Acceptable Rifle?

fatcitycobras

fatcitycobras

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Having a tough time finding a reasonably priced 44-40 rifle for cowboy action. Is a Rossi 44 Magnum a reasonable rifle for a beginner to shoot? And how about the price of ammunution? Any help here is appreciated
 
A Rossi in 44 is a perfectly acceptable rifle for CAS, however if you are buying loaded ammo, I would look for something in 38-357. Even when you reload the price differential between 38-357 and the other popular calibres is substantial. If you look around you should be able to find a Marlin carbine (I believe it is the CS version) in the $400.00 range. Loaded with 38s these will hold 10 rounds, which is pretty standard for CAS stages. It would also be a great backup or loaner rifle, if you decide to upgrade. Hope this helps.
 
Keep in mind that only lead bullets can be used in Cowboy Action shooting and rules in some clubs limit the muzzle velocity. If you are getting into Cowboy Action before you buy you should read read the rules of SASS which most clubs pay lip service to as a guideline. http://www.sassnet.com/ . Personally I like a .44 magnum and have 2, 1 a Marlin M1894S and the other a 1906 manufactured Winchester M92 rebarrelled to .44 magnum. .44 magnum knocks down steel reactive targets with just a bit more authority. .44 magnum is a far easier cartridge to reload than a .44-40 is, because the .44 magnum has a straight walled case where the .44-40 doesn't. I have been told by friend that reload .44-40 for rifles that they are a bit finiky regarding overall length. If your getting into Cowboy action reloading is really the only way to go.
 
"...far easier cartridge to reload than a .44-40..." The .44-40 uses a semi-bottle necked case that tends to be thin. Some barrels require a daft, slightly smaller, bullet diameter too. Better to get a .44 mag and load magnum cases to .44 Special velocities using a cast bullet. If you are reloading.
Otherwise go with a .357 mag rifle and use .38 Special cast bullet ammo.
 
The 44/40 revolver we tested with required .427" bullets or the loaded round would not fit in the chambers........the 44/40 posed no other problem for us. it reloaded well, was very accurate. We used a 200gr. fp. designed for the 44/40 as the heavier bullets meant for the .44 Mag. were too long, didn't have the crimp groove in the right place, didn't shoot to point of aim, etc. Keep it real, go out and get yourself a .44/40, und be happy, the .38/.357 is not period correct and although the rules allow it, keep it real!
 
If you can, try and stick to the same calibers for both rifle and pistols. You can load differently for rifle and pistol but they are interchangeable. Just makes life a little easier.
 
Hmmm.. interesting. I have an original Marlin 1894 in .32-20 and was thinking about working up a load for when I eventually get into CAS.

Would this round be effective in knocking over the steel you guys mentioned??
 
Cheap and easy...that's me

I bought a Rossi and I am loading .38 Sp cases full of blackpowder. I love it. I decided on a .357/.38Sp rifle (and pistols) because of the cost of shooting and, since most guys seem to start with them, they will be easy to unload if I don't stick with CAS or want to upgrade later. Don't worry about anyone yappin' about period correct or anything else. Pick what you want and have fun.

:shotgun:
 
fatcitycobras said:
Having a tough time finding a reasonably priced 44-40 rifle for cowboy action. Is a Rossi 44 Magnum a reasonable rifle for a beginner to shoot? And how about the price of ammunution? Any help here is appreciated
Click to expand...

Someone in the thread said why 44.40. Personally I like this cartridge and its what I use, true you lose a few while reloading to bent rims, but not enough to bother me, the strait cases are easier. I like the fact 44.40 is one of the first centre fire cartages used in the west, in both rifle and handgun, following the .44 rimfire, in the Winchester 1973, the history of the cartridge is great. BUT where are you in cowboy shooting, starting, got some equipment etc., do you have your single actions yet, if so I assume in 44.40 if not this should set your rifle cartridge or select what you want to shoot and then select your guns to the calibre you select, as far easier to have both the same, handguns and rifle. If you are new, go to a shoot and see, a lot of shooters like .38 special as less kick and easier to hit things, I believe, some times don't fall down though (Just a little dig from a big bore guy). Do not fall for the magnum trap for shooting, sounds great and big, but has no useful purpose, first you are not shooting elephants, you are shooting steal plate at 7 to 50 yards, and most clubs will be quite unhappy if you start putting holes/dents in their plates, and as mentioned there are minimum and maximum velocities. I do believe in the 44 magnum chamber you can also shoot other caliburs,.44 Russian, .44 Special, this is an article on a handgun, not sure how would chamber in a lever action (comments from others). Second look at price, if you are going to buy factory compare prices, 44.40 and others can get quite expensive, 38spl, I would suspect to be at the bottom end of price range, see what is OK. The other influence is going to be on what holsters you have or are to get barrel length. The length of the barrel will set what holsters you require, 7.5, 5.5, 4.25. barrel length sets how fast you can draw (maybe) are you pulling 7 inches of steal out of the holster (I do), or 4.

On a shorter note there seems to be a challenge getting 44.40 guns in Canada, did not see any issues in the USA. Try your local dealer and Marstar for reasonable guns, all the makes are good and as a beginner they will do the job, if you get to the top of SASS, then things can get expensive.

Budget for SASS : 2xSingle actions, 1x rifle, 1xshotgun.

As in the posts advice, go to a shoot speak to the people, this is a great bunch of shooters, they will help you, go to the SASS website lot info, Put your money in a savings until you know the cartridge and availability of guns. You are welcome to PM me if you need more, there are other members on the board that know far more than me that will also help.sport.

SASS : Four Eyes Albright, not a top shooter, just love the sport.

http://www.cascanada.com/ (a little stale one day I will get the time)

http://www.sassnet.com/
 
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fatcitycobras said:
Having a tough time finding a reasonably priced 44-40 rifle for cowboy action. Is a Rossi 44 Magnum a reasonable rifle for a beginner to shoot? And how about the price of ammunution? Any help here is appreciated
Click to expand...

Sorry I misinterpreted the thread, the key words to me were” Beginner Shooter”, so guidance is perhaps what’s needed, as it reads to me he may be trying to chose a suitable calibre as he started to look for 44.40 a common cowboy round in all the reading, but has found it hard to get these in Canada and has read or seen the rifle in 44 (Remington) Magnum, and magnum sounds cool, and I could be totally out to lunch, and he is an expert shooter. He has not mentioned his choice of handgun calibre as well. This is why I tried to give a round short discussion to give some food for thought. .44 (Remington) Magnum is SASS legal, but the calibre is developed in the mid-1950s, not a period correct calibre, When I look at the choice of handguns from Uberti and Pietta, 44 Magnum does not appear as an option, 44 special (S&W) 1907, so he could end up with an unmatched rifle or trying to shoot 44 Russian/Special in his rifle.

Uberti Selections: Caliber 357Mag. - 38/40 - 44/40 - 44Sp - 45Colt - 45ACP

My apologies for miss posting but was thinking I may be helping a new shooter start on the correct path, as I arrived at my first cowboy shoot with a 30-30 Winchester, to end up on a long expensive path getting the correct gear.

To answer the post as it stands, is a .44 Magnum ok/resonable for a beginner CAS shooter, my answer is NO.
 
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Alot of people seem jumpy about this subject, i was merely trying to encourage a new shooter to stick with his convictions, ie: the 44/40 is a great cartridge and no extra trouble at all to reload.....if I can add anything, it would be to keep looking for a good 44/40, I don't think you will regret it! Stories about reloading problems with this cart, don't square at all with my experience, in fact I find the 44/40 has more knockdown(momentum) on steel targets then the 357/38.
 
If he was interested in shooting with NCOWS, I would recommend that he stay with an historically correct calibre such as 44-40, however most CAs shooters shoot under SASS rules. SASS is not a re-enactors organization and there is no benefit from shooting historically accurate calibres. However if a shooter wishes to shoot 44-40 out of personal preference it is a perfectly legitamate choice. I first started out shooting a 38-40 rifle and original 45 Colts. I switched to 38s when I discovered that I could not carry enough large bore ammo (11lbs) on the plane to shoot Winter Range or EOT. There should be no problem with knockdowns, unless you load way down, as the rule reads that they must go down with a center hit from a factory 38special.
Also if you shoot a 44-40 rifle you should match that with your revolvers, as more than once I have seen shooters load a 45 into a 44-40 rifle. Also as I said if you do not reload 38 ammo is relatively cheap anywhere in North America.
 
OK, my 44-40 dreams have been answered, well almost. I purchased here last night a Winchester Cheyenne 44-40 and it looks really nice. I just can't afford a Uberti Golden Boy yet. This however looks like a nice start and can't wait to get my hands on it. Now, to get into reloading.
Happy New Year Boys
 
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