Nice pink lock, it comes to mind that San Francisco is in the "Sacramento area" just say'n.

 

Everything I have read, shines light on the internals of a lever gun not surviving hot loads shot after shot.

I know I will not always be shooting hot loads, but the last thing I want to worry about is if the gun I am carrying will fail or not. This is the main reason I will never own a Taurus, just not reliable enough of a brand for me.

I may be putting this project on hold again, need to get the finances right.

 

Now I'm curious, I might have to look into it, but I've seen a 500S&W lever gun and there's a fair amount of 45-70 lever guns out there. Whatever the details of the durability problems are I suspect them to be solvable.

 

I think you are right in that there are possibilities,it is mainly that each gun is tailored to its round, so I am not sure how "easy" it would be to beef up the lever gun's internals for the extra pressure.

On the other hand, i know what the revolver is made to do, and it can take the extra power from the rounds. That and I like a good revolver.

 

I don't know for sure but my guess is you will get more energy from a standard load fired from a lever rifle that a hot load from a revolver.

 

This isn't 'exactly' factual.
There are lever guns that can and do handle some pretty potent rounds.
Look at the operating pressures of cartridges.
Granted, the .45-70 is pretty tame, for a rifle cartridge. (I own two Marlin 1895 leverguns in .45-70.)
However, you can get pretty darned 'nasty' with loads, and I'll bout guarantee that you won't shoot more than 5 rounds of this grand ole 'catridge' and you'll be done for the day.

I've seen pictures (and saved some on another computer) of a .45-70 that came apart where the barrel screws into the receiver.
This pic was a classic "split the barrel like a cartoon picture"!
The receiver was in several pieces, and the stock and forend split and splintered.

With the .45-70, there just is no reason to 'hot rod' it.

My Marlin 1895G "Guide Gun" in .45-70 with Federal 300 gr JHP cartridges under the rifle, and my handloads of 405 gr Cast Performance LWNGC "catridges" in the stock sleeve.



The .500 S&W Magnum and the .460 Magnum generate quite a bit of pressure.
The .454 Casull generates a bucket load of pressures, too.
All of these are a LOT more than the .44 Magnum generates.


I witnessed a guy behind the gun counter at a local gunshop, about 25 years ago, bragging about how he overloads (he's a handloader/reloader) his .44 magnum Ruger Redhawk.
He made the claim that he loads 2.0 grains over maximum with Winchester 296 powder (a really great .44 magnum powder!), "all the time".

He almost got the 'new guy' killed, with his bovine scatology.

The 'new guy' overloaded his cartridges with W-296 and blew the gun up!!!!!
The cylinder went into multiple pieces, and the front-end of the frame split, along with the barrel at the forcing cone.
The topstrap on the Redhawk came apart and some pieces of it and the cylinder were never found.

3 pieces (fragments) of the revolver went into the guy's face. Luckily, he was wearing shooting glasses.


This is PROOF that you NEVER take someone's 'word' on loading data.
ALWAYS read, understand and follow ALL safety practices and follow published (not from Billy Joe Ripsnort on the 'net) loading books.

 

What do you guys consider 'hot' loads?


Some of the hardest-hitting 45-70 loads (Garrett Hammerhead cartridges) are recommended ONLY in late model Marlin lever guns......


And they've been used to take all the Africa 'Big 6' too.......


Forgive my ignorance.....and I haven't really checked the ballistics of the big bolt magnums.....But those puppies are generating some 35000 psi.....which is pretty hefty when throwing out 540-grain hard-cast bullets.

 

You do. And add about 400 f/s out of a .44 lever gun versus a .44 revolver........Like you said. Escaping gases from around the cylinder in the revolver......

 

Just happened to remember the Savage mdl 99.

This is a great 'old' lever action rifle, that has been chambered in .308 Winchester.

The operating pressure of this cartridge (according to Wiki) is 62,000 psi or about TWICE what a 'standard' .45-70 builds.

.308 Winchester - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Garrett Hammerheads and Buffalo Bore ammo is Hot, with a capitol H O T! <<<<------ This guy likes hot! Ha!

 

them are stupid.

 

To the bear 'experts' on this thread.....


Is just your plain old .44-mag revolver adequate as a defense against the big bruins? Obviously nothing beats a high-powered rifle.....but is it? My knee-jerk opinion is 'yes'.....but what do y'all think?


I know some of the police patrol units in northern Greenland carry the 10-mm not only as their issue sidearm......but as a secondary usage against polar bears....which are, if anything, worse than grizzlies......


Thoughts?

 

I wouldn't have put it so brutally.......


But I kinda think pistols are pistols........rifles are rifles......and for the 'tweens'........carbines do nicely.........


Not to sound poetic, but the various kinds of firearms have a certain beauty all their own. Don't really believe in making a Frankenstein monster out of any of them.


Bolt-actions long guns like the Winchester Model 70 are the supermodels of the shooting world.........

 

It's a good choice for those times when you just can't carry a shotgun loaded with 00.

 

Better than those little bells I'm thinkin'.

 

I'm FAR from being an expert on bears (and many other things!), but, the .44 magnum has been carried by many in bear country.

I'd feel at ease carrying my Dan Wesson 44VH-8 (or in VH-4 configuration) with a 265 grain hardcast SWC bullet, or JSP.
I would want as heavy a bullet as I could get to seat deep enough (to allow the cylinder to turn) and still have enough powder behind it to give good velocity.
I don't know if a 300 grain bullet would seat deep enough to function in a revolver.

I don't know if it's available now, but, Smith & Wesson used to market what they called a "Mountain Gun". Mdl 29 or 629, in .44 magnum, with a 4" barrel. It wasn't a 'heavy' barrel, per se, but it sure was a gorgeous revolver!!!!!!

It was intended to be a backpacker's revolver.


As for 10mm, I've read where the Glock 21 in .45 acp can be converted to 10mm with just a couple of parts. (Conversion barrel, recoil spring assembly and the magazine[s] IF memory serves me.)
I'd like to try that. Might have to find that article, then get the parts.