[prof marvel]

Greetings my Good Doc -

brief summary:

.44 WCF or .44-40 was always designed as a BP rifle/pistol cartridge, and runs well in both revolvers and lever action long arms. One isssue is old vs modern barrel dimensions; modern barrels use a .429 bullet like the .44 spcl.

.45 Colt was originally desinged as a pistol cartridge; it has a very small rim, which sometimes leads to extraction problems in a lever action. Similar old vs modern barrel dimensions, old dim's were ~ .454 modern dims ~ .451

.44WCF is a bottleneck cartridge with a thin case mouth which expands nicely for an excellent gas seal with BP, but can crumple if care is not exercised when reloading.

.45 Colt is a straight-wall case with a thicker case mouth. it is easy to reload, but oft' does not expand & seal as well, leading to dirty blowback.

pm sent as well

yhs
prof marvel