I've seen original bullets from old 44-40 BP cartridges that are somewhat hollow based. They must've been meant to upset into the rifling better.
I've seen original bullets from old 44-40 BP cartridges that are somewhat hollow based. They must've been meant to upset into the rifling better.
The last thing I would do is reload with black powder for that rifle. The 1873 Winchester came out in the black powder era, and transitioned right into the smokeless era. You will never regret going with the larger caliber.
& with the new 1873's there is no need to use black powder to reload..............they are not hard to strip all the wood off & to take apart the action........... but why bother with it?
be safe, enjoy life, journey well
da gimp
OFC, Mo. Chapter
For BP many folks like the 44-40 as it is made for BP. Suppsed to seal the chamber better when fired and prevent blow back
I shoot .45 colt for my BP levers. My primary is an Uberti copy of the 1860 Henery and back up is a Marlin. I get no blow back from either
I load a 30 grain load topped with a thin wax cover and a Circle Fly wad with 250gr bullet
Nice smoke and accurate
Original Henry rifles, Winch Model 1866 and the First Model 1873 had a design that permitted firing out of battery on occasion.
This can send the bolt through one's eye, on the way to scoop out a little brain. Rare, but it doe occur.
Italian Henry and Model 1866 replicas are made the same way.
Winchester's Miroku Henry and Model 1873 rifles appear to have the two design improvements to prevent this from happening.
I might suggest you study up on early Winchester actions to learn this yourself. Italian '73's should be fine.
I've been loading a Winchester (Miroku) 1873 in 45 colt with full cases of Black MZ black powder substitute. Muzzle velocity with 200 gr. lead bullet is between 1400 and 1250. Barrel is clean as a whistle after 50 rounds. Groups 3-4 inches at 100 yards. I am sold on the Black MZ powder and Sportsmans Warehouse sells it for $10.00 per pound. Lee factory crimp die helps lots.
Last edited by Dolt; 06-15-2017 at 01:31.
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The 1894 Marlin in .357 is an excellent gun. Accurate, easy to shoot, can hunt all manner of game with it too - and handy. I had an 1873 Uberti in .45 Colt that didn't shoot worth a darn, I tried a lot of different handholds in that rifle, all gave lousy accuracy, although the gun sure was pretty. My '92 Winchester in .38-40 is a favorite - wonderfully accurate. If you want a '66 or '73 Winnie, I'd go with .44-40 - especially if you want to shoot black powder.
I have a pre-safety Marlin 1894C, excellent. 38 WCs must be single loaded, do not feed well. Older Marlins have the Micro-Groove rifling, fine with jacketed bullets, accuracy with lead bullets can be tricky. The 38 Soecial started as a blackpowder load if you want to take that route.