Abilene, SASS # 27489

July, those will look good with your military duds. I loved my Buffalo Runners (stovepipe, not cavalry)! Unfortunately I had spurs with the rowels turned inward and they tore the h*&% out of the toe leather.

From their website: "Caliber: 12 Gauge – Conventional 209 Primer Breech Plug Design BP muzzleloader, suggested load 40gr ffg, 1/2 oz shot"

Pee Wee, all of the Uberti rifles with octagon barrel or half-octagon barrel (18", 20", 24", 30") from all importers have CC receivers. The round barrel carbines come both blued and CC.

Well Waymore I was there, and I do recall overhearing somebody talking about heavy loads damaging the targets at one stage, however I wasn't hearing much as I was busy picking the brass. But just being on your posse my recollection is that your loads were fairly heavy, but they did not give me the impression of being warthog loads which I have gotten from some others. I have no idea what the quality of the steel is there, though I think it is pretty good.

Hodgdon's data on Trail Boss is weird sometimes. They list 6 gr as minimum and 7.3 as max for Trailboss with that bullet. So if the minimum filled the case, what's the max gonna do? If TB is what you have, I'd try backing off. Or maybe check you scale calibration But there's plenty of other 44 mag shooters, some will chime in. Do you know if your rifle will digest 44 Spcl?

Well, plenty of folks shooting 250gr 45's. Maybe just try to slow that bullet down. Looking at Hodgdon's data, the minimum of Clays (4.3gr) with the 240 bullet is about the least velocity of any of their powders. I like Clays for minimums, always burned well for me though I haven't shot much of it in cold weather.

Howdy Waymore. I don't shoot 44 mag, but my smokeless load for 45 Colt is the minimum of Clays (4.6gr) with a 200 gr bullet. It is very pleasant to shoot. The Clays minimum for 44 mag with 200gr bullet is 4.2gr. That should also be pleasant. As Ripsaw mentioned, a lighter bullet will recoil even less. Booyah Bullets (Dodge City Mike) comes to the Plum Creek matches and he sells a 180gr .44. The only 200gr bullet he has for .44 is sized .427 for 44-40, but he might be able to size them larger. Now, having said all that, I am not a marlin shooter but have heard stories and I think lighter loads might give you some blowby in the face, maybe?

Pee Wee, I worked for an importer for a long time. Internally, the Uberti rifles are identical. Some configurations, finishes, or markings may be particular to a specific importer. And as far as wood, they are all the luck of the draw. As far as not being a speed demon, a smooth rifle is just easier and more fun to use. The over-sprung Ubertis can very easily be adjusted by the owner to be easier to use. And reducing the spring tensions will also reduce wear on various parts.

Well the reason you were unaware is because they don't. Can you say "Navy Arms French Gray" ?

Pee Wee, what is a .HEIC file? My Windows 7 laptop can't doesn't have a program that will open it

Yeah, pan-lubing is a hassle. I stopped that when I bought an old lubrisizer, but I don't even waste time on that with pistol bullets. I have always used standard cowboy bullets with lube melted out (no lube) in my BP pistol rounds. I use butter-flavored Crisco over the first two rounds to be fired. Easy to do at the loading table. When I first heard of this long ago the guy just put it over the first round to be fired. I figured if one was good, two would be better. But the fact is that the blast from the first shot is going to blow the lube out of the next cylinder. That's okay because a film of it may still be on the bullet and over the front of the cylinder. But I think putting it over more than 2 rounds is probably a waste of time. I think the butter-flavored crisco has a somewhat higher melting point than regular Crisco, but if you wanted to lube up the front of all the cylinders you would need something thicker, probably with beeswax. Doing the first two with the BFC has worked for me for over 20 years, bore needs no maintenance, guns clean up easy. YMMV.

And you are both correct. The Henry company has done a great job growing their market and are now available at a very large number of retailers. So it has become a classic as far as the general public is concerned. As for as cowboy shooting or any historical interest, not hardly (except the 1860). Given the proper ammo, proper operation at a proper speed, the Big Boy CAN be adequate to play in CAS, just not to compete in CAS.

You will need to click on "Quote" up in the first post of San joaquin so it quotes him, and then he gets an email that he has been quoted along with your reply.

Outlaw, to get San Jacquin Shootist attention, quote him in your response, like I just did with you. That way he will get an email. He might not be checking here very often. Or else send him a PM, he should also get an email alerting him of that (I guess unless he has notifications turned off).

This is not the same thing, because my well worn 1st gen was made in 1901 and is proofed for smokeless, but it also has a replacement cylinder ( Smith Enterprises I was told). I bought it as a shooter, it is a 7 1/2" 45 Colt but left the factory as a 4 3/4" 38-40. I shoot it at least twice a year, both smokeless and BP, often with my brother's 1915 long-flute 32-20. I've got a couple thousand rounds through it now, and it will always be worth more than I paid for it.