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1873 barrel 38 to 44

pineman
hi all,
I was wondering if anyone knows if the barrel of a 38 octagon is
exactly the same as a 44 octagon except for the inner diameter chamber.
Would it be a direct swap or would forearm, mag tube and other stuff fit differently if i tried to replace the 38 with a 44 ?

thankyou
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Comments

6 comments

Date Votes
  • pineman
    Winchester 1873 38_40 to 44_40 barrel
    should have been topic.
    thanks
    0
  • dandak1
    You could swap barrels assuming headspace turned out okay. However the receivers on the 44's did not have the little "hump" the 38 and 32 receivers had, at least on the rifles, so a collector could tell immediately. Forearm, mag tube, and carrier are the same (of course the carrier may be marked 38 cal...but dimensionally it is the same). This also assumes the barrels were standard barrels and not special order heavy barrels, etc.
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  • Colt Super
    The .38-40 WCF is a better cartridge, in my opinion.

    Doug
    0
  • tsr1965
    They are both based off the same cartridge...the 38 W.C.F.(38-40), is a necked down 44 W.C.F.(44-40) or the other way around. That being said, they will interchange, but must be headspaced properly.

    Best

    EDIT 1

    If this barrel has been relined to 32 WCF, then you might have to change the extractor too.
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  • pineman
    thanks for the replys.
    btw this 38 has been relined to a 32 thus why I am interested in converted to a 44 due to thier barrel is more likely availiable. So how would I go about making sure headspacing is correct?
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  • dsmc1
    Hi
    If the rifle has been relined to 32-20, you may want to check to make sure you have the correct bolt and cartridge block: the 32 definitely uses smaller ones than a 38-40 or 44-40 which ARE interchangeable, being the same rim diameter. Whoever relined it MAY have left the original bolt and block, but check to be sure.
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