H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 Posted July 26 Posted July 26 Which caliber can be used across the most main match rifles used in our game? I am not talking about which caliber is the most popular, but which one(s) can be used in the most rifles. Off the top of my head, I want to say .44-40 if you limit yourself to originals. But if you allow for originals and reproductions, then you get a lot more candidates. So, I started to look up what rifles, originals or replicas, are available in what calibers, and this is what I came up with... .45 Colt: 1860 Henry, Winchester 66, Winchester 73, Winchester 92, Winchester 94, Marlin 94, Colt Lightning, Colt Burgess, Henry Big Boy, Spencer. Total: 10 Rifles. .44-40: 1860 Henry, Winchester 66, Winchester 73, Winchester 92, Winchester 94, Marlin 94, Marlin 1888, Colt Lighting, Colt Burgess, Henry Big Boy, Spencer, Whitney-Kennedy. Total: 12 Rifles. Other calibers like .32-20, .38-40, .38 Special and .357 Magnum are both chambered for at least half a dozen rifles, but not all of the above, as far as I can tell. Once again, just a random series of thoughts. It's just interesting to ponder some of these variations. Quote
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted July 26 Posted July 26 I like .44 caliber. Specifically the .44 Magnum case...... 1 Quote
H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 Posted July 26 Author Posted July 26 25 minutes ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said: I like .44 caliber. Specifically the .44 Magnum case...... Ah... .44 Magnum... Well, Winchester 73, Winchester 92, Winchester 94, Marlin 94, Colt Lightning. That's 5... 2 Quote
Silver Creek Jack Posted July 26 Posted July 26 You left out one of the best,Uberti 1873 in 44 special. Outstanding rifle! Quote
Rooster Ron Wayne Posted July 26 Posted July 26 I have been shooting 44 special from day one of shooting Cowboy Action. I have just about anything and everything in 44 special. 1 Quote
Rafe Conager SASS #56958 Posted July 26 Posted July 26 .45 colt! Sass, classic cowboy, wildbunch. I have a 73 &66 and both work great with blackpowder or any smokeless load I feed it. Use 45 schofield in my pistols Rafe 1 Quote
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted July 26 Posted July 26 1 hour ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said: Ah... .44 Magnum... Well, Winchester 73, Winchester 92, Winchester 94, Marlin 94, Colt Lightning. That's 5... Run a Marlin 94 that I bought in 1982. Quote
Abilene, SASS # 27489 Posted July 26 Posted July 26 H.K. - I don't think the Big Boy is chambered in 44-40 Quote
H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 Posted July 27 Author Posted July 27 3 hours ago, Abilene, SASS # 27489 said: H.K. - I don't think the Big Boy is chambered in 44-40 Well, that's part of the reason I started this, to confirm what calibers are or are not, in which rifles. Thanks for the clarification. As far as .44 Special goes, I am not sure which rifles are actually chambered for it. And I mean, actually chambered for .44 Special. I am not talking about .44 Magnums that will run the shorter round. I have two 92's in the magnum caliber, for example, and they tend to not work quite right with specials. The only rifle I've ever seen in .44 Special was a replica 73. Don't know of anything else. Wish I had bought it, cuz I love the caliber, but I passed. Quote
PaleWolf Brunelle, #2495L Posted July 27 Posted July 27 Uberti made 1866 and 1873 rifles/carbines in various configurations/barrel lengths chambered in .44 S&W Special. Imported by Cimarron, Navy Arms, and Stoeger. 1 Quote
Rooster Ron Wayne Posted July 27 Posted July 27 (edited) 18 hours ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said: Well, that's part of the reason I started this, to confirm what calibers are or are not, in which rifles. Thanks for the clarification. As far as .44 Special goes, I am not sure which rifles are actually chambered for it. And I mean, actually chambered for .44 Special. I am not talking about .44 Magnums that will run the shorter round. I have two 92's in the magnum caliber, for example, and they tend to not work quite right with specials. The only rifle I've ever seen in .44 Special was a replica 73. Don't know of anything else. Wish I had bought it, cuz I love the caliber, but I passed. Let's see I have two Uberti 66's In 44 Special only . I have 3 different 24" 20" and 18" 73's in 44 Special only . I have 3 Rossi 92's in 44 Magnum/Special . I have 2 Marlin 44 Magnum/Special I have 2 Henry 44 Magnum/Special Then 16 different revolvers in 44 Special and 8 different 44 Magnum/Special. And all the Magnum cycle 44 Special just as good as Magnum if you do your part they will do there part . Rooster Edited July 27 by Rooster Ron Wayne Quote
Rooster Ron Wayne Posted July 27 Posted July 27 A quick search I come up with this one on GB . https://www.gunbroker.com/item/1112831229 Quote
Slow Poke Posted July 27 Posted July 27 I think 45 colt would be the best fit for all categories. You can get a 73, 66, 60, 92, or a 94 rifle in 45colt. Pistols are the same all makes readily available. Even the categories like classic, or b western you can use the 45. I love the 44-40 more but unfortunately gun selection gets a bit tougher if you want rugers or a marlin for b western. They also typically cost a bit more, and reloading and be interesting. Just my opinion 1 Quote
Longfoot Posted July 27 Posted July 27 At least to me, this seems like an obvious 2 horse race between .45 Colt and .44 WCF. Both work. Both are, or have been available, at one point or another, in just about every rifle model of significance. The .45 Colt, whilst not historically a rifle cartridge, is, in its modern configuration perfectly capable and offers the greatest number of pistol choices. The .44-40 offers better black powder reliability. But, fewer pistol choices, if having a single round on your belt is important to you. So, at least to me, it comes down to whether one is going to shoot black powder or not. Black Powder= .44 WCF Get a '73 or earlier chamber in this and one's good to go for the traditional/classic/black powder categories. Smokeless= .45 Colt and a '73 or Marlin '94 Gamer= .38/.357 or .32 I'd rather have one rifle that runs smoothly and reliably, than one of everything imaginable in a chambering. 1 Quote
Griff Posted July 28 Posted July 28 On 7/26/2025 at 3:14 PM, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said: Ah... .44 Magnum... Well, Winchester 73, Winchester 92, Winchester 94, Marlin 94, Colt Lightning. That's 5... Actually, I don't think Winchester ever chambered the 1873 or '92 in 44 Magnum. Uberti '73s, Rossi '92, and Miroku '92s certainly... but Winchester... no. Nor did Colt chamber the Lightning in 44 Mag, Totally unsure about other makers, tho'! Quote
H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 Posted July 28 Author Posted July 28 (edited) 25 minutes ago, Griff said: Actually, I don't think Winchester ever chambered the 1873 or '92 in 44 Magnum. Uberti '73s, Rossi '92, and Miroku '92s certainly... but Winchester... no. Nor did Colt chamber the Lightning in 44 Mag, Totally unsure about other makers, tho'! Same can be said for .45 Colt. But like I said in the initial post, "Off the top of my head, I want to say .44-40 if you limit yourself to originals. But if you allow for originals and reproductions, then you get a lot more candidates." Reproductions of all those guns can be had in .45, and .44 Magnum. Pedersoli has just come out with a very modified version of the Lightning in .44 Magnum, for example. Wish they'd do one in that caliber in a more conventional configuration. Edited July 28 by H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 Quote
Griff Posted July 28 Posted July 28 4 minutes ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said: Same can be said for .45 Colt. Actually, not... Winchester Repeating Firearms Co., a subsidiary of the Olin Corp. produced a 45 Colt chambered Winchester 94 carbine starting in 1985, the first "rifle" to be so chambered. As they chambered the same model in 44Mag 1st in 1969, with a gap I think, until the early 1990s, but by then it was USRA... not Winchester. Quote
H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 Posted July 28 Author Posted July 28 31 minutes ago, Griff said: Winchester 94 carbine starting in 1985 Hmm... Well, the history of when Winchester stopped making guns and USRAC made them for Winchester can be confusing. I have read it was as early 1981. But by 85, it USRAC for sure, and angle eject. So it doesn't count as a "real Winchester." I also have a bridge in Brooklyn for sale... Quote
Griff Posted July 28 Posted July 28 3 minutes ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said: Hmm... Well, the history of when Winchester stopped making guns and USRAC made them for Winchester can be confusing. I have read it was as early 1981. But by 85, it USRAC for sure, and angle eject. So it doesn't count as a "real Winchester." I also have a bridge in Brooklyn for sale... Actually no. USRAC started making guns under license to Olin Corp to use the Winchester name in 1982/3, not "for" Winchester. My B-I-L has a .30-30 top eject mdl 94 from WRA dating to 1982. My pdf of the 1982 catalog only shows, TE mdl 94s, and the publisher is Winchester Repeating Arms, Co. My pdf of the 1983 catalog shows both TE and AE model 94s... referred as Standard and AE. It's publisher is shown as US Repeating Arms Co. IIRC, my custom trapper (built on a '67 Canadian Centennial frome), has a 1981 dtd bbl. Whether any of those 1983 top eject mdl 94s are marked as USRA or WRA is probably only known to those that own one. I remember fondling one in a gun store, but I purchased a used 1979 produced mdl 94, as I whittled the price down to a flat $100, far cheaper than the asking price of the newer ones they had. (I was actually still actively looking for a '69 .44Mag version that I'd had stolen in 1974), so wasn't really interested in buying, but that $100 price was pretty much no to be ignored! It's now my custom long range rifle. Sorry, I just can't resist showing pics of that rifle... 😉 2 Quote
H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 Posted July 29 Author Posted July 29 17 hours ago, Griff said: Sorry, I just can't resist showing pics of that rifle... 😉 Don't apologize! Pics are a good thing! Quote
H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 Posted July 30 Author Posted July 30 This is something that just resurfaced in my thoughts. A while ago, I sent to a shoot with four different rifles, a Lightning, a 92, a 73 and a Marlin 1888, all in .32-20, to compare how I did with them. The Lightning was the best, the Marlin was the slowest, and the two Winchesters were in the middle and about the same. All were originals. Not too long after that, I compared a 92 to a pre-83 94, (Rossi and Winchester) both in .44 Magnum. I actually did better with the 94, much to my surprise. Here's the point that just occurred to me, having different guns in the same caliber allows you to do apples to apples comparisons to see what works best for you. I guess that I'll have to compare my .45's (Lightning, 92, 66, Burgess) and .44-40's, (Henry, 66, Lightning) to see how I do better in those calibers as well. Could be fun! Videos available upon request. 1 Quote
Sixgun Symphony #62632 Posted August 4 Posted August 4 (edited) IMO the .45 Colt cartridge is a bad idea for lever rifles, carbines and for breaktop revolvers too. The rim is just not large enough for reliable extraction. Go with the .44-40 or .38-40 cartridge chamberings. Get some reloading dies and bullet molds so that the only thing you need to find at the store is primers and gunpowder. Edited August 4 by Sixgun Symphony #62632 Spelling Quote
H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 Posted August 4 Author Posted August 4 Well, it sure seems like more different makes/models of rifle are chambered for .44-40 than anything else, with .45 Colt being a close second. After that, it looks like .38 Special, followed by .32-20. Many other calibers can fit in to various rifles, of course, but they seem to be also rans when it comes to variety of rifles available. This of course, is unrelated to what is the most popular, or personal preference. It just "is." Quote
Griff Posted August 4 Posted August 4 (edited) 12 hours ago, Sixgun Symphony #62632 said: IMO the .45 Colt cartridge is a bad idea for lever rifles, carbines and for breaktop revolvers too. The rim is just not large enough for reliable extraction. You are right... IF the 45 Colt were still only available in folded rim copper cases, or even balloon head cases without an extractor groove. But, such is not the case. I'm totally unaware of anyone that makes either antique style case. With six rifles/carbines chambered for the 45 Colt, I wonder what experience led you to develop the above opinion... My 45 Colt battery includes, 3 toggle links, (2- 1873s and an 1860), a Browning 1885, a Rossi 1892, and a Marlin 1894. I purchased the my 1st 45 Colt rifle, (an Uberti 1873 Sporting Rifle), in 1987 and have used it since in cowboy action shooting. The only failure to extract came about 1994 with a broken extractor, after 6+ years of solely black powder use. Since then, I've had nary an instance of a failure of any of these rifles to extract a fired case, (or unfired cartridge when appropriate). The 2nd 1873 was purchased in 2014 and has been used continuously with both black powder & smokeless rounds with no extraction problems, whatsoever. The 1885 is my Plainsman rifle, its manual extractor is nearly as effective as a spring actuated one if one works the under-lever smartly. The Rossi, kicks brass farther than either 1873, and the Marlin. I converted the Marlin to run the Cowboy45Special cartridge as a Wild Bunch rifle. This cartridge, with the same rim as the 45 Colt and length of the 45Auto, would, on paper, seem to exacerbate any extraction problems the 45 Colt might exhibit... however, they extract rather well from the little Marlin, even without any tweaking of the extractor in that model rifle. The 45 Colt was first chambered in a long gun in 1985 in Winchester's mdl 94AE. While feeding can be "iffy" with such a short cartridge in an action developed for much longer cartridges, extraction is not. Edited August 4 by Griff 1 Quote
Abilene, SASS # 27489 Posted August 4 Posted August 4 1 hour ago, Griff said: ...The Rossi, kicks brass farther than either 1873, and the Marlin... Have you put in a lighter ejector spring? Helps keep the empties in the same county at least. Quote
H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 Posted August 4 Author Posted August 4 13 hours ago, Sixgun Symphony #62632 said: IMO the .45 Colt cartridge is a bad idea for lever rifles, carbines and for breaktop revolvers too. The rim is just not large enough for reliable extraction. Why do you say that? Uberti 66, ASM 92, Uberti Burgess, AWA Lightning, they all extract just fine for me. Same in my Uberti Schofield and American. Never had a lick of trouble with extraction on any of them. Quote
Griff Posted August 4 Posted August 4 4 hours ago, Abilene, SASS # 27489 said: Have you put in a lighter ejector spring? Helps keep the empties in the same county at least. Yes, lightened the factory one till is kicks brass right and slightly behind me... the Marlin kicks them forward a few inches, and the toggle links right next to me. Quote
Sixgun Symphony #62632 Posted August 5 Posted August 5 https://youtube.com/shorts/7SOxPrrm_go?si=dIlyxLUEvP7FY0cm Quote
H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 Posted August 5 Author Posted August 5 2 hours ago, Sixgun Symphony #62632 said: https://youtube.com/shorts/7SOxPrrm_go?si=dIlyxLUEvP7FY0cm Ah... Those are still loaded cartridges. Once the bullet and powder are gone, and the OAL length and weight are much less, the spent cases extract much more easily. Even spent .45 Autorims extract better from a Webley than loaded ones. Or .38 S&W's from a pocket pistol. Or .32 S&W. The bullet makes a huge difference. Quote
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