USFA 1873 SA 44/40 44 Special

Ravenman · Post by **Ravenman** » Thu Dec 15, 2011 4:08 am

I get the chance to buy a new USFA 1873 5 1/2" 44/40 dual chambering 44 Special. Can anyone give some input? What about the bore difference of the 44 WCF (0.427) to 44 Special (.430). Thanks.

Post by **Old Savage** » Thu Dec 15, 2011 5:20 am

I think many 44 spls were .427. How much?

M. M. Wright · Post by **M. M. Wright** » Thu Dec 15, 2011 9:16 am

I haven't checked a USFA but new Colts, Rugers and all the recent clones I've slugged had .429 or close bores. I even shoot .429 bullets in my old Colts. Works fine as long as the chamber throats are big enough. I do have to use Starline or Winchester brass though because R-P is just too thick to chamber with .429 bullets.

I fitted a 44-40 cylinder to a third gen 44 Special Colt, (.429 bore) and it worked swell. I'd bet the USFA has a .429 bore.

Leverluver · Post by **Leverluver** » Thu Dec 15, 2011 10:17 am

I have read in several articles that USFA's 44-40s are .427. In an article specifically about 44Sp by Brian Pierce mentioned that they were also .427 (which is the only way a combo cylinder would work). Unless they have changed ihn the last year,they are both .427.

Post by **Hobie** » Thu Dec 15, 2011 12:12 pm

Leverluver wrote:I have read in several articles that USFA's 44-40s are .427. In an article specifically about 44Sp by Brian Pierce mentioned that they were also .427 (which is the only way a combo cylinder would work). Unless they have changed ihn the last year,they are both .427.

That would work for the common .429-.430" bullets with some minor load adjustments.

Lefty Dude · Post by **Lefty Dude** » Thu Dec 15, 2011 7:59 pm

If they come as a factory dual cylinder set, the barrel will be .428"-.429". As a 44-40 only the bore will be .427"-.428"

Ravenman · Post by **Ravenman** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 4:58 am

I bought the USFA 1873 44/40 Winchester with the 44 Special conversion. It's a great gun and very accurate. I could not be happier. See how it works with the 44/40 Winchester and some Cowboy loads.

Lefty Dude · Post by **Lefty Dude** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 12:18 pm

Very nice indeed. In my Third Gen Colts with the dual cylinders I shoot smokless in the Special Cylinders & BP in the 44-40 cylinders. I recut the forcing cones to 11 degrees and with the Special cylinders I opened the throats to .4295". I left the 44-40 cylinders alone.
I use both .428" & .429" sized bullets. Usually .429" in the Specials & .428" for the 44-40.
As my Uberti/Cimaroon 73 44-40 Rifle like .428" I load the same round for both revolver & rifle.

With the dual cylinders, you can shoot 44 Russians, 44 Colt, 44 Special, & 44-40.

Makes for a very nice shooting package.

Post by **Old Savage** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 12:51 pm

Great stuff Rman, after seeing yours I tried to order a 4 3/4" in 45 Colt. 12 month wait. I have to wait about 8 more days for the Ruger New Vaquero marked Vaquero 4 5/8" Stainless Steel sitting at the local gun emporium.

kimwcook · Post by **kimwcook** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 1:14 pm

Very nice. Looks like she groups well. What are your grips? And, how popular are SAA's in Switzerland?

Blaine · Post by **Blaine** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 1:22 pm

Nice shooter, and good shooting. It makes me happy to see handguns in Europe.

Aggiecubpilot · Post by **Aggiecubpilot** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 11:54 pm

I recently had the chance to shoot a USFA 44 Special. What a pistol! Though the 2nd Generation Colt holds a special place in my heart, the USFA is a better pistol, if not as good in my view. It had a very smooth action and a very tight lockup, with no rotational slop in the cylinder, and no slack or over travel (for lack of correct term) in the hammer. It was also the only time I've shot a 44 Special and I am duly impressed by the cartridge as well.

Buck Elliott · Post by **Buck Elliott** » Mon Jan 23, 2012 12:40 am

Don't be too worried about groove diamters just yet.. I have 3 Uberti-made guns, at present.. 2 Stampede revolvers and a '73 rifle, all in .45 Colt.. Groove diamter of the revolvers is right at .452", and the rifle is .4515".. That said, I shoot hard cast bullets of .454" diameter in all of them..the reason being that the revolvers both have oversize throats... One cylinder is at .4555" the other is .4565" diameter. My everyday loads are put together with 250 grain Oregon Trail Laser-Cast bullets and a healthy dose of H-4198, and my CAS loads are filled with Trailboss, under some 250 grain Chey-cast slugs..

It is much better to have bullets Somewhat larger than groove diameter, rather than smaller.. that will help prevent leading of the bore, and produce better accuracy, as well.

Don't worry about an "oversized bullet" trying to push its way down a smaller bore.. As soon as that bullet enters the barrel, it is whatever size the inside of that barrel is.. Lead is much softer and more plastic than barrel steel...

Ravenman · Post by **Ravenman** » Mon Jan 23, 2012 2:03 am

kimwcook wrote:Very nice. Looks like she groups well. What are your grips? And, how popular are SAA's in Switzerland?

Grips are Eagle Elk grips. In Switzerland only a few people are shooting with SAA revolvers. Cowboy action shooting is really "End of the trail" here.

Thank you all for sharing your immense knowledge. It helps to make the right decision.

USFA 1873 SA 44/40 44 Special

USFA 1873 SA 44/40 44 Special

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