New to me original Remington 1875 44 cal.

[smkummer]

This gun has been re-nickeled and I got it for a bargain. It is stamped 44 on the trigger guard and I was worried it was in its original 44 Remington chambering but a 44-40 fits fine in the chamber and the .429 lead bullet fits tight at the muzzle. My load is 30 grain equivalent of triple 7 with the Lee 200 FP bullet unsized. Hodgedon shows this load at 830 FPS and about 6000 CUP so I should be OK. Anyone else here loading for an original 1875 Remington? I tried to load a pic with no luck.

[missionary5155]

Greetings
No I do not have one.
But I am thrilled you do and are a shooter. If you can get pictures up I promise to drool on the keys ! I shoot the S&W #3's. All these old revolvers are plain fun !
Mike in Peru

[lathesmith]

Great find smk! As Mike said, we'd love to see a pic! I don't have any originals, but I love shooting my repro in 357. It's a super accurate gun, and isn't fussy about what it shoots.
As a reminder, depending on when your Remmy was made, it should be safe with your 777 load. Keep in mind, while 777 is relatively low pressure compared to "smokeless" loads, it still has a different and slightly higher pressure curve than Black Powder. Also, be certain that the variety of 777 you are using is rated for cartridges, there are a couple of different types of 777 out there, and some is only rated for loose loads.

Above all, take that Remmy out and give it a workout! You'll be glad you did!

[smkummer]

84897 lets see if this works. Found a smokeless load in the Lyman 49 of 4.8 grains 700X as a starting load with the 200 gr. lead bullet at about 7400 CUP. I am off to the range to shoot it. The triple 7 loads are fun but clean-up was kind of a pain. And the base pin was really hard to remove after 24 rounds.

[JayinAZ]

I've been working on a big can of 700X for years, it's a nice powder for plinkers.

[smkummer]

The gun shot the 700X starting load of 4.8 grains just fine until the original mainspring broke. Now its time to check Dixie and hope the repros use the same mainspring. Looks like the same part as on a 1858. I guess I lucked out.

[lathesmith]

smk, you should be able to fit a repro mainspring to your old-timer, they are similar, and it should be a fairly easy fix to get you back up and running. It's usually the flat springs that put the old timers out of commission, and of course this is the largest one in the gun.

lathesmith

[smkummer]

Mainspring is on the way along with a trade for 100 44-40 cases from another member here. I sure like shooting this gun.

[missionary5155]

Greetings
It sure is a beauty ! If you can get the sun coming off your back at 750 FPS or slower you can watch those 44 Caliber Boolits flying to a 25 yards target. That velocity is about all you can get with 44 Russian and 220 grain or heavier.
I highly recommend you load a few with 3F. You will be surprised at everything that goes on. Plus I will not be surprised if you discover the real accuracy potential of that revolver.
Mike in Peru