Anyone make a 40-65 lever?

If it's to be a 45-70 lever action .............. this is the epitome.

http://www.henryrifles.com/rifles/45-70-lever-action/

there were italian copies of the 1876, but they were a crap shoot as to quality. i think a older used marlin 95 (45-70) could be rebarreled. i own and shoot a original winchester 1876 in 45-60 that was made in 1883 and enjoy it shooting it with cast bullets, i use no jacketed bullets as the steel then was not as strong as todays steel. eastbank.

eastbank said:

there were italian copies of the 1876, but they were a crap shoot as to quality. i think a older used marlin 95 (45-70) could be rebarreled. i own and shoot a original winchester 1876 in 45-60 that was made in 1883 and enjoy it shooting it with cast bullets, i use no jacketed bullets as the steel then was not as strong as todays steel. eastbank.

Click to expand...

The Italian 1876's that were a crap shoot were made by Chaparral which was imported by Interarms. They tried to enter the cowboy action market back in 2010, but the quality of their initial offering of centennials was all over the place. They also produced 73's, steel framed 1866's, and SSA's. Their quality began to improve, but it was too late and they were not able to overcome the first impressions people got---especially those who got stuck with lemons.

Interarms stopped importing them and I think the remaining stock got bought out by some Canadian firm. They still pop up from time to time on GB.com.

On the other hand Uberti also introduced a 76 about the same time. There were a few minor issues at first, but Uberti corrected them quickly and replaced any that couldn't be fixed. I don't think there is or was a huge demand, but they still list them on their web site.

They make a 45-60, a 45-75, and a 45-95, which were the main calibers that Winchester initially offered. MSRP is around $1600.

I happened to get one of the late made Chaparral's on closeout in 45-60 from a surplus dealer out of Texas. I've had no issues with it what so ever. Considering I only paid $600 for it new in the box, it turned out to be well worth the gamble.

Cheers

andym79 said:

Hi does anyone make a lever in 40-65 or will I have to use a 45-70 as a donor?

Click to expand...

Just curious why this caliber. I have nothing against it. Just curious. I have have spent my fair share to get exactly what I wanted jut because it's what I wanted.

Several years back I got a Chapparal 1876 in 40-60 cal, anemic little cartridge but fun to load with Trail Boss and use for a heavy nostalgic plinker. It mostly sits over the fireplace. At that time Charter Arms was the importer, mine went back after one shot.....replaced barrel and bolt...shot ok after that.

But of course we all know that .40-60 Win and .40-65 Win are different cartridges for different rifles, right? And that .40-60 Marlin is the same as .40-65 Winchester.

.40/65 was developed for the stronger 1886 Winchester lever gun and a few High Wall single shots were made in the caliber.

Not much of a barn burner in black powder loaded form, it was ballistically about identical to the .41 Magnum pistol cartridge.

Even loaded with smokeless in a tight 1886 it isn't all that much as the rifling limits bullets to 250 grains or less.

Clyde Williamson wrote a book called "The Winchester Lever Legacy" in which he worked up and tested various improved hunting loads in the Winchesters from the 86 model to the 95. There was a chapter about the 40-65, but its been a while since I read it. Your local library may have a copy or may be able to get one on inter library loan.

How about a 38-55? Roughly the same energy as a 30-30. Marlin made a lever gun in that caliber, a friend of mine has one he inherited from his grandfather.

here ya go
http://www.gunsinternational.com/MA...1881-LEVER-ACTION-RIFLE-.cfm?gun_id=100244644

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=438996158 call for availability
http://www.gunsinternational.com/search_results.cfm

Ibmikey said:

Several years back I got a Chapparal 1876 in 40-60 cal, anemic little cartridge but fun to load with Trail Boss and use for a heavy nostalgic plinker. It mostly sits over the fireplace. At that time Charter Arms was the importer, mine went back after one shot.....replaced barrel and bolt...shot ok after that.

Click to expand...

You are correct, it was Charter Arms and not Interarms as I posted. There are two things that always go with old age. One's memory and I forget what the other is.

Cheers

the nice thing about the 45-70 is you can load shells to kill a chipmunk up to elephants along with a choice of componets at good prices. i shoot my model 1876 in 45-60 with reloads that are easy and cheap to make. eastbank.

Original 1886 Winchesters were offered in .40-65 Win caliber. These were quite popular in the Adirondacks in the early 1900s. In its original loading it had a 210 grain lead bullet for flat trajectory and high velocity. The one I had was rifled with a very slow twist and deep grooves designed for black powder. Factory ammo was discontinued in 1940. While it was easy to make cases from .45-70 brass, the "old" .40-65 had nothing to recommend it once smokeless powder, bolt-guns became readily available.

I have two "modern" .40-65 single shot rifles, one Martini, and one Browning BPCR "highwall." Both have Badger barrels with a 1 in 14" twist and are very accurate shooting 350-400 grain cast bullets with smokeless or black powder loads. These are much nicer to shoot than the .45-70 as the recoil is about half as much.

load the same bullet weight, same speed and the same weight rifle and there will not be a nickles worth of difference in recoil between a 40-65 and a 45-70. eastbank.