Colt-Lightning Magazine Rifle
| Colt-Lightning Magazine Rifle | |
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| general information | |
| Civil name: | Colt-Lightning Magazine Rifle |
| Developer / Manufacturer: | Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Co. |
| Development year: | from 1880 |
| Manufacturer country: | United States |
| Production time: | 1884 to 1904 |
| Model variants: | Rifle, carbine |
| Weapon Category: | Repeating rifle |
| Technical specifications | |
| Ammunition supply : | Tubular magazine |
| Fire types: | Single fire |
| Closure : | Locked with support flap |
| Charging principle: | Forearm repeater |
| Lists on the subject | |
The Colt-Lightning Magazine Rifle is a slide-action rifle developed and patented by Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Co. Hartford, Connecticut, which is available in three sizes in various calibers for .22-, .44- 40 WCF - up to .50-95 express cartridges was launched. These Colt-Lightning Slide Action Magazine Rifles were manufactured by Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Co. from 1884 to 1904 .
Technology & description
The Colt-Lightning rifle is a forearm repeater for black powder cartridges . It is not suitable for smokeless cartridges. To reload, the handle on the fore-end must be pulled back and pushed forward again. Its external hammer is automatically cocked when reloading, the weapon is ready to fire immediately. The tap can be lowered onto a safety catch to secure it. The lock is locked by an L-shaped support flap attached to the front. This is folded down by pushing the loading rod into the counter bearing in the lower part of the lock housing, so that the lock is locked. At the same time, the firing pin is also released, which is blocked when the weapon is unlocked by a spike-shaped element attached to the top of the support flap. The tubular magazine attached under the barrel is loaded in the medium and large frame models, as in the Winchester rifle, through an opening on the right of the breech block. With the small frame model, the rear part of the magazine can be swiveled out to load the .22 cartridges. The Colt-Lightning rifles were burnished, the hammer color-hardened, and more rarely they were nickel-plated.
Use, history
The first produced Colt-Lightning Medium Frame carbine in .44-40 revolver caliber was intended as a companion weapon for mounted soldiers in the western USA , the Large Frame model as a weapon for hunting larger game and the Small Frame model in .22 caliber as a house weapon for pest control and plinking .
The production of the fore-end repeater (US Patent No. 278,324, May 29, 1883, by WH Elliot) developed and patented at the same time with the Colt-Burgess Rifle by WH Elliott was accelerated from 1885 after Colt's with the Winchester Repeating Arms Company had agreed not to bring lever action rifles on the market, while Winchester decided not to manufacture revolvers .
Colt's goal was to undermine this gentlemen's agreement , which only partially succeeded. While Winchester sold around 600,000 lever action rifles of the 1873 and 1892 revolver calibres between the end of 1884 and 1902 , Colt sold almost 90,000 units with the Lightning Medium Frame model . The same situation for hunting rifles , of the Winchester Model 1876 and Model 1886 rifles, Winchester sold about 110,000 copies from 1887 to 1894, while Colt sold only 6,400 of the Large Frame Model Rifles . Sales of the small frame model also lagged behind, with almost 90,000 sales between 1807 and 1904; Winchester had sold over 220,000 of its Model 1890 , a forearm bolt action rifle developed by John Moses Browning , by the end of 1904 .
variants
Colt-Lightning Medium Frame Model
First, the production of the Colt-Lightning rifle and carbine, which was suitable for the then common revolver cartridges, began. These were made in the three different calibers .44-40 WCF , .38-40 WCF and .32-20 WCF , with the cartridges manufactured by Colt being called 44CMLR, 38CMLR and 32CMLR. CMLR stands for Colt Magazine Lightning Rifle . A few weapons were made with smooth barrels for firing shotgun shells. From 1884 to 1902, 89,777 weapons of the Medium Model were manufactured. In 1898, 401 rifles in .44-40 caliber, barrel length 26 inches were delivered to the San Francisco Police Department , they were specially numbered (SFP 1 to SFP 401). The retail price (1890) of round barrel guns was $ 16.50 and octagonal barrel was $ 18.00.
The carabiner was delivered with a round barrel, length 51.5 cm (20 inches), total length 94 cm. The magazine holds 12 rounds, unloaded the weapon (.44-40) weighs 2.85 kg. A slightly lighter version, called the Baby Carbine , weighed 2.45 kg. The price of the carbine was $ 16.50.
The rifle called the Sporting Rifle was delivered with either a round or octagonal barrel, length 66 cm (26 inches), total length of the weapon 109.5 cm. The magazine holds 15 rounds. The weapon (.32-20) weighs 3.5 kg unloaded.
Colt-Lightning Large Frame Model
The Colt Lightning hunting rifle, manufactured from 1887 to 1894, was made for various cartridges suitable for hunting larger game such as the .38-56, the .45-85 and, as the largest, the .50-95 Express. The standard barrel length was 66 cm (26 inches), barrels from 56 cm (carabiner) to 91.5 cm were available. The length of the magazine could also be chosen by the buyer. The weight of the weapons varied depending on the barrel, caliber and design. A few weapons were made with smooth shotgun barrels. From 1887 to 1894 6,496 weapons were manufactured. The price (1890) of the weapon ranged from $ 19.00 to $ 20.50, depending on the version. Engraved luxury designs with gold inlays could quickly cost twice as much.
Colt-Lightning Small Frame Model
The small-caliber Colt Lightning rifle, manufactured from 1887 to 1904, was designed for firing .22 short and .22 long rimfire cartridges in such a way that it also worked with both cartridge types in the magazine. The half-length magazine holds 15 .22 long or 16 .22 short cartridges. The standard barrel length was 61 cm (24 inches). The weapon could be ordered with various barrel lengths, from 9 1/2 inches to 26 inches. With the round barrel the weapon weighs 3.1 kg, with the octagonal barrel it is marginally lighter. A few weapons were also provided with smooth shotgun barrels. The small frame model sold well, with a total of 89,912 copies made.
literature
- "The Book of Colt Firearms", 1971 by, Sutherland & Wilson
- "Colt and its Collectors", 2003 by The Colts Collectors Association @ ISBN 0-9652942-9-3
- Flayderman's Guide To American Firearms ", 2001 by Norm Flayderman, Krause Publikations, Iola, WI, ISBN 0-87349-313-3
- "The Winchester Handbook" 1981 by George Madis, Art & Reference House Brownsboro, TX, USA, ISBN 0-910156-04-2