Original Stevens 44 1/2 in 40-65 Win.

[thruxton]

I have an original Stevens 44 1/2 that I want to convert to 40-65, is this caliber OK ? It will be used
with BP. I was told that the hammer has to be fully cocked to load a round because of the diameter.
Any thoughts ??

[Bent Ramrod]

The barrel shank on the original 44-1/2s handled .44-40 and .38-40, but of the longer rifle cartridges the maximum head size was the .30-30 to .38-55 head size.

The experimenters in the 1930s used the .44-1/2 for wildcats on the .30-40 head size, but that was about max. Just my opinion, but there wouldn’t be a lot of metal left in the barrel shank with a .45-70 head size chamber like the .40-65. A .40-50 or .40-70 Straight would be better proportioned to the gun.

If you had a CPA action, which takes a full 1” barrel shank, there would be no potential “issues” with a .40-65.

I have to cock my 44-1/2 hammers to use a cleaning rod from the breech sometimes, but no problems with loading.

[thruxton]

Thank you for your answer, it answers my concerns

Bob G.

[Green Frog]

Just to reinforce BRR’s statement on barrel shank size, when CPA designed their “upgraded” version of the 44 1/2, the main change they made was to enlarge the frame to take a larger barrel shank to take 45-70 class cartridges. The newer design would be a good choice for your proposed build, the original, not so much.

Froggie

[selmerfan]

I have an original 44 1/2 frame that CPA built me a .30-40 Krag barrel for. It is definitely maximum diameter for loading cartridges.