Questions about an original Remington 1875 44-40

C

Crosshair

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Backstory: I was rebuilding the PC that controls my uncle's CNC plasma cutter and I called him over to show him the changes I made and to give it back. We started talking and I found that he owned an old revolver in 44-40. he said he likes to shoot it, but ammo is hard to get and expensive.

I offered to work on loading him up some appropriate loads. I aquired some 44-40 brass at one of my sources and I figured I should get the gun and take some measurements.

So I get the gun home and it appears to be an 1875 Remington, Nickel w/7.5" barrel. There is no serial number on the gun, but the gun has quite a bit of wear, though the nickel is still mostly intact. The only markings are as follows.

A "44" on the left side of the trigger guard.

"E. Remington & Sons. Ilion N.Y. U.S.A" on the top of the barrel.

The grips are heavily worn and broken in some places. It is some white material, might be ivory, I have no idea.

Any information that anyone can give? Info on the 1875 Remington seems to be a bit limited online.
 
A competitor to Colt's 1873 Single Action Army (SAA) "Peacemaker," the '75 was one of Jesse James' choices--don't recall the barrel length. It was succeeded by the 1890, essentially the same gun but without the under barrel webbing.
 
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Crosshair, Remington put serial numbers under the grips, loading gate (has to be open to read it down on the hinge area) on the trigger guard (must be removed to see), frame in same area, ejector rod, and barrel in same area. The serial numbers are for all indented purposes hidden.
Remington made around 25000 1875's, 2500 1890's, and around 1000 1888's. My dad gave me his 5 1/2" 1888 from his collection. To me they point and feel better in your hand than a Colt. stevejr454
 
If that is indeed an original Remington, I wouldn't reccomend loading ammunition with anything but black powder or a suitable black powder substitute.
 
Thanks stevejr454. I found the serial number. It's 3XX.:eek: Does this mean that my uncle owns one of the first ones made or did they just use the number to keep parts together during assembly?

If that is indeed an original Remington, I wouldn't reccomend loading ammunition with anything but black powder or a suitable black powder substitute.
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My uncle doesn't want black powder and I was thinking about that. I'll probably be using Trail Boss powder and some cast bullets I'll make myself. My uncle just wants something that goes bang so there will be no hot roding going on, though I'm not going to make it into a pooftinker either.

Here are some pics. My camera is an $80 Wal-mart special from 3 years ago, so bear with the quality.

Rem1875-1.jpg


Rem1875-2.jpg


Rem1875-3.jpg


So, what do ya think?
 
Nickel was the most common finish but rarely looks that good after all these years, and the grips appear to be real ivory. Too bad about the chipped grips, but still a very nice gun.

Unfortunately, the Remingtons are not bringing the prices a Colt of the same vintage will, but still a valuable gun, likely in the $4k range.

Jim
 
Very nice gun.

If it were mine I probably wouldn't shoot it a lot. But I would certainly shoot it some, and with real black powder, absolutely. That thing is just reeking of history. If you do make a regular shooter of it you might consider putting those grips in a safe place and restock with something less fragile and valuable. Those are probably real ivory and valuable to the gun in spite of the chips. Thanks for the pix.
 
That is a real cool part of our history. I think it is great that you are going to make safe loads so your uncle can shoot it. I have some guns that are that old and there is just something about shooting them that is fun. You should send some pics of a day at the range with it!
 
WARNING!: TRAIL BOSS IS NOT A BLACK POWDER SUBSTITUTE!

I hope you do not ruin your fine antique, or hurt yourself should you insist on using smokeless powder loads.
 
I'll try to find some replacement grips for the gun since doing research, it appears that the grips really are Ivory. Even in that condition the grips appear to be worth quite a bit.

I've often heard that .44-40 is a real pain to reload because of the slight-bottleneck in the case.
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Several reasons why it is less than ideal for the modern reloader.

1. Bottleneck case, meaning carbide does can't be used. Requiring the cases be lubed.

2. Thin case walls, by modern standards, meaning you have to be very careful seating the bullets as the case is very likely to crumple. Crimping should be done as a separate operation.

3. Chamber specs generally are very generous, meaning you work the brass quite a bit, leading to case splits. The 44-40 was a BP cartridge so being able to stuff a round into a fouled chamber was probably considered more important than the needs of a reloader 100+ years in the future.

Once again, my uncle doesn't want black powder. So i am going to be reading everything I can so I don't put the topstrap into LEO.

I wonder if he knows the value of the gun? (I could be an ass and offer him $300 for it. ;) ) I wonder who around the Grand Forks area could perhaps give it an accurate appraisal. Jim Keenan said it's in the $4k range. Perhaps I could just go to the local cabelas and thumb through the gun values book they leave sitting on the counter.
 
Difficulty of loading .44-40 is overrated. I used to shoot a good deal of CAS and kept two sixguns and a rifle fed without much difficulty.

The brass is so thin it doesn't take much case lube, a spritz of spray lube is plenty.

You just have to be careful to align the cases under the die, most crumpling is a misaligned case against the mouth of any of the dies. The Lee Factory Crimp (the collet type for bottlenecks) works well.

True, the old chambers were roomy, Remington with the reputation of being particularly sloppy. So the brass life will be shorter. I doubt you and Unk will be shooting it all that much.

I can't help on price.
An "appraiser" will judge condition, and unless he knows of a recent actual sale of a similar gun will
then look in a book or stare at a spot on the wall to come up with a number. Doesn't matter much if it is not backed by a cash offer to buy. Jim Keenan's $4000 is in the upper middle range in the current Blue Book and is as good a brag value as you will get.
 
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I agree, the WCF's are nowhere near as difficult to reload for as people would make you think. Never loaded the .44 but the .32 and .38 WCF's are a snap. Per a John Taffin article, it's not necessary to go through the full case lubing process. Just spray some gun oil on a rag and wipe it on before resizing. With the thin walls and gentle taper, it doesn't take much. Starline brass is your friend.
 
From Fleyderman's Guide to Antique American Firearms 2007 edition:

Model 1875 Single Action Army Revolver. Made 1875-1889. Estimated number 25000 to 30000.
Calibers: .44 Remington CF (first 16000 guns) 44-40 (marked .44 on front flat of frame or bottom of grip) & .45 marked the same and scarcer.

six shot fluted cylinder, 7.5 inch barrel standard, few made with 5 & 3/4 inch barrel, & worth a premium.
Walnut grips, blued finish with case hardened hammer and trigger or nickel finish. Lanyard ring on butt standard for early guns, optional later.
Early guns numbered in sequence to 14,000, then numbered in three digit batches after that, accounting for many lower serial numbers seen.

These were sold to the government in nickel for the Indian Police in 1883, no unique markings. Also sold to Mexico and Egypt and so marked.

Values: Good $900. Fine $3250.
 
As said before, TRAILBOSS isn't Black sub. It is a "cowboyaction load" powder. Use a good reloading referance and pay attention to preasures. Take your time and enjoy the prosess. This should result in a safe and fun laod.

Good luck...Single Six 1954
 
1875 Remington

Greetings Crosshair
By know you have probably gotten all the information you need but thought i would through in my 2 cents

it should handle smokless traillboss light loads would be good but i would use black powder myself, and only shells marked 44wcf or 44-40 you can get new brass from starline, also it does have a serial number but it under the grip ... on the grip frame ... should be the left side.
 
"44" doesn't tell eveything . Remington made their Rolling Block at least in 44 Russian which was considered the most accurate handgun cartridge of the time . In the early 1900s that was replaced by the 44 Special.
 
I may be redundant here, but I would like to remind you that even though you may be loading a powder puff load using smokeless powder, the pressure spike is way different between smokeless and blackpowder.

That is why it is not advisable to load the old guns with modern powders even though the velocity is the same or lower. With all due respect to your uncle, while he may not want to use blackpowder loads, to be safe and not destroy his fine antique revolver, that is exactly what he should be using if he wants to shoot it. It may be his gun, but if he gets hurt when it lets go you will be partially responsible by facilitating his using the wrong ammo.

Sometimes people just have to be told "no".

The old guns use wrought iron in their frames and cylinders and they have very little give to them. Instead of stretching and returning to their previous shape, they just give way and crack (or explode).

If he is unwilling to do the cleanup associated with using blackpowder, he should consider regulating his Remington to eye candy status and merely admire it in his den.
 
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