Which Lightning rifles slam fire from the factory?

[Philosopher]

Lots of companies have made the Lightning pump rifles.

 

Which ones came from the factory with the ability to slam fire?

 

I have a Pedersoli in .357 that does NOT slam fire - which I know is the factory condition. 

 

My brother has an AWA in .38 Special that DOES slam fire. 

 

..BUT he just acquired a second AWA in .45 Colt that does not!

 

All the aforementioned guns were purchased used, so was my brother's AWA in .38 modified prior to his acquiring it?

 

Did the original Colts slam fire?

 

Thanks for any insights!

 

[SGT. ELI 35882 GUNFIGHTER]

Originals slam fire, and all AWA'S I have handled slam fire. USFA slam fire.

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

If you count the large and small frame, then I have 4 Colts.   They all slam fire.
I have 2 AWA's.   They both slam fire.

I don't yet have any of the others, so I don't know if they slam fire or not.

To be honest, unless you've got a BIG dump target for 10 rounds, I'd not do it; to much a chance to miss!   

Well...  The only other time I've slam fired was on a progressive sweep, with 4 shots at target 4.  I slammed the 4 there, after having already lost my clean match.   Hit all 4.

[Yul Lose]

I believe the Taurus Thunderbolt and Beretta Goldrush slam fired also. I’ve got 3 Pedersolis that Lassiter did the slam fire mod on. I slam fire on all targets, Nevada sweep, alternate, dump whatever, it’s just something I like to do. If the guns will do it why not do it? I rarely if ever miss with my Lightnings. I’m just starting to use the one that I converted to 38-40 and it may be the smoothest of the 3. 

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

11 hours ago, Yul Lose said:

I believe the Taurus Thunderbolt and Beretta Goldrush slam fired also. I’ve got 3 Pedersolis that Lassiter did the slam fire mod on. I slam fire on all targets, Nevada sweep, alternate, dump whatever, it’s just something I like to do. If the guns will do it why not do it? I rarely if ever miss with my Lightnings. I’m just starting to use the one that I converted to 38-40 and it may be the smoothest of the 3. 

 

Why not indeed.   If you have the skill to actually DO it and still hit the targets, then go for it.

Me, I lack the skill.   

[Griff]

I have an AWA in .44-40 that I use in Wild Bunch... but since the targets are a bit farther than cowboy, I've never tried to see if it does slam fire.

 

[watab kid]

didnt realize this was a thing with these , but now that its come up it makes sense . the 97s yes , not so much these but what a great feature if you can get one to run 

[Philosopher]

Thanks for the responses! Big brother is going to liberally lube up the action of the. 45 Colt AWA Lightning and see if that changes things. 

 

[Bullett Sass 19707]

I just shot with your brother Saturday.  He used his new Marlin/Ruger.  He shot a very good match.  Bullett 

[Concho Billy]

1 hour ago, Bullett Sass 19707 said:

I just shot with your brother Saturday.  He used his new Marlin/Ruger.  He shot a very good match.  Bullett 

Congrats to your brother and his Marlin/Ruger on a very good match! 

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

14 hours ago, Philosopher said:

Thanks for the responses! Big brother is going to liberally lube up the action of the. 45 Colt AWA Lightning and see if that changes things. 

 

 

My "primary" Lightning is an AWA in .45 Colt.   It is the only rifle I've ever shot a clean match with.  But, it must be kept clean.  It is way to easy for the firing pin channel to get clogged with gunk, which will cause the occasional failure to fire.  At the very least, I squire the bolt face end of the firing pin with Gun Scrubber after every match.  You'd be surprised how much crud flushes out after only 6 stages.  

Most recently, I tried running .45 Schofields in it.  Worked perfectly, but yeah, even dirtier!

On the other hand, .44-40 and .32-20 Lightnings by Colt and AWA stay much cleaner.

[Rooster Ron Wayne]

The Taurus Thunderbolt will

Slam your pocketbook 

Slam your patience 

Slam your frustration 

Slam your willingness  -

To want to ever try to use a pump again.

Just Slam them into the ground and make a Tomato Stake out of them .

So Saith The Rooster 

 

[Philosopher]

On 6/23/2025 at 1:30 PM, Bullett Sass 19707 said:

I just shot with your brother Saturday.  He used his new Marlin/Ruger.  He shot a very good match.  Bullett 

 

That's great to hear! Nels loves this game. My involvement in cowboy action is his fault.

 

We both love the firearms that are less commonly used in the sport: Winchester 1887s, Colt Lightning pumps, Schofields. And the clothing and accouterments. 

[Philosopher]

On 6/23/2025 at 12:34 AM, Philosopher said:

Thanks for the responses! Big brother is going to liberally lube up the action of the. 45 Colt AWA Lightning and see if that changes things. 

 

 

Lubed up AWA .45 is showing improvement.  Will now mostly slam fire, but the hammer falls with the slightest hesitation.

 

We're thinking of pulling the stock and forearm and dunking the action for a short while - followed by some compressed air and fresh lubricant. 

 

Does anyone "dunk clean" their firearms? If so, what cleaner and technique do you use? Preferably something affordable,  effective,  and won't cause tumors to immediately manifest themselves!

 

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

7 hours ago, Rooster Ron Wayne said:

The Taurus Thunderbolt will

Slam your pocketbook 

Slam your patience 

Slam your frustration 

Slam your willingness  -

To want to ever try to use a pump again.

Just Slam them into the ground and make a Tomato Stake out of them .

So Saith The Rooster 

 

 

Or, send them to Lassiter and have him work his magic. 

 

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

4 hours ago, Philosopher said:

 

Lubed up AWA .45 is showing improvement.  Will now mostly slam fire, but the hammer falls with the slightest hesitation.

 

We're thinking of pulling the stock and forearm and dunking the action for a short while - followed by some compressed air and fresh lubricant. 

 

Does anyone "dunk clean" their firearms? If so, what cleaner and technique do you use? Preferably something affordable,  effective,  and won't cause tumors to immediately manifest themselves!

 

 

I have never dunk cleaned a gun.

But, as I alluded to before, with an AWA Lighting in .45 Colt, Gunscrubber is your best friend.  Put the straw against the bolt face centered on the firing pin and squire away.  Much crud will be flushed out, but it it will eventually squirt clean.   If you are having other troubles, use that straw to flush out the whole action.  Then wipe it all down with Hoppes #9, and apply gun oil to all moving parts.   Keeps it running great.

Your hammer hesitating to fall suggests to me a build up of crud, but I could be wrong, but something is clearly not right.  If flushing it out and lubing it up does not make the problem go away, a more detailed disassembly and lubrication may be needed.    I've never felt the need to do that, but this is what your description is making me think about.

For the record, I have found the AWA's to be excellent guns.  Others will tell you to avoid them.   It either comes down to luck of the draw, or perhaps, when they were made, with the later ones doing better than the early ones.   There will be a lot of blowback with the 45, leading to a very dirty action.  .44-40's thanks to the nature of the design of the brass, tend to stay MUCH cleaner, with practically no blowback and the only place any crud goes is into the bore.

My AWA .45 started my "love affair" with the Lightning, and I'll never regret going down the road.   I get a lot of good natured ribbing, but anyone who has ever seen me shoot will tall me that, overall as mediocre at best that I am, I run the Lightning well.

Good luck, and if you have any specific questions, feel free to ask.   I am no expert, but I will happily offer what experience with shooting the guns that I can.

[El Sobrante Kid]

Slightly off topic... if a Lightning rifle will slam fire, will it also fire out of battery? I'm not familiar with the LIghtning action, so maybe slam firing and OOB discharges do not go hand-in-hand. Thx.

[doc roy l. pain]

1 hour ago, El Sobrante Kid said:

Slightly off topic... if a Lightning rifle will slam fire, will it also fire out of battery? I'm not familiar with the LIghtning action, so maybe slam firing and OOB discharges do not go hand-in-hand. Thx.

No it won’t on the ones I’ve handled. The slide has to be all the way forward before the hammer can drop. I will say if you can run it fast enough, you could be starting to open the action before the hammer completely drops and cause a slight out of battery discharge. 

[Rooster Ron Wayne]

2 hours ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

 

Or, send them to Lassiter and have him work his magic. 

 

We did and it still did not work for Crap! 

If Lassiter can't make it run reliable. 

It can't be done .

He had this one  twice .

[Philosopher]

I'll pass the Gunscrubber recommend along. Think I'll get a can for myself as well.