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1887 Colt Lightning slide-action in 38-40

1K views 12 replies 9 participants last post by  jertex 
#1 · (Edited)
My 1906 Colt Bisley in 38-40 needed a companion rifle and I got the opportunity to pick up this Colt Lightning. It took me a month to decide, but in the end, I thought the price was right and it makes a perfect match to have a Colt rifle with a Colt Bisley. I think that they make a handsome couple.
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#7 ·
I shot the Bisley for the first time on Sunday afternoon and that's my first experience with the 38-40. What a nice, soft shooting round, I was very surprised. I don't have any black powder loads at the moment so I haven't shot the Lightning yet.
Beauts!! I stockpiled up on 38-40 ammo, dies, brass and bullets over the years to feed an 1892 Winnie ca 1897 and also looking for a similar vintage sidearm to go along with it. I had other 38-40's I bought and sold over the years and for me holds a place in my stable like no other.
Yep, ammo is the hard thing. Is there a good smokeless powder equivalent that keeps the pressures low enough to use in a black powder firearm? I've read that reloading this cartridge can be challenging because the rifle chamber dimensions tend to be all over the place and it's difficult to get one perfectly sized cartridge that will fit both a rifle and a revolver. I'd be curious to know your experience.
Nice! I really would love to have someone give me a 38wcf Colt Bisley. I noticed 4 boxes of 38-40 at Hoffmans gun center because it was about all they had.
That ammo is hard to find. I picked some up at Selway Armory a few weeks ago. They only had 2 boxes of Black Hills and I bought both. I searched for Hoffman's Gun Center and unfortunately, they don't sell ammo online or I'd scoop those up.
 
#4 ·
Beauts!! I stockpiled up on 38-40 ammo, dies, brass and bullets over the years to feed an 1892 Winnie ca 1897 and also looking for a similar vintage sidearm to go along with it. I had other 38-40's I bought and sold over the years and for me holds a place in my stable like no other.
 
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#10 ·
Yep, although a Bisley is an SAA with a different grip frame, it's the same gun and the Bisley is a much more natural shooter in my opinion. That being said, you can't have enough Colt SAAs!
 
#11 ·
Or you could opt for the Colt 1883 hammerless model such as the Grade 1 12-bore below to complete your vintage set. The Model 1883 was cataloged in three grades, the Grade 1, Grade 2, and Grade 3; and they also made this model in Presentation grades which are works of art. To my knowledge all examples were made in either 10 or 12-bore; all featured Damascus barrels, and there may have been a total of 6K examples produced. One good thing about the Model 1883 (not sure about the Model 1878 hammer) is that Colt still possesses detailed record of every one of these guns they ever made; so for $100 an owner can find out the exact specs his gun was built too, where it was shipped, and sometimes the original owner. I understand that these old guns are popular with cowboy action shooters today. The example below features a knock-out piece of English walnut, not uncommon on the Model 1883; and is shown with a few doves taken one afternoon. These are fun guns to shoot with period correct loads.

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