How is this idea for a 38-40 levergun?

[Harry O]

I have a Uberti 38-40 Winchester '73 clone and it is nice, but I would really like one with a stronger action (Winchester 1892 or Marlin 1894). The ORIGINAL Winchesters and Marlins in that caliber in nice condition are priced through the roof. I am just looking for a shooter, not a collectors item.

How about this. I have seen a number of Marlin 1894's in .44 Magnum that are in good condition and are reasonably priced. What if I bought one and then bought a 38-40 liner from Brownell's? Would there be any problem with feeding? I have a newish (1990's) Marlin 1894 in 44-40. I will not sacrifice it for the 38-40 I want. However, I believe the lifter between it and the .44 Magnum are the same (at least the same part number). That would probably work with the 38-40, too.

I also see Rossi 1892 clones in 44-40 at reasonable prices, but have no experience with them.

[marlinman93]

Should work just fine. Not a ot of difference between the .44-40 and the .38-40, since one is a .44 and the other is a .40 cal.

[piller]

I don't have any information to give, but I am looking forward to seeing good results posted here sometime soon. Good luck!

[cowboykell]

Rim and base diameter differences just might be enough to cause extraction problems.

[Terry Murbach]

HARRY,
ARE YOU PLANNING TO SELL THE UBERTI '73 38-40 WHEN YOUR '92 OR 1894 COMES TO FRUITION ???
I MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN YOUR UBERTI AT THAT TIME DEPENDING ON WHICH MODEL IT IS.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO TALK ABOUT HERE ??? OR YOU CAN EMULE ME. AND THERE IS THAT PM THING NOT TO EVEN MENTION THAT NEW ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL INVENTION, EL TELEFONO. OR BEST OF ALL WE CAN MEET DOWN AT THE VALLEY SPORTS BAR FOR A COLD ONE OR THREE AND TALK GUNS WHILE ALL THE LOCAL YAHOOS THERE TALK ABOUT GOLF [ BARF..] OR BASKETBALL [ GAG...] I DO HAFTA ADMIT THOUGH THAT GOLD BALLS MAKE GREAT FREAKIN' TARGETS FOR A 45.

[Harry O]

HARRY,
ARE YOU PLANNING TO SELL THE UBERTI '73 38-40 WHEN YOUR '92 OR 1894 COMES TO FRUITION ???

Nope. I quit selling guns about 25-30 years ago. It always seemed that I regretted selling almost every gun I sold (on the other hand, I can count on one hand the number I regret buying). Sometimes the regret was not right away, but eventually it snuck up on me. So I just decided to quit doing it. I have given away some guns to my wife and sons, but have not sold any.

Just so everyone is aware, there is nothing at all wrong with the Uberti clone. I have very little bad to say about it. It did have a ridiculous spring on a lever safety, but there are replacements out there and I have them on this one. I did not "short-stroke" it, though. I have shot 90-degree lever actions since I was 14 years old. I don't want to try to adapt to something new at this late date.

[Leverdude]

I have a Uberti 38-40 Winchester '73 clone and it is nice, but I would really like one with a stronger action (Winchester 1892 or Marlin 1894). The ORIGINAL Winchesters and Marlins in that caliber in nice condition are priced through the roof. I am just looking for a shooter, not a collectors item.

How about this. I have seen a number of Marlin 1894's in .44 Magnum that are in good condition and are reasonably priced. What if I bought one and then bought a 38-40 liner from Brownell's? Would there be any problem with feeding? I have a newish (1990's) Marlin 1894 in 44-40. I will not sacrifice it for the 38-40 I want. However, I believe the lifter between it and the .44 Magnum are the same (at least the same part number). That would probably work with the 38-40, too.

I also see Rossi 1892 clones in 44-40 at reasonable prices, but have no experience with them.

If the bolt face works I doubt the lifter would be an issue. The 44/40 & 38/40 have a slightly bigger rim so you might need to open the bolt face a bit.
Try a 44/40 in your 1894, just dont try to chamber it all the way. You should I think be able to determine if it would feed ok.

[blackhawk44]

Talk to your gunsmith, but with your wanting to go beyond factory type load levels, a barrel liner will likely not be the way to go. With anything other than low pressure loads, liners have had a tendency to loosen. A replacement barrel would seem to be the route. With the popularity of .40 S&W's, a barrel of the right bore size should not be a problem. Actually, it is easier to find a gunsmith who rebarrels over one who does bore liners.

[Grizzly Adams]

Very simple conversion. All you need is a 38-40 barrel or liner.

There is no difference in the rim diameter of the 38-40 and 44-40. Both share the same case. The 38-40 is just a necked down 44-40.

[Lefty Dude]

The bolt face may need some work, or use a 45 colt bolt.
The rim of the 38-40 is larger than a 44, it is also larger than a 45 Colt by a few thou.

[KWK]

What sort of performance do you want from your .38-40? Uberti will have to proof their .357 Mag 73s for the European .357 rating of 44,000 psi. This suggests their action is strong enough for warmer loadings in the .38-40. The .38 is a much larger diameter, so you certainly won't be able to go to 44 ksi, but the upper teens in pressure seems feasible. The old HV loads for the .38 were in the low 20's, but I don't think I'd care to go that far in a 73, if only because the thin, soft brass in the .38 likely can't carry as much (percentage) of the thrust from the gases as .357 brass does.

[muskeg13]

I have a .44Mag M92 Rossi that I had a friend rebarrel to .38-40, and it works like a charm. We only had to chamber and rebarrel. Everything else worked fine without modification. Any differences in rim diameter were insignificant. If you want a good .38WCF, just do it!

[t.r.]

38-40 is an old time black powder cartridge that lost its popularity to greater cartridges before my Dad was born (1922).

I've said it before and will say it again: If a hunter wants to shoot big holes in a deer at typical forest distances he should look no farther than the 44 MAG carbine. 200 gr and 240 gr Hornady XTP bullets produce ghastly wound channels and quick demise of the intended prey. Even the super fast 270 does not produce wounds of this size. I know this to be true because I guided many seasons for Jack Atchinson and have observed the innerds of many slain beasts.

TR

[Kansas Ed]

38-40 is an old time black powder cartridge that lost its popularity to greater cartridges before my Dad was born (1922).

I've said it before and will say it again: If a hunter wants to shoot big holes in a deer at typical forest distances he should look no farther than the 44 MAG carbine. 200 gr and 240 gr Hornady XTP bullets produce ghastly wound channels and quick demise of the intended prey. Even the super fast 270 does not produce wounds of this size. I know this to be true because I guided many seasons for Jack Atchinson and have observed the innerds of many slain beasts.

TR

Of course there are some of us who don't like the 44 Mag, so would rather shoot something a little different. I wouldn't consider owning a Marlin 44 Mag carbine, but get turned on by one in 38-40.

Ed

[Nate Kiowa Jones]

I have a .44Mag M92 Rossi that I had a friend rebarrel to .38-40, and it works like a charm. We only had to chamber and rebarrel. Everything else worked fine without modification. Any differences in rim diameter were insignificant. If you want a good .38WCF, just do it!

You got lucky. Normally 44mag guides are closer together than 45lc or 44-40 and 38-40 won't pass through. The bolt face is pretty much the same. Rossi has never done a 38-40 but I have relined several 45lc's and 44-40's to 38-40. Some of those even required timing work.
In a marlin the 44mag will most likely require some timing work, too. But the 44-40 marlin should do just fine with a reline.
I think the 38-40 is a good choice, even pumped up some. It's flatter shooting and some say in a handgun it has been revived in the 40 S&W. The two are almost identical. Funny how history repeats itself. In the day the 38WCF was favored by law LEO's as a flat shooting man stopper much like the 40 S&W is today.
BTW, I have never had one of my rifle relines shoot loose. In the past the liners were soldered in. Now days folks epoxy then. Much better result.
I will say, if the gun slated for the conversion is a carbine it will be more expensive to reline. This is because the front 2/3's of the liner has to be turned and the barrel drilled accordingly. The better option would be to acquire a 357mag barrel and have it re-bored

[KCSO]

No problems with this conversion I have done a couple of 38-40 and the liners work just fine. Any load that will loosen a liner would not be good for any gun. As has been noted the 38-40 has the SAME case as the 44-40 and in a pinch you can form 38-40's from 44-40 brass and they work just fine. The last 38-40 I relined was a 92 winchester with a sewerpipe bore. It has to date fired over 5000 rounds of various ammo including hot hunting loads with absolutly NO movement of the liner. Accuracy is under 3" at 100 yards with iron sights. Have your gun converted and if you like 38-40 you will never regret it.