Carrier Calibre Designation On Uberti 1876

[Wes Tancred]

I recently received a Cimarron Uberti 1876, in .50-95 calibre. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that the designation 50-95 was stamped into the bottom of the brass cartridge carrier, in the same graceful engraved script style of original 1876 Winchester rifles. I think this may be a new—and very welcome—feature.

Cimarron certainly seem to be the source for replicas with correct markings. The rifle is a beauty, too, but I must wait for cartridges to test fire it. They are on back order at both Buffalo Arms (black powder) and Ten-X (Triple 7 black powder substitute). The smokeless Ten-X loads seem to be available, but I do not wish to use that propellant in my rifle.

I noticed that black powder cartridges for the replica .56-.50 Spencer fit the breech and bolt face of the 1876 extremely well. While the shorter Spencer cartridges will, of course, not feed through the action, they can be single-loaded. An empty case ejected properly. It seems as though the Spencer cartridges could be fired in the 1876 without harm, but I hesitate to try it with a new and costly rifle.

[Buck Stinson]

I wish they would also add the caliber designation to the top of the dust cover, like the original .50-95's.  Here's a picture of the cover on one of my express rifles.  This one was made in 1887.

Adios,
Buck

[Wes Tancred]

I agree, Buck. In fact, I saved that picture of yours from an earlier message you posted, to use as a reference in eventually adding the stamping to the dust cover of my new rifle.

I have read most of the threads in this forum, and found your contributions extraordinarily valuable. Your excellent photographs have been a tremendous help, too—especially those showing the special mould for the .50 Express bullet, which I had known about for years, but never seen. It would be wonderful if that mould could be reproduced, and perhaps a little die set made to form the copper cups. In this connexion, my favourite gun author, Henry M. Stebbins, made frequent references to the 1876 in .50 Express, which he had used extensively in his youth, and he mentioned that in using the Express bullet mould, he employed the hollow-pointing plug “more often than not”. This implies to me that the mould might have been supplied originally with two plugs: a long one to make the copper cup cavity, and a short one for casting a solid bullet. Do you think this is possible?

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[Buck Stinson]

Wes,
I have several sets of Winchester reloading implements new in the original boxes, in various calibers from .22WCF to .45-90WCF.  I do not have a boxed set of .50 Express mold and tool, but I have seen a couple.  It is my opinion that only the express plug was furnished in the boxed set as standard.  However, there is little doubt that as a special order extra, Winchester would also include a filler plug to cast a solid bullet with the same express mold.  I have several of the early 4th model iron handle Winchester molds with the Express hollow point fixture.  These molds are simply marked WINCHESTER EXPRESS.  I also have a near mint 5th model wood handle Winchester mold that casts a solid bullet, no hollow point hole at all.  This one is marked .50-95.  Contrary to popular belief, Winchester DID NOT include a set of reloading implements with every gun.  Reloading tools and molds could be purchased seperately as sets or as individual pieces, each with their own box and then shipped with the gun.  Hope this will help.

Adios,
Buck 

[Wes Tancred]

Many thanks for that information, Buck. It makes sense that the short plug would be an optional extra item. Stebbins was a very accurate writer, and it seemed clear to me that he had at his disposal a choice of plugs; but he never described these items as part of a boxed set.

I presume that original .50 Express moulds for the copper cup bullet are exceedingly scarce and costly, never mind the reloading tool. Perhaps one day, when you have time, you could post the dimensions of the mould cavity (height from base to tip) and the plug (diameter and length). It is possible that a mould like the Lyman 515139 (330 grain nominal, a traditional profile for .56-50 Spencer and .50-70 Govt.) could be bored for a hollow-pointing plug.

I wonder if you know of any good sources for original moulds and loading tools?

Thanks,

Wes

[Buck Stinson]

Wes,
I will post the info you asked for, so keep an eye on this thread.

Adios,
Buck