44 WCF (44/40) loads for Original Winchester 1873

[Bigjohn]

I was recently asked to provide some loads for an original Winchester 1873 Lever Action Rifle in 44WCF. The rifle is in very good condition and was used for most of its life in Pentridge Prison, Melbourne Victoria.

I have a LYMAN Die Set and Lube sizer die for this calibre but nothing else at this time. I currently have the LYMAN 44/40 Cowboy boolit on order but no delivery time. I can find a shooter locally who loads for this calibre but not certain what molds he has.

I am seeking a mild load to protect the rifle for the furture. the owner is not heavily into shooting these firearms and only wants some loads so he can have an occasional shot. through this and the 1886 mentioned in the previous thread.

Any ideas?

[Le Loup Solitaire]

Hi, I have a 73 in 38-40 and its in the same ballpark as the 44WCF. The action is not a strong one and the ammo for it originally was loaded to 12-1300 feet per second with a 205-215 grain bullet. The bullet had a small meplat for a nose and the appropriate bullet listed for it was the Lyman #42798. It was supposed to cast at .427-.429, but I suppose that .430 would work in a worn bore. In my Lyman handbook one of the listings is 10 grains of (Alliant) Unique for 1300 FPS. There is also a warning not to exceed 1300 FPS for 1873 rifles. The reason for this is that the 1892 Winchester rifles were much stronger and the ammo made for them (in the same calibers) was high(er) velocity. The handbook also cautioned not to use 2400 powder in 73 rifles. So I would if possible stick with the ten grain loading of Unique as its a safe one. Good luck and good shooting. LLS

[405]

Bigjohn,
I have an original Win 73 in 38-40. I shoot a 180 gr plain base bullet of 20:1 alloy at .401 diameter over 4.5 grains of Trailboss with good results. The combination is very accurate. It's the same start load listed by IMR in their cowboy action section with a MV of about 700 fps.

Also have an original Win 73 in 44-40. I shoot a 200 gr plain base bullet of 20:1 alloy at .430 diameter over 5.5 grains of Trailboss with good results. The combination is likewise very accurate. And it too is the listed as the IMR cowboy action start load with a MV of a tad over 700 fps.

Listed both for comparison. Both are mild loads for the old 73s. No need to push them. Love the rattle-clank, lifter block scissor jack action sound! If all is working well they are very smooth with the lifter placing the on-deck round in close alignment to the chamber.

[woody1]

I load for the 44 WCF but have the stronger Marlin 1894. Was it me loading for an original '73 I'd top my load of Unique at about 8 grains or a touch over. My plinking load is 7.4 grains of Green Dot with any of the 200-205 grain boolits and it's prob'ly a good one for the '73 also. Velocity out of my 24" Marlin is around 1200 fps. Regards, Woody

[Bigjohn]

Thank all of you for your help. I had thought about BP loads in both rifles but had to discount it because of the skill level the owner possesses. I don't believe he could clean the rifles and cases well enough.

As has been said here, these are classic rifles and I want to keep them that way.

I'm still gathering materials together for the reloading of the cartridges; I will need to buy in some powder for the loads as I do not have Unique or 3031 on hand. It would be better to use one powder for both cartridges as we have a limit as to how much powder we are allowed to keep at home without special licences and storeage.

[fourarmed]

It has been a while since I loaded for mine, but the last load I used was nearly a full case of Reloader 7. With a large rifle primer this produced 1300 fps with fine accuracy. My thought was that the slowest powder that would produce the desired velocity would have the lowest peak pressure. Ken Waters listed 4227 as his pet powder for the '73. I won't say the charge as I can't be sure I remember it correctly, and my books are at home.

[Catch]

Be careful when you load the 44 WCF for the 73 Win. You need to load them to exactly the right length so the elevator that loads the next cartridge into the chamber will function properly. Too long or too short will jam the action and you will be unloading everything through the loading gate. The best way is to use a factory ammo to set your seating dies. Make sure the bullet is held securely in the case as the bullets tend to sink into the case in a tube magazine if they are not.
Have fun with it............Catch

[Le Loup Solitaire]

Catch is absolutely right. The bullets listed as standard for the 44-40 (Lyman #42798) and 38-40 (Lyman # 401403) were designed for use with Black Powder. You filled up the case and the bullet when seated (ahead of the front band) could not telescope into the case. As such it was the right length to fit into the brass carrier in the 73's when it slid out of the tubular mag and was brought up to chamber level without a problem. With smokeless powder the charge is smaller and there is a lot of room behind the bullet. With either of the bullets mentioned above you can't crimp in the same place because when under spring pressure in the mag with several cartridges, they will telescope. Crimping behind the front band makes them too long to feed and they will jam.. In the 38-40 I tried a Lee Factory Crimp Die to crimp the mouths on the front band. It worked but chewed into the case mouths. Case mouths and neck thickness is these carteidges are/is thin and chewing on them will not encourage long case life. And cases aren't cheap. What I did was to trim the case length back a bit to allow me to slightly crimp behind the front band. It worked and my loaded rounds are the right OAL to feed into the carrier or elevator and be brought up to chamber level. LLS

[flstf_2000]

Hi Folks, Well, I have just join Boolits and I have been looking for load data on the 44-40 WCF. The rifle is a new Uberti (Henry) 44-40, 24" barrel length. Could any of you great reloaders pass down some data for me. Thanks, flstf_2000

[fouronesix]

The forum search function works or try in Leverguns section-- threads like this:
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...ht=44-40+loads

or this one
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=159917

[Reverend Al]

I had an original '73 Octagon rifle that was mfg in 1891 that shot beautifully with 8.5 to 9 grains of Unique with a .430 200 PBFN cast bullet from an RCBS mould. It would stay on our club's 200 yard gong 10 for 10 with that combination ... (Sadly I parted with that lovely old gun to a gentleman down in New Orleans and used the money to help pay down our house mortgage. I also sold an 1881 Marlin in .45-70 Govt., a really nice 1881 Marlin in 40-60 Marlin, a Marlin 1894 in .44WCF and a few other very good Cowboy guns from my collection for the same purpose. Kind of regret that now, but at the time it was needed money ...)

[cwskirmisher]

the old '73 is in 'Group 1' category for reloading purposes, meaning the weaker toggle-link action. According to Lyman #49,:
205 grain Cast #427098, Unique, 6.3 grains, 895fps - Remarks: Group 1; sugg. start load
205 grain Cast #427098, Unique, 7.9 grains, 1127fps - Remarks: Group 1; max load
There you have it.

[JMtoolman]

In my orig. 73's and a ruger pistol, I use 8 grains of Unique, shoots like a dream. Also took a deer with this load, so it's not a underachever load. The toolman.