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73, uberti or Winchester import


grey ghost

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I'm getting back into sass after 20 years. 

I had a stroke that made me stop, I sold all my stuff but I've always had a passion for old west guns. My son started shooting sass last year and convinced his step mom and now me to start back. 

I am very limited. I'll never compete fast so I don't need a short stroked race gun. I've tried them and I run almost identical times as a smoothed uberti or out of box Japanese Winchester. 

I can get a smoking deal, 1250 out the door on a Winchester 534217140 

that is brand new through my work. 

about the  same money will get me a uberiti 38-40 rifle. I love the caliber but it seems hard to pass up the Winchester 

 

help me choose

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When I craved a "73 Winchester" . . . I carefully researched all the options . . . . and bought the "real thing" . . . . a Winchester '73 that came out of the Winchester factory in 1886.      And I'm really happy that I got the "real thing".   26 in octagon barrel,  caliber .38-40.  Barrel condition a 7.   Enuf wear on the metal to have character.  Wood very nice ( presumably replacement with real Winchester wood.)   Paid a bit more than for a "clone" . . . but am HAPPY that I did whut I did.   :)

 

Just my experience and thoughts . . . . . 

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I have a REAL Winchester 73 in 38WCF made in 1889 and a real Winchester Miroku 73 in 44WCF made in Japan.   I love the old gun and it's fun to shoot but it's not nearly as handy at cowboy action shooting as the new 73. 

 

For what it's worth,   the guys we shoot with that have been replacing 73, have been buying Winchester Miroku over the Uberti.   I'm very impressed with the quality of the Miroku.  Out of the box,  the lever throw is shorter than the old original and very smooth.

 

A few years back,  there was an availability problem and higher price with the Miroku vs Uberti but that has changed.  

 

If weight is a consideration,  the Marlin 1894c is a nice light carbine.  

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Well my first go around in sass that is what I used, I had a 38 wcf round barrel rifle and a 44 wcf carbine as a back up. I was young and to be honest I am to the point I don't want to put the wear and tear on an original. 

Thanks for the input, I think I'll be going with the uberti or the Winchester. 

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Some good words about the Minchesters.  Makes me feel more confident in choosing their Yellowboy .44WCF from Bud's.  Felt great about it when I ordered it but even more so as I read more about em.  Can't wait ta git home and put some rds down range.

 

 

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I have both and the only thing against the Winchester is availablity of parts could be a problem. Uberti's parts are really easy to find!

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Maybe custom parts..  

 

I had to replace some parts on my Winchester Miroku haven been butchered by some slicker-upper before I got it.  Just one phone call to the lady at the Winchester Browning service center in Arnold Missouri and parts went out that day.  Lady even went back to parts storage area and picked and packaged the parts while on the phone. 

 

http://www.winchesterguns.com/support/parts-and-service/service-and-repair-information.html

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In my opinion, both are good guns.  The Miroku made Winchesters are very high quality, but I do not like the non-traditional safety they added to the bolt/firing pin.  I know it sounds funny to be nitpicking a repo but I prefer the Uberti for the simple reason that they have at least tried to keep things traditional.  If the non-traditional safety does not bother you I would get whichever one you can find in the caliber and configuration you want.

45995061-09E9-465E-82F8-6BCA6AC096D9.jpeg

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57 minutes ago, grey ghost said:

What us the non traditional safety. I fired a miroku but must not have noticed it

 

6A945B1E-1F86-47BC-BC15-08DB6EF4F76D.jpeg

 

Not heard about any issues with this particular safety just don’t like the principal of it.  The 1873 already has a period correct safety that prevents the trigger being pulled until the lever is fully closed.  If you shot and liked the feel of the Miroku don’t let me talk you out of one.  

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From what I've gathered by talking with others is that it's possible to have an out of battery discharge from the inertia of the unrestrained firing pin and extension.  

 

 

 

About 20 minutes into this video he talks about inertia and out of battery discharge and how the designs differ from original,  Miroku and Uberti. 

 

 

Here is a demonstration of an out of battery discharge caused by  firing pin inertia. 

 

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I have both and like them both. The uberti was slicked up by long hunter, no short stroke though. I could literally lever it with my pinky. Prior to that it was really rough and a pain to work consistently. I then got the Winchester. I have not bothered slicking it up. Though it is not as slick as the uberti post work, it is still really nice right out of the box. That's just the action. The wood and case coloring are the real selling point. Hands down a thousand times better looking than the best looking uberti I have ever seen. And since I have an affinity for shiny things, I kept the Winchester and traded in the Uberti. You put the two next to each other and you really want to grab the Winchester. It's in a class of it's own.

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I don’t do CAS, but do a lot of different types of shooting and have quite a bit of firearms experience.  My 2 cents, the Winchester Miroku rifles are extremely nice.  Excellent fit and finish all around, feel and work great. I bought an 1886 first which is beautiful and classic...that led me to a 94 sporter in 38-55.  That led me to an 1892 in 45, then a couple 73s in 45, now another 73 in 45 and a 73 in 38.  I would have a 44-40 or two but they haven’t put them on sale yet.  Bought all these close together because they are that nice I figure I can’t go wrong with them for shooting and collecting.

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Check out CDNN Sports.  They have a bunch of Winchester '66s and '73s.  The prices don't look too out of line.

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I have both, and both are good.  The Winchester 1873, out of the box, has a much better build quality than the Uberti. Replacement solid firing pins are available, or a good gunsmith can make one in a half hour. 

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