Uberti 1866 Yellow Boy

J

Jbar4Ranch

New member
Yahoo! I've always wanted one of these things. Gotta wait another couple months for the CAS season to get going now. The 1866 and 1873 have more drop than the M92's I've been using and I think this Yellow Boy is going to be much easier & quicker to mount and aquire a sight picture with.

Uberti66.jpg


(Ya oughta see my dirty shirt!)
 
No! No! Too modern. O.K. it's not. I've been thinking of an Uberti too but the earlier Civil War Henry That Damn Yankee rifle you load on Sunday and fired all week that didn't have the loading gate and forearm. Congratulations on taking the plunge. :)
 
Nice!

Those are really nice; I'm sure you'll have a ball with it. A freind has one in .44 cal. that I have shot. It's so heavy, that with regular factory loads it was like shooting a popgun; with "Cowboy Loads" it will probably be even milder.

I just finished putting a Uberti Henry in .45 Colt back together for a customer that took it apart, and I took it out to test fire it. It was a lot of fun to shoot, but the super drop in the stock was awkward for me to use.

The store bought .45 Colt "Cowboy Loads" I used were so mild that I could detect flames from the chamber because the brass didn't expand enough to seal the chamber. They should anneal the case mouths on these mild loads to help seal the chamber better. Safe Shooting! Joe
 
Ive got one too! those things are shooters. the only thing i complain about is the price for store bought loads (i dont reload yet) but they do have a great feel, and it is true about the small pop recoil. they are almost as fun to look at as they are to shoot too. ive had fun with mine, have fun with yours.
 
I bought mine used from a seller in Bismarck, and when it arrived, I loaded it up and stepped outside. I went to work the lever and it would only move about a quarter inch...? I tried opening the loading gate to unload the thing and couldn't get the gate to open. After taking the sideplate off, I discovered the little tab on the back of the ladle that keeps the rounds from springing back into the action was broken off. The piss-ant had to know it too. Oh well. I fabricated a piece with a wide mating surface, fitted it to the back of the ladle, and silver soldered it on and it works fine now. Well, that part works fine now anyway... The next problem is that about every twenty rounds or so, a cartridge mouth will hang up on the chamber mouth, even though the mouth is beveled. Unfortunately, both of my .45 Colt mould designs are made to be crimped on the ogive and do not have a crimp groove, so the case mouth isn't crimped into a groove and out of the way. Maybe just breaking the outside edge of the case mouth a little more and/or crimping a bit more will cure the problem. Either that, or buy a different mould with a crimp groove.
 
Bummer!

Sorry to hear of your troubles with that Yellowboy. I've been stung a number of times like that. "Works great" they always say with a straight face. Glad to hear your were able to fix the cartridge stop(?).

You might have to go to a taper crimp die to avoid any sort of edge from the case mouth. I've used one for years for all my revolvers and 1 rifle in .45 Colt with excellent results and a lot less leading than a roll crimp. A roll crimp seems to scrape lead every time I've used one.

Good luck and I hope you solve the problem. Joe
 
You have the shorter barrel ... i have the long one...they do have really nice wood...and accuracy is excellent.

Island Vaquero (Cajon Cowboys)

LAkid (IPDA) or (IPSC)
 
I also have a 24" barrel for it, brand new in the box, that I might swap out some day. I need to find the longer magazine tube to go with it.
 
I had the chance a couple years ago to pick one up at the Great Northern SASS match for $350.00 that particular rifle was so beat up that it looked like an original and I passed on it. One of my pards has got a 241/4 octagon barreled 66 from Taylor&Company the action on his rifle is as smooth as butter. Hopefully you will be able to make a good shooter out of your rifle you never know what you're getting when you buy a used CAS gun unless you know the seller personally. Another of my pards got stuck with a bad 92 Winchester Clone when he bought from an out of state seller while on a road trip. He ended up having to send that one to Nate Kiowa Jones to be worked on to make it functional.
 
I went with gunsmithers advice and started using a taper crimp instead of a roll crimp on the ogive, and it seems to have cured the problem. :)
 
It's a VERY nice piece of wood, I'm kind of suprised to see it on such a gun.

My only concern now with this rifle is if the silver solder on the cartridge stop will hold up. I didn't want to weld it, because I didn't know if I could wet-pack the spring well enough to keep the heat from killing it, and I didn't want to refinish the ladle. Silver solder was safe from both standpoints. I made the mating surface quite large, about a quarter inch by a half inch, so there's a lot of shear strength. Oh well, if it comes off, I suppose a new ladle can't be more than a sawbuck or so.
 
Well maybe I'll get to see you shootin it at the Great Northern next fall. I'm sure you'll like the way the Yellowboy handles. I've got a Uberti Henry that I've been shootin for 20 years. I love those toggle link Winchesters.
 
Yellow Boy Question

I'm new to this, so I'll just jump in. I need to replace a cracked barrel on an otherwise beautiful like new Uberti 1866 Yellow Boy with about 3K worth of factory hand engraving on it. It is chambered 44-40. I'm researching to locate a barrel that is stateside, or I'll special order one. The replacement cost is really fair. I've seen $213 to $260. Anyway, what I really want to know is...if I want to convert this carbine to 45 Long Colt...what do I need to order in addition to the barrel?
Many thanks in advance.
 
Don'r convert the 44-40 to 45. It is virtually the perfect gun in 44-40 with no blowback and virtually no feeding problems (except for re-loading errors).
The ladle is notoriously weak in all of the 66/73s. I pulled mine out the first week I had it and re-enforced the cartridge stop with a big wad of JB Weld. Over two years now with no problems.
I load a full case of FFg and love it. The recoil is very mild and the noise and smoke is wonderful. People keep telling me I need to put more powder in it.
 
Yellow boy

Jbar,
I been wanting one for a long time. Uberti's are kind of exspensive.
Your one lucky shooter...........
Muzzlesmoke
 
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