Pedersoli Lightnings are shipping again!!!

[Roger Rapid]

I just learned that the new Pedersoli Lightning - called the Silver Spur - has begun shipping to IFG, Pedersoli's US master distributor (IFG then distributes to the other dealers) . Pedersoli just went on August vacation - as most Italian companies do each August - so shipping will not resume until they return to work in September.

RR

[SnakeM]

45lc . .357/38 later...waiting on those...

[Boomstick Bruce]

Are they reliable yet?

[Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L]

Got a call from IFG today requesting FFL information!

[Roger Rapid]

Great news - keep us posted on your Silver Spur!!!

 

RR

[Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L]

Received yesterday, 8/13/26. I am not sure when I will be able to test fire. I have "test cycled" and it worked fine. 

 

 

 

 

 

Silver Spur and USFA Lightning

 

Also, any suggestions on where I might purchase a butt cover for the Silver Spur? All of my go-to's have gone out of business.

 

 

 

[Roger Rapid]

Injun Rider...  Looks great!..

There's a super leather guy who I've been shooting with for the past 7 or 8 years with who does amazing leather work, including hand carving and tooling. His alias is XXX Bottles but I'm not sure of his business name. I'll connect with him and get more info (to follow).

RR

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

Beautiful looking rifle! 👍

How many rounds does the magazine hold?

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

1 hour ago, Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L said:

Received yesterday, 8/13/26. I am not sure when I will be able to test fire. I have "test cycled" and it worked fine. 

 

 

 

 

 

Silver Spur and USFA Lightning

 

Also, any suggestions on where I might purchase a butt cover for the Silver Spur? All of my go-to's have gone out of business.

 

 

 

Ricochet Roy does it best 🤠

[Whiskey T F Bottles]

25 minutes ago, Roger Rapid said:

Injun Rider...  Looks great!..

There's a super leather guy who I've been shooting with for the past 7 or 8 years with who does amazing leather work, including hand carving and tooling. His alias is XXX Bottles but I'm not sure of his business name. I'll connect with him and get more info (to follow).

RR

Thanks Roger, I know the wire has rules about advertising goods and services so I will just say take a look at Facebook or Instagram for "Trigo Lane Trading Co." or DM me here for more details. 

[Yul Lose]

2 hours ago, Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L said:

Received yesterday, 8/13/26. I am not sure when I will be able to test fire. I have "test cycled" and it worked fine. 

 

 

 

 

 

Silver Spur and USFA Lightning

 

Also, any suggestions on where I might purchase a butt cover for the Silver Spur? All of my go-to's have gone out of business.

 

 

 

Double Diamond built these for a few of my Lightnings.

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

2 hours ago, Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L said:

Received yesterday, 8/13/26. I am not sure when I will be able to test fire. I have "test cycled" and it worked fine. 

 

 

 

 

 

Silver Spur and USFA Lightning

 

Also, any suggestions on where I might purchase a butt cover for the Silver Spur? All of my go-to's have gone out of business.

 

 

 

What's the caliber on the Silver Spur.

Interesting how those whatever you call thems swing out of the frame like Large Frame Colt.

[Yul Lose]

Does it feed Cowboy .45 Special?

[Frontier Lone Rider]

One in 357 Mag would be nice, but one in 44-40, it would be a "must have".

[Yul Lose]

19 minutes ago, Frontier Lone Rider said:

One in 357 Mag would be nice, but one in 44-40, it would be a "must have".

Yes it would!!!

[Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L]

2 hours ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

Beautiful looking rifle! 👍

How many rounds does the magazine hold?

 

10 - 45 lc cartridges

 

1 hour ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

What's the caliber on the Silver Spur.

Interesting how those whatever you call thems swing out of the frame like Large Frame Colt.

 

Right now, only available 45 lc. 

 

Per Pedersoli:

"SILVER SPUR
THE 1884 LIGHTNING RIFLE BY DAVIDE PEDERSOLI
We wanted to make our Lightning rifle to be more versatile and appealing, introducing improvements to the internal mechanic, refining it to handle most of the ammunition available on the market. Specifically, the new generation of Lightning rifles is characterized by movable cartridge retainers that are linked to the movement of the bolt. The cartridge, held in place by the retainers during the upward motion of the elevator, is released when entering the chamber, making the operation smooth and fast."

 

1 hour ago, Yul Lose said:

Does it feed Cowboy .45 Special?

 

Don't have any Cowboy 45 Specials but it would not cycle a complete 45 Schofield cartridge. It would feed but not eject. I put an empty case in the chamber and it ejected fine. I will have to try a full course of fire with the Schofields.

 

1 hour ago, Frontier Lone Rider said:

One in 357 Mag would be nice, but one in 44-40, it would be a "must have".

 

 

44-40 would have been my preference also.

 

 

[SnakeM]

Per pedersoli 357 is due out Late this year or next year...

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

Interesting info on the Silver Spur.

Among other things, it is at the moment, only available in .45 Colt.   Well, that's a good caliber, generically speaking.   My AWA is a .45, and it's my favorite main match rifle.   It was also my first Lightning, and remains my favorite one of the bunch.

It was mentioned that it would not cycle .45 Schofields.   This caught me by surprise.   My AWA runs them no problem, and I even shot a clean match with them once.  (I was shooting Schofield revolvers, one of them chambered for the historical round, so that made things easier.)   I've never tried to run  C45S in it because, well, I don't have any, but I am curious as it if they would work.

I wonder if they won't work because the action is more like a Large Frame original than a medium frame.   My Large Frame Lighting in .45-70 will run .45-60 made from cut down .45-70 brass, but it won't work with .45-45.   The difference between the Colt and Schofield rounds is more like the difference between 70 and 45 than 70 and 60.

 

A desire to have one in .357 Magnum was made.   I can't speak to this caliber in a Lightning.   Based on how the Schofields will work in an AWA, but not in a Pedersoli makes me think that shorter rounds like .38 Special or Long Colt would not work in a Pedersoli .357, but they might work in an AWA.   Can't find one who has one to let me know though!  I wanna be able to run Long Colts in a Lighting to go with some pistols I have in the caliber.

.44-40 was also made mention of.   This is an EXCELLENT cartridge for the Lightning.  It does not have the blowback issues that the .45 does, which would be even more important if you are deciding to shoot black powder in it.  But, since I already have an AWA and Colt in the caliber, it would be low on my priority list.   

For me, my caliber of choice would be a .44 Magnum.  I'd enjoy having a Lightning so chambered for various reasons.  But I'd want it to be in the standard/historical configuration.  Their modernized one in the caliber is of little to no interest to me.

Dang it...   The Lightning Bug is demanding attention again! 

 

[Roger Rapid]

H.K. Uriah…

 

Pedersoli needed a starting place so it picked .45LC. In the previous version of the Lightning - which Pedersoli now calls the “Classic Lightning” - the .45LC generally ran a little better than the .357. The larger DIAMETER of the .45LC was a bit more forgiving because of how snugly the cartridge gets 3-point-trapped between the lifter and the two "cartridge guides/ejection plates.” How precisely the cartridge gets trapped makes a big difference in feeding reliability. So it was ideal for them to begin at a more reliable starting point; thus the larger cartridge (diameter wise).

 

Not sure why the .45 Schofields are not running in that rifle - catches me by surprise, too. I shoot .45 Cowboy Specials in my Classic Lightnings with ZERO problems and no modifications to the rifles. As you know, because the Lightning has a “cartridge stop lever” that allows only one round to enter the lifter at a time, it really doesn’t care about OAL. I’ve mixed rounds from .45LC (with 180g / 1.60˝ OAL) down to Cowboy Specials in the same magazine and the rifle just feeds, shoots, and ejects them regardless of length. (I actually keep .45LC’s with 180gr bullets in my cart in case I encounter a plate rack with questionable knock-down-ability. Then I load the tube accordingly mixing five .45LCs with five Cowboy Specials.)

 

The only thing in the Silver Spurs that is “more like the large frame Colts” is the fact that, as you mentioned, the Silver Spur has the swinging cartridge guides. But the size format of the rifle has not really changed from the classic version. And doing so has the cartridge being trapped better between the lifter and the floating guides when the bolt is all the way back. You may also have seen that the two mainframe screws (one on each side) that secure the upper assembly to the trigger frame are set back further. There are some other minor differences inside the Silver Spur - different lifter shape/angle, mechanism for the floating guides, etc., but the big difference is the replacement of the stationary cartridge guide/ejection plates with the swinging ones.

 

Agree with you on the necked cartridges like .44-40 (and .38-40). One thing nice about shooting the Cowboy Specials is that the load - which is a little more than half of what I was using in my .45LCs - generates virtually no blow-back, at least not that I’m am totally aware of. There’s probably some, but I was just got used to the blow-back of the .45LCs and I don’t miss it!

 

Lastly, you mentioned .44Magnum. I think you know that Pedersoli also just announced a “Jackal" hunting rifle. This is basically the same action as the Silver Spur with the action bedded in a nicely-sculptured hunting foregrip and main stock. The big difference is that it is chambered in .44Magnum. I’m afraid these old El Rey shoulders wouldn’t like it very much…

 

Be good...

RR

[Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L]

Regarding the 45 Schofields.

 

I had problems ejecting an unfired cartridge, I think the cartridge guides are the issue. I had no problem ejecting an empty cartridge but an unfired cartridge stays in the receiver. I will try a full course of fire with Schofields as soon as I am able.

 

The issue would be unloading unfired 45 Schofield cartridges. If I hold the rifle upside down, I could get the unfired cartridge to fall out but in the upright position, it would stay in the receiver.

 

BTW - I like the feature that allows unloading unfired rounds without dropping the hammer.

[Roger Rapid]

Injun Ryder...

Just want to be clear ... So, the round will extract from the chamber but not eject once the bolt is moved back (opened)? Is the shell staying hooked into the extractor on the bolt when you draw the bolt back or does it just come partly out of the chamber and then separate from the bolt's extractor? Can you try putting an empty case in the chamber and slamming the bolt closed with moderate, but not extreme force? (Objective is to get the extractor to hook onto the rim of the cartridge.)

RR

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

2 hours ago, Roger Rapid said:

Lastly, you mentioned .44Magnum. I think you know that Pedersoli also just announced a “Jackal" hunting rifle. This is basically the same action as the Silver Spur with the action bedded in a nicely-sculptured hunting foregrip and main stock. The big difference is that it is chambered in .44Magnum. I’m afraid these old El Rey shoulders wouldn’t like it very much…

Yeah, I don't care for the look of the Jackal.  It just seems wrong to me somehow.   With regards to .44 Magnum itself, I load it it with a mid range loading of Trailboss.   Still less oomph than a factory .44 Special.   I have a couple of pistols, and two other rifles in the caliber, so, wanting a rifle to chamber it is something I desire.   I figured Pedersoli would have come out with a Silver Spur in the caliber, since they'd already figured out how to do it with the action.  Alas, I was wrong. 

With regards to your comments in the .357, as I was typing this, I thought of my Colt in .32-20.   There's one that shoot a round that is in some ways dimensionally similar to the .357 or .38 Special.   Not sure what that would mean for developmental reference, but mine does work well.

Sooner or later, I will get a Pedersoli.   I just have to decide what caliber I want it in.   My "Lightning wish list" if such a thing makes any sense, is as follows.  

These are all things I don't have.

A USFA.
A Pedersoli.
An AWA in .38 Special.  I almost got one of their fancy looking ones with the silver colored engraved receiver, but lost out on at the last minute.  I don't necessary need to have that specific version, but I guess it would be nice.
A .44 Magnum.

Lassiter is building me a Taurus in .44 Special, so that'll add a caliber I want, and a make I don't have.   I got the Taurus at his suggestion.   The feeling was, he'd have to do just as much work no matter what the doner was, so may as well get the one that cost the least amount of money on the used market.  

I am not really interested in the Uberti/Beretta model.  I've only ever seen one, and it was very clunky from what I recall.   

I am not set up for .38-40, I don't have any guns in the caliber.   Theoretically, maybe someday but at the moment, it's not something that is under consideration.

[SnakeM]

I contacted pedersoli and specifically asked if the .357 will run standard 38 special. The answer was yes!

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

35 minutes ago, SnakeM said:

I contacted pedersoli and specifically asked if the .357 will run standard 38 special. The answer was yes!

But will it run .38 Long Colt?   🤪

[Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L]

4 hours ago, Roger Rapid said:

Injun Ryder...

Just want to be clear ... So, the round will extract from the chamber but not eject once the bolt is moved back (opened)? Yes. An unfired 45 Schofield round will not eject. It will extract.

 

Is the shell staying hooked into the extractor on the bolt when you draw the bolt back or does it just come partly out of the chamber and then separate from the bolt's extractor? The 45 Schofield loaded round stays connected to the extractor and comes completely out of the chamber. The loaded round will then come off of the extractor as it tries to eject but it appears to contact the cartridge guides and stays in the receiver.

 

Can you try putting an empty case in the chamber and slamming the bolt closed with moderate, but not extreme force? (Objective is to get the extractor to hook onto the rim of the cartridge.) As mentioned before, an empty 45 Schofield case will extract and eject fine.

 

RR

 

 

[Lucky R. K.]

16 hours ago, Roger Rapid said:

Not sure why the .45 Schofields are not running in that rifle - catches me by surprise, too. I shoot .45 Cowboy Specials in my Classic Lightnings with ZERO problems and no modifications to the rifles. 

 

Thanks for this information, Roger. I have cut down 44 magnum brass to 45 CBS length and shoot them in my '60 Ubertti Henry. I also shoot them in my '66 and '73 Ubertti's, all using one of Bill Englishes carriers. It never occurred to me to try the shorter cartridge in my 44-40 Pedersoli Lightning. I just tried it after reading this post. The brass runs thru the gun like corn thru a goose.  Thanks for the tip.

Lucky 😁

[Roger Rapid]

Injun Ryder:

PM sent to you...

Roger

[Catamount Kid]

That looks fantastic.

I’d love a reliable lightning clone.

 

is it true they neutered the slam fire function though?

[Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L]

From the users manual:

[Roger Rapid]

That lever also allows the shooter to cycle the rifle fully forward and back without dropping the hammer - for quick and easy unloading of the mag, if needed.

RR

[Catamount Kid]

On 8/17/2026 at 10:49 PM, Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L said:

From the users manual:

Dangerous condition!

 

it’s a feature, not a bug.

[Outlaw Gambler]

Do I understand correctly that the new Pedersoli pump action rifles will nor slam fire or am I missing something?

[Roger Rapid]

Outlaw Gambler...

You are correct. While many CAS shooters want a Lightning that will slam fire, for liability reasons Stefano Pedersoli intentionally does not want his version of the Lightning to slam fire. In fact, they went through great lengths to re-design the internal workings of their Lightning with an intricate sear mechanism that only allows the hammer to be dropped after the trigger is first released.

 

The internal workings of a Pedersoli Lightning are very different from the Uberti Goldrush, Taurus Thunderbolt, AWA, USFA, and original Colt Lightnings. IMHO you can run the riflle accurately just as fast by cycling the trigger.

RR

[Catamount Kid]

My childhood experience with strings of cans, and recent trips with my old 1890 - on a timer-

‘you can’t shoot a 22 lever gun as fast as a pump-

‘you can’t shoot shoot the pump faster slam firing than not.

 

with my Thunderbolt- when it goes a full string- about 50% of the time-

‘is faster slam firing than not.

even not slam firing it is faster than an R92, Marlin 94, and Winchester 44.

 

now, I don’t have a 73/shortened 73.

 

now, this is just me on a timer.

im pretty new to SASS.

 

im not new to shooting.

maybe im not good enough to capitalize on a real, slick, short throw lever gun.

for example, my strings and splits are better on a stock Beretta M9/92FS/92G than a 92D.

and a d-spring and light trigger job I’m better than a stock M9/92FS/92G.

but I go lighter springs and finer trigger work than that,  and I don’t gain anything-

‘others do.

 

all I want is a lightning clone that is reliable and slamfires.  I was really looking forward to the silver spur until finding out they neutered it.

 

what is the contact number, cost, and turn around time sending one to The Man to get a Thunderbolt done up?

[Yul Lose]

Pedersoli Lightnings have never had the slam fire feature. Lassiter started modifying them years ago to slam fire. I’ve got 6 of them and he’s modified them all. I’ve got a brand new USFA Lightning and it has the slam fire feature built into it, no Lassiter needed. Slam firing isn’t for everyone but I really like it and hardly ever don’t use it. Once you find a rhythm and technique that works you’ll be amazed at how fast you can run through 10 rounds. My best is 2.53 seconds.