remington 14-1/2 saddle ring thumb safety carbine in 44-40

[eastbank]

i have a 14-1/2 saddle ring thumb safety rem carbine in 44-40. does any one else have one of these or does any one know there history? it shoots very well with reloads(cost to much not to reload) thank you.

[woodchukhntr]

I didn't know that they made it in that caliber, only in .25, .30, .32 and .35 Remington calibers.  Is it an original caliber?

[eastbank]

yes its original, i have seen them in 38-40 and 44-40, but never with a saddle ring and with the thumb safety. you are thinking of the 14 and 141 that were in the larger calibures. eastbank.

[woodchukhntr]

You're right!  While the 14 was made to compete with the Winchester 94, the 14 1/2 was probably competing with the 92.

[Bitterroot Bob]

Howdy,
Eastbank, all I know about the 14-1/2's is that they are scarce as hen's teeth. You can probably retire on what your is worth.
As to why it was made? I can only picture the guys at Remington peeking over the fence at Winchester to see what they could do about matching the lever guns capability with an auto or slide action. Why, oh why, does the .32 Remington exist? Did the world need another .321" caliber cartridge? That's one they could have skipped. I'm surprised that Remington didn't chamber the Model 8 in a .401 Remington.
Of course at that time, Winchester was kicking itself for letting Browning slip away with the patented autoloding bolt-mounted operating handle. They had their hands full trying to build autoloaders that had to be worked via remote plungers, etc.
You are a lucky guy to have one of the few 14-1/2's!

Bitterroot

[blackhawk45]

I believe,the thumb safety eastbank is asking about is the 14s,with the safety mounted on the bolt,also known as the thumbnail safety. I've only ever seen one of these,chambered in30 Rem,and I would have bought it,but the bore was badly pitted, other than that is sure was pretty.