Recently inherited a .41 colt thunderer and want to know more about it.

[David Cameron Martin]

So I have recently inherited a .41 colt thunderer from my grand paw that passed away. It looks like its in great condition. It was hanging by his bed in a holster with a belt full of 38. special ammunition and loaded with it. So I was wondering if that was safe of him to do so. Would the .41 fire .38 special. He was a huge gun collector and the only thing he really left me was this revolver. Maybe someone could tell me more about the revolver also? what its worth?
Thanks everyone.

 

[Muddyboot]

A .41 colt thunderer can not use a .38 special. You will need to to find some .41 Long Colt Ammo if you wish to shoot the revolver, and the revolver may require a blackpowder .41, not a modern smokless powder round. Can you post a photo of the revolver, it's hard to determine value without seeing it.

 

[Wyatt Burp]

Be careful with that gun. If you have an urge to continually work the action it WILL break on you. Maybe only a couple times will do it. And they aren't easy to fix, a gunsmith told me who could fix them. But that aside, you have a fine classic gun of the old west. Billy the Kid is, of course, the guy most associated with these in .41.

 

[DGT]

David, welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear of the loss of your grandfather. That is a very nice heirloom to have bee left to you. As stated above, they have a reputation as having weak actions and prone to breakage. My Lightning is a safe queen but I have a friend that has a Lightning and shoots it on a semi regular basis with no problem.

 

[BearBio]

Personally, I like the 41 long Colt. I just received a Thunderer and a Lightning in trades (I have a Bisley in 41 lc, also). It has a reputation of being a fairly effective stopper.

As an aside, before I get into the Thunderer, my Bisley is rapidly becoming my favorite range gun. Accurate, fairly powerful and easy on recoil.

Another aside: My Lightning was fun to shoot once but is going to be a safe queen. It's a Sheriff's Model and a real pain to load and unload.

Now, as to the Thunderer: As you already know, DA pull is atrocious and SA isn't a whole lot better. While the 1877 have a reputation for breaking, they will hold up judicious use.Obviously, no quick draw, fanning, etc.

They use a different mainspring spring from the SAA, so order one, when you can find it.

Felt recoil is greater than the SAA due to the obviously smaller size. The birdshead doesn't help (My 1878 in 45 Colt is almost painful to shoot with cowboy action loads-smacks my middle finger pretty hard).

Ammo is expensive but so are some reloading components. Brass isn't too bad==I ordered directly from Starline (cheaper by about $10 if I remember right for 250). You will need either a hollow based, soft lead bullet or a bevel base (like a 22 rimfire has). The best place to get them is GAD custom ammo=he has both types, as well as loaded ammo. Western bullet makes them but communication sucks and so does delivery time. Midway has some-very expensive (Montana bullet) and so does Buffalo Arms in Idaho=also expensive. GAD is 2/3 the price. Western Bullet had a messy lube on the bullet. You might want to simply buy loaded ammo (but, it's about $75 a box).

Price really can't be judged without examining the gun. Likely not worth to someone what it would be worth to you. There is a nostalgia (?) or mystique to shooting these old guns. I have several old Colts, a "blood gun" from Iwo Jima, a stage coach company shotgun and some WWI and WWII guns. You always wonder what the history is. Was your grandpa (condolences by the way) a lawman? A cowboy? You never know. After mine died, we found his work ledger from 1918 saying he won $200 at the Calgary Stampede and $100 from the Pendleton Roundup!

GunBroker can give you a good idea of selling prices. Here's mine and the trade values (Remember trade values very considerably from cash values)

My Thunderer:

Trade value: about $1000

My Lightning:

Trade Value: about $800.00

 

[feralmerril]

They told you right. I had this one and it was next to new condition but by reputation I have always hear the lockwork is fragile and next to no one understands them to fix them as they are complex. I would just put it in a glass box and display grandpas gun.

 

[sigp220.45]

Though I don't recommend it, a .41 Long Colt will chamber and fire .38 Specials. I've done it, it ain't pretty, and I wouldn't do it again. (Mine was an old Colt DA with a swing out cylinder) I suspect your grandpa had a hard time finding .41 ammo and just loaded it up with .38s figuring it would get the job done if he was close enough.

 

[2152hq]

They are difficult to repair only because good replacement parts are just about non-existent.

The locking bolts break at the right angle bend. The replacements most commonly available are poorly done castings that have under size pivot points to start with and then won't take a decent spring temper for the hammer cam arm.
The multi-arm action spring is prone to breaking at least one of it's legs. Modern replacements can be anything from too brittle to too short or both.

Any original parts around are from well worn, damaged or otherwise un-usable revolvers that are stripped down. Their parts are worn out to begin with usually, so chances of fixing a problem are slight.
Finding excellent condition 1877 parts for repair is a true rarity.

If you have an 1877 that is in operating condition as well as original & collectable condition, I'd suggest treating it as a collectable, not as a shooter to maintain it's value.

JMHO.