Shooting a Colt Lightning

[BigBoarBob]

Hi, I'm a firearms collector and cowboy action shooter from South Africa. In my safe is a medium frame Lightning and a Frontier Six Shooter, both in 44-40. Both are in a good, shootable condition and the thought of doing so intrigued me for a while now. I don't want to torture them in CAS matches but would like to try them out and "feel the history" if you know what I mean.
I've got all the reloading components I need. I've got black powder, Sannadex (the local BP substitute - about 10% less powerful than BP) and smokeless. I am concerned about properly cleaning the Lightning after shooting it. I haven't dis-assembled it yet and am not confident trying. How solid were those actions? And does anyone have a suggested mild smokeless load the Lightning can handle?
Also, does anyone know of some good literature on Lightnings? I've got many high-grade books on SAA's but can't find anything better than coffee table grade on the Lightnings. Any info is much appreciated.

[Oyeboten]

I do not know what the cleaning protocols for your BP Substitute would be....but actual Black Powder cleans up very easily with just warm Soapy Water, dry well with Paper Towels, and final dry with a Hair Drier or Warm Sunshine, then Oil up and put away.

And if one use easy to make Lube Wafers in the Cartridge, between Powder and Bullet, everything stays clean and final clean up is really easy.

I would not shoot BP without them.

Being as the Lightning - far as I recall - was a Black Powder Cartridge Arm, I myself would stay with that, and or use one of the BP Subs if no actual BP were available...or, I s'pose, any of the Cowboy Action Loads, off the shelf, in the box, for 44 WCF would be fine, as those are mild even when Smokeless.

But, BP, done right, would likely give somehting closer to the original Ballistics.

[BigBoarBob]

Thanks for the reply. here are two photos of my Lightning. According to the serial number manufacture was in 1896. It's got a good bore and the feeding is positive. Quite hair raising to try, though. Especially inside a gun shop but I had to know. There were no dummy rounds and after every racking of the action you need to pull the trigger before you can rack again. White knuckle stuff, particularly for the thumb hanging on to the hammer. I had a chat with a big Colt collector here in South Africa 2 days ago and he claims it's not too difficult to dismantle a Lightning - and put it back together again. ) So I think I want to go with the BP load for authenticity's sake. How do you make those lube wafers you mentioned? I guess you melt some lubricants on a tray and cut them out with a case when solid? What's the recipe?

My plan is to take the two Colts as well as my 1873 Winchester rifle, my 1892 Trapper carbine (15" barrel) and my Ruger Vaquero (as a modern comparison) and test the ballistics and ease of handling (pump vs. lever action) I just need to make enough 44-40's to feed them all.

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[Oyeboten]

The 'Lube Wafers' I make and use -


Melt about six parts by volume of Bees Wax, and, to it, add one part Olive Oil.

Melt in a Can in a Saucepan of Water, on the Stove...so that it is in effect a sort of Double-Boiler.

Once the Wax is molten and the Olive Oil added, stirr of course, and, either shut off the Heat, or, do that and also with Pliers or Tongs, remove the Can from the Hot Water Bath, and, set it on the Table or other, where...

You take torn 'strips' about an inch or so wide or as one pleases, of plain white Paper Towel, and, holding a strip so it is in a "U", run it quickly through the Molten mix, then, set aside lain out flat, to cool and harden...it can be set on to a Pine Board or on to a cool piece of Sheet Metal.

Take a Gasket Punch, or Leather Hole Punch, whch will cut a 'Disc' then of the diameter you need for the Disc to fit tightly, into the Cartridge Case of choice...or if no such punch is available, one can make a good Punch using some 1/4 or 3/8ths Iron Pipe, drilling into the end to acheive the inside diameter needed, and, then, grinding the outwide to form a cutting edge.



Such a Punch will work best using the end grain of some Wood as a backer. smooth end grain of even a short piece of regular 2 X 4 would be fine.

These 'Lube Wafers' then are about .030 or .035 ( thirty-five-thousandths ) of an inch thick, and, go on top of the Powder, and, beneath the Bullet.


Black Powder prefers to be compressed well, and, when I re-Load I compress the Bulet-Wafer-and-Powder in one operaiton, with the Powder Volume determined in advance of course, to anticipate once compressed, the seating depth of the Bullet I wish to use, with the Wafer beneath the Bullet.


For me, these little 'Wafers' or Discs have been a joy...in my Cap & Ball Revolvers and my Metallic Cartridge Revolvers, some having only .003 or so clearence between Cylinder and forcing Cone, I can shoot hundreds of rounds with no binding or fouling, ( such light residu as there is, stays 'soft' and thin ) using plain old 'GOEX', and, clean up is a breeze, using merely hot Soapy Water and a little Wads of Paper Towel shoved through the Barrel with a Pencil or Dowel or by using a Nylon or Bronze Bore Brush dipped into the hot Soapy Water.

Wipe all dry with a Towel or Paper Towelling, and, then use a Hair Drier or set outside into the Sunshine, to dry...then Oil up the Arm for put-away. But the Arm must be warmed enough so that a drop of Water put on to it will be seen to evaporate very quickly, thus assuring all Moisture it has got in beinc cleaned, is also evaporated away.

How far one would dissmantle an arm for cleaning, I do not know...the Metallic Cartridge Revolvers I shoot, I do not dismantle at all, and, the Cap & Ball revolvers I knock down in the basi way, of removing Barrel and Cylinder from the Frame, is about it.


The Lube Wafer instantly Vaporizes when the Shot is fired, and leaves a thin film of Bees Wax in it's wake, so in occasions where I have not gotten around to cleaning the Revolver for a while ( well over a year now with one of them ) I find no hint of rust inside or out for my tardyness.

If in a realy hot clime or Season, one could add a little Carnuba Wax, or lessen the amount of the Olive Oil, but, the proportions are entirely loose and forgiving, anyway, and one can adjust them however one likes, so that the little Discs or Wafers are not 'tacky', though it would not really matter if they were unless having a Tin of them for Cap & Ball use in the Field, where, not tacky would be the most pleasant to have I think.

[Collects]

Oyeboten, that is fascinating! You taught me something interesting today! Thanks.

[BigBoarBob]

Oyeboten, thank you very much for this detailed explanation. I am a little apprehensive about my plan, not having reloaded 44-40 before (smokeless or BP), not having dismantled my Lightning before and not wanting to damage it. So any info that bolsters my confidence is really much appreciated.

[Oyeboten]

I do not think any more dismantlingforCleaning after Shooting would be called for now, than it would have when the Rifle was new...which is to say, I doubt any is necessary.

Most likely, folks just used Wet Patches and a Ram Rod or other and shoved them from the Muzzle to the open Breech, or pulled a Bronze Bore Brush on-a-Chain, from Breech to Muzzle, and once satisfied, ran a few dry patches, then Oiled Patches, and called it good-enough.


Having the Rifle tilted so the Muzzle is lower, and, running a Soapy Wet Bronze Bore Brush up to the Breech and back a few times, followed by some Wet ( Soapy Water ) Patches, and then a few dry wads of Paper Towel or dry patches, should be all that's needed really, with no need to dismantle.

I doubt you would need to, if using the little "Lube Wafers', but, if somehow you did need to you can put the Muzzle end into a Pan of Hot Soapy Water, and, use a 'Bore Mop' on a String or Ball Chain, pulling it up from the open Breech, and, pull in the Soapy Water that way, then, as the Mop exisits the Breech, the Water flows back down, and, if a little Water gets slopped around, it should not bother anything, since it would bead up and roll off of the well Oiled interior and exterior Parts, and, you are going to dry the Rifle with warmth, anyway, to where a small test 'drop' of Water or a smeared drop, is seen to evaporate within a short time, like say, twenty seconds or so.

But, if my experience with Revolvers is any guide to what the little Lube Wafers would do in a Rifle, your clean-up procedure should be easy and fun and not take hardly any time at all...just clean the Bore with warm Soapy Water, and, lightly wipe down any visible smudges elsewhere with a damp Soapy water Cloth, of which there will be close to none anyway, dry with warmth, Oil it up, inside and out of course, and all should be well in the Garden.


What do you have for a Re-Loading Press or Appliance?

[BigBoarBob]

My reloading equipment is mostly Lee. I have a Pro 1000 and another Lee press, a turret type. The name escapes me at the moment. Obviously I would rather load the 44-40s on the latter press. I just watched a You Tube clip by Mike Beliveau (hope I got the name right) about loading 44-40 BP ammo. He mentioned that the correct bullet diameter for old-time 44-40s is .427", modern ones usually .429" like in .44 Magnum and Special. I read about how to slug barrels, I guess that's another thing I better try first. He also highly recommended the factory crimp die instead of roll crimping, says it saves a lot of ruined cases. I haven't tried yet to get hold of one here in South Africa but that's going to be challenging. In this regard we are way further out in the sticks here than any place in the US you may think of as remote. Here every handgun caliber that isn't either .22LR, 9mmP, .38Spl, .357Magnum or .45ACP is exotic. And .44-40 is EXOTIC! Well, it wouldn't be the first time I imported dies myself.

That fellow collector I talked to recently warned me to rather take any old gun apart first and check it through thoroughly before firing it. He mentioned that he found it quite common on his 1873 Winchesters that the toggles have cracks or hairline fractures, for example. This kind of problem would obviously weaken an action considerably while it would still seem alright when just cycling some rounds through it. Also, being way over 100 years old, one may find screws to be rather stubborn and I don't want to end up looking into the action after shooting it and thinking "I better take that one apart to clean it properly" only to find that I can't. You can see, I'm very attached to my "babies" in the gun safe.

When it's all done as planned one day I want to do a write-up and send it to our local gun publication "MAGNUM magazine". Bringing history back to life. I enjoy these kind of articles.

Which calibers do you reload for?

[Oyeboten]

I hear you on the 'Taking them apart' question, and, it is a valid one to weigh over for Lever action Rifles of that vintage.

I do not know what parts could be potentially 'iffy' or cracked in the Slide Action design of your Colt 'Lightening' though, and, possibly, the anser is 'none', but, I don't know.

Old Screws which were tightened up 100 odd years ago, may or may not behave as one wishes!

If you have a correct and proper set of Gunsmithing type Screw drivers, it would be easy enough to find out...but absolutely do not attempt to remove any Screws unless having parallell ground Blade Tips, which are otherwise Gunsmithing Screwdrivers...and having enough of them ( or grinding your own ) to fit "perfectly" whichever Screws are in question.

You could also find some Schematics showing the design of the Rifle's Mechanism, and see what is possibly there to consider as warrenting inspection for potential cracks or wear.


If it was me, I wold stick with pure Lead Bullets for .44-40, just as I do for everything else....just as they did back then.

Sadly I have hardly had any time for shooting or re-loading in quite a few months, and, I had to set aside my re-Loading stuff, otherwise I could be at it in little five or ten minute or half-hour breaks now and then.

But, when I was returned to it after many years of hiatus, I was mostly interested in Black Powder Cartridges for .45 Colt, .38 Special, and .38 S&W...but only got as far as the first two before having to put it all away.

I also did do some experiments in .45 Colt using 'UNIQUE' in wishing to develop a prospective SD Round for a Colt 'New Service' Snubby I used to carry years ago...but I only did about a dozen test Cartridges with that.

[Oyeboten]

For re-Loading, I have an old "Lyman" Turret Press called the 'Tru-Line Jr.', and, also a 'Tru-Line' which is a different design and not a Turret sort. And, I have a "Star' Progressive Press also, which for sheer good looks, and function, is hard to beat.

I have a few of the old "IDEAL" so-called 'Tong Tools' or "310" Tools or in practice, field Kits also, but I have not tried any of them yet to see how they work. These were very popular in the era of your Lightening and used the same Dies as do the old "LYMAN" Presses I mentioned above.