Garrison Joe, SASS #60708

Could be that the tab on the front edge of the loading gate is broken or badly bent. Replacing the loading gate on a 73 is about as simple as can be - just needs a proper fitting screwdriver to remove the small screw which holds the loading gate to the right side plate on the receiver. If when you load those two rounds, the first one recedes into the body of the receiver, instead of staying in the lifter block, that's generally the problem. If you order one yourself, have the serial number ready and make sure they send one that uses the same screw size as the original. Any local gunsmith (especially who has done work on cowboy guns) should be able to handle this - ask your club members for a recommendation, as this simple a repair should not have to add on the costs of shipping (or driving) the gun to a smith. good luck, GJ

Pecards for me for waterproofing and leather protection. GJ

Yawn, still dry vibrating. Takes me very little labor, and I don't need to compete for "brightest bling" for brass. Just removing the fouling and ground dirt. good luck, GJ

Great stuff, if you need it. The combined chamber checking and resizer is the best. Keep one in my cart since I shoot a double barrel. good luck, GJ

Seems to be very sloppy torch cuts made to demil those handguns. Did the uncle have a police department connection? Those could be evidence guns that were no longer needed to be kept for the future. good luck, GJ

Well, that cracked carrier may reduce it by a few hundred.... But, Yes, you can ask and get gun value estimates here that are worth every penny of what you pay for them... Most often, here you will get values that reflect shooting-firearm-condition, not collector-condition. Which do you consider this firearm to be? good luck, GJ

There's not a lot of complexity to the Uberti 73 (assume you have an Italian 73). Yes, the common problem with a 73 when run fast and it just marks the primer is you are opening the action as or before you pull the trigger. Check for a couple of mechanical problems, though: * dirty firing pin channel (slows fall of FP) * too-weak mainspring * hammer dragging (scuff marks on side of hammer) * too much play (up and down) on rear of Firing Pin Extension rod - caused by failing to lube that pin where it passes through frame. If it is wobbly and the frame channel is egg-shaped, it's time to get gunsmith help to re-tighten the fit of pin in the frame. * heavy trigger pull (harder to go fast when fighting a 7 pound trigger) But almost always it is fixed by learning to time your trigger pull to exactly the right spot in your levering cycle. I concentrate on this by running this through my mind: "Trigger pull, then lever open" So, yes, it's usually an "operator timing" problem. good luck, GJ

Lots of folks use 700-X as a shotgun powder, and have for 60 years or so. Shoot with a SASS pard who loads 700-X for both Cowboy and Sporting Clays. Works great at 30 degrees F - no noticeably weak loads. good luck, GJ

By 1997, Winchester had quit publishing any data for 473AA. Directly using data for WSF instead needs proper amount of caution to check that it is performing well. good luck, GJ

Ask Barney Fife But then, he really didn't even need a belt with loops.

No, the mouth would be more expanded if it had been shot in .45 Colt with even a small powder charge. That's just a normal many-times-fired fatigue crack. .44s and .45s crack from middle of case instead of mouth-down like .38s do. good luck, GJ

I use Brasso. Use saddle soap and a small nylon brush to scrub inside the loops of the belt. A 20 gauge bore brush is about right for .45 Colt case loops. This is why police stick nickel-plated brass in gun belts. good luck, GJ

Yes, Win 473AA was a Winchester ball powder. Never made by DuPont. The AA in the name is from Winchester target shotgun shells. About the same burn speed as current WSF powder. So, it's in the burn range where it should be useful for light (cowboy) centerfire cartridge loads. But, back when it was made (1980 period) it was not common to publish loads for any of Win's shotgun powders to be used in handguns. So, I don't find any published data for cartridge in my older books. Including the Lyman cast bullet handbook from 1980 - which should have had some if they were commonly loaded for pistol. If I had to, I'd probably start with a low end Clays load and work up from there - but that's just me and my (old model) Ruger Vaqueros to test them in. good luck, GJ

Yes. There's basically no way to add TOO MUCH BP (or shot) to a BP shotshell load. A square load and either a plastic or fiber wad will work to separate powder and shot. Many folks adjust the roll crimp height to match their load stack height, too. Lots of flexibility with BP. good luck, GJ

Lyman cast bullet handbook shows most of their cast bullet loads running 1.05 to 1.11" OAL. The 9MM loads have bullet designs in Lyman book that are USUALLY either a truncated cone, or a bullet with a round nose which is completely smaller diameter than the driving band. You are running some Chey Cast COWBOY bullet that is a "full driving band" RNFP. (you still have not said which one, which weight => that makes it unnecessarily hard to help you.) Generally, you have to keep the bullet lead out of the way of the start of the rifling in the barrel. If you look closely at the rounds that won't chamber, and they were forced in with slide falling, they will be engraved where the bottom part of the nose hits the rifling. So, that is WHY the Lyman book will point you to the truncated cone, or the small-diameter nose RN bullet. Those keep the lead out of the way! And, if the Glock pistol still has the factory barrel in it, beware that Glock does not support (warranty and safety purposes) the use of lead bullets in it, the last I heard. If you work with loads and OAL found in Lyman with a bullet design close to what they show, you will have much better satisfaction. BTW, you did order 0.356" diameter bullets, I hope, not the 0.358" or .359, which are for .38 spl / .357 mag. Below is a sample of Lyman's (Cast Bullet Hndbk 4th Edition) data for a 124 grain TC bullet: good luck, GJ

Examine a slug and mark (sharpie) where the bullet transitions from cylinder and starts the ogive (the rounding of the nose). Try seating right to that mark, so that no "full diameter" cylinder of the slug extends past the mouth of the case. Taper crimp so the cartridge case has no "bell" left on it from when you expanded the case mouth. Better to fit your cast bullet load OAL to be where it gives the right crimp spot on the bullet, than to trust any OAL data that probably applies when using a bullet with a geometry different from your bullet. good luck, GJ

Alliant has not (yet) published Clay Dot data for handgun loads. I've found to match the speed from Clays, I have to use about 5-10% more weight of Clay Dot than I did Clays. That was for Cowboy-speed .38 special 125 grain bullets, and .45 Colt 200 grain payloads. Shotgun data for Clay Dot is very available. good luck, GJ

I've still got Federal primers. I'm loading. I haven't loaded any .44 WCF for 10 years. And I don't shoot that cartridge in an Uberti revolver. So, no personal benefit in that info. Someone else will have to wait on hold. GJ

And, be careful about what you let people shoot, unless you have 1/2" AR500 steel targets. Even lead is hard on targets and stands at 1800 FPS or more, and less than 100 yards distance. good luck, GJ

After 3 or more of us have checked Starline primer pocket depth, it seems they are setting the depth squarely BETWEEN the shorter pistol depth and the longer rifle depth. At 0.124" deep. One thou over max pistol spec, and one thou under min rifle spec. With both older Starline and brand new Starline brass both running about 0.124" pocket depth, Starline brass is closer to being right with PISTOL primers than with RIFLE primers (as that would lead to primers being proud of the case head, and sticking in recoil shields in revolvers and out-of-battery firing in lever rifles). Now, if anyone can figure out why Starline is singling out Uberti revolvers (even when some have the old style firing pins), it would be helpful. good luck, GJ

Yep, I've heard Hodgdon reps are directly telling customers "no Clays family of powders until at least 2024" since General Dynamics plant in Canada is "busy". good luck, GJ

And 12 gauge shotgun data for Titegroup powder (of all things, especially after Hodgdon downplayed it for shotgun loading for years) has recently become popular for light (7/8 and 1 ounce) clay target loads. See Hodgdon's web site. Has been made in sufficient quantities that over the last year it showed up in gun shops often. good luck, GJ

Some of their parts are newly made, working from original parts as the master. They are usually better than antique parts made 100 years ago. good luck, GJ

Kinda similar profile to the Baikal/Rem Spartans from 10 years ago. Those sling loops are real familiar. And awkward for a cowboy shooter. good luck, GJ

Some quick measurements done carefully, but only with an good dial caliper (not a depth mike, which I don't have). Five cases, very lightly cleaned pockets, average depth: Starline unfired, from about 2008 0.124" Starline fired with BP loads 2006? 0.123" Winchester fired with BP loads 0.120" (some fairly old - maybe back to 1995) Those all seem to be made to PISTOL depth (0.117 to 0.123", per SAAMI) Rather than made to RIFLE depth (SAAMI spec, 0.125 to 0.132") Anybody compare to these? Especially new made Starline? good luck, GJ