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colt caliber

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7 comments

  • TrooperAllen469
    It may be 44WCF, 44 Winchester center fire, most often called 44/40. Please do not fire it until you have it checked by a competent gunsmith, and research it's value. I have had customers bring me Colt Single Action Army revolvers wanting to actually SHOOT them. Guns worth thousands of dollars, that I would not endanger by firing with modern commercial ammunition. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
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  • tomh.
    Trooper's right....that's 44 center fire or .44-40
    What's the serial number? And condition?
    We can give you a date of manufacture. And maybe give you an idea if it's a shooter or keeper.
    A general rule for SAAs is that one manufactured before the turn of the century was designed for black powder use only. So it may not be safe to shoot smokeless powder rounds through it. And as Trooper said, it may not be wise financially to do so!
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  • Iconoclast
    Trooper nailed it: .44-40 = .44 WCF (Winchester Center Fire) = .44 CF (although this is very much secondary terminology). This usage almost certainly stems from the competitive desire not to give another arms company any gratuitous recognition. Colt also used this cartridge in their "Lightening Magazine Rifle" and one will sometimes encounter cartridge headstamps of ".44 C.L.M.R." There are numerous examples of this sort of practice, virtually from the moment commercial ammunition with headstamps came on the market.

    "There is nothing lower than the human race - except the french." (Mark Twain) ". . . And liberals / demoRats" (me)
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  • STRIPPER-TIPPER
    Why own it if you can't shoot it? My friend shoots all of his Colt SAAs,Lugers,1911s,etc.. I have a mint Winchester Hotchkiss 3rd series musket that gets range time, as do my Trapdoors,Krags,Lugers,etc.. You obviously don't abuse it ,and clean it when you are done. To me it is like my cars-no garage queens and no safe queens for guns.Doesn't matter how much it cost. Just my opinion.
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  • rhmc24
    A good photo of the marking on the gun and its serial number would help a lot. I have a number of very old center fire cartridges marked .44 Colt. In the 1800s there were a number of .44 rimfire cartridge types. Seems obvious the intent was to keep from loading it with .44RFs.
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  • Frisco Billy
    If the gun is safe to fire you might want to try some Ten-X .44
    4-in-1 ammo which can be used in older guns that are any of the
    following calibers: .44 Colt, .44 Special, .44 Russian and .44
    Magnum but not .44-40 as I believe that .44-40 is a shouldered
    cartridge whereas the other 4 are straight wall cartridges.
    This is a low velocity load manufactured primarily for Cowboy
    Action Shooting. It isn't cheap but then neither is the gun
    for that matter. I use the Ten-X in an ASM Traditions .44
    Colt Cartridge Conversion gun and it works great.
    You can learn more at www.ten-x.com
    Good luck - Frisco Billy
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  • TrooperAllen469
    quote:Originally posted by TrooperAllen469
    I have had customers bring me Colt Single Action Army revolvers wanting to actually SHOOT them. Guns worth thousands of dollars, that I would not endanger by firing with modern commercial ammunition. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.


    In my haste to reply to a possible safety issue, I mistakenly left out the words:
    "SHOOT them (with modern, higher pressure ammunition) and Guns worth (several) thousands of dollars. I agree with Billy, that you should look into some CAS ammo.
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