Colt Lightning Carbine
Encyclopedia
The Colt Lightning Carbine or Colt Lightning Rifle was a slide-action or pump-action rifle
manufactured by Colt
from 1884 to 1904 and was originally chambered in .44-40 caliber. Colt eventually made the Lightning Rifle in three different frame sizes, to accommodate a wide range of cartridges, from .22 Short
caliber and .38-40 to .50-95 Express
. Its profile somewhat resembles the pump-action rimfire rifles made by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company
and Remington Arms
. The Lightning Carbine saw use as a sporting arm in America and was adopted for use by the San Francisco Police Department
, but was never as popular or as reliable as the various lever-action
rifles of its day.
revolver. Two versions were made: the rifle version with a 26" barrel and 15-round magazine and the carbine version with a 20" barrel and 12-round magazine. The .44-40 carbine version was used by the San Francisco Police Department as a longarm.
The small-frame Lightning was the first rimfire rifle made by Colt and was manufactured between 1887 and 1904. Colt Factory records indicate that 89,912 of these were made in calibers .22 Short
and .22 Long
. They are also referred to as the "Second Model Colt Lightning". Barrel length was 24" and the rifles had a blue finish, case-hardened hammer, and a walnut stock.
The large-frame Lightning was manufactured between 1887 and 1894. Colt Factory records indicate that 6,496 of these were made in big game calibers such as .38-55 and .50-95 Express. Barrel length was 22" or 28" and they are also referred to as the "Express Model".
for hunting, historical reenactment, and competition purposes such as Cowboy Action Shooting
in calibers such as 22LR, .38 Special
/.357 Magnum
, .44 Special
/.44 Magnum
, .44-40, and .45 Colt
. Aside from the .44-40, none of the other calibers were offered in the Lightning when it was produced by Colt.
Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
manufactured by Colt
Colt's Manufacturing Company
Colt's Manufacturing Company is a United States firearms manufacturer, whose first predecessor corporation was founded in 1836 by Sam Colt. Colt is best known for the engineering, production, and marketing of firearms over the later half of the 19th and the 20th century...
from 1884 to 1904 and was originally chambered in .44-40 caliber. Colt eventually made the Lightning Rifle in three different frame sizes, to accommodate a wide range of cartridges, from .22 Short
.22 Short
.22 Short is a variety of .22 caliber rimfire ammunition. Developed in 1857 for the first Smith and Wesson revolver, the .22 rimfire was the first American metallic cartridge....
caliber and .38-40 to .50-95 Express
.50-110 Winchester
The .50-110 Winchester is an obsolete American black powder centerfire rifle cartridge....
. Its profile somewhat resembles the pump-action rimfire rifles made by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company
Winchester Repeating Arms Company
The Winchester Repeating Arms Company was a prominent American maker of repeating firearms, located in New Haven, Connecticut. The Winchester brand is today used under license by two subsidiaries of the Herstal Group, Fabrique Nationale of Belgium and the Browning Arms Company of Morgan, Utah.-...
and Remington Arms
Remington Arms
Remington Arms Company, Inc. was founded in 1816 by Eliphalet Remington in Ilion, New York, as E. Remington and Sons. It is the oldest company in the United States which still makes its original product, and is the oldest continuously operating manufacturer in North America. It is the only U.S....
. The Lightning Carbine saw use as a sporting arm in America and was adopted for use by the San Francisco Police Department
San Francisco Police Department
The San Francisco Police Department, also known as the SFPD and San Francisco Department Of Police, is the police department of the City and County of San Francisco, California...
, but was never as popular or as reliable as the various lever-action
Lever-action
Lever-action is a type of firearm action which uses a lever located around the trigger guard area, to load fresh cartridges into the chamber of the barrel when the lever is worked. Most lever-action firearms are rifles, but lever-action shotguns and a few pistols have also been made...
rifles of its day.
Variants
The medium-frame Lightning was manufactured between 1884 and 1904, it was the first slide-action rifle offered by Colt. Colt Factory records indicate that 89,777 of these were made in calibers .32-20, .38-40, and .44-40 as a companion arm to the Colt Single Action ArmyColt Single Action Army
The Colt Single Action Army is a single action revolver with a revolving cylinder holding six metallic cartridges. It was designed for the U.S...
revolver. Two versions were made: the rifle version with a 26" barrel and 15-round magazine and the carbine version with a 20" barrel and 12-round magazine. The .44-40 carbine version was used by the San Francisco Police Department as a longarm.
The small-frame Lightning was the first rimfire rifle made by Colt and was manufactured between 1887 and 1904. Colt Factory records indicate that 89,912 of these were made in calibers .22 Short
.22 Short
.22 Short is a variety of .22 caliber rimfire ammunition. Developed in 1857 for the first Smith and Wesson revolver, the .22 rimfire was the first American metallic cartridge....
and .22 Long
.22 Long
.22 Long is a variety of .22 caliber rimfire ammunition. The .22 Long is the second oldest of the surviving rimfire cartridges, dating back to 1871, when it was loaded with a 29 grain bullet and 5 grains of black powder, 25% more than the .22 Short it was based on...
. They are also referred to as the "Second Model Colt Lightning". Barrel length was 24" and the rifles had a blue finish, case-hardened hammer, and a walnut stock.
The large-frame Lightning was manufactured between 1887 and 1894. Colt Factory records indicate that 6,496 of these were made in big game calibers such as .38-55 and .50-95 Express. Barrel length was 22" or 28" and they are also referred to as the "Express Model".
Modern versions
Reproduction Lightning rifles are still manufactured today by companies such as UbertiUberti
A. Uberti, Srl. is an Italian manufacturer of replica American firearms.Uberti produces high quality replicas of American percussion revolvers, cartridge revolvers, single-shot, and lever-action rifles....
for hunting, historical reenactment, and competition purposes such as Cowboy Action Shooting
Cowboy action shooting
Cowboy Action Shooting , also known as Western Action Shooting or Single Action Shooting, is a competitive shooting sport that originated in California, USA, in the early 1980s...
in calibers such as 22LR, .38 Special
.38 Special
The .38 Smith & Wesson Special is a rimmed, centerfire cartridge designed by Smith & Wesson. It is most commonly used in revolvers, although some semi-automatic pistols and carbines also use this round...
/.357 Magnum
.357 Magnum
The .357 S&W Magnum , or simply .357 Magnum, is a revolver cartridge created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, Colonel D. B. Wesson of firearms manufacturer Smith & Wesson, and Winchester. It is based upon Smith & Wesson's earlier .38 Special cartridge. The .357 Magnum cartridge was introduced in...
, .44 Special
.44 Special
The .44 Special or .44 S&W Special is a smokeless powder center fire metallic cartridge developed by Smith & Wesson in 1907 as the standard chambering for their New Century revolver, introduced in 1908.-Development history:...
/.44 Magnum
.44 Magnum
The .44 Remington Magnum, or simply .44 Magnum, is a large-bore cartridge originally designed for revolvers. After introduction, it was quickly adopted for carbines and rifles...
, .44-40, and .45 Colt
.45 Colt
The .45 Colt cartridge is a handgun cartridge dating to 1872. It began as a black powder revolver round developed for the Colt Single Action Army revolver, but is offered as a magnum level handgun hunting round in modern usage. This cartridge was adopted by the U.S. Army in 1873 and served as the...
. Aside from the .44-40, none of the other calibers were offered in the Lightning when it was produced by Colt.