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Please help newbie: Uberti 1873 Special Sporting vs Winchester 1873 Sporter


cjsoccer3

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Hi everyone,

 

Sorry for a newbie question, and I've done some research already by reading past posts. I think my heart is "set" on a Winchester 1873 Sporter with a pistol grip in .357 - namely given the reported "better" quality and also the bluing, which should hold up better with time. If I were not going to get it, I would get an Uberti 1873 Special Sporting instead, which is effectively the same gun except case hardened.

 

https://www.winchesterguns.com/products/rifles/model-1873/model-1873-current-products/model-73-sporter-octagon-pistol-grip.html 

 

https://www.uberti-usa.com/1873-rifle-and-carbine

 

What is spurring my post is that sadly there is not one single (emphasis applied) new or even used blued Winchester 1873 .357 in the US it seems. Frankly, unless someone here has the hookup (would be immensely appreciated) I think I might be waiting a year until I can locate a gun. I even tried looking at custom shops seeing if someone even had a souped up one in their inventory. With that said, I wanted to just take this time to confirm, which of these two guns (or perhaps, another) would be a great "one a done" soft-shooting smooth-action gallery type lever action. I think the answer is in the Winchester, but I will say if it take a year and cross-country online search to find one - wow - I would never want to have to try to even find parts for such a gun. 

 

I could buy an Uberti today in comparison. Frankly, I wonder what the heck Winchester is doing - they can't even fill their own catalog with the items of this country, of which, they and their product originated. Oh well, no use to fuss.

 

Kind Regards and Thank You,

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1 hour ago, Iron Biscuit SASS#108048 said:

I got a Taylor  1873 directly from Cody's cowboy  shop already worked over and it is amazing.  The Winchester is pretty, but Cody's 1873 Uberti is amazing.  

 

To complicate things, would you prefer to send an Uberti to Cody or a Winchester? It sounds that he does both - not sure which would be best in the end.

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Winchesters are smoother right out the box than a Uberti is right out the box but aren't in the same league as a tuned Uberti from anywhere. Winchesters may have prettier wood and bluing but your rifle is a work tool to do a job, that's what it's used for not to win a beauty competition. On the range no one will really notice how spit and polished your rifle is but everyone will notice how well it shoots.

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I am not as experienced as a lot of folks here but I have used a Winchester 73 and a cody matic.  I am real happy with both but Cody's rifle was super smooth and helped a newbie like me operate  the rifle fairly well.  I am sure there are a lot of folks on here that also  do excellent work as well.  I don't think you could go wrong either way but having the rifle worked on from a good Smith makes you smile as you use it.  People who don't shoot cowboy  are blown away  on how  smooth a rifle can be.  

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Codymatic applies to rifles he does be it miroku or uberti. And as far as the comment that a miroku not as good as a tuned uberti. not quite true. I have three tuned miroku's and one happens to be an 1873 sporter pistol grip with shotgun buttstock a shotshow special. They are incredibly smooth and fast. My uberti's are tunes as well and only advantage the uberti has is getting aftermarket parts. Send your miroku off to cody or whichever gunsmith you choose and if they are good it will come back running like the wind. Cody is also excellent working on the Miroku's.

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Keep watching GunBroker, it is how I found my rifle. One finally showed up after a few months.

 

The Uberti is the logical choice as a base for SASS. If direct from the factory, it will need some slicking. If tuned by Taylor, and you are as good a shooter as I am, then that will probably be fine for a while.

 

IMO, the Miroku from the factory is about as fast as the Taylor-tuned Uberti. Other than a bit of polishing, the big problem for my skill level is the lever safety spring, there are lighter replacements available. I am a bit faster than this spring will let me run the gun.

 

If your skill level exceeds mine, then you will be able to outrun this level of tuning and need the support of a good gunsmith. There are more smiths with Uberti experience than Miroku experience.

 

While my skill level can not take advantage of a fully slicked rifle, it is still a pleasure to feel the action on a fully-prepped gun. I describe it as hearing angels sing. While I would not gain any speed from the extra work required to produce angel song, I would still take pleasure in shooting a tactile jewel.

 

More details on the two... The factory stroke on the Uberti is longer than on the Miroku, short stroke kits are available for the Uberti. There was a kit for the Miroku, no longer in production. You can consider the Miroku to be "half-stroked" from the factory.

 

Internal parts are different from these two manufacturers, generally not interchangeable.

 

The wood and finish on these are different. The Uberti has a more durable finish but is not easily repairable; the Miroku has an oil finish, repair minor scratches by just adding more oil.

 

I bought a Miroku, the new Shot Show special with better wood and color case hardened finish. Why? I just wanted it. The Uberti was still the logical choice. Should my skill level ever get to the point where I outrun the gun and my ability to slick it up, I will likely switch brands and choose a good smith; a smith that brings out angel song. But first, I will shoot the snot out of my Miroku.

 

On edit: I'm a newbie here too. No apologies needed for newbie questions. I still have a lot of them myself.

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 There appears to be no new production coming from Winchester, so the only option remaining is to find a used one.  Miroku/Winchesters show up on the classifieds from time to time and there are a very few new ones available, but not in .357 or 45.  Having said that, the better way to go, IMO, is to get a Uberti.  Out of the box they might need some work, depending on your preference, but it's much easier to get parts, plenty of good "mechanics" around and usually easy to sell, if you decide to do so.  There are no short stroke kits available for the Mirokus and the only, to my knowledge, smith who did short strokes stopped doing them as parts were not always standard and were difficult to come by. 

 

Good luck

 

Tex

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