45LC rifles

S

swatts

Inactive
I am new at this forum and have a question or two.
Just starting to get into the cowboy action type shooting, am not sure that I will get heavy into the competition but want to start out right and slow.
I just got a U.S. Firearms 45lc cowboy and will get another when the $ come around. I am really looking for the right choice for a rifle in the 45lc. Please give me any experiences you have had both good and bad that will help me pick the right one without several mistakes.
Thanks
Louisiana
 
I have no experience with .45 Colt rifles but the Rossi 92 is a good one in 44-40. Kinda rough out of the box but slicks up nice.
 
45LC Rifle

I thought that the rifle had to be the same as the pistol in the CASS shoots. That was why I was asking. I need to find the rules dealing with those shoots before I commit to a rifle I guess.
Thanks for the rifle caliber.

Thanks to the gentleman from Mississippi
 
No you don't have to have the same caliber rifle as pistol. You can even have three different calibers if you want the hassle of keeping up with them. Rossi makes a .45 Colt as does Uberti. I'm just familiar with the Rossi 92 in 44-40 is why I said that. The Marlin 94 is popular you just can't use magnum loads.

Here's the rule book. http://www.sassnet.com/Downloads/RO/SASSHandbook(14).pdf

This is a good place to get information but you might need a thicker skin than what's required here.
Mods there aren't as picky as the ones here. http://www.sassnet.com/forums/
 
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Hawg - I have a Marlin 1894 in 45 Colt, works great, accurate and no leading with cast bullets. Also have Uberti 1866 in 45 Colt, same experience as Marlin but its a little smoother. 1892 Win designes are good also, I just have more trouble with myself using them. Rifle round can be different from pistol round.
 
For years, rifle makers shied away from the .45 Colt because its small rim can cause both feeding and extraction problems. Today, as noted, there are several make of leverguns chambered for .45 Colt; they generally work OK, but sometimes there are still problems with extractors reliably handling that tiny rim. In general, the .44-40 may be a better choice.

Jim
 
swatts you are selecting some really nice revolvers , US Firearms 45 Colt , so why not stay in the same quality area , and pick up a Uberti 1866 or 1873 rifle in 45 Colt , to go well with your revolvers . :) Try to go watch a CAS shoot in your area , and see what is working well . :) Goodluck
 
I had a Marlin, never had a problem with feed/extraction, very accurate too, all I shot was 260gr cast bullets. For CAS you're not going to be loading heavy like I did for hunting - 5.0 grains of Alliant Red Dot under a 255-260gr bullet is a nice easy shooting load. If you're going to run black powder and want to reduce the load a little, remember the .45 colt cases are tapered, you need some give in the filler wad - NEVER LEAVE ANY AIR SPACE IN THE CASE WITH BLACK POWDER LOADS! A bullet not fully seated on the powder can ring or rupture the chamber - make sure you know what you're doing because black powder is way different than smokeless.
 
I started out with a Marlin 1894 Cowboy in 45 LC ..it was a good shooter with all the smokeless powder loads I put through her ...BUT ..when I tried my Black Powder loads ..it was lock up jam up problems never ending ..So I traded up for a Uberti 1860 Henry ..Much happyer now ..it handles Black Powder loads just fine , like it was made for them ...A+++ to Uberti on the Henry ...and it`s sooooo dang Purdy.
 
45lc

Just found out that an old friend that I had not seen in several years won 2nd overall at the CASS Winter Match in New Mexico and I called and talked to him. I knew he was shooting but didn't know he was really into it. He uses a Marlin and suggest that I think about .38 cal., much cheaper ammo to practice with and do what you need to.
His rifle of choice is Marlin.
I think he goes by Duece Stevens at the shoots.
Thanks to everyone
 
45lc

The 45lc was what I thought that I really wanted but after talking to Jason (Duece) he suggested the other. My son is at Duece's shop right now talking ot him about all the do's and don'ts. He is a good guy. Guess I will trade or sell the 45lc if he is real convincing.
 
I still have me a hankerin' for a lever gun in 45 Colt and it didn't help that last week when my brother bought his step-son a Marlin in .357.

Both my son and brother are lobbying my wife to get me a new motorcycle for my 50th. I don't think they'll be successful, but I'll be quiet about wanting the lever gun while they work on her. I told my son that if she don't buy me the bike, it would be nice if he could talk her into the gun. Then I told him that 'speaking of guns; what a wonderful Father's Day gift one would make for some lucky guy!".:D

Funny thing is that I'd be almost as happy with the $500 gun as I would a $20K motorcycle!:)
 
I have a model 94AE Cowboy Winchester that my girlfriend dearly loves. I have never had any trouble with it extracting, leading, etc. I have had it now for 10 years and it gets used pretty regularly. I prefer the pre-64 model 94's so it's her gun.
 
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