Bart Solo Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 Well, Monday is going to be my Christmas in February. That is the day I pick up my Taylors 73 Comanchero from my FFL. The Comanchero is a new product for Taylors, it is essentially a Uberti 1873 that has been tuned and short stroked. It is said to be competition ready. For those that don't realize it yet, 73s have been hard to find as hens teeth. Prices have gone up. Apparently Uberti knows it is the only game in town. Italian craftsmanship is great but where is an American manufacturer? A little competition never hurt anybody. As an added bonus on the same day I am picking up a shipping box from my FFL. I am sending my 92 to Nate Kiowa Jones the next morning. The 92 is in 45 and I need it for Wild Bunch. The Comanchero is in 357. It has an 18 inch barrel. I am lucky I have an understanding wife. I tried to explain my purchase by saying the 73 would save money, she looked at me, smiled and said "don't go there." Last night I was looking at the Taylors site on line. My wife shook her head, laughed and said "most wives put up with their husbands looking at pictures of naked girls on line, mine looks at cowboy guns." Like I said, lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grizzly Dave Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 My wife calls it "Gun Porn" Congrats on the new rifle. Grizz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Coffinmaker Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 Bart, Monday is Christmas for me as well. Picking up my brandy new Pedersoli "Doc Holliday" hammer double. Hope it's as good as it looks!!! Coffinmaker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Widder, SASS #59054 Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 Congrats Bart and CC. Come Monday for me, I'll just get up at 5 a.m. and go to work. Life is rough but somebody has to do it. p.s.- If you think 73's are hard to get, try finding a reasonable deal on a Marlin Cowboy or Cowboy Comp in .38 spl. ..........Widder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrimstoneJerome Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 What are the comencheros running price wise, if you don't mind me asking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cope Daniels Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 What are the comencheros running price wise, if you don't mind me asking. Available in pistol grip or straight stock, 20" or 18", .357Mag, .44-40, or .45LC. Pistol Grip: MSRP $1495.00 Straight Stock: MSRP $1415.00 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Rider Rudy Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 Bart, Good choice nice gun. I have had mine two years, it's been a great gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cemetery Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 For those you already have one of these, what are the tuned insides like? Are they ground down springs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buck D. Law, SASS #62183 Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 I wonder if it is the same as the Cody Conagher 18" rifle...that is a Taylors? I see that the Comanchero comes with a butt cover and lever wrap. Bart, you'll have to give us a rundown on it after you get it. Merry Christmas! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bart Solo Posted February 7, 2011 Author Share Posted February 7, 2011 I picked up my new Taylors 73 Comanchero today. It is very pretty, and pretty impressive. It has an 18 inch octoganal barrel. I opted for the straight stock because that is what I prefer. The wood is better than some of the Uberti's I have seen. It has a leather cover over the end of the stock and a wrapped lever. The sights are obviously upgraded. Its stroke is shorter than the standard rifle and the action is very smooth. For those who have asked, I will say buying this rifle was more like buying a car than a bottle of milk. The is a MSRP, but I was able to haggle some. The pistol grip is more expensive than the straight stock, but I am used to straight stocked guns. I was told it is the same as Cody's 18 inch Taylors Rifle, but they gave it a name to help with marketing. Truthfully, it is possible they have taken Cody's design and had someone else slick it up. I don't know for sure. The rifle is a heavier than my 92 Hartford carbine. The 92 has a lighter round barrel. I think the heavier barrel will help keep me on target. Now I have to find some ammunition for Saturday's shoot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grizzly Dave Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 sounds like a nice rifle, congrats, gotta get me one or something like it one of these days... until then, my Marlin is serving me well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tame Bill #30699 Life Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Bart, Merry Christmas; see you Saturday! I remain your loyal and obedient servant, Tame Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Tooth Zach Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 I just checked out the website and that is one nice looking rifle. I sure wish it was Christmas in Texas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Rider Rudy Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 For those you already have one of these, what are the tuned insides like? Are they ground down springs? Just looked at mine the lever and lifter springs are ground. Hammer spring not sure have not had it that for apart? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Winchester Jack, SASS #70195 Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 I wonder if it is the same as the Cody Conagher 18" rifle...that is a Taylors? I see that the Comanchero comes with a butt cover and lever wrap. Bart, you'll have to give us a rundown on it after you get it. Merry Christmas! I think it is. I bought the equivilant from Cody, 357/38, 18" Octogon Barrel, straight stock. So far I am loving it, slickest action you could ever want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bart Solo Posted February 11, 2011 Author Share Posted February 11, 2011 It is here. It is slick. I can't wait to shoot it. All that said, I made a discovery last night. As normal when I take on a new cartridge I loaded up some dummy rounds, in this case 38 special using a 125 grain rnfp bullet, seated to where I thought it should seat, the crimp grove. I loaded the dummy rounds in the rifle and discovered that they were too short. I fittled with the OAL a while and found that the minimum OAL for the 73 in 357/38 is 1.40. If a bullet is less than 1.4 by a fraction the gun jams. To make the bullets work I had to seat them just below the crimp grove. I gave them a good crimp with my Lee factory crimp die. They are funny looking but at 1.42 they run through the action. I repeated the process several times to make sure. I then loaded 100 rounds with a moderate load of TB and Federal Small Pistol Primers. I think KC Colt is right, I should have purchased Cowboy #2 bullets from Missouri Bullet instead of Cowboy #17. I think I am going to buy a bag of 357 cases. They should load the Cowboy 17 bullets at the crimp grove. The Hodgdon site says my current moderate load will work just fine in a 357 case. I will use the 357 cases to burn up my existing supply of rnfp bullets. I have already ordered 500 38 special cases from Starline, so my cheapest bet is to order Cowboy #2 bullets and load them in the 38 special cases. All of life is a learning experience. If I recover from my cold sufficiently tomorrow I am going to take a brand new rifle with a brand new load in a brand new to me cartridge and shoot in a match having had no opportunity to shoot the rifle from a bench. To top it all off, I sent my trusty 92 out to Nate Kiowa Jones for action work the day after I took delivery on the new rifle so I don't even have a back up. Did I mention that normally I don't like to do anything on the spur of the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grizzly Dave Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 Interesting about the OAL, I have no idea what mine is, but they run thru my Marlin fine where some have had OAL issues with the Marlin as well. I use 130gr RNFP lead from Lone Tree Bullet out of Wyoming, so I don't know the difference between the two slugs you mentioned, guess I'll surf that up just for grins. You'll do fine in the match, all of my cowboy guns got first used at a match, hard to find time and especially a place to practice around here. Enjoy your new rifle! EDIT ah, I see, the difference between a RNFP and a Truncated cone. Is the difference between the crimp groove and end of the slug different, or is it more of a shape thing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buck D. Law, SASS #62183 Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 Bart, I bought some RNFP recently (just like the Cowboy # 17) to see how they worked and I had the same problem with my Cody rifle and actually would expect to find the same problem in any 73 or 66. This bullet ends up about 1/8" shorther than my truncated bullets (just liek the cowboy #2). My solution: Shoot the RNFP in my pistols ('till I use them up) and stick with the truncated round for my rifle. I can't remebember where I read it, but apparently Cody is doing the work. I've been told that his wife works for Taylors, so it sounds reasonable that they are close enough to him for him to do the work and since Taylor's can promote it with their normal sales materials, it's a win-win for them and Cody. Congrats on your purchase. You're about to discover that regardless of how fast you run your rifle, it's like driving a Vette. It's just a pleasure even if you're just crusin' around town. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bart Solo Posted February 11, 2011 Author Share Posted February 11, 2011 I just ordered some of the truncated bullets (cowboy #2.) When will I learn to listen to KC Colt? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo Sam Peed #66990 Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 Bart Here is a load that has worked for me in this rifle for years. Use the 125gr. truncated bullet OAL at 1.45 to 1.46 using 2.7gr of Tightgroup & last but not least use federal small mag primer. You can use your 38spl cases and the action should run like a champ. At least it always has in all the 73's that I've used it in. asked KC about my choice in ammo. Happy Shooting!! Buffalo Sam Peed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grizzly Dave Posted February 12, 2011 Share Posted February 12, 2011 OK, I had to go out to my shop for something else and got curious... I measured a sampling of the 38s I loaded last week, between 1.444 and 1.445. Given Bart's evaluation that he needed 1.42 to make it work reliably, and others seem to think longer, I reckon mine should be fine. I look forward to the day I can afford to buy a Codymatic and find out. Sure would be nice if my current rounds would work in both my Marlin as they now do, and a 73 when I get one. Grizz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KC Colt, SASS #69404 Posted February 12, 2011 Share Posted February 12, 2011 It is here. It is slick. I can't wait to shoot it. All that said, I made a discovery last night. As normal when I take on a new cartridge I loaded up some dummy rounds, in this case 38 special using a 125 grain rnfp bullet, seated to where I thought it should seat, the crimp grove. I loaded the dummy rounds in the rifle and discovered that they were too short. I fittled with the OAL a while and found that the minimum OAL for the 73 in 357/38 is 1.40. If a bullet is less than 1.4 by a fraction the gun jams. To make the bullets work I had to seat them just below the crimp grove. I gave them a good crimp with my Lee factory crimp die. They are funny looking but at 1.42 they run through the action. I repeated the process several times to make sure. I then loaded 100 rounds with a moderate load of TB and Federal Small Pistol Primers. I think KC Colt is right, I should have purchased Cowboy #2 bullets from Missouri Bullet instead of Cowboy #17. I think I am going to buy a bag of 357 cases. They should load the Cowboy 17 bullets at the crimp grove. The Hodgdon site says my current moderate load will work just fine in a 357 case. I will use the 357 cases to burn up my existing supply of rnfp bullets. I have already ordered 500 38 special cases from Starline, so my cheapest bet is to order Cowboy #2 bullets and load them in the 38 special cases. All of life is a learning experience. If I recover from my cold sufficiently tomorrow I am going to take a brand new rifle with a brand new load in a brand new to me cartridge and shoot in a match having had no opportunity to shoot the rifle from a bench. To top it all off, I sent my trusty 92 out to Nate Kiowa Jones for action work the day after I took delivery on the new rifle so I don't even have a back up. Did I mention that normally I don't like to do anything on the spur of the moment. I'll bring ya a couple hundred Cowboy #2 boolits to try out. See ya tomorrow. KC edit: Just read your last post. Too late since you already ordered them. You need to start listening to me son. 6 years in this game and I have made every mistake possible. Learn from my screw ups...please. Btw - I can't wait to fondle your new toy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bart Solo Posted February 13, 2011 Author Share Posted February 13, 2011 The Powder Creek Cowboys held a match yesterday. It was a red letter day for me. I shot my new rifle for the first time. I would like to report that I am now a potential winner at End of Trail, but alas that would be lying. My performance was the worst in over a year. I would love to blame the rifle, but it was perfect. All I can say is it shoots much faster than its operator. Misses, minor saftey violations, and generally slow stage time summarize my shooting yesterday. The worst part of the day came as we were leaving. I got my crossover stuck in the melting snow. Thanks to all who helped dig me out. As to a range report on the new Comanchero 73 once the match began our range master, Chancy Dewey, let me shoot a few rounds to make sure the rifle functioned safely. It did. I had no chance to sight the rifle in on paper before the match. At the beginning of the match, I consistently shot low. Raising the back sight a notch solved that problem. The sight is very nice, target acquisition is very fast. The Comnachero has an 18 inch octogon barrel. It's short length is very handy for CAS. The front of the rifle is noticably heavier than my 45 caliber 20 inch round barreled 92 carbine. My only "complaint" about the rifle is apparently I can't count as fast as I can operate the lever. Twice that failure cost me misses, penalties and time. Obviously, I am going to have to catch up with the rifle. That is going to take practice. In addition to being smoother and faster than its operator, the rifle has nice wood and is well fitted. All in all I have no complaints. Even though yesterday was a train wreck from beginning to end it was still the best day of my winter. I got outside and spent quality time with my pards. I got to shoot and have fun. Any day I can get to the range and shoot its a good day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gold Canyon Kid #43974 Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 I use a 105 g truncated cone bullet that loads to about 1.45 OAL. They work perfect in 3 different 73s and my wife's two Marlins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Rider Rudy Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 Bart Myself the biggest problem i have had with mine is kicking live rounds when trying to go fast!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! One of my Pards told me it took him almost a year to get use to the short stroke and smooth action? Been shooting mine Two years now and it's still faster than i am! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buck D. Law, SASS #62183 Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 Bart, your comments makes me think of what I tell people when they tell me a certain rifle will run faster than what I have (which is essentially what you now have). I tell them that, without a doubt, I can already lever faster than I can aim. Lock your thumb on the side of that puppy and practice levering. Then all you have to do when you get to the range is focus on your front sight and when the sight is on the target, pull the trigger. Isn't it amazing how simple it sounds when you write it down? Isn't it even more amazing how simple.... turns to complex at the sound of the buzzer? I've probably already said this, but I'm excited for ya! Let me hear ya say YEEEEE HAAAAA!...or as Noz would say, WHEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Kill 'em all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fargo Bill, SASS #4942 Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 Bart Here is a load that has worked for me in this rifle for years. Use the 125gr. truncated bullet OAL at 1.45 to 1.46 using 2.7gr of Tightgroup & last but not least use federal small mag primer. You can use your 38spl cases and the action should run like a champ. At least it always has in all the 73's that I've used it in. asked KC about my choice in ammo. Happy Shooting!! Buffalo Sam Peed Try the 130 gr. from Meister and it will improve quite a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WymoreWrangler SASS 46187L Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 Anybody looking for one, here's a link to one for $1275 dollars... http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=216064799 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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