good suggestion Dave. I cleaned up the action years ago, but I know a lot more now and might go back and do it again. At that time the individual that sold them had a plan to send them to someone to have the heat treated. I sent mine back. When it came back a buddy tested it with his Rockwell tester. we also tested one of my 700 actions. They both tested the some. I like the tang idea. I was going to mount the sight to the stock.

Guy I appropriate the comments of my Wickliffe, but I have decided to sell it.  All I'm going to do is play around with some cast bullets.  I have two Ruger #1s that have seen the sunlight in decades, a Stevens 44 1/2 in 32-20 and a Steven Crackshot, both of which I'm trying to finish. I'm not going away, I just don't need to make another safe queen. 

Bob

Welcome to the site Bob. I am also an Alberta Retired Registered Professional Forester who retired in 2014 after 37 years. If you are interested in black powder the .40-65 is an excellent cartridge and I found it to be more suitable than the .45-70 after I developed bone spurs from arthritis. For black powder you are best to have a 30 inch barrel to combust all of the powder and some have 32 or 34 inch barrels (result in slight increase in velocity) to shoot BP. Downside of the longer barrels is the ability to have hard fouling buildup on the end of the barrel. Most .40-65 barrels have a 16:1 twist using 410 grain bullets but some people prefer a 14:1 twist barrel to use heavier bullets. You can buy .40-65 cases from Starline and there is no need to shrink .45-70 cases. Remember when building a rifle there are specific rules for BPCR Silhouette that restrict which iron sights and scopes you are able to use; what type of stocks are appropriate - so check these out before you proceed with your build.

Common actions are the 1874 Sharps, CPA 44 1/2 Stevens, 1885 Winchester HighWall since they have set triggers enabling you to release shots more quickly to catch wind changes or as the sights move across a Chicken which have to be shot offhand. Standard triggers require much more effort on the follow through on a shot. Also heavy triggers can pull you off your POI from trigger pull after ignition.

However if you intend to just shoot smokeless will the rifle be for hunting, sport shooting, or some other shooting discipline? If we understand the purpose of the rifle we can provide a bit more guidance.