Question
smooth rounds (with no
I have an original old Colt Lightning rifle (pump action). The writing on the barrel says .44 Cal. It used to work fine as long as I used old cartridges cal. 44-40 with no extractor groove (like the .44WCF, see attached picture), while if I use the normal 44-40 rounds now normally available(with an extractor groove) the following problem arises: when I open the bolt and a new round comes out of the magazine, it is placed onto the elevator in the wrong manner, i.e. not horizontal but oblique, with its bottom up., and that makes it impossible to chamber it. It looks like this is caused by the extractor groove on the rounds, since the magazine latch mistakenly sticks into such groove. With smooth ammo this did not happen. So my question is: where can I find such smooth rounds? Are they called differently? Thank you very much!
AnswerHello Umberto.
The original Colt Lightning rifles were chambered for .44 Winchester Center Fire (.44 WCF) but the name of this cartridge was later standardized to .44-40 when it was used in other firearms. The "40" in the latter name referred to 40 grains of blackpowder which was a common charge inside the cartridge. Most modern ammunition is now made with smokeless powder that is much more powerful and some of these cartridges may not be safe for use in your rifle.
You should only purchase true .44 WCF or .44-40 blackpowder cartridges and not attempt to use any other .44 caliber cartridges in your rifle. You might find some other types of .44 cartridges which look nearly identical and some of them might physically fit in your rifle but they could contain different components such as a larger charge of smokeless powder or they could be just slightly larger or smaller in one of the dimensions. The differences may not be visible to you externally but they could result in a much higher pressure inside the cartridge which could damage your rifle or even cause it to explode like a grenade leading to injury or death.
You don't mention which specific cartridges you are currently trying to use but if they have an extractor groove then they are not the same as the original .44 WCF and .44-40 cartridges which your rifle requires. You should be able to find the proper cartridges at most large gun shops but if you can't find them then try these places:
http://www.cheaperthandirt.com
http://www.ows-ammo.com
If you can't find the right cartridges or you plan to shoot often and you want a cheaper source then you might consider reloading them yourself. You will still need to buy the equipment and components but then you can reload the cases many times and in the end this will save you some money, plus it will allow you to adjust the loads for your specific use.
In general I would not recommend shooting such an old rifle with any frequency. It might have some collector value and you can buy modern rifles for a lot less than it would cost you to acquire or reload specialty ammunition. Since the rifle is very old and it might have been fired with improper ammunition then you should have it checked by a gunsmith for safety prior to shooting it again. They can also advise you on which modern cartridges might function safely in your rifle.
Here are some other links if you would like to read more:
http://www.oldammo.com/may06.htm (scroll down to see article with photos of old 44-40 cartridges)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.44-40_Winchester (basic cartridge info)
http://www.leverguns.com/articles/44wcf.htm (history of the cartridge)
http://www.gunsandammomag.com/cs/Satellite/IMO_GA/Story_C/The+.44-40+Winchester (reloading article with dimensions)
Hope this helps! Good luck!
Bob
