Uberti 1873 Rifle (44WCF ) and Video

[Rowdy Fulcher]

Howdy Pards
Yesterday I received a Uberti repro on a Winchester 1873 in 44-40 . I was able to fire a few rounds through it on my way home .
This rifle has a  half octagon/half round   24 1/4 inch barrel . So far it is a real sweetheart . Will update after firing lots of rounds through it .  

[Blackpowder Burn]

Rowdy,

I have no doubt you'll enjoy the rifle.  I have a Cimarron (Uberti) Deluxe 1873 rifle with 24-inch octagonal barrel in 44-40 that I have been shooting for 7 years.  It's a beautiful rifle that shoots as good as it looks.  My rifle loves a 200 grain RNFP with 7 to 8 grains of Unique.  My only other suggestion would be to put a Marbles tang sight on it and get a good action job.  Then you have a rifle that's beautiful, accurate and slick as a baby's butt.

[Rowdy Fulcher]

Howdy Pards
I Have had the opportunity to shoot out to 60 yards and so far everything looks good . I have been shooting steel but plan on putting on paper when I go to range next . The 44 wcf feeds Great and no extraction problems . The half Octagon/half round barrel
really improves the balance . This is my first 44 wcf and makes me wonder why  .

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[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

Nothing beats 44-40 in a rifle. My '73, Henry, original Winchester 1892 and Marlin 1894 are all chambered for 44-40. Wait until you try it with Black Powder, it gets even better. That half octogon/half round barrel must be real pretty. Mine is the full octogon, 24" long.

[Rube Burrows]

I was able to fire a few rounds through it on my way home .
 

I guess even cowboys do drive-bys. 


Cant wait to see the pics.

[Rowdy Fulcher]

Howdy Pards
Today I got a chance to go shooting .And I am happy with the 44wcf I shot a group at 50 yards kneeling unsupported and it was under 2 inches . I loaded Meister Bullets and Trail Boss powder , if it won't shoot smokeless it probably won't shoot black either .
I used .427 bullets and it did great . Will update when I shoot some Goex loads .

[Rowdy Fulcher]

Howdy
Last week we posted a video on you tube . We shot ammo from Black Hills ammo and Black powder substitute from Ten X
the rifle shot both loads Extremely well . Will post the link later.

[Dirty Brass]

Save ya' some trouble Rowdy - as usual, a great post. What does Ten-X use as a BP substitute - do you know off hand?

Nice groups!

[Fox Creek Kid]

...I loaded Meister Bullets and Trail Boss powder ,...

Did you go to church and beg forgiveness for shooting smokeless in it? 

[ndnchf]

Nice video Rowdy, now you got me thinking about a little brother for my '76 

[Rowdy Fulcher]

Howdy Pards

FCK Forgive me father I have sinned .
Dirty Brass  They use a new formulation of Triple 7 .
NDNCHF You will love the 44wcf in the 1873 .

 

[shieldsmt]

Bought one last year, loaded 44WCF, 100 rounds w/ Unique and tried it out.  Then got some soft lead SPG lubed bullets and loaded over some 30 year old Goex FFFg I had.  Nearly filled the cases and compressed the load.  They shoot so well I'd never go back to smokeless.  Tilt the gun upside down and lever open and swab out with your favorite mix and it's done.  No blowback with the 44WCF.  Powerful.  Accurate.  We took two antelope and two big mule deer in Oct./Nov.  Bullets went in one side and out the other.  All died within a few yards.  They are great rifles.

[Blackpowder Burn]

I have to agree with Shieldsmt - when I recently changed to Holy Black, the 44-40's loved it.  My 73 shoots tiny little groups and my USFA SAA's shoot better groups than I've ever gotten with smokeless.  Why do anything else? 

Now I'm about to do the same thing with my 45's.  It'll be interesting to see how the rifle and pistol accuracy compare to smokeless.  I know the fun factor will be much improved.

Not to mention the added benefit of the BP acting as a mosquito fogger for the range here in Texas. 

[Dirty Brass]

I'm really starting to lean towards bP (or a deriviant) in this caliber too. We shot the 1866 and the 1873 rifles, and even tossd in a SAA 44-40 pistol this past weekend, with a mix of both types of loads. Accuracy was as good as can be, and the smoke, as you say, puts a lot more fun into the shooting. One thing amazed me was the difference in knockdown punch between the rifles and pistol - wow!!! I'd not want to flirt with the open end of a 44-40 rifle at any distance!

[Jamie]

I have an Uberti '73 that I really like - shoots great, looks great - what's not to like, right?  There is however one problem and I don't know whether it's inherent to the breed or what.  When loading, the last cartridge in doesn't straighten up in the gun.  As you look down from directly above, it jams in an 11 o'clock to 5 o'clock position, with the base of the cartridge kicked slightly back toward the loading gate.  From this angle, it will not feed and causes the rifle to jam.  The cure is to stick your little finger or some other implement of destruction through the loading gate and manually popping the cartridge into line.  This is inconvenient, painful (I need to remove the sideplate and polish the loading gate port edges - bigtime) and completely unnecessary with either my Marlin 1894CL in 32-20 or my original Winchester Model 92 25-20.  Nor has it been necessary in either of the Model 94's I've owned or the Marlin 336, or any other lever action I've ever loaded and shot.  This happens if only one shell is loaded, or if you shove a snootful up the tube.  The last cartridge jams sideways, just enough to halt the administration of fire power.  I suspect that a gunsmith could straighten it right up, but dang, if there is an easy or cheaper fix - not that I begrudge the gunsmith the small change that perfection costs...  At any rate, any thoughts?
Jamie

[Dirty Brass]

That happened with my 45/60 1876 model a couple of times, but if I make sure and push the cartridge all the way forward into the tube (as far as I can) when loading, the problem isn't there. I suspect short pushing the cartridge leaves it cocked to one side when the gate closes. It probably isn't supposed to do this, but that solved my problem, so I never gave it another thought.

[Coal Creek Griff]

This has been a problem in the past.  In fact, I had the same issue when my gun was new.  Somewhere (I believe on this site) there is a fix for this.  It involves smoothing (or cutting a slight bevel into) a corner on the brass carrier.  I took a very small amount of the corner off on mine and it solved the problem.  When I get time, I'll look for the post--it was very detailed, with photos of the fix.

Maybe someone else knows where it is right away--probably under the gunsmithing section...

CC Griff

[Coal Creek Griff]

Let's see if this link works...

http://www.dorseyfoto.com/73/73fix.htm

Let me know if that is the problem you're having...

CC Griff

[Jamie]

Thanks guys!  It sounds do-able, and I understand the Irish part (my great great great grandfather Muldoon hopped on a boat to come to America with his new bride on the night before he was supposed to take his final vows as a Roman Catholic priest.  She was about 6' 4" and he was 5' even, so everyone has always speculated as to who's idea it was...)  Anyway, thanks for the responses.
Jamie

[Abilene]

The web page of J D Yellowhammer that was posted by Coal Creek Griff is good info, however the pics show approximately but not exactly where to file the bevel.  I've fixed a few rifles with this problem and took a pic of one showing the bevel that I filed (shiny area between the two arrows):