Cimarron Richards Mason 44 Colt... and 44 Special???

[Cowtown]

I recently came across a very nice pair of Cimarron R-M models. The barrels are marked 44 Colt. Is it safe to shoot 44 Special (presuming they will chamber the slightly longer 44 Special) from these or did Uberti/Cimarron chamber these especially for the 44 Colt?

Thanks!

[tyrel cody]

I doubt it will chamber a .44 Special, mine doesn't have to trim them down just a little bit. .44 spl case length is 1.160 while .44 colt is 1.150. I have a friend however who has one marked .44 Colt that .44 special will fit in.  With a difference of .01 I wouldn't worry about it.

I trim those cases down to .44 Russian length myself; make for a great Black Powder load

[Cowtown]

Is it safe to say if 44 Special chambers OK it is safe to shoot? Or not?

[Abilene]

I have a 44 Colt Richards Type II , it the rim that will not allow the larger 44 Special .

I understand later date code guns have opened up the ratchet a smidgen and the 44 Special with pass  

Sorry, but you were misinformed, or maybe thinking of the old Type 1 Richards?  The only guns marked "44 Colt" that would only chamber 44 Colt due to rim size were the old Armi-San-Marcos Richards conversions. And on those, it wasn't the ratchet that was the issue.  The Russian and Specials rims would overlap eachother so you could only load 3 rounds, one in every other hold.  Rim size has never been an issue with the Ubertis.  The earliest of the Uberti Richards-Masons and Opentops marked .44 Colt would only chamber the Colt due to the chamber being too short for the Special.  Later, some would chamber the Specials and some would not.  I have heard from numerous sources that for a few years now all of the .44's have a cylinder which will chamber the Special, regardless of the marking on the barrel.  If you happen to have one that will not accept the Special, it is easy to have the cylinder reamed with a 44 Spcl finishing reamer.  I have done that a number of times when I was at Cimarron when someone wanted to order a .44 Spcl gun and all that were in stock were .44 Colt (that was when Uberti was still using two different cylinders for the Colt and Special).

Cowtown, if your gun's cylinder will accept the Special then yes, it is safe to shoot the Special.

Major 2, if you do in fact have an Uberti Type II with that issue, it is one I have never heard of!

[45 Dragoon]

Cowntown,
You may want to make sure that the crimp (on the case ) isn't against the step in the chamber. If there's no room for it to unroll, you could have a problem.


Mike
www.goonsgunworks.com
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[Major 2]

Sorry, but you were misinformed, or maybe thinking of the old Type 1 Richards?  The only guns marked "44 Colt" that would only chamber 44 Colt due to rim size were the old Armi-San-Marcos Richards conversions. And on those, it wasn't the ratchet that was the issue.  The Russian and Specials rims would overlap eachother so you could only load 3 rounds, one in every other hold.  Rim size has never been an issue with the Ubertis.  The earliest of the Uberti Richards-Masons and Opentops marked .44 Colt would only chamber the Colt due to the chamber being too short for the Special.  Later, some would chamber the Specials and some would not.  I have heard from numerous sources that for a few years now all of the .44's have a cylinder which will chamber the Special, regardless of the marking on the barrel.  If you happen to have one that will not accept the Special, it is easy to have the cylinder reamed with a 44 Spcl finishing reamer.  I have done that a number of times when I was at Cimarron when someone wanted to order a .44 Spcl gun and all that were in stock were .44 Colt (that was when Uberti was still using two different cylinders for the Colt and Special).

Cowtown, if your gun's cylinder will accept the Special then yes, it is safe to shoot the Special.

Major 2, if you do in fact have an Uberti Type II with that issue, it is one I have never heard of!

I have retracted my comment....  mine is a custom nickel gun , it is chambered for 44 Colt , and the chamber is the reason
not the rim it appears ....having checked both my Type II in 44 Colt & my 44 Special Open Top.

Old Dog..... learned something new

[Crow Choker]

In 2007 I purchased a 72' Open Top From Cimarron. Before purchasing I debated whether to go with a 44 Colt or 44 Special chambering. Before buying I decided I also wanted to get a 66 Winchester 'Yellow Boy' and they were not available in 44 Colt. Wanting both guns to have the same chambering I decided to go with the 44 Special caliber. I was told by Cimarron that the 72 Colt Open Top was chambered for 44 Special, but was stamped 44 Colt. The Cimarron 'person' advised me this was because many of the shooters/buyers of the 72 Open Tops they had for sale, wanted to be able to shoot 44 Specials, but wanted a  'period correct' chamber stamping on the gun, not a chambering for a caliber that didn't come around 1907. Still amazed at that, customers wanted the gun to be stamped with a 'period correct' caliber, but wanted to shoot a caliber that is past the so-called deadline for the CAS/SASS cowboy shootin'. Tells me a lot about that mentality!!!
   Sooooo-the 72 Open Top I bought WILL chamber and shoot either 44 Colt or 44 Specials (44 Russians to I assume), but is stamped 44 Colt. When I first got it, I loaded the Starline 44 Colt cases I bought with black powder only and 44 Special cases with smokeless (so as to make identification of the ammo powder loading). Now I rarely shoot any 44 Specials, limit shooting to 44 Colt with black powder and 'yes' the 66 Yellow Boy handles the 44 Colt cases with ease. Also, both revolvers handle six rounds in their cylinders with no rim overlap problem. The 72 OT box also had 44 Colt stamped on it. If I were to buy a OT, Richards, or any other conversion stamped 44 Colt (esp from Cimarron) and had any desire to shoot Specials, I'd check it out first to see if I could chamber 44 Specials.
In 2008 I purchased a Richards II. It is stamped 44 Spec, but as with the Open Top, gets 44 Colt cases with black powder for a diet. May someday shoot some smokeless threw em' again, but enjoy the 44 Colt cases loaded with black. By the time I bought the Richards II, I was told all revolvers are stamped with whatever chambering they are chambered for. This chambering run-a-round was told to me by a Cimarron associate I will not name, but it wasn't Abilene in case any may wonder.

[Long Johns Wolf]

I used to own an Uberti Colt 1860 Army RM and an Uberti Open Top stamped .44 cal. They were from 2001.
Due to their cylinders' dia I could not load .44 Specials or .44 Russians but .44 Colt only.
Because the rims of the former would overlap.
Long Johns Wolf

[Major 2]

My gun is ONLY marked 44Cal. on the TG , it will not chamber 44 Special OAL.
I bought a case of Black Hills Factory Ammo and it is this same brass I now reload...

But at the time, I bought the the gun I made an assumption, base on the fact that I neither reloaded or owned 44 Colt or Special .
That assumption was flawed , I had no real reason to try to chamber 44 Special.
The rim was the obvious different, word on the street the chambers were bored alike in the Cylinders,  

Since that time,  though I acquired a 44 Special 73 short Rifle & a * Uberti 44 Special Open top (* which I loaded 44 Russian BP )
 never occurred to me to try the 44 Russian in the Type II  ..DoH !
Figured the rim would be the issue....

[Hoof Hearted]

Cowtown

It will probably be easier for you to find 44 Colt ammo and cases (instead of 44 Special) in the cowboy market. As said the case is shorter, with less capacity, and lends itself just fine to cowboy loading.

I can ream the cylinders for you if needed.

Regards, HH

[Graveyard Jack]

To answer your question, yes, if your gun chambers .44Spl, it is safe to shoot standard pressure loads in it.

My Open Top (2006) is marked .44Colt and will not chamber .44Spl due to chamber length. My Richards Type II (2007) also marked .44Colt will chamber and fire .44Spl. Both guns are Cimarrons.