Three Of A Kind
By Maurice H. Decker
Fur-Fish-Game, vol 25, No 1, 1 Jan 1917, page 56-57
A RATHER UNUSUAL TITLE I have chosen to head this article, describing what I regard as being the most popular group of center fire cartridges ever produced. Prior to the year of 1873, hunters and users of firearms were obliged to use the current rimfire cartridges, such as the .32 short and long. .38 long and .44 Henry for shooting small and medium size game. These shells to a certain extent unreliable in the fact that misfires were common; they could not be reloaded and were so loaded with a very heavy bullet in proportion to the powder charge that long distance shooting was uncertain and difficult.
Bearing this in mind it is easy for us to understand and realize the enthusiasm with which the Winchester Company's remarkable combination of the Model 1873 repeater bored to handle the then new center fire cartridges of .32-20, .38-40 and .44-40 caliber was received. It acquired instant popularity and has been accorded the most extensive use of any other single model of repeater using center fire shells and although over forty years old, still enjoys steady sales and is still killing its share of game in nearly every locality where firearms are in use. Although this rifle seems a little clumsy to us, it was regarded in its day as a very fast-handling, well-balanced arm, capable of delivering an extraordinary rapid and deadly fire. Other gun makers quickly adapted these three shells to their own models until about every style of rifle and pistol could be obtained in these calibers. Differing from the current trend in balancing the loads of powder and lead the .32, .38 and .44 W. C. F. carried a comparatively light bullet, with a good charge of powder and developed greater range with less trajectory or curve of the bullet's flight. Compare the loading of the .32 with 20 grains of powder and 115 of lead to the .32 rim-fire carrying 13 grains of powder to 90 of lead and the .44-40 with 40 grains of powder to 200 of lead to the .44 Henry that shot a 200 grain bullet, with but 26 of powder.
Beginning with the smallest size, the .32, let us consider its adaptability and the different loads in which it can be obtained. For use on squirrels, woodchucks, 'coon, foxes, geese, etc., the .32-20 is a very popular weapon with the hunter, trapper, settler and farmer. First of all, rifles of this caliber will shoot very accurately, the .32 S. & W. short loaded with 10 grains of powder and an 88 grain bullet, either solid lead or metal cased, and for ranges of about the average shotgun 'range will kill very small animals cleanly and without mangling The .32 S. &. W. long can also be used, but it is closer to the regular shell in power and is not nearly so useful as the short.
These revolver cartridges will not feed freely through the magazine of .32-20 repeaters and will have to be loaded directly into the chamber by hand. However, as they are only used occasionally for infrequent shots, this will not be such a disadvantage. The fired shells extract all right, which is a matter of greater importance. When out for game with the .32-20 I usually carry the rifle loaded with a S. & W. short and if a shot comes in view that requires a load of more power, it takes but a second to throw out the short and load one of the regular cartridges from the magazine into the barrel. The regular shell with 20 grains of powder can be purchased with either a 100 or a 115 grain lead bullet, a 90 grain hollow point lead bullet, or a metal cased or soft point projectile of either standard weight. This gives the shooter a wide range to select from and will enable him to choose the right style for his particular kind of hunting. The hollow point bullets will drop to stay dropped, the oldest, toughest woodchuck in the field, while the metal cases will kill without tearing a squirrel, duck or rabbit. And in addition to all these there is the .32-20 High Velocity, with a load of high power smokeless powder and cased bullets that have been recently improved in their accuracy and have been used numbers of times with success upon animals as large as deer and even black bear. These shells develop a bullet velocity and energy that compare favorably with the .32-40 black and the .32 Self-Loading and will carry up and retain their accuracy for distances up to 200 yards and sometimes over. There are many hunters who live in localities that offer many chances for shots at small game and an occasional one at a deer, that use the .32-20 exclusively and upon the approach of the deer season buy an extra box of soft-point High Velocity shells. For goose shooting at long ranges these shells are excellent. They possess no recoil, make a sharp, short report that is hard to locate and a good hand with a repeater can pump several shots into a sitting flock before they have time to rise after the first alarm.
One of the most convenient models of the .32-20 repeater is the Marlin light-weight carbine with 20-inch special smokeless steel barrel, half magazine and sling strap or sling ring which can be fastened by a small harness buckle to one's belt or pack. The heavy carbine butt stock gives this light-weight weapon an unusually good balance, so much better than that of the usual short barrel rifle that one will be surprised at the ease with which it comes to the shoulder and the speed with which repeat shots can be fired. Trappers who are likely to meet such animals as foxes, lynx, coyotes and heavy wildfowl, with a glimpse of a deer while going over their lines will find this carbine a powerful and useful little gun that takes up little room in the outfit and effort to pack along. Game caught in traps can be quickly dispatched with the .32 S. & W. shorts and a careful shot can land effective hits upon the larger animals with the special High Velocity loads. As mentioned before, the accuracy of these shells have been greatly improved over that of the original output and good work can now be done at ranges of from 150 to 200 yards. Shooters who prefer the fast pump or "trombone" action will be well pleased with the handling qualities and accurate shooting of the Marlin Model 27 repeater in .32-20 caliber. This rifle carries eight shots, comes regularly with smokeless steel barrel and is equipped with ivory bead front sight.
The .38-40 and the .44-40 are so nearly alike in power and size that we will consider them together: First of all, the .38 is really a .40 caliber in size and the .44 measures but .42 of an inch in diameter. Both are good killers of medium size game animals and both have been used for years upon most of our American game. The .38 by virtue of its lighter bullet, 180 grains, possesses a greater range; but the .44 is more powerful for distances up to 150 yards. Both sizes can now be obtained with the deadly hollow point bullets and with the special high velocity loads. So great has been the distribution of the rifles using these three Model 1873 cartridges that one can enter almost any place where ammunition is sold in about any locality and be sure of finding a few boxes of each in stock. That there is still a good demand for rifles shooting the .38 and .44 calibers is conclusively proved by the fact that the Remington Company have adapted them to their new high power pump action model, which in addition uses the popular high power .25-35, .30-30, .32 and .35 shells. The only other shell in existence that has survived so long and is still having new models brought for its use is the .22, which will probably be in use long after the majority of our smokeless cartridges now so popular have been discarded. The .38 and .44 were not confined to use in rifles alone, for probably as many of these shells have been fired in Colt, Remington and Smith & Wesson revolvers as have been shot from Winchester, Colt and Marlin rifles. A very popular combination in the frontier days was the Winchester Carbine and the Colt sixshooter, both chambered for the .44-40 shell.
Rifles of the .38 and .44 caliber are remarkably easy to keep in good shooting order. I have seen barrels of these calibers that were seldom cleaned, at the most not more than once a season and which were still capable of making good targets. I wonder just how many of our readers have or are still using either the .38-40 or the .44-40 rifles? To me there was always a certain fascination surrounding these old veterans that enabled me to get more real pleasure hunting with them than with the most modern high power rifle in my collection. Will you who have the same fondness for these calibers please write and let us know of your experiences with them? I am sure there are many of you who can tell some tale of great interest to the rest of us about what you have done in the past with your .38 or .44 repeater.
The energy and velocity of the regular and High Velocity loads of these three shells are as follows :
.32-20, 20 grains of powder, 100 grains of lead, velocity 1,325 ft. per sec; energy 390 ft. pounds; Trajectory at 200 yards, 15 inches.
.32-20 H. V., 100-grain bullet velocity 1,575 ft per sec; energy 551 ft. pounds; trajectory at 200 yards, 11 ½ inches.
.38-40, 40 grains black powder, 180 lead, velocity 1,325 ft. per sec; energy 701 ft. pounds; trajectory, 15 inches.
.38-40 H. V., velocity 1,703 ft. per sec.; energy 1.159 ft. pounds; trajectory, 9.8 inches.
.44-40, 40 grains powder, 200 lead ; velocity 1.301 ft. per sec; energy 752 ft. pounds; trajectory at 200 yards 16 inches.
.44-40 H. V., velocity 1,560 ft. per sec; energy 1,081 ft. pounds; trajectory, 11 ½ inches.