Early .44-40 Problem?

[Shotgun Franklin]

I've read several places that when the Texas Rangers first started using the Colt in .44-40, the fired case would back out of the chamber and lockup the gun. It was enough of a problem that they wound up carrying the '73 in .44-40 but carried the Colt in .45. Anyone else ran across this in reading history? I do know that the .45 Colt was the number one carried handgun amoung Texas Rangers per 1900. Some continued to carry them until they became part of the Texas Department of Public Safety well after WWI.

[River Jordan]

I seem to remember that most of the Ranger guns in the Texas Ranger museum were indeed 45. Also later they seemed to like the 1911.

[MJN77]

Never heard of this problem before. I don't really see how it could happen. The gun was the same design as the .45s and there isn't a whole lot of difference between the power of a .45 and that of a .44-40. Stranger things have happened though. Jeff Milton said that when he was an 18 year old ranger in 1880, that he was very proud of purchasing "one of the first .44-40 Colts in Texas". I have read that after 1881 or so, most rangers still carring 1873 Winchesters ( or the later 1892 ) carried Colt (or other) handguns in the same caliber for logistical reasons. Those that carried 1876, 1886, 1894, or 1895 Winchester (or some other) rifles usually carried .45s. I'm sure the truth is in there somewhere.

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[Herbert]

I read an old itiview witha old south west lawman that talked about this,he stated that the 44-40 would size up if fired to quickly,he also stated that when Colt was told this they were called lyres by maiel(I will try to find the article)

[Shotgun Franklin]

It could have also been a problem with early ammo. There may never be a way of knowing now. I have read it several places. I might try to find a source if I can get the time.

[Trailrider]

Such a problem with the early Colt's Frontier Six Shooter might have occurred because of the firing pin hole in the recoil plate being too large, or some type of mismatch between the pistol and the Winchester ammo (possibly something to do with the size or softness of the primer cup.  Hadn't heard of such, however.

Remember that the .44-40 in the Colt's wasn't availabe until 1878-79, so most of the Rangers, who had to supply their own guns (IIRC), probably wouldn't have replaced their SAA's in .45 LC very readily.

So far as packing a rifle in .44 WCF and a pistol in .45 LC is concerned, that could, AND DID, lead to some serious problems with mixing ammo.  In one documented instance Ranger George Lloyd got in a firefight with some Indians.  In his excitement, he got a .45 round in his Winchester '73, tying up the rifle!    Fortunately, the rifle was a '73, and he was able to use his pocket knife to remove the sideplates and the offending round, before getting back in the fight, which he survived! Of course, the earlier Winchesters/Henry were in .44 Rimfire, but had he made that mistake with either, it would have taken at least fifteen minutes to get the .45 round out.  Trust me on the timeline...I KNOW from personal experience, fortunately at a match, and not in a firefight! 

[Drydock]

Many of the early .44-40 Colt revolver chambers  had a very short neck area, with a very sharp, abrupt shoulder.  When fired the case shoulder would blow forward.   Remember too with a case full of BP, the powder burns from the rear with the expanding gases forcing both  powder and bullet forward, expanding the case hydraulicaly.  As the moving case shoulder hit the chamber shoulder it would force the case back against the recoil shield of the revolver.  Two  or three fired cases hard back against the shield in a dirty weapon could create quite a bit of drag.   I've heard the  .38-40 was even worse in this regard. 

This would not be a problem with smokeless, as the pressure spike is immediate, powder full consumed before the bullet even moves, allowing quick expansion and contraction of the case.

The .44-40 was the first bottleneck case used in a handgun that I know of, and introduced a new set of  problems to designers used to straight cases.  Even today bottleneck cases  in  revolvers are  relativly rare.  And modern .44-40 chambers have the  shoulder set further back at a much gentler angle than those  early designs

[MJN77]

I've never heard any of this before. Ya learn something new every day.

[Fox Creek Kid]

Almost all problems at this time were due to ctg. problems & not the weapons. Remember, cartridge technology was in its infancy. There are countless accounts of rimfire ctgs. blowing the heads when shot as well as early CF rounds. One batch of Spencer 56-50 RF was rejected by the gov't after countless failures in the field as an example.

[Cole Younger]

The problem was widespread throughout the west.  The problem was the primer melting and flowing back through the flash hole when fired, IIRC.  The reason you associate it with the Texas Rangers is undoubtedly because Jeff Milton spoke about it.  As a young Ranger he had already bought his own '73 Winchester in the .44 caliber.  When Colt came out with the 44-40 in their SAA in 1878, he bought one for the interchangeability with his long gun.  After having the pistol malfunction, he got rid of it and went back to the 45 Colt for his pistol while keeping the 44 WCF rifle. 

[Driftwood Johnson]

The problem was the primer melting and flowing back through the flash hole when fired, IIRC.

Not to be too picky, but primers don't melt. The cup can deform under pressure and flow back into an oversized firing pin hole, but it does not melt. It just deforms.

[Cole Younger]

Not to be too picky, but primers don't melt. The cup can deform under pressure and flow back into an oversized firing pin hole, but it does not melt. It just deforms.

Melting was a poor term for me to use to describe the situation you are also describing.  My apologies.   

[Flint]

The early cartridge cases, both 44WCF and 45Colt were ballloon head cases, often made of copper or softer brass than we use today.  The early primers were also quite different than today's Boxer, see photos and diagrams of early 45Colt cartridges others have posted on the forums and in books.  The copper case and soft ammo made the 45-70 a problem in the Trapdoor Springfield as well which would often tear the rim without extracting, and gave the soldier a further disadvantage against the Indian with a Henry...  Ask the Custer troop.

For reasons others explained, the soft cases and sharper step combined with the burning characteristics of bp would make the 44WCF harder to extract than the 45Colt.