Dallas McBoomboom
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Posts posted by Dallas McBoomboom
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I have a pair of old vaqueros and an 1873 that I built (with some help here and there) in 357-44 B&D that I run black powder in. Not too far off from a 38-40, but definitely unique.
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2 minutes ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:
Obsess is perhaps a good word.
I knew someone who had one, whom I knew was selling off many of his guns because he was retiring. I had in fact bought some things from him before. One day, on a whim, I wrote to him and asked if he still had his Lightning Bolt and if he'd be interested in selling it.He was, and he did, for $800.
It was a deal.Well offer to be adopted or first in line to buy it is standing 🤣
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46 minutes ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:
Well...
You may have a bigger problem than money. Not very many of these Lightning Bolts were made before AWA closed up shop. No one seems to know the exact number, but an excellent article Guns of the Old West magazine was able to confirm the existence of exactly 3 of them in wild, and estimated the total number ever made to be at 15 or less. (I was VERY lucky to obtain mine.) Granted, I have since then seen information that suggests there may be a few more, but we are not talking triple digits here for a total.
I want to start a Lightning Bolt owners society but nobody has responded to the inquiries. I don't know why.
BTW, a picture of my Bolt is shown in the article.
Well, at least I'll have something to obsess about... 🤠
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1 hour ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:
When I first started looking at the possibility of a Large Frame Lightning, I was put off by the calibers that it was offered in. They were all ones I'd never heard of! They were all marketed as "Express" calibers, big bullets going at, for the time, very high velocities.
But then I discovered something intriguing about the so called, .45-85-285 cartridge. As it turns out, the .45-85 uses a case the dimensionally identical to the .45-70. Using the much lighter 285 grain bullet instead of the heavier 405 one created a much higher muzzle velocity. WHY Colt did this instead of just chambering it for the very popular .45-70, I do not know. The only difference in the cases is that the 85 uses a small rifle primer for some reason.
Well, suddenly, this became a priority to me. Afterall, .45-70 brass is easy to come by, and I was already set up to load for it. But when I finally got the rifle, I did discover one one other quirk of the cartridge. The .45-70 loaded with a 405 grain bullet is just a tiny but too long to fit through the loading gate. I'd also read that they did the rifling different in this gun, one suited to the high velocity lightweight bullet. Even if you could get 405 grainers to work, they'd be going to slow to work with the rifling.
No problem. I figured 300 grain .45-70 bullets would be close enough. Well, I was right. They were just shorter enough to fit, and the gun is supper accurate out to some pretty decent distances. I am using data for a "Trapdoor safe" loading with the 300 grain bullet, so it works quite well. Once I run out of 405 grainers, I very well may standardize on the 300 just so I don't have to keep track of what is what.
If you really want a Large Frame, this is the caliber I'd recommend. Proviso! These are expensive rifles. I was saving up for 2 years to be able to afford it!
You mentioned .38-56 caliber. I am sure you know that this, in spite of the name, is nothing like the .38-55. The 55 is based on the .30-30. The 56 is based on the .45-70. It IS possible to make .38-56 brass from .45-70 brass, but I don't know how involved the process is. Still, I have SEEN many more of these in the .38-56 than the .45-85, so that might be a way to go. They were also available in .40-60, but at this point, I have no clue what that means. The differences between .40-60 Marlin, .40-60 Colt, 40-60 Winchester and .40-65 Winchester make my head hurt. One source says they are 4 different incompatible cartridges, and another says they are all the same. I'd avoid this caliber simply because I can't make sense of it. They were also in .50-95, but apparently brass for it is now pretty much unobtainium, to say nothing of ammo.
And that's all I know for sure.
Good luck.
For contrast, Large .45-85, Medium .32-20, Small .22 Long
All Colts
The Lightning Bolt pistol is an AWA .45.
Tons of great info, thank you! First off, I'd like to know if you're taking applications for heirs. If so, please let my know where to send mine. Second, I never knew about the Bolt, and will have to start selling internal organs immediately to finance one. Anyone with nice internal organs, please shoot me a pm. 😉 I love the idea of the express rounds, I've got an 1876 in 50-95 express that has a custom 290 gr bullet that I cast for it, as it's persnickety about bullets also. I love oddball calibers, especially the dash ones. I have 45-70, 40-65, 50-70, 50-95, 50-140, as well as all the more standard cowboy ones. I've got the gear to load and cast 38-56, just looking for that lightning in my price range. And now a Bolt too 😅
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I left mine out, always figured there had to be a way to turn it into a pez dispenser or something.
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@H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 I am intrigued by your 45-85, the big frame colts are so cool. I have ridiculous dreams of finding one in 38-56 for less than a three bedroom house. Got Colts in 38-40 and 32-20, AWAs in 38-40 and 44-40, but still chasing a big boy.
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Hey JB, you've shot with me enough to know I jack a lot of rounds, and these guys are indispensable for me. I've never had to do more than a very little bit of work to fit them, usually just a bit of filing like @The Revenuer said. Worst issue I had was having to take a couple threads off a lever spring screw that was snagging it just a bit. Definitely recommend one.
Dallas
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You will not have a problem getting those a new home up here.
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Hey T-square,
There is no formal swap meet on the books, but I know quite a few people bringing things to sell or trade. Bring on the loot!
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Congrats @Sinola Kid, a great pard and a great cowboy, very well deserved!
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10 minutes ago, T-Square said:
31 days (July 22, 2025) until August 22 !!
Who's ready ??? Let see the List of categories and the List of who is coming !!!!!
@Dallas McBoomboom @Anvil Adam @Big Iron Bohannon @travelin kid #51083 @COAL CAR KID, SASS #15921
Hey T-square,
Misty and Ruby are just getting back from being out of the country for three weeks, and are working on getting all that information together. We try not to annoy them too much, or we'll all wind up mysteriously in lady wrangler 🤣. As soon as we have an update on any of it, we'll post it here. Thanks for your patience, looking forward to seeing you!
Dallas
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8 hours ago, Erasmus said:
This is an absolute aside from this thread but, this got me to wondering about the composition of these things (and the original question is well answered at this point)
APP is (according to the MSDS) - and is not self igniting
- Potassium Nitrate
- Potassium Perchlorate
- Charcoal
Pyrodex is (according to the MSDS) - has an auto ignition temp of 740F
- Charcoal
- Sulfer
- Potassium Nitrate
- Potassium Perchlorate
- Graphite
Goex is (according to the MSDS and as expected for being real black) - has an auto ignition temp of 392 - 867F
- Charcoal
- Sulfur
- Potassium Nitrate
APP is fully miscible in water, Goex has 'good' solubility in water, and Pyrodex is partially soluble in water.
I'm not a chemist, but I find this interesting.
I'm not a chemist either, but this is great info, thank you for sharing!
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2 minutes ago, Kid Rich said:
App is a substitute for BP. BP can be wet dried out and function just fine, APP probably not.
kR
I sure wouldn't think so. I've not got much experience with subs, so I don't really know.
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27 minutes ago, PrairieDogPete said:
I got a free bottle of powder from my local gun runner that was unopened. It was very old and when I opened it, it was one huge clump of powder. I used a screwdriver and sports drink mixing bottle before loading my powder measure. Everything came out and worked great.
BP can be 100 years old, get wet, get clumpy, whatever; dry it out, bust up the clumps, it's still more likely to go boom than not.
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@Scarlett is right as always! This year's Fire and Brimstone in Paradise will be an absolute riot, with great stages, side matches (including plainsman mini match), the famous night shoot, and new this year, Cowboy Bingo, featuring the legendary Mighty Furball as your caller! There will be vendors (including Scarlett Darlin), and more, hope to see you all there!
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@Dapper Dave In defense of the guys advising caution, let me share with you that I bought a Sharptail, and brought it to Doc Noper, who is an established cowboy shotgunsmith, and he took one look at it, gave it back, and said "whatever those crazy steampunk internals are, I'm not messing with em." Ended up sending mine to Longhunter before he got out of the business. Not in any way questioning your gunsmith, but reinforcing that these guns are very unique. Hope the whole thing goes smoothly!
Dallas
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Solid pard to deal with, bought a pair of his short stroke vaqueros and love em!
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I run 5½ octagon OMVs in 38-40. I shoot pale rider bp loads all the time, and the extra weight of the longer heavier barrel helps keep the muzzle flip down a bit while still being easier to manipulate than a 7½. Just my personal reasoning. Fun reading all the thoughts, great thread!
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50-70 is available for backorder at Starline! Get it before it disappears for another 100 years 🤣
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4 minutes ago, T-Square said:
is it august yet ? I'm ready to go !!
Right?!?
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My everyday hat is a once newly reconditioned and custom shaped (now thoroughly whupped and comfy as an ol pair of 501s) Resistol from @Tucker T Fudpucker, and I love it almost as much as I like saying the name of the guy I got it from 🤣.
That said, I'm also saving my pennies for one from Landers Hat Works.
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This match is going to be an absolute riot! If you've never been to Paradise Pass, this is a match that really showcases all the work that CC and his crew have put into building a world class cowboy facility right here in Indiana. We'll have applications and answers to questions at the upcoming Blackout at Stoney Bottom (really excited for the revival of this match by our pal Woody Shootem and his crew), West Side Renegades Spring Round Up (another not to be missed match!), and anywhere else you see one of the Paradise Pass Regulators. Hope to see you all there!
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My app is officially sent, this is not one you want to miss!
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Congrats Joe! Very well deserved!
Main Match Revolvers in Unusual Calibers
in SASS Wire
Posted
I bored out the the 40 S&W cylinders that came with my 38-40 vaqueros to 10mm. Turned out really well.