Nimble Fingers SASS# 25439 Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 I read the recent post on the .44 rimfire Henry, and someone mentioned converting the 44-40 to .44 spcl isn't the same method as say reaming a 1892 barrel 44-40 to .44 spcl ( as I did with my JW 92 Comm) by reaming out the chamber for the .44 cartridge. Thanks to one of the pards here, I am now the proud owner of an 1860 Henry to continue my Winchester lever gun collection, most of which are either in .44-40 or .44 mag, and when I shoot I usually shoot .44 spcl if I can. So what are my choices in barrel work to adapt to shoot .44 spcl as well as the .44-40? Also, I am in need of the front side blade, part # 15 on the Uberti manual disassembly schematic. Is VTI my only choice or are there other sources for this, just checking in case VTI comes back and doesn't have any in stock. Thanks Nimble Fingers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abilene, SASS # 27489 Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 47 minutes ago, Nimble Fingers SASS# 25439 said: ...So what are my choices in barrel work to adapt to shoot .44 spcl as well as the .44-40?... Disclaimer: I'm not a gunsmith. I am going to say no choices to do it with a good chamber for both cartridges. The best would be to sleeve the chamber to .44 Spcl which would allow the Spcl, Colt, and Russian (with a modified carrier). But that eliminates 44-40. I know of one person who shoots 44 Russian in a 44-40 Henry and gets away it, although it bulges out his brass. Think about it, the bottom end of a 44-40 is about the same size as a .45. If you ream enough of the chamber shoulder to allow a 44 Spcl to fit then you will end up with odd-looking brass in both calibers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trailrider #896 Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 Not "How?" but why? The .44-40 is a great cartridge, smokeless powder or black! If you don't like the cartridge, trade the rifle off on something easier to convert to the Russian-based rounds (.44 Russian/Special/Magnum). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimble Fingers SASS# 25439 Posted February 7, 2019 Author Share Posted February 7, 2019 28 minutes ago, Abilene, SASS # 27489 said: Disclaimer: I'm not a gunsmith. I am going to say no choices to do it with a good chamber for both cartridges. The best would be to sleeve the chamber to .44 Spcl which would allow the Spcl, Colt, and Russian (with a modified carrier). But that eliminates 44-40. I know of one person who shoots 44 Russian in a 44-40 Henry and gets away it, although it bulges out his brass. Think about it, the bottom end of a 44-40 is about the same size as a .45. If you ream enough of the chamber shoulder to allow a 44 Spcl to fit then you will end up with odd-looking brass in both calibers. Abilene, I appreciate your comments but it doesn’t happen in my 92, yes the 44-40 neck gets expanded but the .44 spcl cases are okay to reload. It was done by a SASS shooter/gunsmith in West Palm Beach but he is no longer there to tell me if he can do it to the 1860, 1866 & 1873 I have recently bought. Again thanks for your opinion but in my case what you are saying is different then my experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimble Fingers SASS# 25439 Posted February 7, 2019 Author Share Posted February 7, 2019 On 2/6/2019 at 10:45 PM, Trailrider #896 said: Not "How?" but why? The .44-40 is a great cartridge, smokeless powder or black! If you don't like the cartridge, trade the rifle off on something easier to convert to the Russian-based rounds (.44 Russian/Special/Magnum). Because I want the rifle and I want to shoot both! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trailrider #896 Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 Abilene's suggestion about sleeving the chamber might work to convert from .44-40 to .44 Special, but keeping the sleeve in the chamber during rapid fire might be a problem, unless it was in there tight enough to preclude converting back to .44-40. IIRC, the U.S. Navy converted M-1 Rifles from .30-06 to 7.62 NATO, but had some problems keeping the sleeve in there. Of course, they were shooting semi-auto with a higher pressure cartridge. With a low-pressure pistol cartridge, it might work. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimble Fingers SASS# 25439 Posted February 7, 2019 Author Share Posted February 7, 2019 Thank you sir, that was helpful. I will keep it mind but if that is my only choice then I won’t do it. I am thinking I can find someone like Nelson who referred to in the above post that can team out the chamber a little farther like what was done to my Winchester JW 92 barrel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokestack SASS#87384 Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 You can’t ream a 44-40 chamber to .44 special. You would either have to rebarrel it, set the barrel back a long ways and rechamber it, or sleeve the chamber and cut the sleeve to .44 special. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokestack SASS#87384 Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 There is no safe way to make a gun that shoots either round in the same chamber and anyone foolish enough to attempt it doesn’t have any business holding a reamer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Coles SASS 1188 Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 Take the barrel off, cut off the 44-40 chamber, rethread it and chamber it for 44 spl. Or, replace the barrel with a 44spl if they are available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abilene, SASS # 27489 Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 3 minutes ago, Doc Coles SASS 1188 said: Take the barrel off, cut off the 44-40 chamber, rethread it and chamber it for 44 spl. Or, replace the barrel with a 44spl if they are available. For the first suggestion, this is a Henry he's talking about, so not able to do that like other rifles with a separate barrel and magazine. For the second one, Uberti made a small handfull of 44 Spcl Henrys a number of years ago, but none since and no spare barrels. Nimble, I believe you that it was done to your '92, just seems like a compromise to both calibers, but then you are the one with the experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Coles SASS 1188 Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 21 minutes ago, Abilene, SASS # 27489 said: For the first suggestion, this is a Henry he's talking about, so not able to do that like other rifles with a separate barrel and magazine. This makes no difference. A lathe will cut the magazine of a Henry just fine, though you would need to make some jigging and do part of it between centers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokin Gator SASS #29736 Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 Does SASS knowingly allow a rifle modified like that to be used in a match?. A revolver with two separate cylinders is completely different. And straight walled calibers of different case lengths is not the same thing either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokestack SASS#87384 Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 26 minutes ago, Abilene, SASS # 27489 said: . Nimble, I believe you that it was done to your '92, just seems like a compromise to both calibers, but then you are the one with the experience. It’s not a compromise. It’s an unsafe butchered firearm that is not SASS legal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate Kiowa Jones #6765 Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 32 minutes ago, Smokestack SASS#87384 said: It’s not a compromise. It’s an unsafe butchered firearm that is not SASS legal. Reaming it so it will accept a 44 spec has put the chamber out of spec for both cals. At CAS ammo pressure it probably will sort of work. But, guns out live owners and the next feller may push it too far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Coles SASS 1188 Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 Sorry, I went back and read your original post and I have to say that shooting 44spl on a gun chambered for 44-40 is a really, really bad idea. Best case, accuracy is likely to be poor. Worst case, you could blow the gun, split a case and vent gas in your eye. Oddly, I actually own a Uberti 1866 that someone shot a .44 spl in. It split the case and locked up the gun. The guy who did it sold me the gun for $50 as he thought it was wrecked. I drove the case out with a rod, measured everything, and found out that nothing was actually damaged. I had the gun engraved and nickle plated. It is now a lovely gun. The guy only fired one 44spl in the gun and that was that. Please do do not shoot 44spl in a 44-40. You can buy another gun so you can shoot both calibers. You can’t buy new eyes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokestack SASS#87384 Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 5 minutes ago, Nate Kiowa Jones #6765 said: Reaming it so it will accept a 44 spec has put the chamber out of spec for both cals. At CAS ammo pressure it probably will sort of work. But, guns out live owners and the next feller may push it too far. And “probably sort of work”/ might not blow up and injure the shooter or a bystander, is not acceptable, SASS legal or at all intelligent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster Ron Wayne Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 I have wanted a Henry in or Converted to 44 special for years now. I have looked in to this many times . There is No good cheap safe way to do so. I settled on a Uberti Cimarron 1866 in 44 special, And shoot it with my Open Top 44 special 1872's and am very happy with it. I now shoot my Henry 1860 in 44/40 with my 1860 Cap guns and this works out very well for me. Good luck on your advencher . You will find out in the end . Its just Not worth your effort to proceed . Rooster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimble Fingers SASS# 25439 Posted February 7, 2019 Author Share Posted February 7, 2019 7 hours ago, Smokin Gator SASS #29736 said: Does SASS knowingly allow a rifle modified like that to be used in a match?. A revolver with two separate cylinders is completely different. And straight walled calibers of different case lengths is not the same thing either. When I was shooting regularly it was at my local club, not paying attention to the score I got, and not planning to compete in any regional shoots because I am not good enough. Therefore no one shooting in any match I was in was needing to worry about me in any way. I had bought and still have the .44mag 92 barrel to switch out, and when Nelson asked me why did I want to switch I told him I wanted to shoot .44spcl. He told me that he could ream out the barrel out to shoot both and did. So I shoot my 92 JW Commemorative in both calibers. I reload ..44 spcl, have 4 Colts in .44spcl and only one cylinder in .44-40(Colt-Winchester Commemorative) so staying in .44spcl by performing this process seemed to be an economical solution. All my guns will go to my son so I don’t care about the value deduction if any. Doesn’t seem to be too different to me when I shoot spcl in my Vaquero in .44mag and again, I don’t shoot when I shoot to compete and win, I participate so I can walk around healed and looking like the Duke! Nelson was a member of SASS and was a safety officer at our monthly shoots so I am thinking there is nothing wrong with what he did or for me to duplicate the process on other rifles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimble Fingers SASS# 25439 Posted February 7, 2019 Author Share Posted February 7, 2019 Ok lets just shut this topic down. I have obviously have a bunch of people upset and telling me I am a danger not only to me but also my fellow shooter. I will forego any further discussion on conversions! Enough said! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner Gatlin, SASS 10274L Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 34 minutes ago, Nimble Fingers SASS# 25439 said: Ok lets just shut this topic down. I have obviously have a bunch of people upset and telling me I am a danger not only to me but also my fellow shooter. I will forego any further discussion on conversions! Enough said! You asked - people gave you an answer you didn't like for YOU AND OTHER'S SAFETY. Happens. GG ~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cypress Sam, SASS #10915 Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 Wildcat cartridges are made all the time by fireforming a smaller cartridge to match the dimensions of a larger case capacity cartridge. And it is done with higher pressure cartridges than 44-40 or 44 special. A 44 Special won’t chamber in a 44-40 because the outside diameter of the neck of the 44-40 is smaller, the brass being thinner. If you ream a 44-40 chamber to exact 44 Special dimensions, one of two things happen when a round is fired: 1). If a 44 Special is fired, the base of the case expands to the 44-40 case external dimension; or 2) If a 44-40 is fired, the neck expands to the 44 Special neck external dimension. (The 44-40 case is longer than a 44 Special case-resulting in the fired brass having a “step” in the neck after firing. Some who have done this used a 44 Magnum ream to avoid the “step”. Bad idea because a Magnum case could be chambered and fired.) Neither of these effects is intrinsically dangerous as far as increased pressure is concerned. Both will cause reduced case life. Fire forming 44-40 cases is frequently recommended on this forum for people wanting to prevent blow-by in 45 Colts. Fire forming to 44 Special is much less radical than that. I modified the carrier in my 44-40 Henry to shoot 44 Russians. When I reload the Russians, I only resize the necks to try to extend brass life. In my case, I wanted to be able to reconfigure the gun to original configuration. So no permanent mods to the gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokestack SASS#87384 Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 Wow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabez Cowboy,SASS # 50129 Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 Pard , What was Done to your 92 in .44-40 was to ream out the neck area of the chamber so the .44 spl. will Chamber ,,,, Leaving the back 9 tenths of an inch of the Cartridge Unsupported .... This means that the .44 spl. is free to burst in the area where the most pressure is meant to be contained .... Liability waiting to Happen , this is an Unsafe Mod. and I am a Gunsmith ... And also Do ballistic pressure testing ... Jabez Cowboy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Springfield Slim SASS #24733 Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 I used to be the range master at my former job (Armored Truck Driver) and have picked up 9mm brass that was fired in a 40 S&W. Most of them expanded to fill the 40 chamber and did not split. Doesn't mean it was a safe thing to do. According to Cartridges of the World, the 44-40 base diameter is .014 larger than a 44 special case. You might get away with it most of the time, but it doesn't make it safe. And this is from a guy who hot rodded some Wildcat cartridges in the past. I took a 9mm Action Express and experimented, as there were few loads known at the time, and managed to get a 120 grain 9mm bullet to go 1700 fps from a 5" barrelled Jericho pistol with a custom Bar_Sto barrel. I know now that it must have been WAY over SAAMI specs, but I didn't shoot it when others were on the range. Blowing off my own hand is one thing, injuring others is not acceptable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jailhouse Jim, SASS #13104 Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 By the time you pay someone to ream your chamber, you will have paid for a set of 44WCF dies and some brass. You reload several calibers already so this is just another set of tools in your arsenal. Since you plan on passing these firearms down to your son, I would keep them in the original caliber so he doesn't have an issue later on. FWIW, you can size 44Spl brass in a 44WCF die and fire-form it to work without any modifications to your firearm. 44Spl brass is thicker than 44WCF so it will take more effort to size even after fire-forming. Not worth the effort to me but it can be done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trailrider #896 Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 This, of course, will NOT be acceptable to NF, but I originally had problems with an early Ruger OM Vaquero in .44-40. Eventually, they replaced the cylinder, but until then (it took about a year of me phoning them and "Duke" Venturino criticizing in print), I had a .44 Magnum cylinder fitted to the gun. When SASS went to the second gun scenario, I bought another OM in .44 Magnum. About the time Ruger corrected the problem in the first Vaq, I found a .44-40 cylinder and had it fitted to the first gun, which gave me the pair of convertibles I shoot to this day. Just depends on what ammo I have had time to handload. But what about the rifle? I had a M1860 Henry (Navy Arms) in .44-40. But age galloped up, and the Henry is kinda muzzle-heavy for my achin' back. So I bought two Rossi's with 20-inch barrels. One in .44-40 and one in .44 Mangle-em. I just grab whatever rifle matches the cylinders in my Rugers! BTW, apropos of nothing in particular, do any of you remember William Bendix as Chester Riley on "The Life of Riley"? He'd sometimes say, "Don't bother me with the facts. My head is made up!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cypress Sam, SASS #10915 Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 Jabez, for the record, I haven’t reamed a 92 or any other 44-40 to 44 Special. But I do know a gunsmith who has done it for his guns and for others with no ill effects. I don’t quite understand how this would be different from “blowing out” the various Wildcat cartridges, like the Ackley Improved calibers or several of the popular bench rest cartridges or even the 44-40 to 45 Colt. The 44-40 has a case that tapers from .471” to .457” in .905” at which point the bottleneck begins, then a steeper taper to .444”at the neck and .443 at the mouth. The thickness of the brass is .006” (measured). The 44 Special has a straight case with a slight taper from .457” to .456” at the mouth. The thickness of the brass is .013 (measured). If a 44 Special case is fired in a 44-40 chamber, the brass at the rim end of the case would expand from .457” to .471”. Since this equates approximately to the brass thickness of the 44 Special, the resulting brass thickness is more than a 44-40. It seems to me that within the pressure limitations of the toggle link action and the 44-40 chambering, this modification would not be the safety hazard that some think. It would certainly appear more safe than using 44-40 brass in a 45 Colt. That no one seems concerned about. Now accuracy and value are completely different subjects. I would not modify my 44-40s for the accuracy and value reasons even though I don’t think it creates a safety problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate Kiowa Jones #6765 Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 4 hours ago, Cypress Sam, SASS #10915 said: Jabez, for the record, I haven’t reamed a 92 or any other 44-40 to 44 Special. But I do know a gunsmith who has done it for his guns and for others with no ill effects. I don’t quite understand how this would be different from “blowing out” the various Wildcat cartridges, like the Ackley Improved calibers or several of the popular bench rest cartridges or even the 44-40 to 45 Colt. The 44-40 has a case that tapers from .471” to .457” in .905” at which point the bottleneck begins, then a steeper taper to .444”at the neck and .443 at the mouth. The thickness of the brass is .006” (measured). The 44 Special has a straight case with a slight taper from .457” to .456” at the mouth. The thickness of the brass is .013 (measured). If a 44 Special case is fired in a 44-40 chamber, the brass at the rim end of the case would expand from .457” to .471”. Since this equates approximately to the brass thickness of the 44 Special, the resulting brass thickness is more than a 44-40. It seems to me that within the pressure limitations of the toggle link action and the 44-40 chambering, this modification would not be the safety hazard that some think. It would certainly appear more safe than using 44-40 brass in a 45 Colt. That no one seems concerned about. Now accuracy and value are completely different subjects. I would not modify my 44-40s for the accuracy and value reasons even though I don’t think it creates a safety problem. Fire forming cases usually involve down loaded and most times annealed brass rounds. I don't think fire forming at full pressures is a good idea. Shooting the 44 specials in a reamed 44-40 chamber can lead to ruptured cases which can lead to gas cutting in the chambers and enough blow back to cause injuries too. It's just not an industry acceptable practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
"Big Boston" Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 19 hours ago, Nimble Fingers SASS# 25439 said: I read the recent post on the .44 rimfire Henry, and someone mentioned converting the 44-40 to .44 spcl isn't the same method as say reaming a 1892 barrel 44-40 to .44 spcl ( as I did with my JW 92 Comm) by reaming out the chamber for the .44 cartridge. Thanks to one of the pards here, I am now the proud owner of an 1860 Henry to continue my Winchester lever gun collection, most of which are either in .44-40 or .44 mag, and when I shoot I usually shoot .44 spcl if I can. So what are my choices in barrel work to adapt to shoot .44 spcl as well as the .44-40? Also, I am in need of the front side blade, part # 15 on the Uberti manual disassembly schematic. Is VTI my only choice or are there other sources for this, just checking in case VTI comes back and doesn't have any in stock. Thanks Nimble Fingers Multi caliber chambers are an interesting topic, and somewhat controversial as well, judging from the number of negative replies. This project does remind me of a Mike Venturino article, the one about Shapnel and his 44 Special SAA that he rechambered to 44-40. It's a good read, describes the chamber differences. The full article is in Handloader # 260, June 2009. https://www.riflemagazine.com/magazine/PDF/hl260partial1.pdf Strictly theoretical, if this were my project, this is how I'd go about it. A 44 mag and a 44-40 case are nearly the same length, and a 44 Special is shorter than either. Therefore I'd approach it from that perspective. I checked some of my 44 Mag ammo, it measures 0.453" at the neck. My 44-40 ammo is 0.443". A 44-40 SAAMI chamber, at max, will only be 0.4456". In other words a 44 Mag, or 44 Spl will not fit. (Probably a good thing IMHO). So to fit, the neck area of the 44-40 chamber will need to be enlarged by app 0.010" to about 0.455". Doing this is a bit above my pay grade, but I assume it can be done. I wouldn't use a 44 Spl or 44 mag reamer though. I'd want to keep this dimension very close to my ammo size. This short neck area of the new chamber, will only supply about a bit over an 1/8" of support for the 44 Spl case. At the back of the case there will be almost 0.020" clearance. I might want to control the length of this expanded portion to prevent chambering a 44 Mag, but that's just me. Unfortunately, this expanded neck portion of the chamber will allow 44-40 cases to expand about 0.010" more than before. Contact a few gunsmiths, they may be willing to do this for you. My personal though is that I wouldn't do it if I had a nice 1860 Henry (Uberti). A '60 Henry isn't a '92, feeding can sometimes be an issue, OAL of the ammo comes into play. I have a '66 in 38 Spl, and feeding can be fiddly. At one time I considered having the chamber lengthened to 357 length to facilitate sharing ammo, but decided against it. Even though I could, I felt I shouldn't. Big Boston Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boggus Deal #64218 Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 Just because it can been done doesn't mean its safe. People drive drunk every day and don't get hurt. Doesn't make it safe. Nimble Fingers keeps doing this he'll be looking for a new alias. Missing Fingers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimble Fingers SASS# 25439 Posted February 8, 2019 Author Share Posted February 8, 2019 I want to thank all of you for your responses, and I will take into advisement all concerns. The reamer that was used was a.308 if memory serves me, and I wish I had the 2 cartridges that were given to me when I got the rifle so I could post them here. If I had .44-40 ammo, I would go to the range today and shoot both cartridges and post, but that will have to wait until I get some shipped to me as no one including Bass Pro sell cowboy rounds. I am at a loss to understand how the steel barrel that can handle a .44 mag cartridge would be damaged by firing a .44 special cartridge reamed out to fit in the 44-40 slot would have more power than a magnum round to split a cartridge and barrel to cause any damage or injury, especially since I have already shot about 100 rounds thru it. I do appreciate the advice as that was what i was looking for. But I will probably look to see how much I can buy Colt .44-40 cylinders for to fit my new Frontier pistols so I can interchange, as I would not to make any of you be afraid to shoot with me if you ever are down in SE Florida as that is the only place I shoot cowboy, unless I go back to visit my Mother in Green Valley AZ and shoot with some Tucson clubs. Nimble Fingers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimble Fingers SASS# 25439 Posted February 8, 2019 Author Share Posted February 8, 2019 Really, breaking the law driving drunk is being equated to what I am doing? Are you serious? Well then Elmer Keith must have really been breaking the law creating the .44 magnum round by putting more powder into the .44 special cartridge then he should have? 19 hours ago, Boggus Deal #64218 said: Just because it can been done doesn't mean its safe. People drive drunk every day and don't get hurt. Doesn't make it safe. Nimble Fingers keeps doing this he'll be looking for a new alias. Missing Fingers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimble Fingers SASS# 25439 Posted February 8, 2019 Author Share Posted February 8, 2019 22 hours ago, Trailrider #896 said: This, of course, will NOT be acceptable to NF, but I originally had problems with an early Ruger OM Vaquero in .44-40. Eventually, they replaced the cylinder, but until then (it took about a year of me phoning them and "Duke" Venturino criticizing in print), I had a .44 Magnum cylinder fitted to the gun. When SASS went to the second gun scenario, I bought another OM in .44 Magnum. About the time Ruger corrected the problem in the first Vaq, I found a .44-40 cylinder and had it fitted to the first gun, which gave me the pair of convertibles I shoot to this day. Just depends on what ammo I have had time to handload. But what about the rifle? I had a M1860 Henry (Navy Arms) in .44-40. But age galloped up, and the Henry is kinda muzzle-heavy for my achin' back. So I bought two Rossi's with 20-inch barrels. One in .44-40 and one in .44 Mangle-em. I just grab whatever rifle matches the cylinders in my Rugers! BTW, apropos of nothing in particular, do any of you remember William Bendix as Chester Riley on "The Life of Riley"? He'd sometimes say, "Don't bother me with the facts. My head is made up!" I took the rifle to the smith with the additional 92 barrel in .44 mag, also a Winchester, and asked him to switch barrels. He asked me why did I want to do that and I said I want to shoot the rifle but I shoot .44 specials and they will fit in the magnum barrel. That is when he said to me that I don't need to switch barrels, he can make the .44-40 shoot .44 special! It only cost me $60.00 to have the barrel reamed by the .308, the additional barrel was $70, and that didn't include being installed by the smith, the reaming seemed to be the economical way to go, again he was a well known smith in our neck of the woods. Still have the barrel. But Colt .44-40 cylinders are about 250.00 apiece if and when I can find them, if you know of a cheaper source let me know, and if you have an extra one from your Rugers that will fit my OMV in .44mag, I will buy it from you as well. Nimble Fingers Nimble FingersI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimble Fingers SASS# 25439 Posted February 8, 2019 Author Share Posted February 8, 2019 23 hours ago, Jailhouse Jim, SASS #13104 said: By the time you pay someone to ream your chamber, you will have paid for a set of 44WCF dies and some brass. You reload several calibers already so this is just another set of tools in your arsenal. Since you plan on passing these firearms down to your son, I would keep them in the original caliber so he doesn't have an issue later on. FWIW, you can size 44Spl brass in a 44WCF die and fire-form it to work without any modifications to your firearm. 44Spl brass is thicker than 44WCF so it will take more effort to size even after fire-forming. Not worth the effort to me but it can be done. I have a Dillon(dsp?) SDB and no die set up is cheaper than $60! and 200 rounds of new brass is probably about 60.00 unless I start with and can find some used brass, but I would rather shoot new and reload from my used stock. If I was using my other Winchester 92 or B92 rifles I woulodn't care, again the loads for .44 special we shoot or reload are no where near the pressure created in magnums so again I would be safe. But I would indeed be careful with the Colts, the Ruger I shoot is an OMV in .44 mag, again no worries. So again not a feasible solution, but again thanks for your advice. Nimble Fingers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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