Stevens 101 .44-shot shell

[David LaPell]

I picked up another oddball recently, a Stevens 101 in .44 Shot shell, which is nothing more than a .44-40 smoothbore. I got some .44 shot capsules and loaded them with #7 1/2 shot, it adds up to about 1/3 ounce or so over 6.8 grains of Unique. I tried the loads out at 15 and 25 yards. It's kind of a neat little gun from a time when these were popular around the house and farm.

[Outpost75]

Nice gun. I have one of the H&Rs of similar heritage. Your pattern results are similar to what I get with mine.

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Just the thing for bunny wabbits in our lettuce patch.

[uscra112]

Sooner or later you'll hear that the 101 can be reamed out to take .410 shells. DON'T. Aside from the pressure issues, the recoil will be....stout....

BTW with a suitable rebarrelling, they do nicely for small pistol cartridges like .32 Long Colt. or even .32S&W. I've made one of mine into a .25 Stevens centerfire by simply switching the barrel/sleeve/extractor assembly from a Model 12 Marksman onto it. (That one had been reamed to .410. Eventually I will put a liner in the 44 Shot barrel for something more reasonable. Maybe make it a .38 Special smoothbore.)

[Outpost75]

The Starline 5 in 1 blank cases are 40mm long and work well for loading .44-40 shot.
I've posted the how to info on this site and others. It should be easy to find.

[Mk42gunner]

My 101's chamber is 2" deep, but since 2" .410 data is even scarcer than .44 XL Shot, (Thanks Outpost75), I made the few I'll use from .444 Marlin brass that I cut down and loaded as per the recommendation.

I'll eventually turn it into a .32 S&W Long or smaller rifle, but I had to try it at least once. I still remember Dad telling me about his Grandma killing a Canadian goose that landed amongst her tame geese with hers. Supposed to have taken her about four shots.

Robert

[uscra112]

In some catalogs circa 1900, guns like the 101 were called "taxidermist's guns". Never could quite imagine why, unless there was a market for stuffed small birds. Ornaments for women's hats?

I suppose it would do around here to spank the raccoons that keep trying to get at the cats' food inside the kitchen door, without actually killing them They've already torn up one screen in the door and it's only April 1st. A rock salt load, maybe? I do have some 444 Marlin brass somewhere.

Prodded by this thread, I dug around and turned up a .30 caliber liner with an O.D. big enough to be turned down to make a barrel for a Model 12, which means it can be an alternate to the barrel in my ".25 Stevens Centerfire" mashup. It's a 10 twist, so I could use heavier bullets than usual in .32 S&W brass.

This is fun! Like Edison said, "all you need is imagination and a pile of junk".

[Outpost75]

Posting again, as I had trouble finding my original post in the archives:

Loading .44 Game Getter Shot from Starline 5 in 1 Blank cases


Starline “5-in-1 Blank” cases fit in anything from a .38-40, .44 Special or .44 Magnum, .44-40 or .45 Colt as well as my .45 ACP Blackhawk! While using large flash-hole cases for full charge loads, exceeding black powder pressure is hazardous, they work fine in mild Cowboy charges when the shot payload is lighter than a standard bullet for the caliber.

The .44 Game Getter held 1/3 oz. of shot, about 150 grains, vs. a 200-grain bullet in the .44-40. A half-ounce .410 2-1/2" load is about 220 grains. I tried up to 6 grains of Bullseye, Red Dot or similar powders, but no more. It turns out that 5 grains of Bullseye or TiteGroup patterns best. Velocity is less important than pattern effectiveness, because these loads wil be used at short range, so a handgun shot load at 800 fps actually penetrates as well at 25 feet as a .410 load at 1300 fps does at 25 yards.

The Starline blank cases are tapered to fit into a .38-40. To load them that way insert a .45 cal. Buffalo Arms card was over the powder, by bending into a horse shoe shape first, poking in sideways until you get past the case taper, then turn the card wad with 5" Kelly forceps and press against the powder with a dowel.

It is much easier to expand the cases with a .44-40 or .44 Mag. expander plug so they are more nearly cylindrical and flared a little. Then the over-powder card can be thumbed into the case mouth with the thumb and then pressed down against the powder with a 3/8" dowel. Using a card below the 410 shot cup is absolutely necessary to prevent powder leaking past the obturator which causes "bloopers" and could leave a wad lodged in the barrel. A Federal 410SC shot cup is then inserted and seated firmly. DON'T cut off the wad fingers.

Pour in about 1cc No.8 or smaller shot and insert a Walters .36 card wad over the shot or piece of 000 buckshot into the end of the shell. If you don't have either the RCBS ".44 Game Getter Long Shot" OR .45 ACP Shot die sets, you can make your own roll crimp die by cutting 1" off the bottom of a Lee .308 Win seater die and inserting a blank Lyman or RCBS bullet lubricator top punch under the seating stem, adjusting it down to the midpoint of the shoulder in the cut-off .308 die, which positions the card squarely as you "bump" the case mouth of the 5 in 1 blank case against the shoulder of the die to form a professional looking roll crimp.

I've found it easier to NOT trim off the protruding fingers of the .410 shot cup before loading the shot. I leave the shot cup long and protruding, then fill the shot cup approximately FLUSH with the case mouth, judging the fill inside the shot cup. The protruding petals of the shot cup then support the insertion of either a .36 cal. card overshot wad, or a cast .36 cal. lead round ball.

Seat the wad or ball in the shot cup and crimp, with either the RCBS .45 ACP shotshell, or the older RCBS .44 Game Getter Long Shot crimp. The seating stem presses the card wad or ball flush with the case mouth as it is crimped. This is much easier than trimming the wad fingers and fooling around trying to get a good crimp. The excess plastic is trimmed off flush with a sharp knife afterwards, giving a well closed shell with professional looking appearance.

Speer .44 (or .45 shot in .45 Colt) capsules also work OK. They and hold about the same 1/3 oz. payload as the old .44 Game Getter shot cartridges.

In a smoothbore barrel, the effective range of .44 shot loads is 15 yards in a cylinder bore and 25-30 yards from a full choke. Firing them in a rifled barrel disperses shot patterns, reducing sure, small game range to about 25 feet. Loading shot larger than No. 8 reduces pellet count which defeats the small game purpose. I chose No. 8, typically 410 pellets to the ounce, so 1/3 ounce contains about 136 pellets. No. 7-1/2s would be only 116 pellets in a 1/3 oz. payload.

For survival kit "Shot and Ball" crimp a .390 (no shot cup/brass case) or .360 (inside shot cup) ball to close the shell instead of a card wad. This helps make the load withstand rough handling and also waterproofs it. It also gives the load large varmint potential to 25 yards, while keeping a small game pattern effective to 30-50 feet from a smoothbore shotgun or 25 feet from rifle or revolver .

Shot patterns from rifled barrels are patchy, with weak center density. The slow 36" twist and shallow rifled Marlin Microgroove .44 barrels don't disturb the shot as much and produce decent patterns to 25-30 feet. Short 5-10 yard “fence line range” patterns suitable for rabbits or birds are reality. While conventional card and fiber wads with no shot sleeve permit loading a full 1/2 oz. of shot, I use the Federal .410 shot cups to contain the shot in the Starline 5 in 1 cases, because the wad is smaller than bore diameter of a .44 or .45 rifle barrel and produces more even patterns. A slow twist, shallow rifled Marlin .44-40 or .44 Magnum Microgroove barrel patterns better than a faster 16" twist .45 Colt, which flings wide patterns and is useful only to 15-20 feet.

The 5 in 1 shot loads pattern splendidly in a cylinder bore .410 producing 90+% patterns at 25 feet striking on a 10”x10” repair center!
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[uscra112]

Never thought about using .410 shot cups! Another project for the queue now. IF there are any shot cups to be had.....


......Nope, apparently not. Back to the old way, I guess.

[ebb]

My neighbor has a 44 shot rifle that he showed me the other day, and Ive been looking to load for it so he can shoot it. I looked at starline 5 in 1 blanks and if i remember correctly you had to buy a bunch of them, I know that you had to buy a bunch of the 44-40 cases. When at the range the other day I picked up a couple dozen 44 mag cases, will these be suitable to make 44 shot ammo? I know he won't shoot it much but he does a lot for me, and i would like to help him if I can. He is older and I made some reduced loaded 308 win for him to shot out of his Ruger 77, he loves them.

[uscra112]

A kind CBer sent me some .38-40 shells in lieu of the 5-in-1 to try. They are shorter, so they can't take as much shot, but they work. 44 magnum ought to do at least as well. I wouldn't want to use my loads for small game - not enough payload. My purpose is to spank the raccoon pests around here, without killing or even badly maiming them. This light load in the .38-40 will do that. I think they know. Since I set the little Stevens 101 by the door, I haven't seen a one.

[Outpost75]

The .44 Magnum case has a smaller base diameter and may split in the .44-40 chamber.

Attachment 281844

[uscra112]

I didn't know that. Mea culpa.

[ebb]

I checked after your post the 44mag .457 the 44-40 .471. Thanks for keeping me safe and not allowing me to waste time!

[John Taylor]

That would be fun to make a barrel in 44-40. Stevens also made one that looks the same in 22LR, not sure if it is the same size.

[Mk42gunner]

The Marksman was also chambered in .25 and .32 rimfire. I found a website a few days ago that claimed the firing pin was offset more for the .32 (makes sense) and wouldn't work for the other rifle calibers. True or not, I don't know.

I though for a few seconds about putting a rifled barrel chambered for one of the -40 calibers, until I picked mine up again. It would save some extractor work and make it true switch barrel gun, but it is very small in my opinion for any type of rifle, hence my thinking of .32 S&W Long or smaller.

uscra112 (I think) said a few months ago in another thread that the barrel shank both diameter and length are different between the rifles and .44 shot.

Robert

[uscra112]

Yes, the barrel shank of the Model 12 Marksman is .625, ,and the Model 101 is about .685. The receivers, however, are virtual twins, save for the placement of the firing pin. So I presently have the front end of a .25 caliber Marksman on a 101 receiver, making a centerfire .25 Stevens. Just pull the pivot screw to separate, and swap. The extractor comes along with the barrel assembly. There is a loose strut that pushes the hammer back on opening. Make sure you get that back in right way 'round.

Ammunition is made by swaging down and trimming Hornet brass, which isn't hard. I used a Lee .25 ACP carbide sizer, one pass. The rims have to be thinned to .25 RF thickness and the remaining bulge just above the rim has to be cut back. I used a safe-edge file for both tasks.

Sure, you could make a rifle barrel to fit the 101 sleeve. I sure wouldn't do .44-40 though. Frank DeHaas opined that .38 S&W was about the limit for the action, and at that it should be loaded mildly. I'm going to stick to .32 Long Colt if I can find a suitable blank.

[Mk42gunner]

I go back and forth on using a .30 caliber take off barrel to make a .32 S&W Long, only because the Colt brass is harder to find or make. Or using a .22 barrel to turn it into a Ladybug.

I know I have an old '06 barrel somewhere, the trick is finding it. On the other hand, I have about half of a .30 cal ammo can of .25 ACP brass.

Or maybe make a .25 ACP rifle, something I have thought about for forty five years.

In reality land, I think I will wait until primers are available again.

Robert

[uscra112]

I go back and forth on using a .30 caliber take off barrel to make a .32 S&W Long, only because the Colt brass is harder to find or make. Or using a .22 barrel to turn it into a Ladybug.

I know I have an old '06 barrel somewhere, the trick is finding it. On the other hand, I have about half of a .30 cal ammo can of .25 ACP brass.

Or maybe make a .25 ACP rifle, something I have thought about for forty five years.

In reality land, I think I will wait until primers are available again.

Robert

The .25 ACP is a .250" diameter bullet. I have a TJ's rifle-length liner for it, which I bought by mistake when I was first getting into the .25 Stevens. P/M me if you want it. I believe I even know where it is. Never took it out of the shipping box.