H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619

No. They don't so mark them anymore. Believe it or not, I recall reading that the Army didn't want to be making "instant collector's items" with said markings anymore. As I recall, the very earliest M-17's did have a US or something on them, and the Army politely asked them to not do that anymore. I have seen GI M9's. They are not marked. Dunno about anything else.

Five hundred? Must be for a clone. A real Colt's closer to 4x that! Heck, here in Massachusetts, you can't touch a used Colt for less than 2 grand unless it's REALLY beat up. Clones tend to not go up, but they hold their value. When you are limited to things you can prove were registered in the state prior to 1996, (Or maybe C&Rs) supply and demand kicks in hard.

With my Colt Sheriff's models, which came with dual cylinders from the factory, they are labeled .44-40 and .44 Special quite clearly on the side of the cylinder. That being said, Larsen makes a very valid point. When I got a .44-40 cylinder for my Buntline .44 Special, I specifically got one in stainless with an unfluted cylinder to be a clear contrast from the nickel fluted on in the factory .44 Special chambering. IF I ever get .45 ACP cylinders for any of my .45's, I'll either get them nickeled if the gun is blue, or unfluted or something else to give me an obvious visual cue. With the Sheriff's models, since one is blued the other nickeled, I considered going matching is Special, unmatched is .44-40, but it seems that slight variations in the SAA sometimes require a cylinder to be fitted to the frame it goes in, and since both work in the guns they came with but did not fit in the other, I didn't wanna mess with them. Those I just have to pay attention to.

I used to use Trailboss for .45 ACP. (And practically everything else.) My Dad used Red Dot, and I have his notes, so I'll give that a try.

I want a custom box for one of my revolvers.

My own lube practice for cartridges that require it... Lube Deprime/resize Tumble clean Prime Charge Seat bullet Crimp

What is kg9?

The gun is not a "Mass Compliant" pistol. The only legal way around that is take the gun apart, buy the parts, and do a frame transfer to Massachusetts. One of the provisions is no more frame transfers. Not sure of the particulars, but I think that a frame is no longer a frame, it's a firearm. The way the dealers were talking to me, they are saying ALL semi-auto's are banned, and that now all long guns have the same kind of rules as handguns and have to be on "the list" to be sold. Of course, there is no list yet, so essentially you can't buy any kind of a rifle or shotgun in the state once this thing goes into effect in early August. Several dealers have told me they are just planning to close up shop. Looks like the Armory in Littleton's days are numbered... I can't see many rifle or shotgun makers sending in 5 guns to the Commonwealth for destructive testing. And the CMP is gonna have Krags later this month.

Just to bring this story to its conclusion. The 5" American is now safely home with me. I am very happy. And it looks like with the latest changes to Mass gun laws, I got it just in time. Anyway, here it is sitting next to it's new best friend... As we all know, legend ascribes the use of a Buntline Special to Wyatt Earp. As reality tells us, he used a S&W American at the Gunfight at the OK Corral. I am now happy to say that I have a Buntline and an American in the same caliber!. Now all I have to go is go back to Tombstone, visit the OK Corral again, and participate in a cowboy shoot in that town, using these guns. It is a strange dream, but one that will be a lot of fun.

The powder I used was new. No. No spray lube. I must have double charged at least 2 cases. So, that left with about 2000 to break down. My own carelessness, and nothing more. Others may have wonderful success with the powder, but I am not going to try. Too scared of myself. Can't wait for Trailboss to come back. Or even Red Dot. That's pretty bulky too.

Does anybody but me ever pronounce .45 ACP, "forty five ackip?" Just trying to keep the thread going and change gears in an odd way again. All that being said, I'd love to have a Sheriff's model Colt in .45 ACP. Why? Why not?

HP-38 in a .45... ' .45 is similar to .44-40. To easy to double charge. Nobody's fault by my own. But I'll not risk using it again in the big calibers.

Back in the mid 80's my first job was working at KMart. One day the Sporting Goods manager noticed that we had a plethora of discontinued ,22 ammo. He said to mark it all down 97 cents a box. The most numerous stuff was Remington Yellow Jackets. I called my Dad, and he and my brother came over to the store and bought up ALL of the discontinued 22's. There were at least a dozen bricks of the Yellow Jackets as well as miscellaneous other stuff. We STILL have some of the Yellow Jackets. It's to powerful for plinking or shooting into the trap in the basement, so we've held onto it for use in small game hunting and other uses.

When I buy, if the seller won't take a personal check, I send a bank check. (Cashiers Check, Money Order) Redeemable for cash at any Federal Reserve bank. If there is a problem, I can cancel the check though my bank with no problems. If the seller waits for it to "clear," which with a bank check is silly, okay fine. So be it. I won't send a postal money order because the post office charges for them. Sometimes the seller takes a credit card, especially if they are a retail establishment, and I might do that, unless they charge a 3% fee for using it. Then it's back to the check. I won't do PayPal or Venmo or what have you for all the "typical" reasons. If the item is within driving distance, I'll pay cash. If I was selling, I'd do all the above in reverse.

Bill English, AKA Happy Trails. He's a great guy and a fantastic smith. But yeah, he's retired now. I remember once I had him repair a Colt M1894 that was out of time. He got it perfect. And then he told me that if I ever get another one, please, take it to someone else.

The other thing it's good for, if doubling, is for dispatching gruesome monsters at close range with a single shot, or large clusters of zombies as they are rushing you. DOOM!

Dantankerous.... I assume that the pistol you found is made by Uberti. I have one of theirs in .45 Colt, as well as a Third Model Schofield made by S&W in .45 S&W. The Uberti pistol is a much more "accurate" recreation of the original pistol than the one made by S&W, but both are pretty decent guns. Having one in .44-40 would be rather cool as it's great caliber. I have a S&W New Model 3 in .44-40, and it would be nice to have a modern S&W type gun in the caliber, American, Schofield or New Model 3, doesn't matter to me. I don't think you can go wrong. Warden, do you have a picture of that whole gun? It looks like a New Model 3. I didn't know anyone was making a replica of that model And, I can't ask for pics without providing... On the left is the Uberti, and the right is the S&W. Not sure why I made this pic with the 87, but go fig.

On a Colt or S&W 1917, or a shaved Webley, you can use .45 ACP or .45 Autorim. With an SAA in .45ACP, you cant use .45 Auto rim because the gap between frame and cylinder isn't big enough. No need for clips with the SAA if the gap was big enough, and you could still use ACP.

Oops! Typo! That should been 158 grain.

I have experience with Remington and Winchester ammo in this caliber. Since it has been relatively expensive for a long time, it was one of the first calibers I started reloading for. Which has it's own set of challenges. First, finding .360" bullets can be difficult, but they are out there. I've not had to buy any for a long time. I usually load a .360" 358 grain RN bullet with excellent results. 1.1 Grains of Trailboss, which may be impossible to find now. I have also used a 150 grain RN Hollow Base .358" bullet. This load got 1.2 grains of Trailboss as it didn't sit as deep in the case, and the hollow base expands to engage the rifling. Early on, I also had a load that I don't recall how much Win 231 that "felt" idendical to the Remington factory load. I mention all of this because there is something you need to know for if/when you start reloading, the nickel brass Winchester is apparently thicker walled than the Remington stuff. You can see the case slightly bulging with the .360" bullets, and they won't chamber. But they will with the .358" bullet. So, with that in mind, I'd recommend the Remington ammo, if you can find it. PPU ammo I have no experience with in this caliber, but in others, it seems to be more lightly loaded than other ammo makers. But who knows if that carries over to .38 S&W. I have no experience with any other manufacturers. BUT, I do have experience with some vintage brass ammo/brass by various manufactures. You'd be surprised what you can find at gun shows for a surprisingly reasonable price from time to time. Even though some of this brass, usually with a .38 Colt NP (For New Police) headtamp, which is the same caliber, is cleary marked on the box as being smokeless, it has balloon head cases. This brass I use exclusively either black powder reloads, or for "hotter" loads that approximate the .38/200 round that the Brits used in WWII in their revolvers. In other words, ..38 S&W is a very addicting caliber with everything from vintage pocket pistols, main match pistols, and modern pistols that are far stronger than what the original load was ever meant to be. You may find yourself creating a collection of guns so chambered. Now if I could just get a main match rifle chambered for it. Or a reproduction Volcanic.

A .45 ACP cylinder will also not allow you to use .45 Autorim. The only known revolver where this is not possible!

I'll make sure it is well cared for. And if/when I get out to Tombstone for a shoot, I'll pair it with my Colt Buntline and be all Wyatt Earpy as I visit the OK Corral.

Thanks for the info. Quite fascinating. The idea of a safe for smokeless muzzle loader is an intriguing one. To bad there are none on the market here. I think it'd be fun to try, even if I had no use for it in a SASS match. Novelties are always interesting!

Questions.... 1. I assume that with the much larger hole the 209's need, you have to use paper cartridges. Loose powder would pour out of an unprimed cylinder. Is this assumption correct? 2. Other than availability, what is the reason for using 209's?

A very good question. I forget that not everyone lives in New England and can just stop in there when they need to. https://www.colt.com/service/ That may have the info you need.