in .45 Colt/Schofield that I have been using as my main match pistols.  I literally shoot pistol targets clean with the Open Tops every time! they are an extension of my hand. In all the excitement of getting my .45 Colt 1860 Henry re-barreled to .44-40 so it can shoot black powder and substitutes without fouling every stage, I also picked up two .44-40 1873 Uberti SAAs.  (I really do like the .44-40 as a cartridge).  Well, with the 1873s I do not shoot clean every stage...they are just not Open Tops!   I also picked up an original 44 Russian, and thought I would maybe go with a pair of these.  They are cool, but it just did not ring my chimes...they are also not Open Tops.

Well, I have had an epiphany... Why the heck am I even thinking of switching from the Open Tops!  They are great with BP, as the have the collar over the cylinder arbor that extends past the forcing cone. The design was made for BP!  So for my penance, I will shoot only Open Tops at the next six matches!

[Major 2]

nothing at all  wrong with two calibers at the loading table
I've been doing it for YARNS   

Main match pistol is 44 Colt  and Rifle is 44 Spec'l  ....I am deliberate and focused at the table ( one reason & a major Pet Peeve when
I'm annoyed by a chatty loading table    )

I digress, I have the tactile feeling in my fingers to feel the cartridge Rim difference , however I do not just rely on that ...
the Rounds are separated to different boxes , and I close said box , to load the other....
I also do a quick visual .... Also the Special won't chamber in the 44 Colt Type II.

Granted, I'm shooting NCOWS and  two gun duelist ( on occasion 3 gun duelist )  and with us the emphasis ,  is on accuracy
smaller targets or further away or even both...
rather than out and out speed, 
Also generally, we don't have as many shooters at a match so the hurry is not so premediate. 

SASS is GREAT fun FAST   

NCOWS is relaxing fun while competing .... both have their own appeal

[Tuolumne Lawman]

I agree about not liking a chatty loading table!  I admit that I have always tried to have one caliber for both pistol and rifle, but it was born out of the thought that if I really was a 1870s law dawg, I would have done it for logistics simplicity. 

But, I am not back in the 1870s...  I REALLY like both .45 Schofield and .44 Russian/Colt as pistol cartridges.  Since I have a pair of .45 Schofield shooting Open Tops that I hit everything I aim at with, the choice is easy, though I would like to pick up a .45 Schofield someday.

I really prefer the .44-40 as a rifle cartridge, as evidenced by the fact I have an 1892 in .44-40, and I am getting my Henry switched to .44-40 from 45 Colt (hopefully this week!).  Yesterday I was whacking the 75 yard buzzard every time with the 44-40 Rossi. 44-40 is a great round.

I am not worried about loading table when using .45 Schofield pistol rounds and .44-40 rifle rounds.  They are not even close....

[Major 2]

My point exactly ....


" 45 Schofield shooting Open Tops "  glad you decided to keep them

[Pitchy]

I don`t feel qualified to comment much on this stuff but I will say nice looking guns, I had a Navy Arms Henry rifle in 44-40 about 25 years or so ago which I still had. 

[Baltimore Ed]

Nice brace of revolvers you've got there. Glad you repented. But I would recommend that you get some of these critters to keep your ammo straight. I've got one in .45lc - half rifle and half pistol, another one all in .44-40 and one in .45 rifle and .38 pistol. I've seen a cowboy try to shoot.38s in his .45 rifle and another shoot .44-40s out of his.45 revolvers. The revolvers shot fine but he didn't hit anything. Thats why I went with all .45 lc when I started playing this game but in the last year I've branched out to a .44-40 Winchester 73 musket and recently a .38-40 new service Colt. I also shoot a brace of Colt New Services in .38 spcl occasionally.

[Tuolumne Lawman]

Hopefully this week I get my re-barreled to .44-40 Henry back!

[Tuolumne Lawman]

Well, even more reason to stick with the Open Tops shooting .45 Schofields: I Just spent $150 for a gunsmith to try to mount the .44-40 barrel to my Uberti 1860 Henry that had a 45 colt barrel. The threaded shank of the barrel is almost 1/4" too short. The Gunsmith said milling off the front of the receiver that much would weaken it, and it would not line up on front. Also, because of barrel/magazine shroud design, he can not lathe turn it down. I realize I am out gunsmithing cost, but want a refund on the barrel. Too much money to spend on something that doesn't fit. I also had to pay him to re-instal my original Barrel, BTW.

We'll see how the seller responds.  I expect that is why the barrel is for sale in the first place!!!!!

Well, I guess I will just have to keep the Henry in .45 Colt/Schofield like the Open Tops!