Problems with Uberti 1866

[Max Payne]

I bought a Uberti 1873 a year ago. Had it slicked up by a local well-known cowboy who does lots of this kind of work. It has always operated perfectly without a hiccup (I'm guessing about 6000 rounds so far).

 

Bought a new 1866 a few months ago & had it slicked up by the same guy. Then moved right after I got it back from Memphis to Georgia. At first, it would hiccup about once in 10 rounds. Then, it would run 10 rounds flawlessly. But, I couldn't trust it enough to use in competition. Here's what it is doing currently:

 

Loads & fires the first round as fast as I want to lever it. When the carrier tries to pick up the 2nd round, the 3rd round sticks out just far enough so that the carrier doesn't clear it, & won't come up. I can do it slow, but not fast, as in competition. I took the carrier & the carrier arm from my 73 & installed them in the 66 to see if it would make a difference (thought maybe the arm was bent - it wasn't). No change.

 

I'll give it to a gunsmith soon, but thought maybe somebody might have an idea. Right now, I had to borrow the bolt from it for my 73 for a shoot tomorrow (The small tab broke off of the 73 bolt yesterday, & I sent it to Longhunter to be repaired).

 

The 66 has had maybe 300 rounds thru it. When I first got it, when it would burp, I thought maybe I wasn't levering it completely. But, I have since confirmed that is not the case. Once, I was able to run 10 groups of 10 rounds as fast as I could lever without a hitch. But never again.

 

Oh, almost forgot, I have experimented with different length bullets, which I load myself. When I ran 100 thru without a hitch it was with bullets in lengths of 1.455" to 1.6". But, then the next time after I thought I had found the answer, it wouldn't run. My 73 will run just about any length bullets from 1.43 to 1.6+ with no problems.

 

Also, I've never been able to run snap caps (38 special) thru the 66. I do a lot of dry fire with my 73 & 357 snap caps without a hitch.

 

Any ideas?

[Matthew Duncan]

You got a screw loose!

 

Bottom of rifle just in front of the lever, 2 screws. Are they loose?

[Michigan Slim]

I've watched Matthew break a '66 bout every way ya can.............

[Boulder Canyon Bob# 32052L]

Check your overall length of your rounds. My 66 is more fussy than my 73.

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708]

Look down the carrier shaft at where the cartridges feed onto the carrier from the magazine tube. The front of the carrier has an angled section that pushes the "second" round back into the magazine as it lifts the first round on the carrier up to the chamber. If you have too short a cartridge, the rim of the second round catches on the flat shelf of the carrier rather than on the slope, and you get a jam.

 

Solution - either load longer rounds, or file the slope on the carrier at a slightly more shallow angle to match the length you want to be able to shoot. The more shallow the angle gets, however, the harder it will be to work the lever. And don't file too much off, because you will hit the cavity where the lifter arm fits, and the carrier is ruined at that point.

 

Good luck, GJ

[Goody, SASS #26190]

Check the tab on the loading gate. If it bends back it will make the rounds act like they are too short. The 66 loading gate needs to be strengthened in it's stock form.

[Outrider, SASS #72622]

Check the tab on the loading gate. If it bends back it will make the rounds act like they are too short. The 66 loading gate needs to be strengthened in it's stock form.

+1

[Jackson Rose, SASS #45478]

Replace the loading gate. VTI has a good one.

[Wasatch Shep Sass #45324]

Yep start with the loading gate mine got bent and did not feed as you have said . good luck

 

[Frenchy Cannuck]

Loading gate!

Do the J weld reinforcement fix.

Worked for me and Silverado Jack.

 

Frenchy

[Frontier Lone Rider]

Loading Gate seems to be the culprit.

 

VTI was out of the reinforced gates, so I went with the JB Weld fix.

 

If you are ordering a new Loading Gate, be aware there are two different sized holes. I believe if there is a "W" in the serial number your rifle takes the larger hole.

 

Lone Rider

[Max Payne]

Thanks for all of the replies. I check all of screws every time I clean my rifle, which is every time I shoot. I installed the carrier & carrier arm from my 73, which is just about perfect. No help. I already had installed the VTI reinforced loading gate after it broke at the 2nd stage of Guns of Autumn with 7 rouinds left in the gun. I have experimented with bullets of every length you could imagine. It does like the rounds longer, in the 1.45 to 1.6 range.

 

I'm going to give it to a gunsmith this weekend & see if he can fix it. He says it's a timing issue, & I'm guessing the way to adjust the timing is to bend the carrier arm, but I'll leave that one to the expert.

 

Thanks for all of the replies.

[Pit Bull Tex]

Max you can send it to me.I want shoot it,I will hang it on the wall.I love the brass.

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708]

I'm going to give it to a gunsmith this weekend & see if he can fix it. He says it's a timing issue, & I'm guessing the way to adjust the timing is to bend the carrier arm, but I'll leave that one to the expert.

Actually, timing is normally adjusted by proper filing on the two "contact tabs" close to the pivot hole on the lifter arm. If you have swapped lifter arms out from what was put in, you may have made the job slightly harder for your gunsmith. Let the gunsmith have all the "swapped out' parts that you might have taken out recently so he will have them for reference and perhaps to put them back in.

 

Good luck, GJ