New Cimarron Uberti 1873 Sporting Rifle

[Dave Markowitz]

Gentlemen, meet Claudia -- as in Cardinale -- my new Cimarron Firearms/Uberti 1873 Sporting Rifle in .44 WCF. (Can you tell I watched a few 1960s vintage westerns this week?)











I ordered the rifle last Thursday from Buffalo Arms, she arrived at my FFL a week later, and I bailed out of work early to pick her up yesterday. I'm planning to shoot her this weekend. I have three boxes of Black Hills .44-40 WCF cowboy loads and 15 rounds of Winchester 200 grain JSPs, leftover from when I owned a Navy Arms/Uberti 1873 Carbine.

Range report to follow...

 

[bme27]

Beautiful gun. I will always have a soft spot in my heart for good ol' lever guns

 

[Chevelle SS]

That sure is a beauty! I would love to have one someday.

 

[Choctaw]

That is my dream rifle. Congrats!

 

[Tommygunn]

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee--
Yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu--
Tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii--
Fullllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll!!!

I have a Uberti made Winchester 1873 saddlering carbine in .44-40 I bought 25 years ago. It's still a favorite.
I still love those ol' lever-rifles!

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

Claudia Cardinale... A lovely example of fine Italian talent.

Oh, and the rifle looks good too.

 

[forward observer]

Congrats! It's nice to see a new 44-40 lever gun go to an appreciative home.

 

[rondog]

So jealous.....

 

[FiveStrings]

At a gun show last weekend I got to check out Pedersoli's repros of the Sharps and Springfield Trapdoor carbines, and I was disappointed by the quality of wood finish and case hardening colors. Your pictures show that Uberti is clearly doing a superior job of reproducing these American classics. You really got yourself a fine rifle there. I am totally impressed by the Uberti quality. I have some of their pistols, and it's great to see up close what a fine job they are doing on the Winchester rifle.

 

[Panzerschwein]

You'll want to reload if you intend to shoot it much! Great rifle.

 

[Dave Markowitz]

Thanks guys.

I have a set of Lee .44-40 dies left over from when I owned a Navy Arms/Uberti 1873 Carbine back in the 90s. I even have some 200 grain RNFP bullets, although they are only suitable for smokeless loads due to the lube. I'll see can get ahold of some suitable powder (such as Unique) to use them up, but I also want to load ammo with black powder, of which I have a good supply.

 

[stubbicatt]

Neat. I have one in 357 magnum. Its a neat rifle.

 

[RainDodger]

You're gonna love it! Such a sweet, smooth action. I have one in .357:

 

[Jimster]

Now that's my kind of firearm and I'm a big fan of Cimarron. All my historic black powder reproductions are from them. I'm itchin' for their 1860 Henry right now.

 

[Dave Markowitz]

I got to shoot the rifle today. A couple of friends and I put 55 rounds through her -- 50 Black Hills cowboy loads and 5 rounds of 20 year old Winchester JSPs. We only had the chance to shoot from about 25 yards offhand before it started to really rain, so no serious accuracy testing. That said, it seems like the jacketed bullets better than these Black Hills lead bullets. The JSPs printed a much smaller group.

One thing I found interesting is that while Uberti advertises the rifle to hold 13 + 1, I was able to load 14 in the magazine.

The functioning was very smooth, especially compared with my Rossi 92 .357. The '73's straight-line feed is slicker than the '92.

I have no plans to short-stroke it but I need to do something about the sights. They are authentic. I.e., hard to see except against a nice, bright target. I'm looking at replacing the front with a brass or ivory-colored bead, and the rear buckhorn with a flat top open sight.

Last night I went out to my shop and found my .44-40 dies and a box of 100 Lyman 200 grain RNFP bullets lubed with some kind of moly. I'm going to research smokeless loads to duplicate the original BP ballistics, but I want to start loading ammo with BP for the gun. After I slug the bore I'll order some suitably-sized and lubed bullets for it.

 

[Catpop]

Dave, I see it came in! Glad you didnt have to wait too long.That's one beautiful rifle! If I wasn't already so hung up with 38 wcf, I would be shooting 44-40 also. Look forward to range reports.
Oh, my 38-40 likes the lead better than the jacketed.

 

[Bayou Redd]

Claudia Is Beautiful...

Watching oodles of westerns recently has found a home for a new Rossi 92 & a stainless Vaquero both in 357.

Have fun...

Great Name, Also...

 

[rondog]

I have a serious lust for a Rossi R92 in .45 Colt, but that Cimarron is so pretty I had to Google it to find out the price. Oh my, I could get two Rossi's and quite a bit of ammo for that!

But dang, that sho' is pretty.....

 

[Dave Markowitz]

Rondog, I have a Rossi 92 in .357 as well.



The Uberti's fit and finish is head and shoulders above the Rossi, but the R92 is a good, solid rifle. It functions very well with .357s. (When shooting .38 Specials it'll eject the round on the carrier out the top of the receiver if I work it too fast.)

 

[PowerG]

Sweet.

 

[Cowhide Cliff]

Rondog, I have a Rossi 92 in .357 as well.



The Uberti's fit and finish is head and shoulders above the Rossi, but the R92 is a good, solid rifle. It functions very well with .357s. (When shooting .38 Specials it'll eject the round on the carrier out the top of the receiver if I work it too fast.)

Yep and just a little work and that 73 will run smooth as silk. Even out of the box it's soooo much better than the 92. That 92 will be collecting dust now. You got a fine rifle with that 73.

 

[Speedo66]

I'll see can get ahold of some suitable powder (such as Unique) to use them up, but I also want to load ammo with black powder, of which I have a good supply.

Trail Boss works great in my original '73 in .38-40. Should do well with the .44-40. Added benefit is you'll easily notice a double load which would probably kaboom that action.

 

[stubbicatt]

When I purchased mine in 357 magnum, I really wanted a 44. I really thought about it a long time. That I knew I would be shooting smokeless made the decision for me. I researched loads for the 44WCF and discovered that a nearly full case of RL7 would get the job done.

I sure do hope you get a lot of smiles out of your rifle.