Colt Lightning 40-60-260 Antelope Hunting

[shrapnel]

Having these nice old guns and not shooting them is a shame. I have quite a few old rifles and I try to hunt them all. It seems that the hunter today wants a plastic stocked, stainless steel, suppressed, fast twisted long range gun with no class. I can't get interested in that stuff and the real hunt is with the gun and old cartridges that shoot like a rainbow. This is one.

I got this rare short rifle in Denver last may and shot a few gophers with it, but I really wanted to get an antelope with it. I took it to Eastern Montana last week and chased antelope most of the day. Trying to get within range of them with this rifle is nearly impossible when antelope like wide open spaces.

I found a group of antelope that were bedded down for the afternoon and spent a couple hours crawling through cactus and grass to get within 100 yards to get a shot. They never did see me and today I am sore from the crawling and trying to lift my head without being seen.

I got the shot at just about 100 yards and then I had to get it almost 2 miles back to the truck...

http://i.imgur.com/ZLAF1Zu.jpg (https://imgur.com/ZLAF1Zu)

http://i.imgur.com/8P3SgIW.jpg (https://imgur.com/8P3SgIW)

[Texas by God]

Well done. In style! Nice goat, too.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[taco650]

I agree with your sentiments Shrapnel. However, not familiar with the rifle shown or its caliber so please educate me!

[rking22]

Nice hunt, and good shooting! I am another in agreement with you sentiments. I have never owned a Colt Lightening, that is one beautiful example. Guess my Remingtons will have to do me for now. Hey, good hunt on the rifle find as well:)

[Tripplebeards]

I want that gun!!!!

[shrapnel]

I agree with your sentiments Shrapnel. However, not familiar with the rifle shown or its caliber so please educate me!

So much of hunting these days is about stainless steel guns, fast twist and silencers. I am not interested in any of that. I do have bolt action rifles with high powered scopes and I love them, but they at least have character with nice bluing and wood.

I have seen many pictures of animals killed this fall with all the plastic and rangefinders and they are fine, I just don't like where guns and hunting is headed.

This is why I continue to hunt with old guns, they have character and it isn't like being a sniper when you hunt with them, you need to actually hunt the animal.

This is a 40-60-260 which is the same as a 40-65 Winchester. It was made to shoot a 260 grain cast bullet with 60 grains of black powder.. Velocity of this rifle is in the neighborhood of 1200-1400 FPS, not a real laser when you consider any distance past 50 yards. I have included a picture of the 40-60 compared to a 45-70 on the left and a 30-06 on the right to give a better perspective of the cartridge. I have also included a few pictures of other animals shot with old guns and cartridges...

http://i.imgur.com/o5p1ftD.jpg (https://imgur.com/o5p1ftD)

http://i.imgur.com/OkOxIHq.jpg (https://imgur.com/OkOxIHq)

http://i.imgur.com/9MAvlQo.jpg (https://imgur.com/9MAvlQo)

http://i.imgur.com/k50khWB.jpg (https://imgur.com/k50khWB)

http://i.imgur.com/Nr8ZgSS.jpg (https://imgur.com/Nr8ZgSS)

[missionary5155]

Good afternoon and Congratulations
You are to be commended taking an old rifle and using it for hunting !
Your photo is the first 40-60 Lightning I have seen or at least remember.
Thank you for posting this
Mike in LLama Land

[Wolfer]

I too like the old guns. While I do consider myself to be a fair shooter I’m a hunter first. A good percentage of my deer are taken with a 45 colt. Last year I hunted with a rolling block in 50-70. This year I’m hunting with a rolling block in 40-65

[skeettx]

Well done, well done
Thank you for sharing
Mike

[mart]

Great job. Always love seeing your old guns and your hunting successes with them. Keep em coming.

[Frank V]

Congratulations I like blue steel & walnut too! Love seeing the older guns in use. Thanks for sharing.

[shortlegs]

Great story and love the lightning! I too am going back to the older guns and calibers. They still work great! Your pics are this old mans dreams!

[Beerd]

Now that is just cool!
..

[Rick B]

Good story. Love the rifle! Tell us about the rifle in the moose picture.
Rick

[taco650]

So much of hunting these days is about stainless steel guns, fast twist and silencers. I am not interested in any of that. I do have bolt action rifles with high powered scopes and I love them, but they at least have character with nice bluing and wood.

I have seen many pictures of animals killed this fall with all the plastic and rangefinders and they are fine, I just don't like where guns and hunting is headed.

This is why I continue to hunt with old guns, they have character and it isn't like being a sniper when you hunt with them, you need to actually hunt the animal.

This is a 40-60-260 which is the same as a 40-65 Winchester. It was made to shoot a 260 grain cast bullet with 60 grains of black powder.. Velocity of this rifle is in the neighborhood of 1200-1400 FPS, not a real laser when you consider any distance past 50 yards. I have included a picture of the 40-60 compared to a 45-70 on the left and a 30-06 on the right to give a better perspective of the cartridge. I have also included a few pictures of other animals shot with old guns and cartridges...

http://i.imgur.com/o5p1ftD.jpg (https://imgur.com/o5p1ftD)


Thanks for the info, makes my 1928 vintage M-94 in 30WCF look "modern". Like the messy loading bench pic too, mine's no better right now. ;-)

[Thumbcocker]

Love the 95 Winchester

[elk hunter]

Way to go!

I too like and have hunted with older guns unfortunately my visual acuity has made it very difficult the last ten years or so. My only speed goat was taken with a muzzleloader at the barrel stretching range of 60 yards nearly 20 years ago. My most recent and hopefully not last deer was taken with my model 71 deluxe. I had hoped I would be able to freezer train an elk with my circa 1914 model 95 in 405 but I just don't think it's going to happen. I keep trying to find some way to get my eyes to cooperate but so far nothing seems to help all that much. The price we pay for maturity is quite high sometimes.

I wish you continued success as you know what it means to hunt not just kill.

[shrapnel]

Good story. Love the rifle! Tell us about the rifle in the moose picture.
Rick

I applied for over 25 years for a moose permit here in Montana before getting this permit in 1999. I had just recently acquired the 1876 deluxe and thought it would be a fitting end for a moose to be shot with an old rifle.

I spent several weeks previous to the opening day and had a great time looking for moose. When the season finally opened, I had both my sons and we hunted all over the Hebgen Lake area. This was before the wolves had gotten a foothold in the Greater Yellowstone area.

That morning we saw 11 moose, I haven't seen 11 moose total since then, but that's another story. He was with a cow and a calf. I had my 30-06, bow and the 40-60. I really wanted to kill it with the 1876, but I didn't want to mess around and wound the moose, so I had my boys pack the bow and rifle just in case.

When it came to shooting the moose, I decided I would use the 1876 and had my 30-06 nearby if I needed. I was able to successfully kill the bull with the 40-60 and made a hunt even better by using an old rifle with old tactics...

[shrapnel]

Love the 95 Winchester

That is really a cool old gun. It has a most interesting letter and I was able to make the book on the Winchester 1895 with it in the section on 40-72...

http://i.imgur.com/PnBfXFv.jpg (https://imgur.com/PnBfXFv)

http://i.imgur.com/9Kx4c3A.jpg (https://imgur.com/9Kx4c3A)

[Rick B]

Thanks, for the story about your a Moose hunt. Winchester 1876 Deluxe’s are few and far between.
Hunting with older Rifles is very rewarding and create a lot of good memories. Having your sons with you makes it even better.
Rick

[robinsroost]

Thanks for the nice narrative and photograph. Congratulations to you and your family. My oldest gun,(rifle), is a model 100 Winchester .308, not in the same class...……..robin

[ChristopherO]

This is why I continue to come to this forum. Exellent post and follow up commentary. Cheers to your success.

[JMtoolman]

I too love to hunt with old guns, shot a moose with a Alex Henry .450 express, and a cow moose with a 43 Mauser sporter. Others I have used in years past to take game are an original Peabody, Purdey percussion rifle, double Alex Henry muzzle loader, another double muzzle loader, Remington rolling block sporter. It's been a lot of fun to use old original rifles, more sporting too! The toolman.

[NBraun]

Wow, that's a cool rifle, and a cool story to go along with it!

[JDL]

Most excellent Shrapnel! I concur with your feelings about all the plastic, stainless, tacticool stuff being sold.
I can remember when I was a kid in the '50s there was an old rusted gun in my Granddaddy's work shop. The stock was broken off, the left side panel on the forend was missing, and the barrel was full of dirt dobber mud. It was a Lightning and had either .32 or .38 stamped on the barrel flat IIRC. I told a friend about it and he asked for it to try to repair so I gave it to him. Lost touch and don't know if he repaired it or not.

[taco650]

Guess I’ll have to do some reading up on the Lightning cuz I thought they only came in pistol calibers.

[Hook]

Cool rifle, cool hunt! Congratulations, Shrap!

Just wish I still had the eyes to hunt with irons.....

[Craig Dodd]

Shrap - Thanks for posting the story of your hunt and the Lightning! Cool photos.

Congratulations on the sage goat!

[steve004]

I also enjoyed the photos. Thanks Shap. And I also have some of these Colts rifles. I have a .40/60/260 (which is a .40/65 Winchester of course). I believe the medium frame rifles chambered in revolver chamberings are called Lightnings and these large frame rifles are called Lightning Express rifles. On the topic of the Express rifles, here's a holy grail I've sought for the past 40+ years. Nope, I was not the winner:

https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/52/3250/colt-lightningexpress-rifle-5095

[shrapnel]

I also enjoyed the photos. Thanks Shap. And I also have some of these Colts rifles. I have a .40/60/260 (which is a .40/65 Winchester of course). I believe the medium frame rifles chambered in revolver chamberings are called Lightnings and these large frame rifles are called Lightning Express rifles. On the topic of the Express rifles, here's a holy grail I've sought for the past 40+ years. Nope, I was not the winner:

https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/52/3250/colt-lightningexpress-rifle-5095

Yikes! I was trying to see where to bid on that rifle and saw that it sold for $31,000.00

[kootne]

250737
Well, if a picture shows up, Shrapnel and I can riminess about when 2 misfits from the class of '72 "graduated" to classy '76's
Hope all is well,
Dennis

[veeman]

invalid attachment :(

[kootne]

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Take 2250780

[shrapnel]

Take 2250780

Yes, we were immortalized in Mike Venturino's book "Shooting Lever Guns Of The Old West"

http://i.imgur.com/aZdXYQt.jpg (https://imgur.com/aZdXYQt)

http://i.imgur.com/c4jLyb9.png (https://imgur.com/c4jLyb9)

http://i.imgur.com/QUJtuhN.png (https://imgur.com/QUJtuhN)

http://i.imgur.com/FXvZyjZ.png (https://imgur.com/FXvZyjZ)

http://i.imgur.com/ZneXV9x.png (https://imgur.com/ZneXV9x)

[veeman]

That was the 1st of I think 3 of Mikes books that I got, I never did get the buffalo rifle book. In fact, I had to get a second leverguns book as the 1st ones binding fell apart from so much usage. Mike has been a favorite writer of mine for more years than I can count.