On the other hand, Ranger George Lloyd jammed his Winchester .44 with a .45 cartridge in a battle with Comanches. He unscrewed the sideplate with the point of his knife, cleared the jam, and returned to the fight. He reportedly got a .44-40 revolver when he got back to town.
Howdy
I have been shooting 45 Colt in my pistols and 44-40 in my rifles since day one in CAS. I have never owned a rifle chambered for 45 Colt and don't care to, as it is not a historically correct chambering for a rifle. Oh, I won a Rossi Model 1892 replica years ago chambered for 45 Colt in a raffle, but I sold it before firing a shot out of it, using the money for a down payment on my Henry.
When I first started out I was using an antique Winchester Model 1892, chambered for 44-40. I was using some Ruger Vaqueros chambered for 45 Colt, simply because that was the easiest chambering to find. Over the years I graduated to my 2nd Gen Colts, chambered for 45 Colt, and my Uberti 1860 Henry replica chambered for 44-40.
All my 44-40 ammo has a black Sharpie stripe across the ace head, and goes in blue plastic boxes, all my 45 Colt ammo lacks the stripe and goes into black plastic boxes. When I go to the loading table I carry my ammo in a loading block I made up a long time ago. I always load my pistols before my rifle, so the 45 Colt ammo is inside my revolvers and won't get accidentally loaded into my rifle. This system has served me well for years, and I never made the mistake of loading a 45 Colt round into my rifle, because it will jam in the chamber and tie up the rifle. After all, I'm not in a real gunfight when I'm at the loading table, and I can take my time to make sure the correct ammo goes into each firearm.
Except one day a few years ago at my club. I was giving a demonstration of Cowboy Action shooting, and I must have been blabbing and not paying attention because before I knew it I had loaded up my 44-40 Henry with 45 Colt ammo. It's easy to unload a Henry, there is no loading gate. You just pull the follower all the way to the front, swivel the false muzzle out of the way, and tilt the rifle so all the ammo slides out of the front of the magazine. Except I had already worked the lever. Sure enough, the 45 Colt round jammed partway into the chamber with the lever half closed. Unlike a Winchester Model 1873, which can be cleared by unscrewing one screw and removing the side plates, a Henry is different. The lever and lever screw have to be removed, the side plates have to be removed, the carrier lifter has to be removed, and the carrier has to be removed. No simple way to remove the side plates, they are dovetailed into the frame and have to be driven out with a hammer and a soft piece of wood.
So I had to drive home with my Henry with the lever stuck halfway closed and had to disassemble it at home to get the jammed 45 Colt round out.
I try to be extra vigilant these days, even more so than I used to be, so I don't put a 45 Colt into my 44-40 Henry.
