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Old November 27, 2018, 03:06 PM   #15
Driftwood Johnson
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 3, 2014
Location: Land of the Pilgrims
Posts: 2,052
Howdy

Forget getting extra money because they have been tuned up. It is doubtful anyone will pay extra for that. That is just the way it is. Price them as used guns and be happy with what you can get for them.

No opinion about whether to keep the Rugers or go with the 1875 Remingtons. The 1875 Remington has a slightly longer grip with more space between the trigger guard and the grip than a Colt or Ruger. Some folks like that, some don't. I have no opinion as to the workmanship of the 1875s vs an Uberti Colt clone. No practical experience with 1875 clones.

Regarding shooting 44-40 loaded with Black Powder, that is all I shoot in my CAS rifles, except for one original 1873 Winchester chambered for 38-40. So I am quite used to loading Black Powder in a 44-40, or 38-40, or 45 Colt or 45 Schofield. I am used to the extra hassles involved with loading for Black Powder.

And just so you know, it is not the bottleneck case of the 44-40 or 38-40 that keeps blowback out of the action of a rifle. High pressure gas has no problem going around corners. 44-40 (and 38-40) brass tends to be thinner at the case mouth than most other cartridges. About .007 vs about .012 for 45 Colt. It is the thinness of the brass that keeps the fouling out of the action of a rifle. The thinner brass expands more easily at relatively low pressure to seal the bore than the thicker brass of 45 Colt.

That thin brass is also the reason 44-40 can be a bit fussy to reload. Easy to crumple the neck if you don't have your dies set up just right. And if you slam a 44-40 case into the bottom of the sizing/decap die it will probably crumple, whereas the more robust 45 Colt round will just shrug off the insult. Have done it a bazillion times. The answer is to set up your dies carefully, and slow down while raising the case into the die, so you can stop if you feel resistance.
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