20" 1876 short rifle. How could Al Sieber be wrong?

[yahoody]

Obviously Al Sieber knew what he was doing.  (no clue how long his rifle barrel was how ever)

"Recent after action discoveries @ The Battle of Big Dry Wash, Dr. Sam Palmer alluded to tracking Al Sieber's movements by the unique weapon he was carrying. Sieber carried a .45-.75 Centennial Winchester and Palmer has been able to track him from tree to tree at the battle site, by the distinctive markings on the ejected shells."   July 1882.  Sieber killed 5 Apaches with his '76 in this gun fight

I'd been looking for either a carbine or a short rifle for a while now.  Originally I wanted a 45-60 just because it would be easier to load for in every way possible and brass is cheap to make or buy.  Even the load data is trivial to sort out by comparison. to the 45-75 or 50-95 once you drop BP.

So been looking for a '76 a while.  A 45-75 popped up in Alaska for a reasonable price.  Better yet is was a short rifle version.  My favorite configuration.  I asked the seller how long the barrel was and he tells me 19".  Figured that couldn't be right!  No matter, at the price being asked, I was going to buy it.

So the barrel was actually 20".  Which I like.  Likely a 22" would have been better for BP.   I pulled the gun apart to check it out and do a trigger job.  Turns out it wouldn't feed.  The magazine tube was installed incorrectly.  Easy to fix.  Shove it up against the receiver and recut the mag tube for the retainer pin. Mag is now a full 1/4" short of the barrel end.  Ugly but workable.  New mag tube on the way.  Trigger job done.  Now it is a crisp 4# or just a bit less.

I really dislike Uberti's "red"  wood.  Took me an hour or so to strip the wood.  Glad I did because the wood is great.  But the red goop used as fill and cover was just a cheap fix.  Three cracks in the factory stock are easier to identify now.  Metal to wood fit is actually dismal once the red paint is gone.   New wood on order.  Now I know why the gun sat so long unsold.  Cracked stock to anyone  willing to look.  Selelr didn't bother mentioning it     Cheap gun just go a lot more expense.  Still, I really like the 20" version Cimarron did here.

Too  bad about the wood.  As I really like the look of the gun now.

Interesting to know Mr. Sieber still had the '76 when he was killed in a construction accident in 1907.
Once I worked on and dry fired my '76 some, seems my  '86s just don't hold the same appeal.  I get why Sieber still had his in 1907.   My bet would be it is the same reason I find some comfort with a 1911 in my hand instead of a Glock.   Ya, I get it.

[rbertalotto]

Nice looking Centennial! Is that the replacement wood or what was under the "red"?

[King Medallion]

Nice looking "shorty"! How does it shoot?

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[yahoody]

Nice looking Centennial! Is that the replacement wood or what was under the "red"?

"I really dislike Uberti's "red"  wood.  Took me an hour or so to strip the wood.  Glad I did because the wood is great.  But the red goop used as fill and cover was just a cheap fix.  Three cracks in the factory stock are easier to identify now.  Metal to wood fit is actually dismal once the red paint is gone.   New wood on order.  Now I know why the gun sat so long unsold.  Cracked stock to anyone  willing to look. "

How does it shoot?

Sorry, no clue at the moment.   I am waiting on brass and dies.  But I will get back to you on that. 

Here is what can be found under Uberti's red paint :
A pair of Henry's I stripped last week.

One done and one up.


Both sets of wood done..


Metal to wood fit was light years better on the recent production Henry's than what was on my early production '76 shown from something like 10 years ago.  Wood quality (straight grain in the wrist) is better as well.

[dusty texian]

I like that short rifle , If it shoots like it looks , you are going  like it to! I agree the natural wood and oil finish looks way better than that Uberti red.  Congrats,,,,,,,DT

[yahoody]

Thanks Dusty. 

Update on the wood.  Ordered a new set from VTI late last week..  Got here yesterday on priority mail.  New Uberti wood fits my '76 much, much better than the original factory wood.  How that works no clue.  But sure made me happy with the end result.  New butt stock wood with the factory finish matches the old forearm much better than the other mix matched pair.  Yahoo!

Another week yet till I see brass and dies. 

Rifle with the new butt stock that is still retaining the factory finish.  This one and the color combos/wood/finish I can live with.

[King Medallion]

That looks much better!

[dusty texian]

That is a very nice looking set. ,,,,,DT

[King Medallion]

Did you get the finished set  or unfinished and finish it yourself?

[yahoody]

Did you get the finished set  or unfinished and finish it yourself?

I'm lazy and was in a hurry.  So I  bought a complete finished set from VTI.  But the amount of finish applied to the wood was a LOT less than on my original "red" wood.  The new Uberti butt stock was still a little darker in color than my original and refinished forearm.  But as a plus my original fore arm has some nice grain and a decent fit.   I stashed the new fore arm and the old butt in the shop.  (I'll use them for patterns on a nice set of new wood and a shot gun butt eventually)

I then added a bit of walnut stain to the refinished forearm to better match the new butt color.  Left the new butt's original finish intact (it has some nice grain showing already)   and mated it to the old fore arm with just a tiny bit of stain on it.  I am pretty picky about such things.  And they seem to match up well now for color and grain.   I'd be hard pressed now to call them "Uberti looking" using even a mildly critical eye.  When in fact the butt stock went from wrapper to being bolted on the gun as is!  The finishes even feel much the same in hand.  Really hard to see or feel a difference and not think the wood came from the factory any different.   Now the wood feels more like my first '94 wood from the '50s.

Biggest difference in the new photo on the wood colors is the light reflected off the two different finishes.   To the eye they are much closer.  Not exact but very close.  Enough to may be believe Winchester might have shipped a custom ordered '76 Centennial that way.

[Willie Dixon]

that 20" short rifle is a beauty!

my buddy has I think a 24" in 45-60 that we set up some nice blackpowder sub (777) loads in.  He hunts with it now and absolutely loves it.  That and I helped him set up a vernier tang sight with a marble globe on front.  Can't believe we were getting sub MOA at 500 yards with it once we had it dialed in.

now shooting offhand or even prone was a bit different story, but man she can shoot!  I still like the Sharps action more for taking time and dailing in a single shot, but I'm debating one myself much like yours and his, with a straight comb, preferably all-blue "cheapo" finish.  Then I'll take it out back at my buddy's place, and bone color case and charcoal blue her myself.

there's just something absolutely wonderful about the toggle-link I think.

It's like the OP said, 1911 vs a Glock.  I just can't seem to figure out Glocks, M9s, etc... yeah I qual'd with them, but as soon as my group decided 45acp was okay, and allowed me to carry my 1911 Gov't, I went straight back to her.  That's how I feel about the 92s and other Browning lock rifles.  Honestly, because of my ML days, I like Sharps and Spencers more, probably because they remind me of my custom Hawken.  For speed and such, I'll take a toggle-link Henry, Yellowboy, 73 or 76 any day