Winchester's .44-40 Carbine

Am Shooting Journal ^ | 7/8/2019 | M Nesbitt

[w1n1]

Winchester introduced their .44 WCF, better known these days as the .44-40, in 1873. That, of course, was in the Model 1873 rifle, which became the cowboy's favorite. That rifle in .44-40, as well as the other calibers that were introduced later, remained in production and in the catalogs until 1920 or so. The Model 1892 Winchester did not "replace" the older '73 and those two rifles were made side-by-side for almost 30 years. Many shooters preferred the Model '73 and those shooters were highly pleased to see Winchester bring it back again.

The new versions of Winchester’s Model 1873 are made by Miroku in Japan. And, while this new rifle is certainly a Model 1873, with the toggle-link action and the brass "up and down" cartridge elevator, it does include some very minor changes. We must recognize some of the newer ideas as "better ways of doing it."

When the new Winchester Model 1873 was announced, I didn’t pay very much attention to it. That was because they were only offering it in .357 Magnum and, to me, that "didn't fit my pistol." Maybe that's what the Cowboy Action shooters like, but I wanted the ’73 chambered for an original black powder cartridge and nothing is more original than the old .44-40. Then the .44-40 was added as an available caliber choice and the carbine was also added to the growing list of versions for the new Winchester '73s.

IN GENERAL, THE NEW Winchester Model 1873 carbine is just like the old version that a cowboy might have gotten back in the 1880s, with good but plain wood for the stocks and the rifle's receiver blued like the barrel and other parts. On the butt of the stock is a standard carbine-style butt plate. Length of pull measures 12¾ inches and the overall appearance of this carbine, to my eyes, looks very good. Under the barrel is the full-length tubular magazine that, if it is like my old Model 1892, holds 10 cartridges. Read the rest of Winchester 44-40.

[Vaquero]

My ‘73 was made in 1882. It is chambered in .44 WCF (44-40).

Mine is a rifle not a carbine. I have put thousands of rounds through it, mostly shooting SASS matches since 2000 when I acquired it. I had to replace 3 springs over that period. Much of the rifling is gone due to black powder and mercuric primer corrosion as a previous owner didn’t clean it after shooting. It still will shoot into 10” at 100 yards.

I no longer shoot in competition so I no longer shoot it much. I put around 50 rounds through it a year. It’s like shooting history.

[This_Dude]

Breaks my heart when someone doesn’t take care of an old gun. Oldest one I got is a mosin nagant 91/30 from 1922, rifling is deep and somewhat shiny, with a piece of the wood cut away and some holes drilled and tapped like it used to have the old PU scope mount. Does a group about 4 inches wide at 200, and yes it has a sticky bolt. Removed the wood and baked the metal in the oven to remove some lacquer, and brushed the crap out of the breech, so it’s a little less of a problem. I got it for free, BTW

[reed13k]

Curious for those more firearm attuned then myself.

What would be a rifle recommendation if I wanted common ammunition with my .45 1911?

I’m trying to get to a point where I don’t have as many calibers so my thoughts are: .45 and .22 for cartridges and 410 and 12 gauge for shotgun shells.

Then I could do:

.45 in a 1911 and rifle
410/.45 in a Taurus Judge or similar
410 and 12 gauge shotgun(s)
.22 handgun and rifle

Just a thought as I know I’ll likely never be able to afford the topic Winchester.

[Sparticus]

Berreta CX4 is what I would suggest for a .45acp carbine.

[Bonemaker]

I recently added a Miroku 44 40 short rifle to my collection. What a magnificently built rifle!

[reed13k]

Thanks for the recommendation!

[Vaquero]

The 73, though, barrel worn shoots fine and is more than accurate for close range work.

I have a very accurate 1884 trapdoor Springfield made in 1892. Someone decided to make some sort of halfass sported out of it. The muzzle was buggered too, so I cut three inches off of it to make the barrel length fit the cut stock. Nice shooter, though it kicks hard

I have a carbine length full stock 1898 Krag Jorgensen made by Springfield in 30-40 Krag. Nice accurate shooter.

[Towed_Jumper]

Just curious if either of you gentlemen reload .44-40 for your 1873s? I already have an 1873 in .357 Mag and love it! However, I’m toying with buying another one but have been put off by the relatively high cost of factory .44-40 ammo. Is .44-40 as easy to reload as straight-cased .357 or .45 Colt?

[Vaquero]

Quite safe even in a 19th century ‘73.

ROUND RIFLE
44-40 cowboy load
STARLINE BRASS W.W. PRIMERS
200 GR RNFP .427” to.430” projectiles. Slug your bore. I use .430” bullets due to a worn chamber/bore.
W-231.
Homemade Scoop 6.3 grains
OR
Lee .61 Disk = 6.6 grain

[Vaquero]

PS. New starline brass is straight wall. Once fired for the first time it becomes bottleneck. You use steel sizer sizer die due to bottleneck. Lubricate your brass and dies lightly. I use hornady 1 shot spray lube.

The brass rarely grows or stretches. I have never had to trim the brass.

[Bonemaker]

I have the equipment but haven’t reloaded in years. Most of the articles say 44 40 is dicey because of case neck crushing. A few say no sweat. I would think a careful body could do just fine...like they did in the 1870’s. I would try it following a good reloading manual and studying others’ experience.

[T.B. Yoits]

For .45 carbines, I would take a look at:

Bazooka Brothers AR-45

Macon Armory .45 AR Upper

Auto-Ordnance / Thompson "Tommy Gun" Replica .45 (They even make a Trump 45 commemorative version)

Beretta CX4

Hi-Point 4595 - yes it's a Hi-Point but before anyone knocks it they can check out several videos on-line of Hi-Point firearms taking a ton of abuse and still working.