Handloads: A .44-40 Winchester Load For An Old Colt

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posted on July 30, 2024
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.44-40 Winchester Load

The .44-40 Win. is an old blackpowder cartridge introduced in 1873 along with the Winchester Model 1873 rifle. The cartridge grew immensely popular during the ensuing years and was chambered in a variety of lever-action, single-shot and slide-action rifles and revolvers. Its popularity began to fade in the 1950s, but the sport of cowboy action shooting and interest in the Old West has somewhat revived it.

.44-40 Winchester Load specsThe .44-40 is limited to relatively mild pressures, due to its thin case and the many weak rifles chambered for the cartridge. The Lyman 50th Edition Reloading Handbook lists load data with a maximum of 13,000 copper units of pressure (CUP) for weak actions such as the Winchester Model 1873 and higher 22,000-CUP loads for strong actions that include Winchester Model 1892 and Marlin 1894 rifles. A current-production Winchester Model 1892 chambered in .44-40 Win. fired handloaded 200-grain cast bullets upward of 1,400 f.p.s. from its 20" barrel. However, that is still a good 500 f.p.s. slower than the same weight of bullet fired from the 20" barrel of a Winchester Model 1894 chambered in .44 Magnum.

My Lightning .44-40 Win. was built in 1886 on Colt’s medium-frame slide-action. The rifle was in sorry shape when I bought it; someone must have used blackpowder or corrosive primers and neglected to clean the bore. A river of rust poured out when I cleaned it, and a bore scope showed only a hint of rifling lands remained. The Lyman handbook classifies the Lightning as a weak action; even so, the rifle shot 200-grain cast bullets from its 26" barrel at 1,200 f.p.s. powered by a maximum amount of 2400 propellant. Due to its eroded bore, though, bullets must be kept at 1,000 f.p.s. or slower in order to shoot adequate-size groups, which is why the nearby recipe uses Trail Boss instead of 2400. That is still more than satisfactory, and the Old West is revived when the Lightning speaks.

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