Frank Wesson Mid-Range Rifle Chambered in .40-40 Wesson

Shooting a Frank Wesson Mid-Range Rifle Chambered in .40-40 Wesson Straight cartridge, c.1877

[@jeffe.9904]

Thanks Doc, I always truly enjoy your videos!

[@dr.durellshepard398]

Thanks Jeff, Pleased you could join the discussion .....Doc

[@Dimwit_the_last_mountainman]

Good to see you, Doc! Entertaining and educational. Cant beat that! Great gun too. Thanks for sharing!

[@dr.durellshepard398]

God dag herr Loken, og takk for fortsatt støtte. Jeg håper at alt går bra på hytta. Doktor

[@Dimwit_the_last_mountainman]

@@dr.durellshepard398 Takk! Det går bra på hytta, men alltid noen planer, og noe å gjøre. Parkeringsplassen fikk store skader av regnværet, men det ordner seg. Blir ikke så mye tid til å holde på med gamle våpen.

[@dr.durellshepard398]

@@Dimwit_the_last_mountainman I understand John, at least the cabin is at a higher elevation.

[@matpen7863]

Thanks ever so much for a new video on this lovely sporting arm! Hope to see many more in the future! Best wishes, Matias

[@dr.durellshepard398]

Thank you for your kind comment, it is appreciated. ....Doc

[@ms24444]

Mr Wesson's house is amazing

[@dr.durellshepard398]

Yes Sir, true artistry and workmanship. You could not get that house built today at any price, the handling of those materials and skilled workers do not exist. While in Europe I examined repairs being made to several historic structures. While they were doing a respectable job, the truly fine points were not fulfilled. Conversely, there is no shortage of square boxes of glass and steel. Best regards....Doc

[@richardsims1805]

Great Video! I'd like to see more in this genre.

[@dr.durellshepard398]

Thank you Richard for the benevolent commentary.....Doc

[@mikeharrell4222]

Another great rifle Doc. I've owned two of his two trigger rifles and really liked them. Might look around for one of these.

[@dr.durellshepard398]

Hi Mike, if you acquire one I'm sure you'll find it a pleasure to shoot. I had great fun.......Doc

[@daveclemons1225]

Hello Durell! Was hoping you would make a few video's and share them here! Hope your summer is going well! Looks like a nice Frank Wesson! Glad to see you still having fun! Take care! Dave

[@dr.durellshepard398]

Hi Dave, pleased that you caught the presentation. We have been spending lots of time in the garden, so not so much shooting. Not sure what kind of weather you are experiencing out there, hope it's tolerable. We were covered by the smoke from Canada but it has cleared up now. Best regards......Doc

[@louisianagray8618]

Sweet rifle thanks for shooting it for us

[@dr.durellshepard398]

Yes Sir, Glad you could spend the time with us.......Doc

[@albertogonzalez9152]

Me alegra saber de usted Doc espero que usted y los suyos estén bien.Como nos tiene acostumbrados otro fantástico ejemplar muy bien conservado y en perfecto funcionamiento,con un sistema de carga casi idéntico a el de Sharp. Un saludo desde Toledo Espańa.

[@dr.durellshepard398]

Hola Alberto, y es bueno saber de ti también. Espero que no estés teniendo mal tiempo por el cambio climático. Estábamos cubiertos por el humo de Canadá, pero eso ya no existe. El cañón de esta pistola está desgastado, así que necesitaba usar balas de gran tamaño. Esa fue la solución. Mis mejores deseos desde los EE.UU.

[@453421abcdefg12345]

An elegant and strong action, and still delivering accuracy today, and I like the inletting detail at the head of the stock where it joins the action, a thing than "modern" designers would avoid because of the extra cost! Many thanks for posting this! Chris B.

[@dr.durellshepard398]

Hello Chris and thanks for the kind review. The old designers sure had a aptitude for fine lines and the skilled artisans were available to execute them. Regards....Doc

[@grahammctygue724]

Thankyou for taking a closet dweller out for good time wow bless you Peace

[@dr.durellshepard398]

Hi Graham, Thanks so much for the comment. I'm assuming you are speaking of the gun and not me as being a closet dweller, Ha Ha. ......Doc

[@bigjim8872]

Doc, that was just wonderful! I was starting to worry because it's been so long since your last video! Hope all is well, and hope to see more videos soon! GOD Bless, Jim

[@dr.durellshepard398]

Hi Jim, and thank you for the concern and kind comments. Been busy in the garden, but cooler weather is coming, the good shooting weather. Regards....Doc

[@chrischiampo7647]

That’s One Accurate Rifle Doc Thank You For Showing and Shooting This Historical Masterpiece 😀😮😀😊❤️❤️❤️😊👍🏼 Was Just Curious How Did They Do Chronograph of Velocities Back in The 1800’s Doc

[@dr.durellshepard398]

Hi Chris, And that is an excellent question Sir. The two most common contraptions were a falling weight triggered by breaking a wire that controlled an electro-magnet. The one I like consists of two large paper discs about ten feet apart, rotating together on a shaft at a known speed. So you shoot through the two discs and measure the angular difference between the two. So today we have start-stop screens for high speed counters, or magnetic rails, or radar. Ain't technology grand. Regards....Doc

[@chrischiampo7647]

@@dr.durellshepard398 That’s Pretty Cool Ol School Rules 😀

[@dr.durellshepard398]

@@chrischiampo7647 ) (º¿º ) old school "emotion icons" rule also !

[@justhavingfun675]

Another interesting rifle and another excellent video. I think the mechanism to transfer the force of the external hammer strike to movement of the central firing pin move is creative. I bet it is more durable than the sharps right angle firing pin.

[@dr.durellshepard398]

Wasn't that a clever and intelligent solution, and being on that sharp angle took some calculating. Actually, I did think of you while making this film, knowing your like of Wessons.

[@vidostuff]

Welcome back Doc Have been missing you . I see you found another good wood splitter. Great looking rifle. Were you shooting 40 grans of powder ? looking forward to your next video.

[@dr.durellshepard398]

Good morning Phillip, I started at 40 but the bore is pretty rough, so I backed down to 25 to get the bullets not to strip the worn rifiling. Regards....Doc

[@oldscoutgp]

Thanks for another in-depth look at a shootin' iron I will never lay my hands on. How does the 40-40 compare to the 44-40? Keep up the good work Doc !

[@dr.durellshepard398]

Good Afternoon Sir, There is so little info on this gun and cartridge I would be totally guessing, but. 1/3 heavier bullet, same powder, the bullet should be going a little slower, but harder to stop ? At 1000 FPS maybe 700 ft lbs. ? They only made 75 of these guns, but did chamber, perhaps three of their guns in this round. I didn't collect data on this shoot as the round is pretty straight forward in black powder. Best regards....Doc

[@oldscoutgp]

Thanks for the reply Doc. I will take your guess at pretty much fact. I really liked the music is this presentation.@@dr.durellshepard398

[@robertrobert7924]

Thank you so much Doc. I am a prisoner of my air-conditioning in this southern 90+ F heat. So nice to see another old rifle put back to use. Did you have to make the 30-40 case larger at the mouth for the bullet? Was the bullet heel based and lubed outside the brass? Where did you find the mould? Did the brass have to be fire formed?

[@dr.durellshepard398]

Hello Robert, Cooler days are coming, please hang in there. I shoot very early in the morning to beat the heat but find more Mosquitoes at that time. I rolled the last band on the bullet to effectively make it a heel bullet. Lubed with SPG outside the case. The mold was # 416-350 FN. Krag cases cut just at the shoulder for length and expanded with a Maynard .40-40 expander of .415". I don't have any dies for this Wesson. I needed to thin the rim of the cases to get the breech to close. She shot OK considering its well used barrel. .... Doc

[@robertrobert7924]

@@dr.durellshepard398 thanks for the explanation.

[@steveblancard5566]

Great video Doc! Another rifle I've not seen before. I always enjoy how you mix in the background information. Does the .40-40 use a heel bullet? It sticks out pretty far. What is the parent brass you are using?

[@dr.durellshepard398]

Hi Steve, the bullet I used was #416-350 FN , the only thing I had that was close to the bore. I roll swagged the last ring just to grab the case mouth. The chamber casting suggested that the throat of the chamber would accept a bullet hanging way out of the case, ( or a breech seated bullet). This was my third try and it worked fine. The brass was .30-40 Krag , cut just at the shoulder, and base turned down about .010" , this would chamber but the breech would not close. The rim needed to be thinned about .018" to .053" . I don't have dies for this cartridge , but used a combo of .45-50 Sharps Straight and .40-40 Maynard dies to get all this accomplished. Best regards.....Doc

[@steveblancard5566]

@@dr.durellshepard398 very creative. Sometimes that is what it takes to get the old boys shooting again. Well done!

[@dr.durellshepard398]

@@steveblancard5566 Thank you Steve

[@jic1]

7:55 600 yards seems, shall we say, *somewhat optimistic* for 40 grains of black powder, although it was probably a great 50-100 yard medium game cartridge. Do you know anything about the pistol/carbine version shown with the detachable skeleton stock? It looks like it might be built on a different action.

[@dr.durellshepard398]

I totally agree with your assessment Sir, of the .40-40 cartridge. This gun was also offered in the .40-70 Wesson cartridge which is more believable. He started making his pistol-carbines like Stevens and switched to the style in this ad. They are a tip-up, and the rifle is a falling block. ....Doc

[@markcarew6724]

Thank you, Doctor! Your targets would be cut cleaner by the bullets if you used an extruded polystyrene backer - but it isn't an authentic looking element in your otherwise beautiful videos.

[@dr.durellshepard398]

Hi Mark, I did use backer rod for my Martini-Henry which worked swell. Thanks for the comment......Doc

[@fabiscia72]

my memory males jokes but..oldest video cancelled?

[@dr.durellshepard398]

Your memory is crystal clear, I am re-doing some videos.