Griff

Just like Fords... I'm glad somebody likes 'em... otherwise folks would drive the price of the really good things out of sight for regular ol' folks like me...

The limit for size is that main match guns must be of at least .32 caliber... the 1849s are .31 caliber guns, the 1862 are .36, there is no barrel length restriction, outside that it must be a legal, (BATFE rules or State Law) firearm. There's a few cowfolk shooting cap guns with barrels as short as 3 to 3-½" barrels. I've shot .36 cal revolvers in CAS since 1986, except for a brief foray into Remington 1858s... what a fiasco. It "might" have been the particular example I had, but I found it to be exceedingly uncomfortable to shoot, couldn't point instinctively. Grip and hammer relationship felt totally different for a Colt SAA or 1851 shooter. If a 38Spl can take down a KD, a properly loaded .36 will also. While my normal load is a .375 round ball, I have some .380 heeled bullets that run around 100 grains for anything I think will be problematic.

Yep, totally illegal. You're not allowed to have that much fun!!!

100 yards. But that's been well over 25 years ago! And that was only at one annual match... one that also utilized 10 seconds as the penalty for a miss...

I certainly hope you're not planning on loaded your .44-40s to .30-30 levels... The .44WCF is still a relatively low pressure round suitable for BP firearms, except in the "HV" flavor. .30-30 = mid-high 30,000 C.U.P. .44-40 = low-10,000 C.U.P. .44-40HV = not to exceed 22,000 C.U.P. .44Mag = high 30,000 C.U.P. The 1892 and 1894 Browning designed rifles are both fine rifles, purposefully made for distinctly different lengths of ammo. The 1892 is basically a downsized 1886, capable of holding more pressure than the 1873, the home of the .44-40 (if one looks at what firearm was introduced with a specific cartridge). OAL of 1.600". Modern 1892 replicas are fully capable of handling higher pressure loads than the mdl 94. The 1894 Winchester was introduced to utilize a new, "flat-shooting" high pressure rounds suitable for big game hunting on the North American continent. With a cartridge length of 2.55". The greater length of the mdl 94 action allows the pistol length cartridges it's been built in (.357Mag, .44-40, .44Mag & 45 Colt) to rattle their way into the chamber with some degree of accuracy... which is far, far less than either the 1873 or 1892. The marriage of pistol length cartridges and Winchester 94 action is NOT a marriage made in heaven. With all that said, the .44-40 will probably fare much better feeding in a mdl 94 than any of it's similarly lengthed, "pistol" cartridges that have been chambered in it due to its bottleneck design... as long as semi-or full wadcutter ammo is not being used. My 1969 mdl 94 in 44Mag was atrocious at feeding. If being used for CAS, most experienced shooters will steer you away from the Winchester 94 and the Henry Big Boy... which I rank as similarly inappropriate firearms, (for CAS). And for the same reason that the short-lived Marlin 336-44 is not appropriate: lack of feed control. Due to my unfailing love affair with Winchester 94s (I have 30 of 'em, all happen to be .30-30s), for aesthetic reasons alone, I rank the mdl 94 above the Henry... At least the Uberti version isn't the abominable "AE" foisted off on the world by USRA... They at least had the good sense to clone the lovely and graceful design of JMB.

Break 'em down and reuse the components... excepting the powder, use that to fertilize the Mrs'. rose bushes...

I shoot a '73 in 45 Colt for this game (have 2), but... after my wife passed away a little over a year ago, I dug out her 1892 Rossi (.357) and used it in a monthly match... It was as slick and quick as I remember it. It was my first CAS rifle, purchased in Jan 1986; I shot it bone stock for about a year, when I ran across the deal on my 1873. The Uberti 1873 is not short-stroked... but is smooth as glass. It's no faster than my wife's 1892 Rossi. I reworked the Rossi for my wife to use and it's also smooth as glass, shoots .38 Specials just fine, as well as .357s. It's all about gap between the guide rails & how smooth the carrier is... I would have NO hesitation to pull the trigger on a Rossi if just starting out in this game. Back then, (late 1980s- very early 1990s), there were no short-stroked 1873s... the "go to" rifles for quick action were the Marlin 1894 and the Winchester (or Rossi) 1892. They both have a shorter stroke than a stock 1873. The Marlin is a tad shorter than the 1892, but if not timed correctly has a tendency to develop the "Marlin Jam". It is rare for a 1892 to jam, but will occasionally pop a live one out. Tuning and smoothing the action (replace the ejector spring,make the guide rail gap correct & smoothing the carrier detent will diminish this to the point of near extinction. Thru the mid-90s, my son used a Rossi 1892 I'd slicked up and won against short stroked 1873s with maddening regularity. The speed portion of this game is more about how smoothly you shoot and transitions between guns and shooting stations. When I shoot a short-stroked '73, I'm probably more like to double stroke the lever, and jack a live one out than I ever was in danger of doing with a Rossi 1892, I'm just not used to that short stroke. I'm sure that if I installed a short stroke kit in my '73s, I develop the muscle memory to run a little faster... but hey, if I take longer on a stage, I'm getting more my entry fee... right? Plus one, to getting out to a match, even if you don't have all the equipment, As previously mentioned, contacting the match director ahead of time, might just line you up with a loaner... you'll never know if you don't ask.

I attended four OWSA National Shootout's there in the early '90s, plus a couple of NRA BPCR Silhouette Championships... Facilities are top rate, On-site accommodations, RV, camping and "competitor" housing are top notch. The camping areas I used were "primitive" and the ambiance was perfect during a CAS match... PS, Cimarron is a nearby town with a rich history... not a river. Yes, it is worth the road trip.

That's what makes it a "tragic" boating accident, happened during an electrical storm, all electronics were knocked out!

I interfere right back... It might be THE ONLY way I can finish 89th out of 90 entrants! Not really, but it sounded funny as I typed it! Doc Shapiro is right... A clean it ALWAYS puts a smile on my face... as long as I don't bite my tongue concentrating on that hit too much!

The great advantage to 20" or shorter barrel lengths is maneuvering around obstacles... door frames, window frames, etc... Other'n that, negligible.

This is just my opinion, but... the Winchester mdl 94 action is not well suited to short "revolver" length cartridges. I had one of the first 44 Magnum Winchester 94s made in 1969. While I love the 94, that rifle was a bit of a stretch to function properly and that length cartridge. It was stolen in 1974, and while I lament the loss, I've never felt the need to replace it. The mdl 1873, and 1894 Marlin are perfect for this cartridge. Celebrate the 94 for what it is... a medium length cartridge rifle.

Spottin' is a skill set that one either works at developing, or one comes by it naturally. Every RO class I've attended, the instructor emphasised one point. "Don't read more into the rules than what is printed." The Miss Flow Chart is clear in what it states. Type of target refers to the type of firearm it's designated to be shot at with... not the form of that target takes, (KD or Stationary)... This would be a classic example of reading more into the rule than what's printed. If you're shooting a rifle, it doesn't matter what rifle target you hit, it's a hit. If you hit a stationary (rifle target), when you're supposed to hit a KD, it's still a hit, just now it becomes a "P". Likewise, if you "hit" a "pistol" or "shotgun" target with a round from your rifle, it's simply a "Miss", not a "P" for shooting a target out of order. Es ist wirklich einfach.

Yes, here's a better picture of that Remember, where the crimp is applied is all a matter of die adjustment. A combination of die and seater depth. While independently adjustable, both are contingent of the other for proper adjustment to have a properly seated and crimped cartridge.

I use a RCBS sizer, the .45 thru expander on my Dillon 550B, a 45ACP Roll Crimp/Seater die with 160 grain RFN bullets from Badman.