[longwinters]

Hey, I was watching the old western "The Rifleman" yesterday and he said what his lever action was. It was a 44-40. What is it? Is it really a caliber? Or just some TV make believe?

 

[Carolina Lead Foot #35944]

It is a Winchester 1892 44-40 but tricked up with the trigger trip and the capability to keep the cartridge on the carrier when spun. It of course was fired with blanks during the filming.

CLF

 

[86er]

http://www.graybeardoutdoors.com/phpbb2/images/smiles/happy.gif The 44WCF or 44-40 was first introduced with the model 1873 Winchester. The loading was a .44 caliber bullet(actually .427 dia)with a charge of 40 grs black powder. It is a capable cartridge and has been responsible for the demise of many men, good and bad.Likewise it will take medium size game animals out to 100 yds. I've made one shot kills of California Blacktail deer with my old'73 carbine on several occasions.

 

[Yanqui]

Check out this site for the Lucas McCain Rifle http://www.northforkproductions.net/

This past weekend I saw two of "The Rifleman" shows. They were great. The first one involved Mark. A friend of his was accidently shot with Lucas rifle. Mark tried to blame the rifle. At the end the rifle was used to defend Lucas, a girl (Lucas sweetheart) and Mark. The plot of the story was the rifle was just a tool. The anti's would have hated the show.

The next show involved disarmament. Micah(marshall) was going out of town. Lucas did not want to fill in. The blacksmith(I think) filled in. He went power hungry and disarmed the town. Some bad guys took advantage seeing that all the citizens were unarmed and robbed the bank. Of course Lucas stepped in and saved the day. The plot was what can happen with disarmament. The anti's would hate this show.

I just wish I could have taped the shows.

 

[Mad Dog]

I love that old series, and watch the reruns every chance I get. However, one of the more interesting ones I watched, was something about Mark getting his first rifle, and spending time trying to get this big buck mule deer. He hunted him hard, and finally got the drop on the buck. Imagine my surprise, when the buck that ran up into the picture was a FALLOW deer buck instead of a mulie! Oh well, the story lines were great, even if some of the shots weren't "historically" accurate.

Mad Dog

 

[Yanqui]

I love the time lines. The time in Northfork was the 1880's. Yet Lucas McCain carried a Winchester 1892 SRC. But I do not care. It was/is a GREAT show. I watch it whenever I can.

 

[Flint]

rifleman

longwinter, to your original question, yes, 44-40 is a caliber. That designation actually came from Marlin, who refused to put any other manufacturer's name on their rifles, so when Marlin chambered 44WCF (Winchester Centerfire), they called it 44-40. (44 caliber, 40 grains of (black) powder. Hollywood makebelieve showed up in the show "The Rebel" where the hero carried a cut-off Winchester in a holster as a handgun, which was also a 44-40, but Hollywood filled his belt loops with 30-30 ammo because it looks more impressive.

 

[STW]

Saw an episode last week or the week before at the end of which there was an anti-gun lecture. The son expressed the desire that someday there would be no guns and people wouldn't be allowed to carry them. And there would be peace. The dad had his doubts, and then scoffed when the son also suggested horseless carraiges would replace horses. There was another comment or two expressing the idea that citizens owning and using firearms was a primitve and savage thing that progress and civilization would soon do away with.

I can't quickly tell the difference between a '92 and an '86 model. Could his have been an '86? Did all '86s have oct. barrels? The '73 has that bulge in the lower rear of the receiver that is different. Looks more like the Henry so I can usually keep it straight.

Anybody have a primer for keeping '73, '86, '92, '94 straight?

 

[Yanqui]

Josh Randall in Wanted: Dead or Alive carried a cut down Winchester 1892 SRC in 44WCF. It was of pistol length and it had an oversized lever. It was carried in a special holster. He also carried 45-70 Government cartidges in the pistol loops. The cut off Winchester was called a Mares Laig. Northfork Productions can also make one up for you.

Posted by Flint
That designation actually came from Marlin, who refused to put any other manufacturer's name on their rifles, so when Marlin chambered 44WCF (Winchester Centerfire), they called it 44-40.

If this statement is true then Marlin had no class. Did Marlin ever get away from that practice? It would be interesting to find out. Ruger still refuses to acknowledge S&W on their caliber designation. No class.

 

[Yanqui]

I was curious about Marlin. I checked out their webpage. It is good to see that they acknowledge another manufactures name on their weapons. It probably didn't really matter. If you say 44-40, 38-40, 32-20, 30-30, 32-40, ect you know it's Winchester.

Much like Ruger is doing today by not acknowledging Smith & Wesson on their literature and weapons. They list the .40 S&W as .40 Auto among others. It is a shame they are still doing that after all these years. But I guess class does skip a generation.

Back to lever actions. I had a couple of more websites to go to regarding the Lucas McCain rifle. But there having problems.

One was The Legendary Rifle: A Closer Look http://members.tripod.com/~northfork/therifle.html

The other was The Rifleman ---its gone.

I should have printed it.

 

[No Cattle]

I get a big kick out of the fact that Lucas McCain's jeans frequently have the Wrangler 'W' stitched on the hip pockets.

Black powder and Cowboy action shooters have insured that 44-40 will be around for a long time.
The thinner brass at the mouth of the case seals better against the chambers of your rifle or pistol and allows less blow back. This keeps the innards slightly cleaner. This in turn allows more rounds to be fired befoer you must clean the gun.