"Colt" Lightning - Pedersoli or some one else?

[frimath]

So................not quite sure which board to put this on so if necessary I'll remove it and re-post. I was a t a show this past weekend and a dealer there had several NIB Pedersoli Lightnings both in 38/357 and 45LC. I wanted/needed on in 45 LC and he had both a 24" and a 20" both with Oct barrels. The longer one looked nicer but the shorter one felt better. A buddy of mine talked me out of both of them and suggested to me that the standard round barrel Carbine was most authentic and handier. Honestly I really like the look and the feel of the round barrel BUT I've read so many bad reviews on this particular model of rifle that I still have the ebbie-jeebis about ordering one even though its made by Pedersoli. I could use some help on whether these Lightnings are as serviceable and reliable as say................ the 1873s or '92s or 66s. I really like  this carbine but I don't want to be stuck with some white elephant/ pretty paperweight! 

[Scattered Thumbs]

So................not quite sure which board to put this on so if necessary I'll remove it and re-post. I was a t a show this past weekend and a dealer there had several NIB Pedersoli Lightnings both in 38/357 and 45LC. I wanted/needed on in 45 LC and he had both a 24" and a 20" both with Oct barrels. The longer one looked nicer but the shorter one felt better. A buddy of mine talked me out of both of them and suggested to me that the standard round barrel Carbine was most authentic and handier. Honestly I really like the look and the feel of the round barrel BUT I've read so many bad reviews on this particular model of rifle that I still have the ebbie-jeebis about ordering one even though its made by Pedersoli. I could use some help on whether these Lightnings are as serviceable and reliable as say................ the 1873s or '92s or 66s. I really like  this carbine but I don't want to be stuck with some white elephant/ pretty paperweight! 

Run away. Even the originals weren't that reliable.

They faded for a reason.

[Baltimore Ed]

I liked the way they look too, but....Had a Taurus lightning in .45. It would shoot and feed, previous owner had worked on it but it would spit back at me. Returned it to Taurus,  they sent me a new one that wouldn't feed reliably and still spit at me. Got rid of it. You would think that a pump rifle would be smoother than a lever but when you pump the action you loose your sight picture because you're moving the front of the gun. When you lever a lever action you're moving the rear of the gun but if it's tight to your shoulder it doesn't move. Your offhand is keeping the front half on target and your shoulder supporting the rear. And you don't loose your sight picture. Don't waste your money.

[Abilene]

Some people (Lassiter) can run a Lightning fast enough to win.  As for the rest of us, well some folks just like something a little different (not me, I have no desire for one.  I have a Remington pump .22 that feels weird enough to shoot  )

But the Pedersoli really has been a very good one by most reports.  Now you did say you wanted .45LC, but keep in mind that the .357 does not run with .38's (got that from Pettifogger).  And the .45 is likely to still give you some blowback in the face with a light load, but a 250gr bullet should not give blowback.

[Coffinmaker]

I have actually seen a few Lightnings that would make it through a match.  Even a two day Match.  They were Pedersoli.  I have heard rumor of a Uberti making a complete match and same, a rumor of USFA doing the same.  But not reliably.  The only Lightnings to date that I have seen run and run well have all been Pedersoli.  I don't know what Lassiter runs.  My money says it isn't stock.

Most of the lightnings I have seen cost as much to get them to work as it costs to buy them in the first place.  If you absolutely positively must have a lightning ..... Pedersoli.  I would in any case, suggest you write the check to ME.  That way we know at least ONE of us will be happy. 

[Abilene]

...  I don't know what Lassiter runs.  My money says it isn't stock...

Oh no, it definitely wasn't stock.  It was...get this...a Taurus Thunderbolt!  That's right!  I think he ran it a few seasons, with an '87 shotgun.  Don't know if he still shoots it.  I think he did it as a challenge, to show that he could make one run, and win.  Much more of a testament to the man, not really the gun.

[Pettifogger]

The advice I always give with Lightnings is to plan on having them become a new hobby.  I have at least two of each of original Colt's, Perdersoli, Uberti, Rossi, USFA and AWA.  Colt, Rossi, USFA and AWA are long gone.  The most likely to run out-of-the-box is the Pedersoli.  Lassiter did shoot a Rossi but he knew how to repair them.  He now runs a Pedersoli.  I don't understand the comment about the round barrel carbine being the most "authentic."  The only way to get something authentic is to buy an original Colt.  Far more of them had octagon barrels than round barrels.  It's your money get what you like, not what someone else likes.

[frimath]

The round barrel carbine being more "authentic" in terms of the barrel on a carbine length Lightning. That no oct. barreled carbines were made!  I like them but not so much that I want to be "married" to a good looking non or poorly functioning long gun. I cant say thanks enough to all you guys that have given a fair and impartial opinion. Hate to spend hard earned money on stuff that doesn't work. Honestly, Cowboy action shooting may not be as much about-----" how good you shoot............but rather how good you LOOK shooting !!!!"  Lol

[greyhawk]

The round barrel carbine being more "authentic" in terms of the barrel on a carbine length Lightning. That no oct. barreled carbines were made!  I like them but not so much that I want to be "married" to a good looking non or poorly functioning long gun. I cant say thanks enough to all you guys that have given a fair and impartial opinion. Hate to spend hard earned money on stuff that doesn't work. Honestly, Cowboy action shooting may not be as much about-----" how good you shoot............but rather how good you LOOK shooting !!!!"  Lol

Got a friend has one of these - tried to talk him outta it as we (crazy friend and me) had an original for a while back in the 60's - it was in good shape too - after a couple months we figured out why it was still in good shape and we got rid of it - a worn out winchester was a way better idea than a new lightning (still is I reckon) - anyway this new one - looks a million bucks - its his wifes gun - she loves it - she shoots it pretty good - but it is unreliable - just little glitches that seem to have no cause - no reason - clear it - fiddle a bit - its all good till next magazine or the one after - and its a dirty thing inside - shooting black - there is gunk all through it - gotta pull it down to clean it every time its shot - shells come out black all over - some blame the pistol cases for that but our original was 44/40 and it was the same. Was this a poor design ? or just poor execution ? whatever - it seems to not work how it should .

[Pettifogger]

Got a friend has one of these - tried to talk him outta it as we (crazy friend and me) had an original for a while back in the 60's - it was in good shape too - after a couple months we figured out why it was still in good shape and we got rid of it - a worn out winchester was a way better idea than a new lightning (still is I reckon) - anyway this new one - looks a million bucks - its his wifes gun - she loves it - she shoots it pretty good - but it is unreliable - just little glitches that seem to have no cause - no reason - clear it - fiddle a bit - its all good till next magazine or the one after - and its a dirty thing inside - shooting black - there is gunk all through it - gotta pull it down to clean it every time its shot - shells come out black all over - some blame the pistol cases for that but our original was 44/40 and it was the same. Was this a poor design ? or just poor execution ? whatever - it seems to not work how it should .

You left out a couple of pieces of vital information.  What brand is the wife's gun and what caliber is it?

[greyhawk]

You left out a couple of pieces of vital information.  What brand is the wife's gun and what caliber is it?

oooops -- sorry there - Pettifogger
almost bet its a Pedersoli - calibre is 357 magnum - ten years old or so - a safe queen most of its life - or - only shot enough to say "I done it" - previous owner was a bachelor gun nut - had lots of good stuff - way too many guns to use any of em hard - he departed three years ago - always had the best of molds, dies, trimmed his cases to length, weighed his cast boolits, all that fiddly stuff that we read makes a difference and most of us too busy to git done. He was a top notch big bore shooter in his day but in the end got too big to shoot prone or even get down and sit behind a set of sticks (waaal gettin up again was really the problem) ---- I have never had a decent look at the innards of one of these guns - you would think if they work good some of the time (and this one does) then they should be able to be made work good all of the time - I seen a lot of funny things with repeater guns and half the time its some little quirk - like how ya hold yr mouth when ya cycle it - A local gunsmith feller showed me a Ruger Bolt gun a while back sold new - came back in the shop for repair - not ejecting properly - showed me how it dropped the dummy round (or an empty) back in the works - gimme that thing here - poked the dummy in it closed the bolt - yanked it open - dummy round flew across the basement - now gimme an empty - same process - same result - the empty flew clear like its sposed to - I said the guy dont know how to work it is all - you shoulda sold him a single shot! (I had a model 70 winchester did exactly the same when I bought it forty years ago - good if ya wanted to save yr brass as first order of business but if you want the follow up shot ----act like it means somethin - haul back on that handle and let er do it). A lot of lever guns act like this - maybe a pump does too?
Hey this whole deal brought back some memories - my brother has a winchester 61 pump gun .22rf - you could hold the trigger down and hammer that thing as fast as you could go - the last tenth of an inch of slide stroke engaged the trigger and it fired as you slammed the action shut - there were remington 14 1/2 rifles around  in 44/40 about the same time - I never got to try one but told that they worked the same (proly should not tell tha politicians about that eh)   

[Gabriel Law]

I have a Pedersoli Lightning in .45 Colt...would have preferred 44-40 but didn't know better at time of purchase.  The gun is bullet proof.  But you have to cycle it like you stole it.  You cannot baby the action or short stroke it...work it hard.  It hasn't let me down since the first match when I wasn't full length sizing my brass....had a jam in the chamber that took some fiddling.  Now that I do, it never misses or hick-ups.  It is considerably faster than a lever rifle, if that is important to you, all else being equal.  In other words, shooting the same ammo.  I load hot, aiming at around 1000 fps with 250 gr. pills.  THAT, is 'SPIRIT OF THE GAME".

[greyhawk]

I have a Pedersoli Lightning in .45 Colt...would have preferred 44-40 but didn't know better at time of purchase.  The gun is bullet proof.  But you have to cycle it like you stole it.  You cannot baby the action or short stroke it...work it hard.  It hasn't let me down since the first match when I wasn't full length sizing my brass....had a jam in the chamber that took some fiddling.  Now that I do, it never misses or hick-ups.  It is considerably faster than a lever rifle, if that is important to you, all else being equal.  In other words, shooting the same ammo.  I load hot, aiming at around 1000 fps with 250 gr. pills.  THAT, is 'SPIRIT OF THE GAME".

"Cycle it like ya stole it"   I like that .......makes a lotta sense to me - or maybe ..... work it like some one is shootin at ya - after all thats where a lot of these designs have their roots - that was what I was on about with those bolt gun stories - seen the same thing with lever guns too - '92's in particular - fussy piddle around and they dont work

[Blackpowder Burn]

I've had a Pedersoli Lightning in 44-40 for several years now and it has been utterly reliable.  Contrary to the naysayers, I like the Lightnings and have lots of fun and no issues.  I have both a Pedersoli and a USFA and both perform very well. I even have an original Colt in 32-20 that I am doing a few repairs to and expect to be shooting soon.  They are unique and definitely have style points.

I should also mention that there are three other folks in my club that shoot Pedersoli Lightnings (so, a total of 4 of us in one club - what are the odds?) as main match rifles and are very happy with them.  And we all shoot black powder to boot.  What more can you ask?

[LonesomePigeon]

Blackpowder Burn, is your USFA Lightning a .44-40?

[Blackpowder Burn]

Yes, my USFA and Pedersoli are 44-40's.

Two other club members shoot Pedersoli's in 44-40.

[frimath]

Thanks for everyone's input................think I'm going to just stick with my tried and true '73 and '66.  I really don't need another "hobby" at this point!!

[maldito gringo]

I own an original Lightning in 44-40. It's not pretty. No finish left, and parts of the metal look like it's had the pox. Unreliable?
Information posted on the internet by folks who have no direct experience with the design may be unreliable, the design is not.
Maybe mine is an exception of some kind. Or, possibly, I took the time to learn how it functions, disassemble and clean it, and learned how to work it properly. In any case, mine is utterly reliable and scary accurate. I have no experience with copies or replicas, so I will not venture a judgement on them. I have direct experience with only one "copy", an Armi Sport 92 that I bought because it was incredibly beautiful. It was missing parts out of the box ( one ctg guide screw and the lifter stop pin) but I put it right and took it out to test fire it. Shot so far to the left I could not adjust the sights to compensate. The first and last "copy" of anything that i own.
Sold it. So here's the takeaway: A junked up soiled dove from the day beats a "replica", because whatever has happened to it over the years, you can bet that it was right when it left the factory,and 99 times out of 100, it can be put right again. My humble opinion anyway.

[sfc rick]

Well looks like I'm going to get a Pedersoli Cimarron Lightning .45 soon. I was looking for another .45 lever gun at the local LGS/pawn shop and they didn't have any Marlins, Henry's, or Japanesed Winchesters on the racks. She offered to order one and then showed my the Lightning she had just gotten in from Cimarron. I never really had a desire for it in the past and read a lot of people have trouble with them. But for some silly reason I made the decision to buy it. Once I get this one out of layaway, I hope to enjoy it or not.

Edited; Found out Cimarron doesn't even sell these anymore since 2013. It was a used rifle and Cimarron does not warranty it. They said if I had trouble with it they knew a guy who knows a guy to send it to. So looks like I'll save me some grief and not complete this deal. This WAS a trusted LGS, maybe not anymore. I take full responsibility for failing to do my research before deciding to buy.

[shrapnel]

I have had good enough luck with original Lightnings to win a match or two...