[harro]

G'day
I'm a new member who has some questions which hopefully you guys can answer.
I have purchased Winchester 94 in 44-40 made in 1975 as far as I can tell.
I don't have it in my possession yet as I have to wait for the paperwork to come through ( Christmas has slowed this down ).
I will be using it mostly at my local gun club. We shoot a very informal steel silhouette comp where the longest shot at the rams is 150 yrds.You don't have to knock them over just make them ring. Only 1 shooter at a time so it is obvious if you have hit it or not.

My questions

1
I plan on reloading 200grain lead bullets , so I would like to know what bullet speed do you guys recommend for what I want to do . When I have decided on what speed I want ,then that will help me choose a powder type.
I personally don't think I need to push them that fast but what do you think.

2
Can VihtaVuori N32C ( TinStar ) powder be used in this caliber for what I want to do .

3
Does anyone else have one of these rifles???

4
Is it true you can't use Carbide Dies on the 44-40

5
I have never owed a lever-action rifle before so I'm not sure how to pull it apart to check and clean it when I first get it

Thankyou for your time

harro

[Peter M. Eick]

You will probably get a better response if you ask in the reloading section.

Short answer is I load my 44/40 with 200 grn lead and trailboss powder. Works great in max loadings.

I have not tried tin star so I cannot offer any opinions.

No I don't have one of those rifles, I have an 1860 Henry clone in 44/40.

I would buy one if it were available but I have not found a carbide die yet.

The 94 should NOT be taken apart. It is a bugger to put together again. I have never taken one of my 94's apart for any purpose. I clean it carefully and wipe out the interior that I can get to, but beyond that just use it. Don't take it down as getting the "guts" back in the right spot is a non-trivial task.

[Jim Watson]

I have never pushed my .44 WCF that far, but for 100 yards, there is certainly no reason to go above factory load levels of 1200 fps. I have loaded factory equivalent or a bit less with several different powders; if you have data for Tin Star it will surely get you by. Bullet quality counts a lot. Cast carefully or buy the best you can find.

.44-40 is a faintly bottlenecked cartridge and they do not make carbide dies for it. It only takes a light squirt of spray lube, the brass is thin and sizes easily. Be sure they are clean, I scratched up a die with dirty brass I did not catch.

The 94 is a Browning design and like most such is rather complicated. As Peter says, give it all the care you can without taking it apart.

[harro]

G'day

Thanks for the replys
Peter you mentioned that I probably should of asked these questions in the reloading section. Is there an easy way to move this over there or do I just start again.
Do you guys tumble clean your brass or just do it by hand.

Thankyou

harro

[Peter M. Eick]

You can either re-ask the question in the reloading section (my preference) and let this one die. Or you can email the moderators and ask them to move it.

If you go to the reloading and search on 44/40 or 44wcf you will find lots of information.