45 Colt lever action rifles

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bmtoon

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I need to buy a 45 colt lever action for CAS trying to decide on which 45 Colt lever action rifle to buy, I like the brass 1866 Uberti but need it in 45 Colt not 45 long Colt, Is this available?
Also I looked at the Henry Big boy but don't really like the loading through the end of the tube. Reminds me of a 22, does anyone have any opinions?
I have been told any of the levers are fine but to stay away from Puma, any other advise?
 
.45Colt and .45Long Colt are the same thing when you're reading the chambering on these sort of lever rifles.

There was a .45Colt Short but no one has made any modern replicas to chamber that round. So the assumption THESE days is that any gun chambered in .45Colt is automatically the normal and far more popular long version of the .45Colt.

EDIT- 4 replies all within moments of each other.... :D
 
I would look at a 66 or 73 from Uberti or a older Marlin (pre Remington). The Ubertis can be slicked and modified as your skill level increases. The Marlin is less expensive and will serve you well unless or until you start to shoot in the top 5-10 percent, in which case a slicked up short stroked 66 or 73 is the only thing that will feed fast enough to keep up. I would avoid the 92 copies as they have feed issues, unless tuned by a 92 specialist, when run very fast. Personnally I like the 73 because of the lever safety that will not allow the gun to fire unless completely locked, the safety was an original Winchester upgrade. Stay away from the Henry Big Boy, they have a very long lever throw and a tendency to break. As for 45 and 45 long colt they are the same.
Talk to Greybeard I am sure he will agree with me.
Hope this helps
 
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Lefty is correct as usual stay away from the Henry's. They are a pain to load and seem to be very hard on extractors among other things. I have both the 66 and 73 and much prefer the 73's due to the lever safety. Granny One Shot and I will have examples of the 73, 66 and a couple pre-Remington Marlins at our CAS display to promote SAWWS our provincial CAS group at the Swift Current Gun Show this weekend. If you're at the show stop by and handle them a bit and you will see what Lefty is talking about. None of our stuff is for sale so no pressure but it may help you decide what to start with. We're not hard to find our Cowboy garb tends to give us away.
Grey Beard
 
I've got the Uberti 73 and love it... very smooth. It's got enough weight that a standard load (by my lyman reloading book) has very little recoil. I'm just shooting it standard out of the box and for a beginner such as myself I couldn't ask for a better rifle.
 
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