LGS has a used Cimarron 1873 in .45 Colt on consignment with a 30" bbl. I thought it looked long so measured the bbl and was surprised that it was 30". Like the feel of it, but wondered how front heavy it would be with the magazine tube full? Anyone have one? Any experience? Only thing I didn't know if I liked was the bluing. Almost kind of a dark electric blue on some of the parts. I think I like a more traditional soft black color. A few bruises but nothing bad for a used rifle. Action sure is smooth though. Also, what kind of loads can you shoot in .45 Colt in a Cimarron 73 action, light, heavy??

Not sure I've ever seen a 30" 1873.

Just checked the internet, and holy shit that's long.  

Stick a tang sight on it and see how it performs at 300

I have a Rossi 92 with a 24" bbl, kept staring at this one hanging on the wall and thinking it sure looked long in comparison. Didn't know they made a 26" or a 30" in some models. Seemed to balance decent enough. Wonder what it feels like with a tube full of cartridges? Sure is a ''purdy thing'' though!

I've got a Cimmaron 1873 with a 30" in 44-40. It's fun to shoot! Balance isn't terrible with a full magazine. When shooting cowboy action ammo, I swear the bullet is slowing down before it exits. Don't forget that while it is a new 1873, it's still a fairly weak toggle action rifle. Don't shoot it loose with hot ammo.

Actually I've been thinking about getting an 1866 type rifle. But just saw this one at the LGS...sure is eye catching with that long bbl. Never shot 44-40 or 45 Colt but will reload most anyway so wouldn't have to worry about hotter loads.

The "dark electric blue" sounds like it has a charcoal blue finish. That's actually more traditional than a blackish blue. Charcoal blueing is an extra cost option, btw.

Keep loads to black powder pressures in the toggle-locked rifles like the 73s. If you are thinking about hunting with it, loads that approximate the original .44 WCF are fine for deer (I realize that the rifle in question is a .45 Colt). You don't need to hot rod it. If you load black powder, you must use a bullet with large lube grooves to prevent the bore from fouling out in the last few inches. Otherwise, accuracy after a few shots will be in the toilet.

I have a Cimarron 1873 in .44 WCF with a 24" barrel. I get a bit over 1300 FPS with a load of Federal LPP / 2.2cc Swiss 3Fg / 219 grain bullet cast in a Accurate 43-215C mold / Starline brass. This load shoots into 2" at 50 yards from the bench, which is as good as I can shoot with irons.

Dave: would you stick with BP/lead in this? What little bit I've looked around lead bullets don't seem readily available but I can find some modern plated .452 bullets. And I do have some smokeless powder that I can use for .45 Colt too. Not intending to hot rod any loads in this at all but have some "modern" supplies available. I did go ahead and buy this last week, and was able to get one 25 rd box of ammo. Haven't shot it yet, working up the courage to waste precious ammo. Obviously a tough time to pick up a caliber that I have to start from scratch with but oh well!

Well, I cast my own bullets and like shooting black powder, but I prefer the original WCF cartridges because their thin brass seals the chamber better than .45 Colt. I've read where some CAS shooters using BP in .45 Colt will fireform .44 WCF brass in their rifle's chamber and then load them as .45 Colt. The thinner brass seals the chamber well and keeps fouling out of the action.

If you don't want to mess with that then stick with smokeless under regular cast bullets, or plated or powder coated bullets. Slower burning powders will help you maximize velocity from the rifle barrel.

In .38 WCF and .44 WCF, Alliant used to list data for Reloder 7. E.g., in .44 WCF 23.5 grains of Reloder is 7 under a 240 grain bullet should give ~10% boost over a full BP load, but at pressures that are safe for use in black powder rifles (13,000 CUP). And according to C.E. Harris, you can't get enough Reloder 7 into a .44 WCF case to cause dangerously high pressure. There might be a similar load you could use in .45 Colt. See this page and especially the post by John Kort. He did a lot of research on the use of Reloder 7 in .44 WCF:

https://www.shootersforum.com/threads/the-paco-kelly-45-colt-rel-7-load.51372/

Otherwise, you should be able to get good results with powders like Unique, Herco, or H-110.

Pictures?

Yeah, don't know how to do that. Edit: maybe this will work...


https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipML_7N11lBtvjlTeNJ_-heM19tecAckKR718K1k

Looks like I finally figured it out! Top to bottom:

Springfield Krag

Cimarron 1873/45 Colt 30'' bbl

Rossi 92/.357 mag 24" bbl

Winchester 94AE/30-30 20" bbl

Marlin(Rem no JM) 336DL/30-30 20" bbl

We can’t see your pictures, but no matter.

I have a flintlock rifle with a 30” octagon barrel made by green mountain, it’s a front-heavy affair, but I have found that a rifle balanced in that manner will sort of “hang” on the target when shooting offhand. Makes impressive offhand shots possible and I’ve won quite a few dollar bets at the range shooting against folks with scoped center fire rifles, “hey let’s see who can get closer to the bull at 50!”

I don't know what the deal is then with the pics, I can click on the link and they come up for me. Oh well.

Shot it for the first time yesterday, not much recoil from the 750fps cowboy rounds from Hornady I got LOL. Only rounds I've found so far, just one box. But I found some new brass, and some bullets, it's all on it's way. And just found some dies too. Have a little powder here that will work so it looks like I'll be ready to reload shortly. Of course now the gun shop thinks I ought to buy the 1873 Cimarron revolver that went with it! Don't own any SAA revolvers so might have to consider it since I'll have ammo for it. So...can anyone see my pictures or didn't I get it figured out??

I know this in an older thread but it's out there for a price.

45LC