These are originally black powder cartridges that were adapted to smokeless powder and are still loaded by one or more of the major US ammunition manufacturers. Winchester offers factory loads for all four cartridges, while Remington, Federal and Hornady catalog only .45-70 factory loads.

In addition, some of the specialty ammo makers offer hunting loads for one or more of these cartridges. Special cowboy competition loads are also offered by various manufacturers, but these are minimum power loads that are generally not intended for hunting.

All of these cartridges are rimmed designs intended for use in single shot and/or repeating rifles with tubular magazines. The .38-40 and .44-40 were also adapted to Colt and other revolvers, allowing frontiersmen to use a single cartridge in both their rifle and handgun. The longer and more powerful .38-55 and .45-70 are strictly rifle cartridges, unsuitable for use in revolvers.

After the conversion of these black powder cartridges to much more powerful smokeless powders, high speed and/or high power loads were offered in .38-40, .44-40 and .38-55. Available for many years, these were intended for use only in strong rifles and were the preferred hunting loads. Today, these higher pressure loads are no longer available; no doubt because of liability concerns about consumers too dumb to read the warning on the box and shooting these loads in antique rifles or revolvers.

However, high pressure loads for the .45-70 are offered by specialty ammunition companies. These are intended for use in strong, modern Marlin Model 1895 and Henry lever action rifles, or the Browning/Winchester High Wall and Ruger No. 1/No. 3 falling block single shots. Reloading manuals usually include special sections with over pressure loads for these rifles. Such loads are unsafe in Trap Door Springfield, Remington Rolling Block and other antique rifles and reproductions thereof.

.38-40 Winchester

Introduced in 1874, the .38-40 was first offered in the Winchester Model 1873 lever action rifle, the Gun that Won the West. Later, it was chambered in the Colt Lightning pump action rifle, as well as the stronger Winchester Model 92 and Marlin Model 1894 lever actions. The original load used a 180 grain lead bullet powered by up to 40 grains of black powder.

It is based on a necked-down, 1.305 inch long, .44-40 case and consequently it has a moderate 6-degree 48-minute shoulder. It is mis-named, as it actually uses a .401 inch diameter bullet, making it a .40 caliber cartridge. The maximum cartridge overall length (COL) is 1.592 inches.

The .38-40 has benefitted, to an extent, from the sport of Cowboy Action Shooting, resulting in a modest revival of interest in this old timer. Cowboy and revolver loads use lead bullets, while rifle hunting ammunition uses a jacketed soft point bullet. The industry Maximum Average Pressure (MAP) for the .38-40 is currently 14,000 CUP.

At one time Winchester offered a rifle only, smokeless powder, High Velocity load for the .38-40 that drove a 180 grain bullet at a muzzle velocity (MV) of 1775 fps. This superior .38-40 deer hunting load was discontinued because damn fools insisted on shooting the High Velocity rifle loads in black powder revolvers, sometimes to the detriment of both gun and shooter.

Today, the surviving Winchester Super-X factory load drives a 180 grain bullet at a modest 1160 fps from a rifle barrel and this load is also safe for use in revolvers in good condition. Reloaders with strong Winchester 92 or Marlin 1894 rifles in good condition who wish to use their .38-40s for deer hunting can duplicate the old High Velocity load. Recoil is very low, even slightly less than the .44-40, due to the .38-40's lighter weight bullet.

.44-40 Winchester

It has been estimated that only the .30-30 has been used to harvest more deer than the .44-40. It was introduced in 1873 in the famous Winchester Model 1873 rifle. Later, it was offered in the Winchester Model 92, Marlin Model 1894, Remington Model 141 and Colt Lightning rifles, among many others. Colt offered the .44-40 in their famous Peacemaker revolver, where it became the second most popular chambering (after the .45 Colt).

The .44-40 remained popular into the 1930s and hundreds of thousands of .44-40 rifles have been sold. The cartridge is still offered in reproductions of classic lever action rifles made by Henry, Uberti, Winchester and others, as well as various replica revolvers. The sport of Cowboy Action Shooting has revived the cartridge for use in these replica rifles and revolvers.

Like many other cartridges, the .44-40 is mis-named, since it actually uses .427-.428 inch diameter bullets, making it a .42 caliber. The .44-40 is based on a rimmed, very slightly bottleneck case 1.305 inches long with a .525 inch diameter rim. The minimal shoulder is angled at only four degrees. The maximum COL is 1.592 inches. The current SAAMI MAP for the .44-40 is 13,000 CUP.

Original loads typically used a 200 grain lead bullet powered by 38-40 grains of black powder. Later, High Velocity smokeless powder factory loads using jacketed soft point bullets and intended for strong rifles, such as the Model 92, upped the .44-40's velocity, energy and killing power. Unfortunately, as with the .38-40 High Velocity loads, these have been discontinued due to consumer misuse.

Today's Winchester Super-X factory load uses a 200 grain Power Point bullet at a modest 1190 fps to duplicate the ballistics, if not the smoke and smell, of the old black powder load. With any load, the .44-40 kicks even less than the .38-55 and only slightly more than the .38-40.

.38-55 Winchester

Marlin introduced the .38-55 in 1884 in the Ballard single shot rifle. It was subsequently offered in many other single shot and repeating rifles. The original load used a .379-.380 inch diameter, 255 grain lead bullet powered by 55 grains of black powder. However, modern .38-55 rifles, such as the Winchester Model 94, are made for .375-.377 inch bullets.

The .38-55 Winchester earned a good reputation as both a match cartridge and a hunting cartridge. Back in the day it was used for hunting both Class 2 and Class 3 game, but today it is best reserved for Class 2 animals at woods ranges.

The .38-55 case is a straight taper, 2.085 inch long, rimmed design that is well suited to single shot and tubular magazine lever action rifles. The rim diameter is .506 inches and the maximum COL is 2.51 inches.

The versatile .38-55 case was necked-down to form the .25-35, .30-30 and .32 Winchester Special smokeless powder cartridges that made the Winchester Model 94 the world's most popular deer rifle. Some old timers still insist that the .38-55 kills better than the later smokeless powder cartridges that descended from it.

Current Winchester factory loads are severely under loaded, probably to less than 20,000 CUP, with a catalog muzzle velocity of 1320 fps and muzzle energy (ME) of 987 ft. lbs. with a 255 grain bullet. This duplicates the ballistics of the original black powder load. The now discontinued High Velocity factory load achieved a muzzle velocity of 1590 fps and the even hotter High Power load claimed a MV of 1700 fps and ME of 1630 ft. lbs.

Reloaders with .38-55 rifles in good condition can take advantage of these higher levels of performance. The 2013 Hodgdon reloading manual, for example, shows loads for the Barnes Original 255 grain jacketed flat point bullet at muzzle velocities up to 1830 fps at a MAP of 28,200 CUP. The Hornady Handbook shows maximum loads using their 220 grain InterLock FP bullet at 1700 fps with 1412 ft. lbs. ME; these loads are more like it! All .38-55 loads should be kept below 30,000 CUP.

In 1978, the .38-55 case was strengthened and slightly shortened by .065 inch to form the .375 Winchester case. The .375 Win. was offered in the Winchester Model 94 Big Bore, Marlin Model 336, T/C Contender carbine and Ruger No. 3 rifles, but failed to catch-on. .375 ammunition is still offered by Winchester, but the Winchester, Marlin and Ruger rifles for the .375 are long discontinued. Although .375 Win. rifles can safely fire .38-55 cartridges, the reverse is NOT true. .375 Winchester cartridges are loaded to a MV of 2200 fps and a MAP of up to 52,000 CUP and should NEVER be fired in .38-55 rifles.

Today, the .38-55 is offered in the recently resurrected Winchester Model 94 rifle. These are strong, accurate and beautifully made Model 94 Angle Eject rifles well suited to modern woods hunting conditions when equipped with a riflescope. With the Winchester Super-X factory load the recoil is mild, noticeably less than the same rifle in .30-30 caliber.

.45-70 Government

This is the most popular of the old timers in this comparison and the most powerful. It is factory loaded by all four of the major US ammo manufacturers and a number of smaller, specialty ammo makers. With appropriate bullets it can run the gamut from Class 2 to Class 4 big game. Historically, it was the most popular of the cartridges used to nearly exterminate the North American bison in the 19th Century.

The .45-70 is based on a large capacity, rimmed case (the rim diameter is .608 inches) with a maximum length of 2.105 inches. The maximum COL is 2.55 inches. The proper bullet diameter is .458 inches, the standard bullet diameter for true .45 caliber rifles.

The original .45-70 load used a 500 grain lead bullet in front of 70 grains of black powder (.45-70-500). This was the load preferred by buffalo hunters, but it developed excessive recoil in the Army's Trap Door carbines, so the .45-70-405 load (405 grain bullet) was developed for use in these shorter and lighter rifles. This became the standard load and the smokeless powder equivalent is still offered by Remington and Winchester, using jacketed soft point or lead flat nose bullets.

Much later a 300 grain factory load, usually with a jacketed hollow point bullet, became popular for hunting Class 2 game and such loads are offered by all of the major US ammunition companies. This load delivers higher velocity, a flatter trajectory and faster expansion than the traditional 405 grain loads, at the cost of inferior sectional density and, hence, penetration. Needless to say, the .45-70 kicks much harder than the other three cartridges included in this article. It is the only cartridge of the four that is unsuitable for young or inexperienced shooters.

Originally designed for the Springfield Trap Door single shot Army rifle, the .45-70 was also offered in many other period single shot rifles, long action lever guns and even a couple of bolt action and double-barreled rifles. Today it is most commonly seen in modern Marlin Model 1895 and Henry lever action rifles. It is also available in a number of modern, strong, falling block single shot rifles (notably the Browning/Winchester High Wall, Ruger No. 1/No. 3 and Sharps replicas).

These modern rifles are capable of handling higher pressure loads than weaker single shot actions, such as the Trap Door (including replicas), Remington Rolling Block (including replicas) and most break-open actions. The current SAAMI MAP for the .45-70 is 28,000 CUP and most standard pressure factory loads are substantially under loaded (probably less than 25,000 CUP) in deference to original Trap Door Springfields and replicas thereof.

The Comparison

To give an idea of the relative performance of these vintage cartridges with currently available, standard pressure factory loads, we will compare them in velocity, energy, trajectory and sectional density (SD). Winchester Super-X factory loads will serve as our representative loads, since only Winchester offers ammunition in all four calibers.

Only one bullet weight is available in Winchester's .38-40, .44-40 and .38-55 factory loads, so the choice is simple. However, Winchester Super-X .45-70 loads are available in two bullet weights (300 and 405 grains). We will use both of these to represent the .45-70, as their performance is quite different. The .45-70-300 is essentially the equivalent of a High Velocity load for the caliber.

Velocity

Velocity is the most important factor in calculating bullet energy. Higher velocity also flattens trajectory, making hitting easier as the range increases.

• .38-40, 180 grain: 1160 fps MV, 999 fps at 100 yards, 901 fps at 200 yards
• .44-40, 200 grain: 1190 fps MV, 1006 fps at 100 yards, 900 fps at 200 yards
• .38-55, 255 grain: 1320 fps MV, 1190 fps at 100 yards, 1091 fps at 200 yards
• .45-70, 300 grain: 1880 fps MV, 1650 fps at 100 yards, 1425 fps at 200 yards
• .45-70, 405 grain: 1150 fps MV, 1043 fps at 100 yards, 968 fps at 200 yards

None of these are exactly high velocity cartridges. However, the .45-70-300 factory load clearly has a substantial velocity advantage.

Energy

Kinetic energy is commonly used to compare the relative power of rifle cartridges. Energy is what powers penetration and bullet expansion. Assuming bullets of the same basic type, fired from reasonably similar calibers, energy can be a useful indicator. Here are the energy figures in foot-pounds for our comparison loads at the muzzle, 100 yards and 200 yards.

• .38-40, 180 grain at 1160 fps: 538 ft. lbs. ME, 399 ft. lbs. at 100 yards, 324 ft. lbs. at 200 yards
• .44-40, 200 grain at 1190 fps: 629 ft. lbs. ME, 449 ft. lbs. at 100 yards, 360 ft. lbs. at 200 yards
• .38-55, 255 grain at 1320 fps: 987 ft. lbs. ME, 802 ft. lbs. at 100 yards, 674 ft. lbs. at 200 yards
• .45-70, 300 grain at 1880 fps: 2355 ft. lbs. ME, 1815 ft. lbs. at 100 yards, 1355 ft. lbs. at 200 yards
• .45-70, 405 grain at 1150 fps: 1189 ft. lbs. ME, 978 ft. lbs. at 100 yards, 843 ft. lbs. at 200 yards

If one uses the commonly accepted figure of 800 ft. lbs. of energy required at bullet impact for shooting whitetail deer and other Class 2 game, the .38-40 is inadequate even at the muzzle and the .44-40 is only a little better. If you are planning to use a .38-40 or .44-40 for deer hunting, you had best be reloading High Velocity equivalent handloads.

The .38-55 and .45-70 are decent 100 yard deer cartridges. Only the .45-70 is useful at 200 yards, assuming you can get a bullet into the vitals at that distance, given the cartridge's rainbow trajectory. These energy figures make it clear why the discontinued High Velocity loads (or equivalent reloads) for the .38-40, .44-40 and .38-55 are so desirable.

Trajectory

Trajectory is not usually of paramount importance for someone interested in any of these cartridges. By modern standards, these are short range hunting cartridges. Here are the trajectory figures at 50, 100 and 200 yards for our comparison factory loads using flat point bullets, based on a 100 yard zero.

• .38-40, 180 grain at 1160 fps: +3.4 in. at 50 yards, +/- 0 in. at 100 yards, -33.8 in. at 200 yards
• .44-40, 200 grain at 1190 fps: +3.2 in. at 50 yards, +/- 0 in. at 100 yards, -33.2 in. at 200 yards
• .38-55, 255 grain at 1320 fps: +2.3 in. at 50 yards, +/- 0 in. at 100 yards, -23.7 in. at 200 yards
• .45-70, 300 grain at 1880 fps: +1.0 in. at 50 yards, +/- 0 in. at 100 yards, -12.2 in. at 200 yards
• .45-70, 405 grain at 1150 fps: +3.2 in. at 50 yards, +/- 0 in. at 100 yards, -31.0 in. at 200 yards

Except for the .45-70-300, these are 100 yard deer cartridges. The .38-55 can be stretched a bit farther than the shorter cartridges, but its available energy limits its humane use to around 100 yards, unless you are shooting High Velocity equivalent handloads.

Only the .45-70-300 factory load can profitably be zeroed beyond 100 yards. Sight in a scoped .45-70 rifle to hit 2.7 inches high at 100 yards and the maximum point blank range (+/- 3 inches) is about 166 yards.

Sectional Density

Sectional density is one of the key factors in bullet penetration. Deeper penetration means a longer wound channel and can be crucial when hunting. Sectional density is computed by dividing a bullet's weight (in pounds) by the square of its diameter (in inches). The higher the sectional density figure the better the penetration, all other factors being equal.

Remember, the .38-40 actually uses 4.01 inch diameter bullets, the .44-40 uses .427 inch bullets, the .38-55 uses .377 inch bullets and the .45-70 uses .458 inch bullets. Here are the SD numbers (caliber, bullet weight: SD).

• .38-40, 180 grain: SD .160
• .44-40, 200 grain: SD .156
• .38-55, 255 grain: SD .256
• .45-70, 300 grain: SD .204
• .45-70, 400 grain: SD .272

The sectional density of the .38-40 and .44-40 are about the bare minimum suitable for use on Class 2 game, such as deer. The 300 grain .45-70 bullet is much better for Class 2 game.

The .38-55/255 grain and .45-70/400 grain bullets have adequate sectional density for use on Class 3 game, such as elk, if they are driven fast enough to develop sufficient energy. The rather anemic Winchester Super-X factory loads are inadequate for shooting large animals. However, reloaders can boost velocity enough, without exceeding the SAAMI specified MAP, to make the .38-55 and .45-70 viable 100 yard elk cartridges.

In addition, Winchester offers a .45-70 Supreme factory load with a 375 grain Dual Bond bullet at a MV of 1500 fps. This load retains 1391 ft. lbs. of energy at 100 yards and is specifically recommended for Class 3 game.

Conclusion

The .38-40, .44-40, .38-55 and .45-70 offer a range of possibilities to the hunter who wishes to shoot a classic single shot or lever action rifle. Using our comparison factory loads the .38-40 and .44-40 are barely adequate for the smallest Class 2 animals and then only at very short range. They are markedly inferior to the .357 Magnum revolver cartridge fired from a carbine length rifle, such as the Marlin Model 1894C. However, with maximum reloads approximating the bygone High Velocity rifle only loads, they are viable 100 yard deer cartridges.

The larger .38-55 and .45-70 are adequate 100 yard Class 2 game cartridges with our comparison Super-X loads. With full power reloads or equivalent factory loads, such as the aforementioned Winchester Supreme .45-70 load, they can become 100 yard Class 3 game cartridges without exceeding the SAAMI specified MAP.

With a strong rifle and +P loads using 350-500 grain bullets, the .45-70 becomes a real cannon for use on heavy game, not too far behind the .458 Win. Magnum in power and recoil. However, my favorite among these old timers is the mild and effective .38-55. Classic, fun to shoot, mild recoil and an efficient deer killer, it is hard not to like.