Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Cowboy Action Shooting Lightning Rifles

Been looking at some of the Lightning repros available lately.
USFA,Uberti and Taurus are what i've seen so far and was wondering if any of you folks have any experience with these brands and your opinions on them. If I get one it will probably be 357mag. so that leaves USFA out,but I dont believe there is any doubt about the quality of that mfg.
Thanks for any opinions.

The Taurus tend to be very ammo sensitive and jam easily, also they have not marketed in 38/357 to my knowledge. We have sent several back and I sold mine after one CAS match.

The Uberti/Beretta are much better but hard to find and quite pricey.

Not all Ubertis are sold by Beretta. Taylors, Cimarron and perhaps others sell them. I got one of Taylors, the 20" case colored & octagon in 45 Colt. I partially disassembled to to wipe off preservative and put on good lube and saw that is well done and fitted. It shoots 3" at 75 yards with handloads and that is fine with me. Very pleased with it. No problems yet with 1K rounds through it. Stu

any ideas on how rare/common an original one would be?

Thanks folks.
I was hopeing to hear some good about the Ubertis. Taylors&Co. is
15 or 20 min. from work in Winc. Va.
The trouble with goin in there is once ya start lookin around,ya
start askin yourself,maybe i'd like a 73 more? or a 92? or a 85?
I guess that's not such a terrible dilema once ya got some $ saved up. Thanks again.

Anyone make a Lightning replica in .44 Special?

USFireams and Taylors&Co.(Uberti) have them listed in 44WCF but I have'nt seen any 44Spec.

I saw a saddle ring carbine in 44 CF at a Dallas gun show several years ago. No finish at all and a very rough bore. Asking price was $2500. If I had the money and wanted it, I think I could of had it for $1800-2000. It was a neat rifle to see and handle, but a lot of $$ for a gun that I would consider a marginal shooter.

The lightning rifle I would like to see make is the large frame version in 45-70.

ok thanks. We did a remodel for a guy last year, that ol boy didnt trust me at all lol. He had all these pre64 m94's leaned in every corner all with years on years of dust on them an I was droolin over them all.

But on a gunrack in one of the rooms was one of those colts, He never let me touch it but held it up for me to eyeball a couple times. Wanted one ever since.

Gents, take note that 44WCF is 44-40 NOT 44 Special. Having had both, I can tell you the 44 Special was easier for me to reload for a Colt SAA clone due to bullet diameter amd cylinder/barrel dimensions. The 44-40 was touted as "better" for those shooting the Henry, '66 and '73 copies because of the bottleneck case and slightly thinner brass for a better chamber seal. Stu

Stu.....your handle slays me.....

Wait till the guy that quotes Florist Chump shows up to apply his wisdom. Stu

Plus one on that request!

WOW!!
Wouldn't that be 'sumthin!
A 45-70 in a "pump" (grin!)
Virgil B.

I'd go for one!!! Be a long stroke but is a quick follow-up really an issue ith such a great chambering?

I'm thinking it would be like a pump shotgun. Work the pump while coming down out of recoil, and "presto" you're ready for the next shot!
What a fun idea!
Virgil B.

My 45 Colt Lightning shooting 255s at 1150 is no slouch.(not a cowboy-don't get excited about the velocity) Stu

I would like to have a Lightning to shoot. I think they would be faster to shoot than a lever if they worked well. I have a Winchester (62A) and a Browning Trombone that are a blast to shoot and I think a centerfire would be fun too.

The only problem the Lightning or a copy is that they tend to have feeding issues. I am sure that if they didn't Colt would have sold millions. If they were reliable feeders all the top CAS folks would be shooting them. I have to believe though if you were not trying to run them at CAS speed they would work fine though.

Maybe someday when my must have gun list is nearly used up I will write Lightning pump on there.

JWC

Not all Lightnings have feeding issues. My Uberti does not. Lots of Taurus's did, but that's poor manufacture in the rush for sales. Now if you had a good running "66, "73 or other cowboy lever, would you run right out and spend hundreds on a Lightning because the first Taurus were were lousy but cheap, some brands very expensive close to two thousand, and some less so. It took all makers a while to get them right. You know what the shooters are paying to set up in cowboy shooting. Big bucks. Can the average cowboy just dump a race ready '73 for a Lightning? You have to have the prescence of mind to precisely work a Lightning or you can jam it or break it. You do that. Colt didn't sell millions because they got into selling them too late and "the times they were a changin'" Stu

Stu,

I agree with you that the average CAS shooter with 1500+ into a 1873 wouldn't want to dump it for a Lightning. But on the other hand, as I posted above, the top shooters who have 3 and 4 back up gun and who can afford the very best stuff would be shooting Lightning designed rifles if they were the best. You can't tell me that when a guy who drives a $150,000 to $200,000 motorhome to a state, reigonal or national match would turn down a better gun because of what he has invested in his 1873 clone.

I think your history of the Colt rifle is a bit off too. The originals were P.O.S. guns. The design was problematic and prone to breakage. For that very reason some of the modern lightning clone makers chose to not copy Colts internals.

We may have to agree to disagree on this matter.

Jay

I am an absolute fan of Colt Lightnings. As a matter of fact, we had a cowboy shoot here today in Arctic Montana. 10 people showed up to shoot, even in the cold.

I have 3 original Lightnings and have had as many as 9 at one time, in all sizes and calibers. I would strongly suggest that you are less enamered with the caliber and pay more attention to what will really work in a Lightning, in both reproductions and original guns.

Straight wall cases tend to have some gas blow-back that you don't get with the bottleneck of 32-20, 38-40 and 44-40 calibers. You will experience some of that blow-back with .357, but significantly more with .45.

People that badmouth Lightnings have probably never owned one. I bought a collection of 8 guns once to get the 38-40 I wanted out of the collection. The 38-40 is a 1st model with the bolt lock and no dust cover. I shot it a cowboy shoot in Rexburg Idaho and it was so fast that I sold 2 of the guns at that shoot.

I was slow to get away from just one caliber and that was 15 or 20 guns ago. I would suggest a hard look at an original Colt, as they are still the best. The Taurus and guns of that ilk, are quite disappointing. USFA are the best in fit, finish and reliability as far as reproductions go. The rest are very poorly made and as a result they work as bad as they look.

I have shot thousands of rounds through my 38-40 and decided I wanted to get more Lightnings so I wouldn't put so much wear on the 38-40. The shoot we had today, I got the fastest times due to the Lightning. Some guys are faster with their handguns and shotguns, but I can make up for that with the Lightning.

Original Colt's can still be found that work great, and are somewhat affordable. I just got a 90+% gun for just over $3000.00. A Winchester in the same condition would be twice the money. Original guns are a great investment as well.

Glad to hear that Shrapnel that you have had great luck with Lightnings. I would like to try one some day too. The very first nice original Lightning I handled was in your state. My wife and I were on our honey moon and we stayed in a cabin up in Whitefish. While we were there we went into all the gunshops in the area and while visiting one we saw a nice nickel finished Lightning that was just as nice as can be.

Maybe we will start to see more on the line at End of Trail or some of the other bigger shoots. I have to believe that a smooth working pump would be faster to shoot than a equally smooth lever any day. I know that my Winchester 62A is a lot faster to shoot than the Browning BL22 levers (Brownings have a shorter lever throw than the 9422 Winchester). The action of manipulating a lever tends to move the front or barrel sight up and down where the pump mostly stays in line with your sight plane.

Enjoy your day.

JWC

You must understand the difference with cowboy action shooting and what professionals or "gamers" want in a firearm. The top shooters in CAS aren't about the historic aspect of the sport as much as they are into speed or winning.

Mike Venturino wrote an article nearly 18 months ago about this very thing. I think he entitled it something like "What Would Wyatt Say?" He addressed the issue of how gamers had taken over in many areas and the original intent of CAS was deteriorating. He caught alot of flack about it, but I agree with him. It has evolved into a speed game and regards for the firearm itself or the original ammunition used in it, have been neglected.

Short stroke kits, reverse pawls, lightened springs, etc. have become such an obsession, that the guns being used are only similar in looks, not in function. I have 3 Colt Lightnings, 2 model 1873's, 1 model 1892, 1 Colt model 1883 shotgun, 1 Hume side lever hammer shotgun, 1 S&W New model #3, and 7 Colt revolvers. I shot them all in CAS, and only the revolvers have had action jobs to perfect timing on the lockup.

All of the long guns, and the S&W are made in the 1800's, and 4 of the Colts are 1st generation guns. I can't get enough original guns, and as a result I want to shoot them too. I will never be a top competitor, but I can hold my own with original guns that aren't all tuned up and stroked for competition.

To each his own I guess, but I have always loved these types of guns. I grew up watching Westerns on TV and maybe that has alot to do with it. I have come to the conclusion that everyone has their own motives, I just wish it were more about Cowboys, Gunfighters, Guns and Ammunition of the "Old West" than it is about tricked out equipment and light loads, just to win.

I don't shoot cowboy action, but I love the old guns and like to shoot them when I can without shooting any of the "collectors" value off of them.

It's no surprise that CAS has evolved into gamesmanship. There are always those out there who are extremely competitive. When I play something, I play to win. I don't need another game to obsess over, so I stick with owning and shooting (when I have the time) either the old ones or their replicas.

I have no desire at this stage in my life to be a "Top Competitor", I shoot CAS for the fun factor. I shoot loads that duplicate ammo of the era, my Navy Arms 92 has an octagon barrel and stock action, my Stevens 311 is of the type available then and is not modified save the polishing of the chambers. I do have modern single actions, stainless Gaucho's in .45 Colt that have the 4 clicks of the Colts but are safer with the transfer bar system. 'Sides that, I could afford them, both cost less than 1 Colt. I also have a pair of Remington New Army revolvers by Pietta and one of their 1863 Remington Pocket revolvers, this is when I get the urge to make smoke. I also load BP substitute cartridges for the rifle & shotgun for such days.

To me it is all about "playing Cowboy" for a day with real guns & ammo, the camaraderie and friendship is what is important to me. If somebody breaks a gun or runs out of ammo there always seems to be others willing to share their equipment and ammo. That to me is "The Cowboy Way, and that makes the day for me, not shooting a clean match and supersonic speed.

I like shooting the best I can but don't get upset in the least when I don't shoot that well. I have yet to shoot a match when every stage goes perfect and yet I still have the time of my life at these matches.

I mostly compete with my buddies. I know that I will never be a top shooter and I get more out the fellowship with my wife who shoots too and the friends that I have made along the way. CAS is the best shooting sport on the planet.

Jay

is cas allowing the lightning now? Used to be 7 or 8ears ago that ONLY lever action carbines were allowed in a CAS match.

Lightnings are allowed in any category except Classic Cowboy, which is limitied to model 1873 or older versions of lever action rifles.