Colt 1878 DA Revolver 38-40 experience/help

oscarflytyer

oscarflytyer

Well-Known Member
Colt 1878 DA Revolver 38-40 experience/help

Have a chance to get a Colt 1878 Frontier DA Revolver in 38-40/38 WCF. DOM 1893. Makes it a BP period/frame. So, some questions...

1) Assume it is recommended to shoot only BP loads?
2) What about very low pressure smokeless loads?
3) If BP loads only, any BP load recommendations? I will be casting 180 grn pure lead bullets.

Thanx
 
Cherokee

Cherokee

Medina, Ohio
Have a gunsmith check it out as safe to fire. My opinion, BP only. No experience, just being safe. Would be an interesting gun, have only seen pictures of them.
 
fiver

fiver

Well-Known Member
if this is the one also known as the thunderer it is a very fragile gun.
they were super prone to breaking internal parts and not working properly.

the original loads were an alloy of 40-1 on top of about 35-38grs of black powder [2 or 3F]
newer cases won't hold that much.
when I had my 38-40 I shot 50-50 alloy on top of 7grs of unique.
this kept the loads down in the 14-k area, but gave me good ballistics and penetration.

one thing to note is the shoulder on the round.[headspace?? I guess you could call it]
most revolvers are cut with the shoulder placed lower on the case, and the dies are cut for the rifle placement which is a bit further forward.
you will probably end up grinding on the shell holder or the bottom of the die to get everything to fit.
about .0010 or so.
make sure you round the case mouths before sizing, and flair well before seating, they will catch on something and you'll buckle the case.
don't be surprised to see you need a bullet diameter of around 403.

other than that I got nuthin.
 
oscarflytyer

oscarflytyer

Well-Known Member
fiver - I have worked through the issues you mention with my Uberti 44-40 revolver. It is a challenge. I have about a .001" tolerance to get the virgin Starline brass to fit in the cylinder. Also appreciate the BP data. I was having an issue finding that. Finally found the 38 gr in Sharpe's book. Thanx
 
fiver

fiver

Well-Known Member
the Lightning was also their pump rifle.
[that's about the sum total of my colt knowledge]
 
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