1866 Cimarron short rifle in 44 Special..

[yahoody]

Have to admit I wouldn't have gone looking for a '66 or '73 in 44 Special.  Cartridge is too short to run properly IMO on a standard length carrier.  But I ran into a used one from Cimarron that I just couldn't pass up.  44 Special is one of my favorite six guns cartridges and I thought, "why not?".

Turns out she is a sweetie.  7oz or almost a 1/2 pound lighter than my Uberti '66 in .45 Colt makes it a really handy rifle IMO.  I had thought with the smaller caliber the .44 would have been heavier than the .45.  But dropping 7oz on the barrel end makes a big difference to me on the rifle's balance in hand.  The lighter barrel profile on the .44 is why it is lighter than my Uberti .20" .45.   Don't know if that is a Cimarron thing or every Uberti .44 has the smaller and lighter profiled barrel.  All I had was 240gr wad cutters loaded up for my Colt's but I figured I would just suffer through a hundred or so rounds of less than perfect feeding.  Turns out the gun ran fine.  A few minor hang ups because of bullet shape and cartridge length.  Nothing I'd want to shoot a match with but I easily made it through a couple hundred before I was done.

Came home and loaded up some 200 FP round nose crimped on the groove and some 180 Conical flat points I loaded as long as possible and still chamber in my Colt's .44SPecials. (1.46" )   Interested to see how they all shoot tomorrow.

At 25 yards I could put a full mag of 12 rounds into a half dollar with not too much effort from the bench.   Lots of potential in this rifle.  Internals were built with some really tight tolerances.  While the sight cuts (both front and back) could have been better done with a hand file or a hack saw!  All easy enough to sort out thankfully.

Not everything is perfect on this '66...yet.  But it is a new favorite, which really surprised me.

[yahoody]

Tightened up the dovetails front and back and locktited them in solid.  Found some ammo the rifle likes and it is now shooting better than I can hold, hitting POA @ 25yards. 

I am thrilled!



A quarter on the right..half Dollar on the left.

[dusty texian]

That little 66 is shooting great. Bet that is mild recoil in that rifle/caliber combo. Thanks for the pics.,,,DT

[yahoody]

You are an observant man Dusty.  Lighter rifle and even lighter recoil with the 180s and 200 gr bullets.  Not much with a 240 either.  A pleasant change from the 350s in the short 45-75

Still undecided what I will settle on for a load.  I'd like to use the 200gr 44-40 bullet @ 1250fps. loading HP38 powder.  Powder keeps it all pretty clean.  But haven't shot enough of them yet to decide how reliable they are  in the longer carrier.  Really wanted a longer  OAL.  The 180gr bullet is a little longer set in the crimp grooves so may stick with it.    But so far the 200gr is the one that shoots to POA best.  Makes perfect sense, 240s are a little high, the 180s a little low everything being equal.   



This morning's project is to slowly bump up the powder charge till the cases start sealing up and no evidence of blow back into the chamber.

Then I'll have to see how that loads shoots through my .44 Special Colt's.

[yahoody]

Been out several times since with the 1866 chambered in 44 Special.  Just wanted to say how much I am enjoying it.  It is a full pound lighter than my .45, '66.  Accurate as I can hold.  Not the best SASS/CAS rifle with small front post and a tiny rear notch on the ladder rear sight.  But the thing shoots.....and shoots well with any 44 Special load I have stuffed in the tube.

Had to watch James Garner as Capt. Call shoot up Moxmox and his gang using a Henry with 6 rounds and 3 more from his '73.  Must have been an ammo thing that required the two rifles and a too many bad guys.   Good TV anyway even with the tactical errors on the Captain's part.    And a good showing of how a rifle was really used BITD instead of the silly ass stuff we shoot locally in our SASS matches.  Using cover, concealment and taking on multiple targets from a distance by surprise.  Advantage to the rifle...with multiple rifles and full magazine tubes all the better.  Liked the added detail of a glove on his support hand...which one would need if you were shooting fast with the Henry to keep from getting burnt.  The ladder sight up?  Didn't look to be that far but Old Call was putting hot lead to hide in quick order....so must have been a far piece and a fair piece of shootin!   



Obvious the shooter is looking for a good TV face shot and not interested in using his sights in the pictures above :-)    I figure he is just settl'in in and getting an eye ball on them before sight'en a good bead and commencing to fill them with lead.

[yahoody]

The Moxmox dust up at the end of Episode 2 in  Streets of Laredo had me thinkin the last 48 hrs.

So I took some steel out today at the range.  Was gonna shoot mini IPSC targets at 100+ yards going out to 150 to duplicate what looked like the distances of Call's ambush of Moxmox.   Ended up taking a 10" steel round and going a little further than expected.

Instead just 'cuz I could, I started shooting at 220 yards at a 10" disk  with my .44s elevator on the ladder sight just off the top of the U.    Damn!  Way too high!  Shot several feet too high.  Pushed the elevator higher so it was well out of the way so I could use the U, base of the ladder as a half peep sight.  Was still  2' high at 220 but less so at 250 with 200g bullets and a moderate load that would pretty much duplicate a Henry's .44 load of 200g @ 1100fps.

Not a big smack down compared to say 45-75 or a 45- 90 @ 200+ yards but then I wouldn't want to be hit by a Henry 44 rimfire either, even at 250 yards.  Heck of a lot easier to make those shots from a good rest than I ever imagined.

Captain Call's sights may have been off some for elevation but the shooting by comparison I am thinking was easier than expected.  Bad guys were some BIG targets with they first went to dancing.  Missing the riders heading back down the canyon on horse back and changing rifles mid fight was going to make it hard not to miss.   

I am well satisfied it was good shooting that could have been easily done BITD.

[yahoody]

Had my wife spotting for me earlier this evening at 220 yards on a 1/2 size IPSC target.  Once sorted, hits on steel were pretty regular.  With the sights the way they are, actually easier yet at 250.  But both take some good eyes and trigger control.  It is not a gimme.   She was amazed that she could see the bullet sailing across the 250 yards and then hit the steel or dirt with 10 power binocs.  Light was just right to see the reflection off the bullet in flight.  Fun for her.  Fun for me, when I was actually hitting the steel.   

And the paper keeps getting better most every time out as I learn to shoot the rifle.  Another 25 yard target with 12 rounds.
It is the Zen of a lever gun.  At least for me, pre Browning / elevator lever guns are pure bliss.

[Cholla Hill Tirador]

  Nice that you're shooting long ranges with this little rifle! 

I started CAS with a '73 short rifle chambered in .44 Special which I slicked up and installed a short stroke kit. I'm an ardent bullet caster but the only mould I had at the time was an old Ideal single cavity 429421 which cast a 248 gr. SWC, so that's what I used. That bullet fed like sh!t through a wheat pasture steer never once hanging in any way shape or form. I switched to a short little 165 gr. RNFP that likewise feeds great.
  I sold that .44 Special and purchased another Uberti '73 Saddle Ring Carbine in .44 Magnum. This rifle is somewhat lighter and I really enjoy it.

[Fox Creek Kid]

...And a good showing of how a rifle was really used BITD instead of the silly ass stuff we shoot locally in our SASS matches...

You mean shooting smokeless?     

[yahoody]

/quote]
You mean shooting smokeless?     

No I men for distance. Not 20" steel plates at 15 yards more typical of CAS.  Henrys and the '66s never saw a BP 44-40 load, let alone a 44 Special smokeless.  Shooting the holy black in a gun never designed for the cartridge being used don't make it any more historically "correct" than shooting smokeless IMO.  Black is just harder to clean up after shooting way less ammo.