Finally got to shoot my Uberti 1872 Open Top Conversion in .45 Colt!
It was a joy to shoot, and I thought I would post my results and observations.
The fit and finish of the gun is great, with no problems. The tolerances on this gun are tighter than on my Uberti SAA, and I initially had problems loading the cartridges into the cylinder. Ended up that the cases needed to be a bit tighter around the bullet at the crimp end. I don't generally do a full crimp, and I had probably left them a bit loose, which my SAA tolerates. It is also not tolerant of primers that are not fully seated.
I had several instances in which the primer was not struck hard enough to set it off, however after firing the rest of the chambers and returning to the unfired chamber, it went off each time. Not sure if this is the gun's fault, or that the primers were seated maybe a bit deep. I had previously had problems with primers not being fully seated during reloading, so I made an effort to correct that problem which may have resulted in low primers. I will look into it and post my results.
I shot three 10 shot strings, one at 15 yards, and 2 at 25 yards from a rest.
Reloading data:
Rimrock Bullets 200gr RNFP with SPG lube, 30gr Goex 3F, Fiber over-powder card , 1/8 inch grease cookie of 50/50 Beeswax/Crisco.
I did not weigh the bullets to look for under-wieght rounds, and will do so for the next time. I will also work up/down in powder charge to determine the best load for this gun.
The combination of SPG lubed bullets and the grease cookie allowed over 50 shots with no binding, and looking through the barrel midway through and at the end of shooting showed that the fouling was not building up badly. I could clearly see the lands and grooves, as well as a star pattern of lube on the muzzle.
Groups for the three ten shot strings were as follows:
15 yds- 2.4 inches vertical by 2.25 inches horizontal. Center of Mass: 4.1 inches high, .1 right.
25 yds #1- 2.25 Horizontal, 2 Vertical with 1 flyer. Center of Mass: 4.5 high, 1 inch left.
25 yds #2- 4 horizontal, 4.5 vertical with 1 flyer. Center of Mass 5 high, 1 left.
Although the data from the second to third string would seem to indicate a fouling problem- group going from 2 inches to 4 inches- I think frankly that this was just bad shooting on my part. I was testing several other guns as well and probably just screwed it up. The same load will shoot all day through my Winchester 1873 sporting rifle with the same lube "star" on the muzzle.
I will continue to work on a load for this gun with different bullets and powder charges.
Cheers,
Norm
It was a joy to shoot, and I thought I would post my results and observations.
The fit and finish of the gun is great, with no problems. The tolerances on this gun are tighter than on my Uberti SAA, and I initially had problems loading the cartridges into the cylinder. Ended up that the cases needed to be a bit tighter around the bullet at the crimp end. I don't generally do a full crimp, and I had probably left them a bit loose, which my SAA tolerates. It is also not tolerant of primers that are not fully seated.
I had several instances in which the primer was not struck hard enough to set it off, however after firing the rest of the chambers and returning to the unfired chamber, it went off each time. Not sure if this is the gun's fault, or that the primers were seated maybe a bit deep. I had previously had problems with primers not being fully seated during reloading, so I made an effort to correct that problem which may have resulted in low primers. I will look into it and post my results.
I shot three 10 shot strings, one at 15 yards, and 2 at 25 yards from a rest.
Reloading data:
Rimrock Bullets 200gr RNFP with SPG lube, 30gr Goex 3F, Fiber over-powder card , 1/8 inch grease cookie of 50/50 Beeswax/Crisco.
I did not weigh the bullets to look for under-wieght rounds, and will do so for the next time. I will also work up/down in powder charge to determine the best load for this gun.
The combination of SPG lubed bullets and the grease cookie allowed over 50 shots with no binding, and looking through the barrel midway through and at the end of shooting showed that the fouling was not building up badly. I could clearly see the lands and grooves, as well as a star pattern of lube on the muzzle.
Groups for the three ten shot strings were as follows:
15 yds- 2.4 inches vertical by 2.25 inches horizontal. Center of Mass: 4.1 inches high, .1 right.
25 yds #1- 2.25 Horizontal, 2 Vertical with 1 flyer. Center of Mass: 4.5 high, 1 inch left.
25 yds #2- 4 horizontal, 4.5 vertical with 1 flyer. Center of Mass 5 high, 1 left.
Although the data from the second to third string would seem to indicate a fouling problem- group going from 2 inches to 4 inches- I think frankly that this was just bad shooting on my part. I was testing several other guns as well and probably just screwed it up. The same load will shoot all day through my Winchester 1873 sporting rifle with the same lube "star" on the muzzle.
I will continue to work on a load for this gun with different bullets and powder charges.
Cheers,
Norm
I seat the ball almost flush with the case mouth (the rules say it can't be seated below the case mouth), and smear some solid stick lube grease around the ball/case mouth. It is an extremely accurate load in all three of mine and shoots to point of aim at CAS ranges. If you don't crimp and just leave the mouths belled (slightly enough to chamber, of course), the brass lasts a long time.