44-40 and 38/357 lever rifles

[KINGSFAN IN OC]

So here is the scoop. I inherited lots of ammo from a friend that passed. He was big into SASS. The family doesn't trust his reloads. I have shot a ton of his reloads with a very small failure rate. I mean very small so I trust it.

I am looking for a few "fun" lever rifles. I don't want to break the bank and it seems that no one carries rifles in these style/calibers anymore. I want one rifle for each caliber.

Are the Cimmaron levers any good? I'm familiar with the Winchester, Rossi and Marlins only as this is what he had.

What supplier/gun shop do you OC guys use?

[bigbossman]

Henry makes the 1860 and 1866 in 44-40, and I think they also make an 1873 clone in the same caliber. They are on the pricey side, but they are nice rifles that look good and shoot very well.

[1911su16b870]

FWIW you can find new production, brass receiver Winchester 1866's in 44-40 out there.

[NapalmCheese]

Henry makes the 1860 and 1866 in 44-40, and I think they also make an 1873 clone in the same caliber. They are on the pricey side, but they are nice rifles that look good and shoot very well.

Henry makes an 1860, but I don't believe they make an 1866 or an 1873 (though they do make some rifles that look sort of like an 1866).

Uberti, however, makes both an 1866 and an 1873, but not in .44-40 (at least not now).

The Cimarron rifles are, IIRC, Uberti rifles imported by Cimarron.

The 66 and 73 are super simple to open up and clean, so if you're shooting black powder that's the way to go. The 60s aren't much harder.

I have an Uberti '73 in .357. I've since short stroked it, installed a new loading gate, changed the magazine spring, polished the internals, and have some new springs to install. The screws that come with it suck and are often on there as if they were tightened Thor, but you can buy hardened screws and replace them as you work on it. Brownells sells Magna Tip thin bits (they're out of sets at the moment but individuals are available if you know the sizes, and off the top of my head I don't know the sizes) to work on these rifles. I can attest that the Uberti '73 is a fine rifle, good case colors, nice stock. The biggest problem is the .357 rifles are heavy. They are dimensionally the same as the .45 rifles, but with a .357 caliber hole through the barrel blank. Likewise the magazine tube is sized for .45 so anything but RNFP bullets can cause some feed failures (fixed by sleeving the magazine tube and running appropriate bullets).

Obviously, the Uberti '66 and '73 have a lot of aftermarket support.

[bigbossman]

Henry makes an 1860, but I don't believe they make an 1866 or an 1873 (though they do make some rifles that look sort of like an 1866).

Looks like you're right:

https://www.henryusa.com/henry-rifles-and-shotguns/

I could have sworn I saw a Henry 1860 carbine in 44-40. Did they used to make one? Maybe Uberti? I'm sure I saw one somewhere....... Aha!! Taylor & Co.:

https://www.taylorsfirearms.com/1866-rifle-24-25-44-40-lc1-550177.html

Looks like Cimarron makes a whole bunch of lever-guns in 44-40, including a '73 copy:

https://www.hinterlandoutfitters.com/departments/firearms/rifles/rf-calibers/44-40-winchester.html

[NapalmCheese]

Yeah, I definitely want an 1860 in .44-40. It's a good looking rifle and .44-40 is about as close as you're going to get to an original (originals being .44 Rimfire).

Though for gaming I think I'll end up with a '66. I would like .44-40 just because of how clean it keeps the action shooting black, but it's easy enough to clean if I have to get it in .45 Colt.

[Spyder]

I want an original henry (new or newish repro, not a real original) badly. Wish they were just a littttle bit lower cost, or I could find a functional used one with a scratch or something.

[NapalmCheese]

I want an original henry (new or newish repro, not a real original) badly. Wish they were just a littttle bit lower cost, or I could find a functional used one with a scratch or something.

The Henry versions are real spendy, the Uberti versions less so. By all rights, the Uberti versions are extremely well regarded. I've not handled either.

The current Henry company is not the same company that started the Henry rifles, so it's not like one is really more authentic than the other.

[Pofoo]

FYI
I have a Winchester 94 in 357, and it does not function with 38 specials. Jams every time.
It's even marked 357 not 357/38 as most other levers are.

[bigbossman]

FYI
I have a Winchester 94 in 357, and it does not function with 38 specials. Jams every time.
It's even marked 357 not 357/38 as most other levers are.

I'm not surprised.... the '94 action is meant for the longer rifle cartridges, not pistol ones like the '92 action. 357 might be just long enough to function properly but there would be a lot of space to jump from lifter to chamber for a .38spl, I'm thinking.....

[KINGSFAN IN OC]

I appreciate all of the comments. Maybe I just find someone to buy the rounds instead of adding another caliber to deal with on the 44-40 side of things. I have a 44-40 pistol but the amount of ammo I have would last me a lifetime in a 6 shooter... and add a nice Henry 38/357 rifle

[Killer Bee]

dibs!

pm sent

[NapalmCheese]

I appreciate all of the comments. Maybe I just find someone to buy the rounds instead of adding another caliber to deal with on the 44-40 side of things. I have a 44-40 pistol but the amount of ammo I have would last me a lifetime in a 6 shooter... and add a nice Henry 38/357 rifle

If you are at all interested in shooting black powder, that .44-40 would be the way to go. If you're just going to shoot smokeless .38/.357 is easier and cheaper in every way.

[Spyder]

Napalm, yea uberti would be fine i just didn't think to wrote that. Guess I should start looking around to see what's out there. 38 or 45 colt would keep me happy.

Kingsfan, I'd sell the 44-40 and stick with 38/357 if it were me, unless there's an attachment to the 44-40. I have a bunch of oddball stuff, but a simple easy to load/buy for lever gun is its own little piece of joy.

[Jimi Jah]

My Henry steel side gate Big Boy in 357 is a joy to shoot.

I have the 20". Pretty darn accurate and it shoots anything including 38 special. Under 7 lbs and nimble. I have nice walnut on mine. I would recommend it to anyone wanting a 357.

It has a very smooth action and is easy to clean because it doesn't get dirty past the chamber. It uses a SS bolt.

Measure twice, cut once. Don't scrimp.