Brass-framed leverguns - pros and cons?

[AJMD429]

Just got a used Puma brass-framed .45 Colt. I assume since they never made them in .44 Mag or .454 Casull, I shouldn't "hotrod" the thing, but with ordinary loads, any problems with that? I actually bought it with a future trade in mind to someone who wanted one and had some reloading stuff I wanted, but any of you guys shoot the brass framed guns (Puma or otherwise)? Any issues with them?

[L8agin]

Ben wondering myself??Are they plated or is the frame really Brass? A magnet would give a clue. Just can't believe they would use brass for a magnum rated gun.
L8

[Nate Kiowa Jones]

Ben wondering myself??Are they plated or is the frame really Brass? A magnet would give a clue. Just can't believe they would use brass for a magnum rated gun.
L8

The late model brass frame LSI puma and EMF Hartford 92's are made by Rossi and are brass alloy, not plated. They only did them in 45lc and 357m. Both will hold up just fine with CAS loads but with a steady diet of fully house loads they will evenrtually shoot loose.

This holds true for the Uberti 1866 and 1860 Henry clones, too. Steel or brass that is a weak action so No heavy loads.

The Uberti Henry should not be confused with the Henry Repeating Arms Big Boy. The big boy appears to have solid brass frame but it will attact a magnet. but it's not plated either. i know this because I D&T-ed one recently for a tang sight. The chips appeared yellow in color like brass but were attracted to the magnet. I don't know what it is but they cdo hamber this gun in 44mag.

P.S. The early factory engraved Rossi 92's were plated steel.

[Gun Smith]

I'm no expert on the current crop of brass framed guns. But in general the limiting factor to a brass framed gun is wear. As the brass is much softer than steel it may incur wear if not kept clean. Dirt and grit on the harder steel surface of the bolt will act like valve grinding compound on the brass frame. So, keeping it clean is important.

[Pisgah]

"Brass" is a very generic term. What is commonly called brass can be anything from dead-soft to harder than the hinges of Hades. True, even in it's toughest, hardest form it is inferior to steel in many, if not most, applications. But if you really look, you'll realize that there isn't a lot of critical wear on most leveraction receivers -- you can usually take an old, clapped-out lever gun and refurbish it by replacing internal parts. You want to stay with loads that are on the mild side with reproduction antique guns(as opposed to those Ruger-only loads you can get away with in a lot of steel frames), but the alloy they use is pretty stern stuff.

[Ben_Rumson]

I got a big surprise one day when I used a piece of bronze as a punch to tap a cast steel bearing cap into place..I didn't expect it would dent steel....It did..

[Griff]

Ah Nate.... I like those "gold-tone" steel receivers also.




In fact, many of WRA's commemoratives and such were built of such metal.



But... I'm not sure that either Uberti (maker of copies of historic Winchester arms, among others); or Henry Repeating Arms (maker of nothing historic, IMNSHO) use the same metals as that used in the early Rossi or WRA rifles chambered for some stout cartriges. And what Rossi (under current management) is using in their new "brass" receivers is unknown to me. Let me just say, I'm leery of both the Henry Repeating Arms and the new Rossi's.