Author Topic: Which 1873 short stroke kit?  (Read 18592 times)

Offline Captain William Call

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Which 1873 short stroke kit?
« on: April 02, 2010, 08:46:07 PM »
 Well I got my new Uberti 1873 home today and I was wondering which short stroke kit you guys  recommend?

Thanks,
Captain William Call

Offline Montana Slim

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Re: Which 1873 short stroke kit?
« Reply #1 on: April 02, 2010, 09:21:50 PM »
It just came home today??....and it needs a SS kit already??

Personally...I don't recommend SS kits....I have no use for them.

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Offline Pettifogger

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Re: Which 1873 short stroke kit?
« Reply #2 on: April 02, 2010, 11:45:05 PM »
Which kit depends on your skill at working on guns and how many other mods you are going to do.  As the stroke gets shorter the effort to lever the gun goes up.  So, unless you intend to lighten the mainspring and the carrier and lifter springs, the short stroke might actually be a detriment.  Some drop it with no problem.   Others have to be timed to make sure the lifter isn't rising to quickly or after a while the tab on the bottom of the bolt face will break off and then you will need a new bolt.  There's only a couple of kits that are widely available.  C&I and Pioneer.  Both work fine.  Both come in a SASS minimum stroke or a slightly longer stroke configuration.

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Re: Which 1873 short stroke kit?
« Reply #3 on: Today at 11:49:14 AM »

Offline St. George

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Re: Which 1873 short stroke kit?
« Reply #3 on: April 03, 2010, 09:22:58 AM »
Before you decide you need a SS kit - and that 'need' is debatable - clean it thoroughly and re-lube, and then put about 500 rounds through the weapon.

After you've done that - 'then' see if it 'needs' anything, beyond a smoothing of any high spots or burring, and if you remove those - clean and re-lube and try.

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Offline Coffinmaker

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Re: Which 1873 short stroke kit?
« Reply #4 on: April 03, 2010, 09:27:02 AM »
An additional suggestion.  Contact the Ottaway Smith, AKA: Ron Snover.  He makes the Rolls Royce of SS kits.  They are Caliber specific, as in "Small Bore" .32s & .38s then "Large Bore" for .44s and .45s which results in very little "fitting" for the Kit itself.

Without the attendant action work, the action will be VERY stiff regardless of kit manufacture.

Coffinmaker

Offline Captain William Call

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Re: Which 1873 short stroke kit?
« Reply #5 on: April 03, 2010, 10:06:41 AM »
Coffinmaker, thanks.
I will give Ron A call.

Best Regards,
Captain William Call

Offline Camille Eonich

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Re: Which 1873 short stroke kit?
« Reply #6 on: April 06, 2010, 09:42:28 AM »
I don't use a short stroke kit.  I send my guns to Cody Conagher and have him slick them up and short stroke them.  He just redid the one rifle that I have that did have  short stroke kit in it.   Great work at a reasonable price.
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Offline WaddWatsonEllis

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Re: Which 1873 short stroke kit?
« Reply #7 on: May 18, 2010, 02:45:26 AM »
I LOVE my Codymatic (Cody Conagher) Model 73, and here are some reasons why I bought it, rather than getting a kit and applying it to an already bought gun.

1.) The gun comes slick, ready to take out to a shoot.

2.) Cody buys his rifles from Taylors and Company, so you have their excellent customer service backing him up.

3.) All of the 'slicking' done by Cody Conagher is covered by the sale ... so if there is such a problem, I just send it back to him.

So it ends up a matter of wanting to have the pride/control of tinkering with your own weapon, and stair-stepping the cost (1. buy the weapon, 2. purchase the kit(s) and install them). I would expect there would be a fair amount of frustration doing a stair-step, 'cause one improvement kit would work against another improvement kit.


Again, having a recognized gunsmith handle everything would mean that he probably has encountered all those frustrations before, and would know what works together and what doesnt.

Plus there is the fact that he is buying his kits wholesale and the average gun owner will never come close to the prices he works with.

So I am guessing that the smith could provide the same product at far lower a price than the average Joe buying out of a catalog.


Just my $.02
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Offline Pappy Myles

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Re: Which 1873 short stroke kit?
« Reply #8 on: October 29, 2010, 04:05:15 PM »
I picked up a used uberti 73 saddle gun in 44-40 about 2 years ago.  I figured for the price I paid for it, my 1st question was - whats wrong with it?   Anyway, I had to replace the extractor. Man what a pain that was.  I try to do my own on things I have enough confidenance to do or try.   After that, no problems.

So, I figured if the gun was good, why not make it better?  I bought a short stroke kit for giggles and grins.  It fit in with out much problems.  Took it to the range and it worked just fine.

1st match, during the 3rd stage, it started jamming up on me like my rounds were loaded too long.  So I switched to my 45 colt 73.    When I got the rifle back to the garage, I found that fore some reason, the bolt wasnt retreating all the way back into the reciever and the elevator was hanging up on it.   Took the rifle apart and put back in the original parts.

On my 7th match with it afterwards, and flawless function.  So, my short stroke kit is in my spare parts bag.........
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Offline Coffinmaker

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Re: Which 1873 short stroke kit?
« Reply #9 on: October 30, 2010, 09:14:27 AM »
Pappy,

Your short stroke kit was not properly timed.

Coffinmaker

Offline Pappy Myles

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Re: Which 1873 short stroke kit?
« Reply #10 on: October 30, 2010, 10:46:47 AM »
Thats kinda what I figured but don't have anyone local to time it.   Right now I'm on assignment in Canada and its a real pain getting them shooting irons across the boarder.       Is there a reference I can look at on timing?
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Offline Coffinmaker

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Re: Which 1873 short stroke kit?
« Reply #11 on: November 02, 2010, 11:13:04 AM »
Pappy,

"Timing" is when does the Carrier Block start to rise and does it "clear" the Breach Block (bolt)? 
To time the rifle, put a dummy round in the carrier, run the lever.  As it comes up, it must first clear the bottom of the breach block and the little cartridge guide tab on the bottom front face of the breach block. 
If it doesn't clear, take the rifle apart and remove the carrier block lever.  Remove a little metal from the bottom flat of the lever where it contacts the step on the lever.  Put it back together and try again.  The cartridge rim MUST clear the little tab on the breach block.  If you get the timing a little early, it's OK.  A little late and you'll break the little tab off and then things get real interesting and expensive. 
It's actually quite simple to do, I suggest a file with both edges "safe."

Coffinmaker

Offline Pappy Myles

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Re: Which 1873 short stroke kit?
« Reply #12 on: November 02, 2010, 12:21:05 PM »
Thanks CM, I'll take a look at that
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