Cowboy Action

hawkentom

hawkentom

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Houston, British Columbia
Earlier this year I bought a used pair of 51/2 in. ruger vaqueros in 45LC. I have ordered a holster for these guns from Walt Ostin and hope to to have them by the new year. I am now looking for a lever ,and a coach gun .Now I am pretty green to this sport ,I have yet to attend a shoot ,living in northern B.C. doesn't help. But I have kids living near Kamloops and the lower mainland so I hope to be able catch a couple of matches next year while traveling thru.
Now I believe that normally your lever gun is the same calibre as your pistols .Now my question is can I use a differnt calibre lever gun say in a 44-40 ,I think this would be an easier gun to find then one in 45L.C. does any one in cowboy action do this ? What are the cons besides loading for a differnt calibre? I would appreciate any input .........thanks
 
you don't have top use the same calibre for all your guns, it's just more convenient (it ranges from embarrassing to downright dangerous when you have the wrong ammo). It sucks to get to a match and find out you only remembered to bring 1 calibre. Most of the people in cowboy action would help out and lend you ammo (or a gun) for the match. I used to shoot IPSC and have changed to CAS because it's a lot more laid back and far less rule driven. If you're going to reload your own ammo I'm thinking that 45 Colt is less of a PITA than 44-40, and there are lots of lever actions available. Marstar had some that were very nice.
 
From my own experience and having seen others on the range, I personally would not mix my calibers creates an unnecessary difficulty. I use one only for rifle and handgun; there is no chance of mix up. Shotgun is usually 12g as well, as BJP mentions people are always ready to help out, and if you have a different caliber no one will have anything to help you with.

My .02c keep to 45LC, as this is what you have started, also as BJP says reloading a straight case is much easier, not that I find the 44.40 that bad. If you are not reloading I would also expect 45LC to be cheaper.

http://www.firearmspositive.com/Cowboy/index.htm
 
using same calibre

I started cowboy action a couple years ago and I went with 45 colt, I agree that there is enough going on that there is less risk staying with one calibre, also I dont know how far northern bc you are , I shoot at Camrose AB and I beleave we have people coming down from G.P. check out
the frontier shootists . use google to get actual website
it is a blast. also at our regular range I have found setting up pizza box size targets at the right distances works well where steel is not available
 
I've been shooting Cowboy Action for about 9 years now, and I love it. I shot IPSC for 10 years prior to that and found alot of shooters with attitude. As was previously said Cowboy action is very laid back. I shoot either a Marlin M1894S or a 1906 mfg'd Winchester M92 converted to .44 magnum. My pistols are .44 Vaqueros and work great. I reload, my rifles don't like W231 for accuracy and my pistols don't like Unique for accuracy, so I still end up with going to the loading bench with 2 loads. My rifle reloads just have a big black permanent marker slash on the cartridge case base. Try Wholesale Sports for a lever in .45lc , but stay away from the junk that is currently sold by "Winchester" . Most of the cowboy shooters in Alberta that I have met shoot either Marlins or really, really old (50 plus years) Winchesters.


http://www.wholesalesports.com/index.htm


http://www.compusmart.ab.ca/afs/
 
I as well just recently got into the CAS stuff and well.....i'm completely and fully enamoured with it all. Absolutely awesome stuff. I recently got a pair of Uberti's from Wayne with Old Western Arms in Winnipeg, he treated me extremely well and made getting a foot in the door worthwhile.

Like you had mentioned, I wanted to get my pistols and rifle in the same calibre so I would have less to worry about. I was doing well until a friend let me use his Henry that I unfortunately shot really well with. Its a 44-40, so getting that means I will immediately be unable to fulfill my own plan. Its a hard thing this cowboy stuff, so much good stuff, so much choice.

So you need a little extra organization to have a couple calibres...so what. You can always sell something and buy something to replace it down the road.

Either way, welcome to the fun times!
 
Bittermansbro said:
Like you had mentioned, I wanted to get my pistols and rifle in the same calibre so I would have less to worry about. I was doing well until a friend let me use his Henry that I unfortunately shot really well with. Its a 44-40, so getting that means I will immediately be unable to fulfill my own plan. Its a hard thing this cowboy stuff, so much good stuff, so much choice.
Click to expand...

No problem with 44.40 handguns work very well, my set Henry 1860, 2 x Uberti Colt SAA 44.40 no problem. Marstar may even bring in a Pietta if you ask in 44.40. Most cowboy handguns have this caliber choice. Don’t be put off I have not had too much problem reloading, a case or two damage each time, no more than that. The Henry is very accurate, the handguns do me well as well, and I use Win 231, 205g bullets.
 
Hawkentom
The problem with 45 and 44-40 is that I absolutely gaurantee that you will load a 45 into your 44-40 rifle. The cases are just to close to the same size. If you have to use different calibres go with ones that are significantly different. I think you will find that it is easier to find a new rifle in 45 than in 44-40. If you want to shoot an older Win 92 see if you can find one in 38-40, I used to shoot this in a rifle and 45 in my revovers, before I got smart ( gamey) and changed to 38s.
I live in Kamloops and know a few Cowboy shooters in Quesnel, let me know if you would like some contact numbers.
By the way, in my opinion, you made the right choice on the Vaqueros.
 
At this point I would look for stuff in 45 since you already got your Vaquero's in that. As mentioned before, you can always trade, sell or buy additional. At the end of the day, I think all the same calibre for revolvs and rifles is a smart thing to do.

Forty4forty, in regards to your comments about the Henry being accurate, you are darned right, and I likee it muchly.
 
Kind of a sideways question here, but as I understand it the 44-40 came out with the Winchester lever action rifle first historically, and the SAA was then chambered for it after to make a "set." The tapered case of the 44-40 was designed to feed better in the rifle, compared to the straight walled .45LC. So, is this true? Is there improved reliability in the rifle with 44-40 compared to .45LC that anyone has noticed? I ask this not to sway opinion, but simply out of interest.
 
Thanks for all the input guys, when I do finally get out shooting I know I'll be in great company .I live in the Houston B.C. area, so I'm a bit of a loner out here when it comes to C.A.S. But I'm definetly looking forward to travelling and meeting some of you folks in the near future .........Best Regards
 
I'm a one calibre for revolvers and rifle guy, myself.
Saw an ammo mix-up at the loading table and the "fun" the shooter had trying to clear the round from the rifle.
I'm shooting a couple of RV's and a Uberti 1866 Yellow Boy in .45LC
It's a little more expensive, but what the heck, you can't take it with ya!
Welcome to the game and have fun.
Have a little look at www.sassnet.com for more info.
 
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