My appetite for a Winchester

D

Doc Hoy

New member
....has been whetted.

All this talk about El Tigre, 44-40 and Uberti 1873s has me going.

I am getting ready to make a move on an 1873 or 1873 Clone.

I am thinking Uberti over Chaparral. Almost any caliber that begins with a four. (.44 sp, .44 Mgnm, 44-40 or .45LC.)

I am NOT staying away from Chaparral because of perceived lapses in quality. I am staying away from them because they don't really look like an 1873. Unless I am misinformed, the dust covers are not right. Pretty rifle but Uberti is prettier.

Any thoughts would be welcome.

And (I suppose I should enter this above, but)

I have a nice trapdoor SRC conversion I would trade for one. For the right rifle I would throw in some cash.
 
indeed

I am very pleased with my Uberti 44-40. That said, I'd buy a Winchester, if one was offered in 44-40. I prefer product from an American company - even though the rifle is produced in Japan. If it was produced here, all the better.
 
Go Original

If you"re going to shoot BP or a sub, go all the way and get an original. I paid just $900 for an 1892 manufactured in 1897. Still in very shootable shape. Made here by our ancestors. Plus, didn't even need an FFL, it was shipped right to my door as a pre 1899 antique. Trust me, shoot a hundred-plus year old gun (who knows, used in the indian wars or by a frontier lawman) with your own BP reloads and you are hooked for life. If only they could talk!
 
Friends don't let friends buy Chaparrals.

The Uberti '73 is available in all the "fours" you mentioned. As far as I know, the .44 Magnum is only available in the carbine model which is my least favorite version of the '73.

The .44 Special is not shown on Uberti's website but Cimarron has them listed so they are out there. Somewhere.

The .45 Colt is a popular chambering although there were no rifles in that caliber "back in the day". Some rifles in that chambering have an issue with "blowby".

The 1873 rifle was introduced in .44-40 (aka .44 WCF) so it's a classic. Black powder shooters in particular like this chambering. I understand it can be a bit of a challenge to reload but I know lots of folks who manage to get it done.

The new Winchester '73 was rumored to be coming out in .44-40 this Fall. I notice Fall is here but the rifle is not, but it may be on the way.

I'd like to get a firsthand look at one of the new Winchesters; early reports on the cowboy shooting websites have been generally positive.
 
Several responses

South,

That new Winchester at 1299.00 is tempting.

Dave,

.44 Magnum and .45 LC. Single action Colt clones, a Vaquero, a Model 92 from Rossi and a Henry Big boy. I had a Dig Boy in .357 and did not like it. (After shooting a 5.5 Inch Uberti Smokewagon for half an hour and then moving to the .357 Big Boy, I could not hear the Big Boy going off...... ;o) )

Hawg,

This is good information. If I move to .44-40 I am into my seventh different caliber to reload. I don't shy away from it though.

Leo,

If I could find a deal like that on a 73, I would be on it like a wolverine on a pop tart. I am going to take a trip out to Ivor, VA which is a little tiny town south east of Richmond. There is a guy there who I am told has an original 73 which he relined as .45 Long Colt. The rifle is not for sale. He is a machinist and gunsmith and I am actually going for a different reason. But I wouldn't mind seeing it and talking to him about possibilities.
 
Doc I have a Uberti 1873 with a 30" barrel in 44-40 and I love it. Very well made and I shoot both smokeless and black powder loads through it. The 44-40 has little to no blow back and it is much easier to clean than say a .45 would be.
 
Hawg,

This is good information. If I move to .44-40 I am into my seventh different caliber to reload. I don't shy away from it though.
Click to expand...

To elaborate a little bit the 44-40 is a slight bottleneck. Its almost but not quite a .45 Colt necked down to .44. The case neck is thin and when fired it expands to form a tight seal against the chamber walls preventing blowby. I leave a fired case in my 92 when cleaning the bore and there is no need to do any disassembly like you would have to do with a straight walled case. The 44-40 is a learning experience to reload but I'm sure you've read some of my posts on that so I wont go into it again here.
 
I leave a fired case in my 92 when cleaning the bore and there is no need to do any disassembly like you would have to do with a straight walled case.
Click to expand...

Hawg,
That is exactly what I do with my 44-40 Uberti.
 
Doc, if you do find a good deal on a 73 with a bad bore, you can get a place like Redman's to reline it for about $400.
 
Dear all

I do understand apetite for a winchester model

My personal solution is an el tigre 1892
Why? My desire was an original and not a modern copy
A true 1892 was to expensive for me but a el tigre is still a bargin for the time being

I have no problems at all with the spanish quality everyting works just fine for a 1892 born in the 1920

And it has a visible history (spanish civil war) and the original caliber 44-40

What do you won t more?

Regards

Bigbuck
 
I do understand

Look how old my tigre looks like

You can not see from just looking if this is an old original 1892. my opinion

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Bigbuck
 
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