F. Greysmoke ,#12093 Posted August 7, 2021 Share Posted August 7, 2021 Howdy pards, A sass friend of mine passed and he has some bp loaded 44-40. Will it chamber in my 45 LC rifles and pistols? I know accuracy will be bad but just to plink with and I would think it would be safe. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L Posted August 7, 2021 Share Posted August 7, 2021 I won't comment on the question but my wife mistakenly loaded some 44 Russians in her 45 colt Winchester. They fired but the cases were really expanded! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tex Jones, SASS 2263 Posted August 7, 2021 Share Posted August 7, 2021 I have done it by accident. As Injun said, the cases expanded, but the bullets went out the front. I wouldn't recommend it, though. Better idea would be ti buy a 44. Can't have enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowtown Scout, SASS #53540 L Posted August 7, 2021 Share Posted August 7, 2021 Don't do it and waste that 44-40 ammo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McCandless Posted August 7, 2021 Share Posted August 7, 2021 The .44-40 bullet diameter is .427 - .430 in diameter. The .45 bore is .452 diameter. So if it did cycle and fire, the bullet would rattle down the barrel and not engage the grooves. Your accuracy would be awful. There are those who say "its good enough for CAS". Well no, not really. But it's a dandy reason to buy some more guns!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Duncan Posted August 7, 2021 Share Posted August 7, 2021 2 hours ago, F. Greysmoke ,#12093 said: Howdy pards, A sass friend of mine passed and he has some bp loaded 44-40. Will it chamber in my 45 LC rifles and pistols? I know accuracy will be bad but just to plink with and I would think it would be safe. Thanks. My first thought was "Why don't you trade the 44-40 for 45? Then you don't have to worry about any rifling damage as McCandless points out. My second was "Well I wouldn't trade for, let alone shoot ammo from an unknown source. My final thought "Your gun, your fingers and face, shoot what you want. But if I'm beside you please let me know so I can move a safe distance away from y'all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caladisi kid Posted August 7, 2021 Share Posted August 7, 2021 Short answer....yes Long answer....NNNOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abilene, SASS # 27489 Posted August 7, 2021 Share Posted August 7, 2021 Some .45 Colt shooters would do it on purpose, trying to fireform the .44 cases to .45 dimensions. Then they can reload them as .45's with BP and the thinner .44-40 brass expands to seal the chamber better than 45 Colt brass. Some of the brass might split, but pressures will be low so easy on the gun. I once loaded 44 specials in a .45 Colt and the brass bulged but hit the target 5 times. Accuracy will not be "too good" but probably no worse than shooting regular .357 bullets in a Kirst-converted .36 caliber without lining the barrel (I haven't missed with that combination in 4 matches). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted August 7, 2021 Share Posted August 7, 2021 Don't do it OLG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savvy Jack Posted August 7, 2021 Share Posted August 7, 2021 We have all done it, go ahead and get it over with!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kloehr Posted August 7, 2021 Share Posted August 7, 2021 1 hour ago, Caladisi kid said: Short answer....yes Long answer....NNNOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I feel the same way, though I am shooting .44 Russian in revolvers chambered for .44 Special. The bullets would probably come out of the barrel with a bit of rattling and start tumbling way too soon, but they would most likely come out; And the brass probably would not split -- at least not on every shot -- though I hope it would not then be sold as "once-fired reloadable." But then, in the vein of @Sammy Jack, run a few rounds (at your risk). Then you might decide to buy something chambered in 44-40, maybe a rifle like mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rainmaker, SASS #11631 Posted August 7, 2021 Share Posted August 7, 2021 Are you askin to see if it will fire or if you should do it on a regular basis. Yes and NO!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Rich Posted August 8, 2021 Share Posted August 8, 2021 It won't hurt the gun. It will not be accurate at distances much greater than CAS. There is no danger involved. You will get less blowback from the 44/40 ammo than you will from 45 colt ammo, the case is thinner and will seal the chamber better. Several pards have done this to fireform cases so the 44/40 cases can be used in a 45 colt. Same way a 30/30 is fireformed to make a 38/55 case. kR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Boy Posted August 8, 2021 Share Posted August 8, 2021 Gray smoke, expect to get an education how to remove leading from a firearm barrel. For this reason, the choice is yours but mine is No … Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rye Miles #13621 Posted August 8, 2021 Share Posted August 8, 2021 DON'T DO IT!! Trade it to someone or sell it. Don't bother firing it, you'll be disappointed and ruin good ammo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Hochbauer, SASS #64409 Posted August 8, 2021 Share Posted August 8, 2021 To try and make this simple 44-40 should be shot in a 44-40 rifle....45LC should be shot in a 45 LC rifle. That said the final decision would be up to you. Just my 2 cents worth. Sgt Hochbauer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trailrider #896 Posted August 8, 2021 Share Posted August 8, 2021 "I feel the same way, though I am shooting .44 Russian in revolvers chambered for .44 Special." - John Kloehr. NOT the same thing. The .44 Special and .44 Magnum have the same base diameter as the .44 Russian, differing only in the length of the case. Same with .38 Spl and .357 Mangle-em or .22 Short RF, .22 Long and .22 Long Rifle. All are basically straight cases. But .44-40 is slightly smaller at the base and is bottlenecked, whereas the ..45LC is relatively straight. Get away with shooting .44-40's in a .45 LC? Yeah, but it isn't the best practice. There are probably a bunch of .44-40 shooters who would love to get those rounds. (Sorry, not me. I've got 500+ pieces of brass on my loading bench I haven't had time to load.) Best of luck. Stay well and safe! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunder Creek Kid Posted August 8, 2021 Share Posted August 8, 2021 Shoot em. No big deal. You can resize em to 44-40 or use em as 45 colt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Coffinmaker Posted August 8, 2021 Share Posted August 8, 2021 I'm not a big fan of running 44-40 with 44 bullets thru a 45 Rifle. 44 Bullet will just rattle down the bore, give you some leading and perhaps some blow-by. The 44-40 brass will also expand kinda funny and perhaps split. All this covered above. There is no danger, real for imagined. On the other hand, I DO run 44-40 Brass thru my 45 Colt dies (carefully) and reload as 45 Colt. Come out really funny looking. Kinda wonky if you will. Cases expand nicely to seal the chamber and eliminate Blow-By and fire form to really efficient 45 Colt. You wind up with a really clean running 45 rifle. Especially with BP or Sub (APP). YMMV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Rich Posted August 8, 2021 Share Posted August 8, 2021 In order to get leading the bullet has to be almost big enough to fill the grooves in the bore with the difference between the 44/40 bullet (.427 to .429) versus the 45 Colt bullet (.452) you are not going to have any significant contact between the bullet and the barrel, it may melt or soften the bullet a little but you are not going to deposit lead on the barrel in any significant amount. kR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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