Is It Safe?
I have a S&W .44 Double Action Frontier, .44 Winchester (or 44/40). The S&W letter gives a mfg year of 1894 I bought a box of cartridges made in Mexico with a brand name of "P-R". The box states "44 S&W Especial" and the brass is marked "44-40 Win". The gun is in excellent condition (tight, etc.). Is it safe to shoot this Brand X ammo? Should I buy some American ammo, or should I just leave the revolver in its presentation case and forget about shooting it?
0
-
to ream a Remington 870 3 inch to 3 1/2 inch chamber? 0 -
If the gun is in as good a shape as you say I would not shoot it .Firing this gun I would think would only lower it's value.At best I would have a gunsmith check it out, if you still want to shoot it.In an older Blue Book 1996 value is $1.700 in 98% cond. add 100% for target sights.
[:(]
ATF<P><br>0 -
I have one of these #3 44-40 DA S&W pistols also and I handload for it with either Pyrodex or real light loads of 6.5 gr of Unique. No one will recommend smokeless powder loads for these, but I have not had any problems with the Unique. Mine only has about 25% origonal finish and I paid $300 for it. The fellow I got it from had shot modern jacketed 44-40 ammo made for rifles and had broken the hammer screw. I had one made for it from tool steel. I would not think about shooting it with modern ammo. I use cast .427" 200 grain bullets. They only made about 15000 of these in 44-40 from 1880 to 1910. You can load fairly powerful loads with black powder or one of the black powder substitutes. 0 -
Thanks, gentlemen. Maybe it's best that it stays in the case. Thanks. 0 -
Use only non jacketed lead bullets with black powder equivalent light smokeless loads or you're going to diminish this gun. I believe those
sold for cowboy shooting competition would work.0 -
A-37;
This is one, in my opinion, that should be left in the case.
These are very scarce and highly sought after revolvers. In good condition they fetch in the 1200 to 1500 dollar range. I know the timtation to fire these old guns is great, I fight these urges every day with my oldies but goodies, just keep in mind it's rarity and worth and how crppy you would feel if something were to happen to it. As far as the Mexican ammo goes' I would be leery about firing it in ANY revolver, A lot of this ammo is not as carefully constructed as it should be. Pressure readings can vary wildly, from light loads that result in a bullet stuck in the bore to dangerously high. Be very careful if you elect to try this ammo out.0 -
What info identifies a box of ammo for Cowboy Action shooting as far as powder load? Thanks for all the above responses. 0
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
7 comments