Uberti Winchester 1873

[AGD1776]

Hello.

I'm new to this forum, so I thought I should say "Hi" first. Hi!

Now for my question. I have been looking and thinking abut the replica 1873 Winchester made by Uberti. I have noticed that this model is offered in .357 magnum. Can the 1873 take the pressures of standard .357 ammo? I think I would like the .44-40, but don't reload and have no room for a reloading set up even if I wanted to. I already shoot .38 special and .357 and the ammo seem to be just about everywhere so this might be a good option for me. I woulkd only be using this gun for target shooting and maybe defending myself from the occasional tin can. Any info would be of great help.

 

[dfariswheel]

Certainly the 1873 will take .357 Magnum pressures.

The Uberti is made from modern steel and controlled heat treating.

The .357 versions shoot very well and are real "fun guns".

The only "minus" to the '73 in .357 Magnum is, they cannot also shoot .38 Special.
The shorter .38 round won't feed in the '73, and cause the cartridge elevator to jam.

However, you can shoot it as a single shot by loading one round at a time in the magazine, or by loading direct in the chamber.

The .357 verion of the '73 shoots quite well, has virtually NO recoil, and is usually very accurate.

To top it all off, there's just SOMETHING about the old '73 action, that's just "right".

 

[Harve Curry]

'73 Winchester/copies, one of the best , get it and have fun.

 

[Texfire]

Haven't heard that you can't shoot .38s out of the Uberti 1873. Is this personal experience? I was thinking of getting one for just that purpose, but maybe a 1866 in .38 would be a better choice. Right now I shoot a Puma 1892 clone in .357 and only shoot .38s in it.

 

[Onmilo]

Uberti replica rifles are fine weapons, I have three, all in .45 Colt.
These toggle action guns really don't handle full power Magnum loads all that well, a steady diet will cause problems.
A 35,000 foot pound slap every pull of the trigger just wasn't envisioned when these rifles were created and even modern steel doesn't allow this type of action to stand up to that kind of force for more than a few thousand rounds before problems begin to occur.
The .357 toggle action rifles are an excellent choice for somebody who is willing to learn hand-loading.
Some excellent, accurate, low pressure loads can be crafted for these rifles and the groups have to be seen in person to be appreciated.

.44-40 Ubertis are incredibly accurate, the original cartridge was well conceived for the era, these are probably the best guns if you intend to shoot black powder loads but again, this is a handloaders caliber.

I chose .45 Colt as my caliber choice, ammunition is available everywhere I might tote one of my rifles, I reload and this cartridge is easy and forgiving.
Pressures aren't high, recoil is mild, and a 250 grain bullet still smacks target with plenty of thump.
These aren't the best choice for blackpowder shooting but I'm getting too modern in my powder tastes to care about that anymore.

Your Rossi is actually a much better choice if you wish to shoot factory .357 cartridges.

 

[dfariswheel]

Texfire:

NONE of the oldest style Winchester or Henry rifles can shoot shorter ammo.

This includes the Henry, Winchester 1866, and 1873 versions.

The problem is the brass elevator that lifts the round from the magazine.

In these rifles, there is no cartridge stop that prevents double feeding.
Instead, the length of the cartridge itself prevents another cartridge from feeding from the magazine.

If you load a shorter round, the short round will allow the next round to partially enter the brass elevator, preventing the elevator from rising.

By the same token, a cartridge that's too LONG will also prevent the elevator from rising.

As for strength of the Uberti 1873 and the .357 Magnum, I've never seen a problem, and I know of one shooter with an OLD version that has over 5000 rounds through it with no problems.

Last time I checked it out, everything, including head space was in spec.

 

[Texfire]

I believe that there is a 1866 which is chambered for .38, not .357 and I would imagine that it shouldn't share that problem. Another option is buying one of the "cowboy" loads in .357 cartridges. Good to know though.

 

[dfariswheel]

There was an early Uberti Winchester '66 that was in .38 Special.

The only restraint with the early Winchester's is the limitation on the length of round they are made to handle.

With that said, you can modify the brass carrier to work with shorter rounds.

Basically, all that's needed is to install a 1/10" block of some sort in the elevator to shorten it's interior length for shorter rounds.

 

[Harve Curry]

There was a late 1970's Italian made copy of the '73 Winchester made in caliber 44 magnum. What they had in mind I don't know.