any bad 73's ?

[porcupine kid]

I am thinking of getting a 73rifle. some must be better than others. any brand's I should stay away from? thank's in advance.porcupine kid

[Prairie Dawg, SASS #50329]

Only Uberti & Chaparral.

Chaparrals seem to be a brand to stay away from.

I would buy a recent Uberti.

Really old ones have parts that are not available any more.

That's been my experience

--Dawg

[Assassin]

Uberti or original Winchester. Stay away from others.

 

 

 

LL'

Edited January 19, 2011 by Louisiana Lightnin'

[Gold Canyon Kid #43974]

Remember most of the Uberti's won't have Uberti name on them. Many times the importer name is the only one that appears, such as Cimmarron, EMF, Taylor, etc. - all the same gun. Just do NOT buy a Chaparral if you want a gun that functions.

[Hacker, SASS #55963]

A couple more names to be seen on Uberti rifles include stoeger and navy arms,.

 

Parts can be found from VTI Gunparts

[Tom Bullweed]

I shoot an original and a Uberti.

An original gun made after 1900 is great. Loading the WCF rounds can be slow and testy, but the rifle is a hoot to shoot.

A Uberti backed by one of the larger distributors is very good (Taylors, Cimmaron, EMF). I recently picked up a 18" half-oct barrel in .38 from Taylors. They provided good serice when I had questions about the sights. This seems to be a solid-made gun that shoots 1" groups at 40 yards.

I have not seen a Chapparal used by the better shooters in my circles. Their prices are attractive, but then you usually get what you pay for.

You might contact an advertised cowboy gunsmith and ask them the same question.

[Captain Woodrow Cahill, SASS # 54363]

Considering that CDNN is trying to dump them for $499, that should be a red flag about the Chapparral.

 

Sometimes a bargain isn't, and in this case you'll definitely get what you paid for.

 

Like my Dad used to say, "There's no such thing as 'free' puppy".

 

Spend the extra $800 and get a Uberti.

[Wolfgang, SASS #53480]

Originals are good. . . . and they were made by WINCHESTER in the U.S.A. . . . not by Italians.

[Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283]

Originals are good. . . . and they were made by WINCHESTER in the U.S.A. . . . not by Italians.

 

You know, I'll bet there were a lot of immigrants on the Winchester payroll, including Italians.

[Wolfgang, SASS #53480]

You know, I'll bet there were a lot of immigrants on the Winchester payroll, including Italians.

 

Driftwood, . . . I shud a sed not made in Italy . . . rather than by Italians . . .

[porcupine kid]

many thank's, I will be hitting two gun show's in the next two week's,so now I have some good advice to go on. tom bullweed's uberti sounds like it shoots better than any of my three 92's. I will be looking for a longer barreled rifle in .44. once I took the cheap route on a sharps made by IAB. it's been a lot of trouble so I dont want to do that again ! thanks to all, PORCUPINE KID

[Iron Pony]

Kid for what we do the Uberti is probably going to be your best bet, and as much as many of us would like to shoot originals in all our guns for our game repro is the way to go. Consider the advances in metalurgy and the amount we shoot then think if you want to put a 100+ year old rifle/handgun/shotgun through that. 24" is about std for a "long" bbl though I think they made a 30" too but consider the 20" as well for easy moving around with it.

[porcupine kid]

iron pony,I completely agree with you for all the same reasons plus cost. all my "old"guns are new again. P.K.