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Need info on a Chaparral 1873 Rifle


Flaco Joe

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Pards,

 

I have an 1873 rifle imported from Italy by Chaparral Firearms in Melbourne, Florida.  It is in .38/.357.  It works pretty smoothly.  The wood does not appear to be walnut, but I can’t be sure.

 

Can anyone tell me more about it?  Who made it?  Are the replacement parts compatible with other makes such as Winchester or Uberti?  Do they have a good reputation?  

 

I appreciate any information you can provide.

 

Flaco

 

57A5E9AB-F415-48EE-BECC-A065C08D42D9.jpeg

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In no particular order... I don't recall the name of the firm that made them, no their parts don't interchange with either Uberti or Winchester (Miroku), tho' I seem to recall that some internals from original Winchesters can be made to work, or was that the other way 'round?.  They enjoy a "slightly" better reputation than the 1876 replica by the same firm.  Given one, I would accept it, but spending money on one... nope.

 

I believe the wood is some sort of light colored hardwood with the "finish" grain painted on.  

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10 minutes ago, Phantom, SASS #54973 said:

Tomato Stake.

 

Phantom we can always trust you to get straight to the nub of the matter.

 

God I pray if I ever get terminally sick you are the one to explain it to me.

 

MC- So whats the prognosis Phantom?

 

P- Your F^$%&d

 

 

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Not the best but they can be made to run reliably.  It's a rifle you will have to work on yourself.  Most Smith's won't touch them because of the internal parts not being made well and is very time consuming to make right.

 

The wood on the early ones was soft and not much good with a dyed finish.  The later ones had better wood.  I

 

I have two, one is great (38WCF), one is fair (45 Colt).  I've used original Winchester internal parts, springs, lifers, lifter arm, link pins, firing pin, and a Uberti extractor on occasion when I was tuning them.  No short strokes are available.

 

I stripped the finish on both the wood and metal on the 45 Colt to make it look antiqued.  I stained the stock with antique oak stain and added a Indian tack pattern to the stock.

 

Lighten the springs and polish the rough edges.  It has a one piece firing pin so you will need to run that one pretty heavy.  

 

If it was free and if you are patient with getting it smoothed up, it could be a fun project.

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nice looking colors on the receiver.  I knew a guy who had one and if he tightened the sideplate screw too much, they or the frame flexed inward and tied up the gun.  Don't know how common that was,. Just FYI.

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I have one in .45LC, bought it for my wife thinking yep it will be okay, now fitted with a pioneer kit it works well but it's money I will never recover..runs ok  but now sits in the safe as a competition Uberti  357- .38 has taken it's place ..which is what I should have done in the first place !!!!! Took a lot to make it reliable.

 & that in the end was done by a mate  who has a bit more  nouse !

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One of the things I have discovered in buying gear and firearms is to check with the Cowboys at my Club and on the wire first. I have made two bad purchases because I thought the price was right. Unfortunately, the price is right on a television show but not in real life. Good luck on your project and just keep it safe.

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Awraightie Dightie there.

 

There once was an Italian maker named Armi San Marco.  ASM started out making nice guns.  Until they didn't.  ASM took good steel and turned it into junque.  Your rifle, a Chaparral was made in the same factory by the same people that "were" ASM.  The guns turned out by "Chaparral" started out lousy and got worse.  Their initial quality control was non-existent and they found a way to get worse.  The "replacement" parts were worse than original and mostly wouldn't fit.  Currently, there are no replacement parts anywhere.  If you break it, you will need the services of a very good Gunsmith who is also a very good machinist and likes to make parts from scratch.  The internals of the rifle are a mix of parts copied from original Winchester and original Uberti.  NOT well copied.  Those of us whom were in the business of working on guns at the time quickly learned it could easily cost MORE to fix a Chaparral than the original price.  Most rifles were assembled without the bot having the lower cartridge support tab or it was broken off before it was sold.  Replacements were the same way.

 

The wood used was a "Mistry" wood I never bothered to identify.  Many rifles were "wrapped" in a manner similar to wrapping a car.  Normally the wood didn't fit well.

 

Phantom described them as a "Tomato Stake."  I like tomatoes.  Therefore I would nominally describe it as a Tent Peg.  Large, but a tent peg. 

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 I have a ss Taurus Thunder Bolt, which was designated a tomato stake years ago.  In my opinion, the Chaparral is just a prettier tomato stake.  I have seen a couple and they all had operating issues.

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A friend of mine had on for a while and it made him very happy twice. Once when he bought it for such a "Good" deal. The second time when he finally gave up on "fixing" it and got rid of it.

 

Randy

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On 8/20/2019 at 9:23 PM, Flaco Joe said:

...  It works pretty smoothly....

 

Well, Flaco, now that everybody has had their chance to tear down your rifle, I would say be happy that it works.  As you have read, you could get it short stroked and fixed up but it might not be worth it.  Just be careful with it and hope it holds up.  If you want the action lighter, I would suggest the "turning the screws" method of adjusting the springs, since new springs are not available should you grind one too much.  Good luck with it.

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Thanks everyone for your frank opinions. The rifle isn’t mine. I’ll be selling it for a friend. Maybe not on the SASS Wire though!  :)  

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Gun like that would likely be fine for anyone who just wants to plink out in the back pasture or carry it for a light deer gun.

 

Maybe for BP Silhouette if it shoots straight.  It appears to have a tang peep sight on it already which could make it more desirable for that.

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10 hours ago, Abilene, SASS # 27489 said:

 

Well, Flaco, now that everybody has had their chance to tear down your rifle, I would say be happy that it works.  As you have read, you could get it short stroked and fixed up but it might not be worth it.  Just be careful with it and hope it holds up.  If you want the action lighter, I would suggest the "turning the screws" method of adjusting the springs, since new springs are not available should you grind one too much.  Good luck with it.

We're not tearing it down!

 

We're being truthful... Honest... Would you rather we sugar coat it????

 

Sometimes....:wacko:

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10 hours ago, Abilene, SASS # 27489 said:

 

Well, Flaco, now that everybody has had their chance to tear down your rifle, I would say be happy that it works.  As you have read, you could get it short stroked and fixed up but it might not be worth it.  Just be careful with it and hope it holds up.  If you want the action lighter, I would suggest the "turning the screws" method of adjusting the springs, since new springs are not available should you grind one too much.  Good luck with it.

So in your opinion we should all avoid letting the guy know about the short comings of the rifle so as not to hurt his feelings? I’m thinking he’d like to know about them now and not later. What’s the Wire for if it’s not to share information like this?

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17 minutes ago, Yul Lose said:

So in your opinion we should all avoid letting the guy know about the short comings of the rifle so as not to hurt his feelings? I’m thinking he’d like to know about them now and not later. What’s the Wire for if it’s not to share information like this?

Didn't say that.  Usually we would "tear down" a gun before someone buys it.  Since he already owned it (I thought) and has now heard the ugly of it, I was encouraging him to make the best of it.

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3 minutes ago, Abilene, SASS # 27489 said:

Didn't say that.  Usually we would "tear down" a gun before someone buys it.  Since he already owned it (I thought) and has now heard the ugly of it, I was encouraging him to make the best of it.

Well now he knows.

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On ‎8‎/‎20‎/‎2019 at 7:50 PM, Phantom, SASS #54973 said:

Tomato Stake.

 

 

This pretty much nails it.

 

If yours works. Count yourself lucky. And shoot it while it holds up.

When/if it goes down. It still looks fairly good. You can make a display or decoration out of it.

He asked for opinions and info.

He did not ask for it to be sugar coated.

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10 hours ago, Flaco Joe said:

Thanks everyone for your frank opinions. The rifle isn’t mine. I’ll be selling it for a friend. Maybe not on the SASS Wire though!  :)  

Oh great, now we've ripped on a rifle that belongs to someone who's not even on the wire and can't defend themselves.

Nice! Here we go again. :blink:

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It’s all good.  I needed to know the truth of things before offering it for sale.  I’ve been on the Wire long enough to know what sort of responses to expect.

 

Rifle seems to work fine.  Bullets go down range when the tigger is pulled.  It’ll make a good back up gun for someone wanting one cheap. One that will allow someone to finish a match without the cost of a full-on race gun.  

 

Maybe one of you fellers is interested?  I’ll make you a deal!  :) 

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55 minutes ago, Flaco Joe said:

It’s all good.  I needed to know the truth of things before offering it for sale.  I’ve been on the Wire long enough to know what sort of responses to expect.

 

Rifle seems to work fine.  Bullets go down range when the tigger is pulled.  It’ll make a good back up gun for someone wanting one cheap. One that will allow someone to finish a match without the cost of a full-on race gun.  

 

Maybe one of you fellers is interested?  I’ll make you a deal!  :) 

Sent you a PM about it.  We are starting to make parts for 73 and could always use another project gun if the price it's right

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