ORIGINAL Colt Open Tops not chamberd in .44 Henry Rim Fire?

John44 · August 31, 2009, 09:41:38 PM

I read that in a book(sorry don't remember the name), is it true? If true could a .44 Henry still chamber and fire? Just wondering. What about all the different .44 henrys, you know long and short?

Fox Creek Kid · September 01, 2009, 04:43:02 AM

I'm a little confused by your post.

Are you talking about ORIGINAL '72 OT's or replicas? The orginals were NOT chambered in .44 Rimfire, per se. They were specifically chambered for the Winchester .44 (sometimes referred to as .42) Stetson Patent Rimfire. Other .44 Henry Rimfires will NOT chamber in the originals. McDowell goes into this in great detail in his book on Colt conversions.

FWIW, some of the very first Colt '72 OT's were chambered in .44 Russian and at least two are in the McDowell book. Serial #1 was actually .44 Russian as well. Colt SAA #1 was also chambered originally in .44 Russian.

John44 · September 01, 2009, 12:01:53 PM

Sorry for the confusion! I was talking about the original '72 OT.

So could I wallk into a store in say 1876 and buy the same .44 ammo for a Winchester '66 and a Colt '72 OT?

Thanks! John44

WaddWatsonEllis · September 01, 2009, 06:17:19 PM

FWIW...

When I was about 14 one of my friend's father pulled out this old Colt Peacemaker and Buscadero rig. Being young and slender and he being, uh, rather comfortable in stature, I proceeded to wrap the cartridge belt twice around myself and (as only a teenager would), proceeded to quick draw and fan the trigger....

His father watched without a murmur, and when I gave the rig and gun back to him, told me the rest of the story.

He had been RIF'd after WWII and was working as a railroad detective. He said some of the hobos he had to roust out or a car would become rather physical .... so he was walking down the street and saw the nickel plated (I'm sure plated much later) Colt and got out the door for $30.

He took it home and tried to load it with .45 Colt. But it would not fit. So he took it to a gunsmith ...

Turned out he had one of six remaining Colts that were originally made for the Texas Rangers in 44-40 Henry so that they would only have to carry one type of ammo.

This was about 1964... and he said at that time he had been offered $17,000 for the gun ... thoughts of me dropping it and breaking the hammer or some such (so that all the serial numbers would not match {as they did}) left me feeling cold and clammy.
My knees went weak and I decided I needed to sit down.

God only knows what that pistol would be worth now ....

But the moral of the story was that there were at least 250 Colts made to fire 44-40 Henry.....

Pettifogger · September 01, 2009, 06:31:27 PM

No such thing as a ".44-40 Henry" and regular .44-40s are common.

Mako · September 01, 2009, 09:31:36 PM

Quote from: Pettifogger on September 01, 2009, 06:31:27 PM
No such thing as a ".44-40 Henry" and regular .44-40s are common.

+1
Yep "Frontier Six Shooters"

Dr. Bob · September 01, 2009, 11:56:26 PM

FCK,

Thanks for the heads up on early Open Tops being made in 44 Russian! That is what I am shooting in mine and I am elated that I am being PC doing it!!!

WaddWatsonEllis · September 02, 2009, 12:09:40 AM

If I was incorrect, the story was told to me when I was around 14, or about 46 years ago.

The 44-40 could quite possibly be incorrect, but I remember that the Colts were specially ordered to fire Henry repeating rifle ammunition..... and that .45 Colt would not fit in the chamber (was too large).

Fox Creek Kid · September 02, 2009, 02:24:06 AM

Starting in 1875 Colt made a tad over 1,800 SAA's in .44 Rimfire. They are worth a lot of money, especially in good condition and if the barrel hasn't been chopped. Most seem to have went to Mexico. These guns have their own specific serial # range starting at #1. Here's one that just sold for $11,200:

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=134501894

Flint · September 02, 2009, 02:00:32 PM

Most of the 72 Opentops went to Mexico as well.

John44 · September 12, 2009, 01:08:54 PM

So could I wallk into a store in say 1876 and buy the same .44 ammo for a Winchester '66 and a Colt '72 OT?

Fox Creek Kid · September 12, 2009, 07:09:19 PM

Quote from: John44 on September 12, 2009, 01:08:54 PM
So could I wallk into a store in say 1876 and buy the same .44 ammo for a Winchester '66 and a Colt '72 OT?

Only if it's the Stetson patent ammo so as to fit the OT.

Books OToole · September 13, 2009, 05:02:37 PM

Quote from: John44 on September 12, 2009, 01:08:54 PM
So could I wallk into a store in say 1876 and buy the same .44 ammo for a Winchester '66 and a Colt '72 OT?

For the 1866, absolutly. They were made until about 1890 and all but the last batch were chambered for .44 Henry rimfire.

The '72 Opentops....If they shot .44 Henry rimfire, certainly. It depends on what source you refer to, as to chamberings of the OT.

Books

Fox Creek Kid · September 13, 2009, 09:03:58 PM

Quote from: Books OToole on September 13, 2009, 05:02:37 PM...It depends on what source you refer to, as to chamberings of the OT.

Books

You lost me, Books. Expound, please.

Dr. Bob · September 14, 2009, 12:18:17 AM

I reckon that all them there "experts" which wrote them expensive books don't always agree on what cartridges went in which revolvers!!

Kinda got that Mpression from Books when we were jawing last weekend! He'll tell ya fer sher!

Grogan · September 14, 2009, 07:51:49 PM

While they're not the Open Tops, I believe that some of those SAAs in .44 Rimfire were either reworked (or at least some of the .44 RF Frames were used) and made into the very rare .22RF SAAs

Fox Creek Kid · September 14, 2009, 10:44:14 PM

Quote from: Grogan on September 14, 2009, 07:51:49 PM
While they're not the Open Tops, I believe that some of those SAAs in .44 Rimfire were either reworked (or at least some of the .44 RF Frames were used) and made into the very rare .22RF SAAs

They were.