Howdy Pards!
Just thought I'd get on here and give you some information concerning the 1876 as I have spent part of Saturday and Sunday at the Shot Show.
First off, Chaparral was showing three rifles, two in 45-60 and one in 40-60. The 45-60 has a groove diameter of .4566 or so we figured out on a metric to inch calculator. Don't know about the 40-60. The fellow who is running the Italian plant (Angelo) said that his guns are not the same as what Taylors and Cimarron are marketing. Taylor's only had a flyer and Cimarron had one proto-type rifle.
Angelo says that his company has been working on the 76 for a year and a half and that they used two originals as a basis for the ones he is producing. He says all the dimensions are exactly like the original including down to an inertia firing pin and the butt trap for a cleaning rod. Sights are just like the original, ladder in back and brass blade up front. The tang is drilled for a sight. The wood, European Walnut, on the ones at the show (which he says are regular production guns) was outstanding for a non-custom grade. Steel is 4140 so smokeless is no problem. I was very impressed with the overall look of the rifle. Right now, these are available although very few are in the country at this time. Angelo says the price is substantially less than $1000 at this time, although who knows what the future will bring.
Taylor's had no information except their flyer so I can't comment on theirs except the flyer said the price would be $1495. Cimarron had a prototype at their booth. The case coloring looked exactly like those at Chaparral, but make no mistake these are from different manufactures. Cimarron is using Uberti. They didn't have a price on theirs listed, but Uberti is also making the one for Taylor's so expect the same price range. The problem I saw with the Cimarron rifle was that it was obvious that it was rushed into this country to have at the show. The sights were from a 73, large buckhorn rear and standard 73 front sight. One of the men at the booth said that they weren't happy with the drop on the stock either. Cimarron is listing Dec. 2006 as a delivery date. EVERYONE I talked with thinks that is very optimistic.
Hope this helps, if you have any questions about this that I didn't think of, mention it and I'll see if I can answer it.
Innocent Bystander