Poor man's action job on a Uberti 1873

[Tom Bullweed]

I bought a new rifle and want to shoot it for a couple of matches before I get a 'job' done on it. It is a 1980s Uberti 73 that meets lawyer standards (stiff as can be).

I cleaned up some machine marks on the carrier, 'fixed' the trigger safety, and added some brass flat washers (.030" thick, two under the main spring and one each under the two lever springs). This seemed to lighten the action by 50-60%. I verified the gun feeds with several cycles of four dummy rounds. No problems yet.

My long-term plan is an action job, but I am curious if anyone has experience with such 'modifications'.

[Phantom, SASS #54973]

Be aware that some of the older 73's don't use the same internals as the newer ones...

 

Not aware of the modifications that you are using...but I'm filthy rich so I'm not looking to save money...

 

Don't have any idea what you mean by 'fixed' the trigger safety.

 

Phantom

[Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283]

Howdy

 

Just exactly how did you 'fix' the trigger safety. The factory spring is stronger than needs be, but if you disabled the safety, that is a mistake. Plenty of instances of out of battery discharges with these rifles if the trigger finger brushes the trigger while closing the lever.

 

If you disabled it, I strongly suggest you put it back in. You can replace the factory spring with one of these. I have one in my '73.

 

http://www.thesmithshop.com/leversafety.html

 

 

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708]

My idea of a minimal cheap "let's get this gun shooting" job on a 73 made by Uberti would be:

 

1) remove burrs from any part of action having moving parts

2) remove deep machining marks from all surfaces that are wear surfaces that are in contact with any other moving part in the action (but not change the mating of the parts)

3) check and file bevel that is needed on the loading gate mortise to prevent first-round jams

4) reinforce the loading gate (yep, even on a 73) and perhaps lighten the spring load on the gate (thin the "strap" section)

5) replace lever and lifter springs (no, not lighten the Dodge PowerWagon leaf springs) with better springs

6) replace the trigger safety spring with a coil (mousetrap) spring

7) clean with hot soapy water, reclean with bore solvent, dry, and dry-wax-lube the mag tube, spring and follower, and put anti-sieze lube on the mag cap threads

8) take the sharp edge off the bottom of the trigger BEFORE you punch it through your trigger finger

9) flatten the rear sight to get rid of the horns

10) loosen, and replace all screws in the gun that get buggered while loosening, with hardened screws. Especially the often-removed lever screw, sideplate screw and the lifter-spring and lever-spring screws

11) check timing to make sure the cartridge tab on bottom of bolt will not be knocked off

12) clean and lube the firing pin channel, spring and pin

 

That would take maybe $70 of parts and a few well spent hours. And, it would not be an action job, but it would keep me happy until I could do one.

 

Just "IMHO". GJ

[Mean Matt McCord, SASS #24683]

"Dodge PowerWagon leaf springs?"

 

I gotta remember that one!

[Dutch Al #22045]

An "out of the box" Uberti, is rough and heavy, for sure. And that makes me wonder, have any of you folks ever shot or handled an original Winchester 73 (not the new made in Japan model, the original from New Haven, CT ? I wonder how they felt. I've shot a couple of Winchester 92s and several Winchester 94s. The 92s and 94s weren't that light, especially compared to the tuned Ubertis we shoot in SASS.

[Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283]

And that makes me wonder, have any of you folks ever shot or handled an original Winchester 73 (not the new made in Japan model, the original from New Haven, CT ? I wonder how they felt. I've shot a couple of Winchester 92s and several Winchester 94s. The 92s and 94s weren't that light, especially compared to the tuned Ubertis we shoot in SASS.

Howdy

 

First off, the originals were not meant to be competition guns, they were practical firearms. They could be relied on to deliver repeat shots, which was a relatively new idea at the time, but they were not what we would call today 'race guns'. I have a couple of original Winchester Model 1892s, as well as an original Marlin Model 1894. All these guns are well over 100 years old. They are reliable, but they are not race guns. Nor were they meant to be.

 

A few months ago I bought an original Winchester Model 1873, manufactured in 1887. And yes, the action was very stiff. I would even go so far as to say it was clunky. I have handled other original '73s, and worked the actions, but I do not recall that they were quite so heavy as this one. With mine, it was mostly a question of the hammer spring being very stiff. So stiff that I called up Happy Trails and he sent me an original '73 hammer spring that he had lightened up quite a bit. An Uberti hammer spring will not fit in an original Winchester.

 

I have an Uberti '73 and a Henry, both of which Hap did action jobs on. He did not do one of his 'wicked smooth' action jobs on these guns, just smoothed them up real nice lightening the springs and removing all the extra friction that should not be there. These guns are not as light to operate as some of the guns that are being done today, with super short strokes that can be operated by simply flicking one's fingers. But they are nice and light and a pleasure smooth to shoot. My old '73 was not.

 

I installed the reworked hammer spring in my old '73 and that made it much more user friendly. Still nothing like my slicked up Ubertis, but reasonable. Hap also included a reworked lever spring and carrier spring, but I have not installed them. I also did not do any more smoothing or slicking up to the old girl. I can tell you that on the inside, the workmanship of the parts, the fit and finish, is head and shoulders above anything coming out of Italy today. But I do not intend to shoot the old girl a whole lot, just everyonce in a while at a match, so I will probably not be doing anymore lightening of the action.

 

I can also tell you that one of my 2nd Gen Colts came with a hammer spring that could probably be used as a suspension spring in a car. It was really stiff to draw back the hammer on that gun when I first got it. Hap worked his magic on it and it is now a pleasure to shoot, but it was not like that out of the box.

[J-BAR #18287]

The smartest thing I ever did was proposing to my wife 43 years ago. The second smartest thing was to send my brand new '73 to Lassiter and tell him to set it up like it was his own rifle.

 

I have never regretted having him do it rather than attempting it myself. I tinker on my percussion revolvers, but a man's gotta know his limitations.

[Grizzly Adams 3674]

I have a number of original Winchester 1873s, and the springs are more like those Dodge Powerwagon springs GJ was talking about - just on steroids! As Driftwood noted, they were not intended to be race guns - just reliable. The fact that so many have survived in serviceable condition is testament to the reliability of the design. I have examined examples that were worn to the point of pain, and would still function as a firearm.

 

For those that have an original 1873, and want to shoot it much, do yourself and the rifle a favor, and install lightened springs in the gun. You will greatly reduce the wear and tear on the piece by doing so.

[Jimmy Reb, SASS #54804]

don't want to hi-jack- but wanted to say that I really enjoy when Driftwood chimes in with his history Info. Always make it a point to read his posts.

[Tom Bullweed]

GJ, thanks for the detailed suggestions. I will take a look at doing some of these soon.

 

Dutch Al, I have two original 1873s (.32WCF made in 1890 and a .38WCF made in 1891). I shoot the .32WCF once in a while. I just shoot slower and remind myself that this is a iron-frame gun with 125 year old springs, pins and screws. I have shot the gun at about 1-2 matches per year for five years with no sign of distress or wear. I actually paid $200 less than my Uberti short rifle.

[Rooster Ron Wayne]

I bought a new rifle and want to shoot it for a couple of matches before I get a 'job' done on it. It is a 1980s Uberti 73 that meets lawyer standards (stiff as can be).

I cleaned up some machine marks on the carrier, 'fixed' the trigger safety, and added some brass flat washers (.030" thick, two under the main spring and one each under the two lever springs). This seemed to lighten the action by 50-60%. I verified the gun feeds with several cycles of four dummy rounds. No problems yet.

My long-term plan is an action job, but I am curious if anyone has experience with such 'modifications'.

You might want to PM Katchem Quick .

I was told what you are doing will were out parts fast .

[Abilene, SASS # 27489]

It's hard to beat a gun with a shortstroke and action job by a top 'smith. But those aren't cheap and some shooters who aren't speed demons are happy with less. I am one who is satisfied with my toggle-link guns actions by just loosening the spring attachment screws a certain amount to lighten their tension. I put this article online 6 years ago and a number of folks have mentioned to me that they used it and were happy:

 

http://www.davidscottharper.com/shoot/PoorMan.htm

 

Recently I bought a reprint of an 1875 Winchester catalog. Under "Directions" was the following paragraph, titled TO STIFFEN THE SPRING:

 

"There are three springs that may lose their tension by long use, viz., the "main spring," the spring that holds up the finger-lever, called the "finger-lever spring," and the spring that holds up the carrier-lever, called the "carrier-lever spring." Each of these has a set-screw, the heads of which are outside on the underside of the frame; by turning these up the tension can be increased to the necessary strength or stiffness."

 

This would seem to indicate that on originals the spring screws were intended to be adjustable and were not fully tightened when new, as that would make the action overly heavy (as in, Uberti) as well as not allow for further tightening when the springs lose their tension.

 

Unfortunately, the lever safety spring, or trigger bar safety as Winchester called it, is not adjustable that way. On Ubertis it may need to be modified or replaced with a wire spring. And I learned from that catalog that the first model 1873 did not have that safety.