Question for the CAS crowd

[nagol]

I grew up watching the old spaghetti westerns and of course developed a love for the old revolvers and lever's, as of yet I don't own any of either. My concern is the pressure limits constantly discussed online and how big of an issue that will actually be.

I have a lot of love for the 1875 Outlaw and it will of course just be a toy but I plan to use a lever in the same caliber while hunting, so for me the dilemma is the choice of caliber and load which will serve me well for both. While I don't currently reload, I have a good friend who does and could pump out several hundred rounds in an afternoon.

So choices would be the 45lc, 357/38 or 44-40.

Anyone care to comment or suggest pro's/cons?

 

[Chuck McCann]

Your choice of calibre will depend on what you plan to use it for and what type of powder you plan to use and to some degree the style of rifle. The Marlin or 1892 actions are a much stronger action than the toggle link 1873 and will withstand higher pressures from smokeless powder loads.

If you are planning to use black powder or a substitute I would choose the 44-40 that will work for CAS or hunting and could be either an 1873, Marlin or even one of the old winchesters.

If you are sticking to hunting only I would look for a pre Remington Marlin 1894 in 45 Long Colt particularly if you are planning to use smokeless powders. It can be loaded much hotter than a 73 yet down loaded for CAS shooting. If your sticking to CAS then the 73 is a good choice.

Personally I wouldn't use a 357 for hunting but others have with success. If your planning to use it for CAS only then I would go with the 1873 and shoot 38 specials out of it but the Marlin is also a very good choice.

A cheaper choice than either the 1873 or Marlin would be a Rossi 1892 in 357/38 or 45. A lot of new CAS shooters start with a Rossi then upgrade latter.

As far as the handgun goes if you are going with an 1875 Remington the either Pietta or Uberti are good choices. I have several of both manufacturers and there isn't much difference quality wise in the guns made today. The Ruger Vaquero is by far the strongest of revolvers but it doesn't come in an 1875.

Hope this is of some help.

 

[Garand]

A word about Winchester M92's and clones, the more familiar you become with the rifle, the faster you try and rack the lever the more there is a possibility of getting the carbine to "stovepipe". Nice rifle for hunters & competitive beginners. As Chuck mentioned it all depends what you want to use the carbine for. Personally I'm lazy and like to reload with carbide dies so its either .45 LC or .357 (and I own lever guns in both calibers). Do you reload? The difference in cost of reloading .45LC and .357 is minimal in comparison to buying factory ammo.

Have you considered Cowboy Action shooting or just planning for using it only for hunting? As mentioned Marlin for hunting and the Uberti for competition (and I own 2 of each). This purchase requires thought, if you are looking into competition in the future you should probably look into the SASS Shooters manual and find out if you like a specific category. Some categories demand specific firearms, specific clothes, specific holsters, etc. Spend your money once.