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uberti lightning rifle


El CupAJoe

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I saw an Uberti 45 colt lightning rifle clone for a decent price at a local shop and was wondering what ya'lls thoughts were on it's suitability for CAS.  Leave your thoughts here.

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27 minutes ago, Revolvgang said:

The uberti has no slam fire function. Not so good.

how about a taurus? it's a little more and a little farther away.

 

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9 minutes ago, Abilene, SASS # 27489 said:

The Taurus Thunderbolt has a reputation that makes a Henry Big Boy desirable. 

would the Uberti Lightning be preferable to a Henry?

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The Uberti in .45 colt seems to function better than those in .38 Spl. ...

But it does NOT lend it self to "Light Loading" as it tends to gum-up badly with loads that burn incompletely and Blow back crud into the action ...

All lightnings Function best When chambered in .38 WCF ( the Best ) .44 WCF , .32-20 .....

 

 

Jabez Cowboy 

 

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4 minutes ago, Jabez Cowboy,SASS # 50129 said:

YES !!!

 

Jabez Cowboy

on a scale of taurus thunderbolt in 38 special to gunsmith tuned '73, where does the uberti lightning in 45 colt fall?  Assume the taurus is a one or a two, and Henry might be a 3 and the '73 would be closer to an 9.5 or a 10...

 

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The Henry Big boy would be ( -1 ),,, the Taurus( 3) ,,, the Lightning in .45 ( 5 ) and tuned 73 between 7 & 9.5 ...

A properly Tuned 92 will rate between 6.5 & 8.5  and is much cheaper , Marlin 94s rate about the same as 92s when set to right by a good smith ...

But they Cost more ...

I really like My Uberti 66s ...

 

Jabez Cowboy 

 

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On 12/7/2020 at 10:34 AM, El CupAJoe said:

on a scale of taurus thunderbolt in 38 special to gunsmith tuned '73, where does the uberti lightning in 45 colt fall?  Assume the taurus is a one or a two, and Henry might be a 3 and the '73 would be closer to an 9.5 or a 10...

 

 

1. 1873 Uberti

2. 1873 Winchester/Miroku

3. 1866 Uberti

4. 1866 Winchester/Miroku

5. 1894 Marlin

6. 1892 Rossi/Winchester/Chiappa

8. Pedersoli Lightning.

9. 1860 Henry (Uberti or Henry)

10. 1883 Uberti Burgess

11. 1865 Spencer repro

12. Throwing rocks

14. Uberti Lightning

15. Winchester 94 in a pistol caliber

16. Taurus Thunderbolt

17-97. Throwing rocks, pointing and yelling bang, take the misses., etc.

99. Henry Big Boy

100. 1873 Chapparal

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1 hour ago, El CupAJoe said:

I saw an Uberti 45 colt lightning rifle clone for a decent price at a local shop and was wondering what ya'lls thoughts were on it's suitability for CAS.  Leave your thoughts here.

You might PM Larsen Pettifogger and converse with him about the Uberti Lightning, he uses one as his main match rifle.

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Welcome, El Cupa.

 

A word of warning, the Lightning Bug is very addictive, and once it gets you, it never lets you go.  Lightning shooters are in the minority, but we tend to love the durn things.

My own primary Main Match rifle is an AWA in .45 Colt.  It is the only rifle I ever shot clean matches with.   I did so well with this one that I said that if I ever found an AWA in .44-40 I would buy  it.  I eventually did.  Full disclosure, the chamber was a little tight, and I had to have it polished to properly feed cartridges.   Other than that, no problems with this one since I did that.
 

Three things to consider, the gun must be kept clean.  This is especially true if it is .45 Colt, as there will be some blowback that'll eventually gunk up the channel the firing pin sits in and cause some misfires.   I flush it out after every match with Gunscrubber, and the problem has never reoccurred.  The problem does not seem to happen with .44-40, which is why I wanted one in that caliber, but I still keep it clean.

 

Second is that quality varies from one maker to another.   The general consensus here is that Pedersoli makes the best one on the market today.   Taurus made the worst one ever, and it is about as useful as a tomato stake.  If someone wants MORE for a Taurus than what you saw an Uberti for, run away, and run away fast.  The opinions on the other makes, such as AWA, Uberti, Beretta, USFA and Colt varies.  All have their fans and critics.  I love my AWA's and will recommend them, but they are a used only gun as AWA is gone.   I also have 3 real Colts, .32-20, .44-40 and .22 Long.  They all work just fine for me.   I have no experience with the other makes.

Third thing is to run 'em hard.   Don't be gentle, as that is a good way to cause misfeeds.

In more general terms, the go to guy for help should you ever need it is a fellow called Lassiter.  He fixed one of mine when a part broke internally, and now it's running as good as it ever did.

 

Some folks have mentioned the slam fire capability, or lack thereof.   The original Colts had it.  So do my AWA's.   I believe I've read that the Pedersoli's don't, and I'm not sure of the others.   To be honest, I never use the feature, so it doesn't matter to me one way one way or the other.

 

Over time, I have gotten faster with my Lightning than I ever was with a lever gun, and I grew up loving Winchesters.  I'm even better with it than I am with my original 73, which is my best lever gun by far.  That being said, the Lightning is not for everyone.  It has the potential to serve you well, but not everyone has a knack for 'em.  I say give it a go.  But be warned, if you find you like the Lightning, you'll soon have several of them, and be saving up your pennies for a .22 and a Large Frame Colt.

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2 hours ago, Tyrel Cody said:

 

1. 1873 Uberti

2. 1873 Winchester Miroku

3. 1866 Uberti

4. 1866 Winchester Miroku

5. 1894 Marlin

6. 1892 Rossi/Winchester/Chiappa

8. Pedersoli Lightning.

9. 1860 Henry (Uberti or Henry)

10. 1883 Uberti Burgess

11. 1865 Spencer repro

12. Throwing rocks

13. Uberti Lightning

14. Taurus Thunderbolt

15-98. Throwing rocks, pointing and yelling bang, take the misses., etc.

99. Henry Big Boy

100. 1873 Chapparal

rocks are pretty cheap in my area :D

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Oh, and for what it's worth, my run down on my fave rifles, in the order of what I am best with, is a follows...

 

AWA Lighting .45, .44-40

Colt Lighting .32-20

Winchester 73  .32-20

Winchester 92 .32-20

Uberti 66 .44-40

Armi San Marco 92 [tuned] .45

Rossi 92 .44 Magnum

Winchester 92  .44 Magnum with big loop lever

Uberti Henry .44-40

GI Spencer 56-50.  Slow as mollassass, but SO much fun to shoot.

Wild Card  Colt Lightning in .44-40 that I have not used in a match yet.

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3 minutes ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

Welcome, El Cupa.

 

A word of warning, the Lightning Bug is very addictive, and once it gets you, it never lets you go.  Lightning shooters are in the minority, but we tend to love the durn things.

My own primary Main Match rifle is an AWA in .45 Colt.  It is the only rifle I ever shot clean matches with.   I did so well with this one that I said that if I ever found an AWA in .44-40 I would buy  it.  I eventually did.  Full disclosure, the chamber was a little tight, and I had to have it polished to properly feed cartridges.   Other than that, no problems with this one since I did that.
 

Three things to consider, the gun must be kept clean.  This is especially true if it is .45 Colt, as there will be some blowback that'll eventually gunk up the channel the firing pin sits in and cause some misfires.   I flush it out after every match with Gunscrubber, and the problem has never reoccurred.  The problem does not seem to happen with .44-40, which is why I wanted one in that caliber, but I still keep it clean.

 

Second is that quality varies from one maker to another.   The general consensus here is that Pedersoli makes the best one on the market today.   Taurus made the worst one ever, and it is about as useful as a tomato stake.  If someone wants MORE for a Taurus than what you saw an Uberti for, run away, and run away fast.  The opinions on the other makes, such as AWA, Uberti, Beretta, USFA and Colt varies.  All have their fans and critics.  I love my AWA's and will recommend them, but they are a used only gun as AWA is gone.   I also have 3 real Colts, .32-20, .44-40 and .22 Long.  They all work just fine for me.   I have no experience with the other makes.

Third thing is to run 'em hard.   Don't be gentle, as that is a good way to cause misfeeds.

In more general terms, the go to guy for help should you ever need it is a fellow called Lassiter.  He fixed one of mine when a part broke internally, and now it's running as good as it ever did.

 

Some folks have mentioned the slam fire capability, or lack thereof.   The original Colts had it.  So do my AWA's.   I believe I've read that the Pedersoli's don't, and I'm not sure of the others.   To be honest, I never use the feature, so it doesn't matter to me one way one way or the other.

 

Over time, I have gotten faster with my Lightning than I ever was with a lever gun, and I grew up loving Winchesters.  I'm even better with it than I am with my original 73, which is my best lever gun by far.  That being said, the Lightning is not for everyone.  It has the potential to serve you well, but not everyone has a knack for 'em.  I say give it a go.  But be warned, if you find you like the Lightning, you'll soon have several of them, and be saving up your pennies for a .22 and a Large Frame Colt.

thanks, the local uberti is running about the same as I would expect to find a rossi 92, so I might jump on it if I can get enough trade in credit for my 77/357.  I'd rather my match rifle be a .357/38 as all my other centerfire guns are, but the 45 let's me go classic cowboy if I want to someday... oh wait, it's not old enough, oh well, I might get it, try it out then if it's not for me, trade it along.

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2 hours ago, Tyrel Cody said:

 

1. 1873 Uberti

2. 1873 Winchester Miroku

3. 1866 Uberti

4. 1866 Winchester Miroku

5. 1894 Marlin

6. 1892 Rossi/Winchester/Chiappa

8. Pedersoli Lightning.

9. 1860 Henry (Uberti or Henry)

10. 1883 Uberti Burgess

11. 1865 Spencer repro

12. Throwing rocks

13. Uberti Lightning

14. Taurus Thunderbolt

15-98. Throwing rocks, pointing and yelling bang, take the misses., etc.

99. Henry Big Boy

100. 1873 Chapparal

Are those LR rocks or SR rocks? Or did you convert them to LP and SP rocks? I just had a load of gravel delivered so I would like to know if I wasted my money.

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56 minutes ago, Cholla said:

Are those LR rocks or SR rocks? Or did you convert them to LP and SP rocks? I just had a load of gravel delivered so I would like to know if I wasted my money.

 

Rocks are universal, you're good to go; though anything over 1" is considered magnum and not allowed at some ranges...

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PLUS ONE for Tyrel Cody.  If you have an excellent opportunity to acquire a Uberti Lightning . . . . DON'T.  Send me the Check for the price instead and at least one of us will be happy.

 

The same holds true for the Tarus.  Expensive tomato Stakes.

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9 minutes ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

 

PLUS ONE for Tyrel Cody.  If you have an excellent opportunity to acquire a Uberti Lightning . . . . DON'T.  Send me the Check for the price instead and at least one of us will be happy.

 

The same holds true for the Tarus.  Expensive tomato Stakes.

 

Forgive me for my lack of understanding.   Are you saying the Uberti Lightning is not very good, or that you like it even if it needs some tinkering?

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  • El CupAJoe changed the title to uberti lightning rifle
1 hour ago, Tyrel Cody said:

 

Rocks are universal, you're good to go; though anything over 1" is considered magnum and not allowed at some ranges...

for frontiersman, I might get challenged on my smoke cloud, and since the BP content is zero, I'm afraid I would loose that challenge... 

 

maybe I can coat the rocks in tar and light them first...

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1 hour ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

DON'T.  Send me the Check for the price instead and at least one of us will be happy

I'll send you my 77/357 and you can send me a check, then we'll both be happy... my happiness may be fleeting as I may be tempted to go buy the Uberti and it may or may not turn out to be a shooter :D

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8 minutes ago, El CupAJoe said:

for frontiersman, I might get challenged on my smoke cloud, and since the BP content is zero, I'm afraid I would loose that challenge... 

 

maybe I can coat the rocks in tar and light them first...

 

Dirt clods will be substituted for rocks in all BP categories.

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6 hours ago, El CupAJoe said:

I saw an Uberti 45 colt lightning rifle clone for a decent price at a local shop and was wondering what ya'lls thoughts were on it's suitability for CAS.  Leave your thoughts here.

 

I forgot I had one years ago till I read your post.

 

My Uberti Lightning was in 45colt, and I couldn't get it to run 10 shot without a major jam.  Ended up selling it at a major loss.

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:)  Hi H. K.  :)

 

Sorry if I confused you.  When I was still gainfully employed, I got "stuck" working on most all the Lightning Replicants.  What a GROAN.  So, NO, I don't like the Uberti.  Uberti doesn't like the Uberti.  Uberti took a "bath" in warranty before they dropped it.  Very difficult to get them running reliably and even harder to keep them running.  Very maintenance intensive.  The only Lightning Replicants I found worthwhile are Pedersoli.  Some folks have gotten luck with their Lightning.  The vast majority did not have a Harmonious experience and most have become Safe Anchors.  Most in fact, spent more time on the bench than they they have actually in use.  NO.  I don't like Uberti Lightnings.

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If you do buy it get with Roger Rapid on his manual on it.Makes all the difference.

                                                                                                                                                             Largo

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3 hours ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

 

:)  Hi H. K.  :)

 

Sorry if I confused you.  When I was still gainfully employed, I got "stuck" working on most all the Lightning Replicants.  What a GROAN.  So, NO, I don't like the Uberti.  Uberti doesn't like the Uberti.  Uberti took a "bath" in warranty before they dropped it.  Very difficult to get them running reliably and even harder to keep them running.  Very maintenance intensive.  The only Lightning Replicants I found worthwhile are Pedersoli.  Some folks have gotten luck with their Lightning.  The vast majority did not have a Harmonious experience and most have become Safe Anchors.  Most in fact, spent more time on the bench than they they have actually in use.  NO.  I don't like Uberti Lightnings.

 

Okay, that makes sense.

 

I may yet have to get a Pedersoli, just to see how it compares to the ones I do have.  

FWIW, when I was trying to get my first Lightning, I just wanted one to have one.   The store I was in had an AWA, Taurus and a Beretta, which I have heard was made by Uberti, but I have also heard it was not.

Anyway the Taurus felt like running two pieces of sandpaper together.   The Beretta was smooth, but clunky.   The AWA just seemed right, so that's what I bought.   Never looked back or regretted it.   

So to El Cupa, I would strongly recommend that you compare different ones to each other to help you make your choice.  Better to spend a little extra up front for something that works than to save money to lose on getting it fixed.

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What's the reason you want to buy one?  Is it that the price is attractive, it's pretty, you just want one?

I'd ask if you have ever used one?  If not - that might be what you want to do before you plunk down your money.

 

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To some people the gold standard is a tuned CAS firarm. To other people the CAS firearm is but a small segment of what is owned or desirable. Personally I own different types of guns some are a little more difficult to shoot than others.

kR

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9 hours ago, 40Chev said:

What's the reason you want to buy one?  Is it that the price is attractive, it's pretty, you just want one?

I'd ask if you have ever used one?  If not - that might be what you want to do before you plunk down your money.

 

honestly, I don't have money for a gun, I have a gun I can trade, and it's trade in value is only so much, I'm not going to be shooting many matches until I'm out from under my school debt, but I do want to get out once or twice a year, have some fun with some awesome people, gain some experience that will help me if I decide I do want to go deep in this sport some day.  I just need something to be somewhat usable for about 5 years/10 matches, then I'll be out of debt, have played around with some more things and be able to buy what I want for a game gun.  for what my gun is worth, I figured I could probably get into a rossi 92, but when I came across the uberti, I was wondering if it might be a step up from a R92.  I used to have a miroku Win 94AE in .357 mag and it was a nice gun, but not something I would want to beat around at a match, I don't mind tinkering and fixing things, I kinda like projects.  I handled an IWI timberwolf once upon a time, and I like the novelty of pump action pistol calibers, If money were no problem, I'd probably like a miroku 66, but then if money were no option, I'd probably like a burgess folding shotgun and burgess slide action rifle and a 12 shot Walch revolver as my 3 main match guns :D

 

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image.png.24b98e4bd61e98a10b5c359efdf276f7.png

 

image.png.af0ecec0d73577c93198d3984724d1ad.png

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and poof, someone else bought the Uberti... oh well, the search continues...

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My first CASS rifle was an AWA Lightning in 45 Colt. It would run flawlessly for me as long as I didn't screw up. It was sensitive to the nose profile of the bullet being used. I had an accidental discharge and broke a couple of parts. AWA was out of business by then so I retired the rifle and later bought a Pedersoli Lightning in 44-40. It has also worked flawlessly for me so far. I would recommend the Pedersoli to anyone who is thinking about a Lightening.

Lucky

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If you're the type of shooter who like to mess around trying to make a gun work OK.

If you're not really concerned about being competitive or dealing with jambs OK.

 

How many top shooters shoot lightnings? 0.0

If you want one because you like the look and you have the cash OK.

 

I had a Pedersoli in 44-40 tuned by one of the leading lightning experts. I shoot BP and couldn't get the thing to run. It was sold after laying in the safe for 6 years.

Ike

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4 hours ago, El CupAJoe said:

 I'd probably like a burgess folding shotgun and burgess slide action rifle and a 12 shot Walch revolver as my 3 main match guns

 

I don't know about the Walch, but I have a feeling from the pic that it's not SASS okay.   Revolvers are only allowed to have 6 cylinders, except for the Nagant, which has 7.    Of course, it might be one of those grey area things like the LeMat that is technically a no no according to the rules, but that some clubs may let you use for the coolness factor.  However, you'd only be able to use it for 5 shots and would need a second revolver.

 

Burgess slide action rifle?  Not familiar with that one.

 

Burgess shotgun?   Mine doesn't fold, but it shoots real nice.  Sadly, not SASS Legal because it's "not a 97" which is the only allowed pump action shotgun.

 

Spencer pump?   Nope.

Winchester 93?  Nope.

Burgess pump?  Nope.

Marlin 98 family?  Nope

Norinco 93/97?  Nope.

 

Admittedly the Marlin 98 is not allowed for legitimate safety concerns.  But all the others, as near as I can tell, they are only not allowed because they are not a Winchester 97.  (If an an original Winchester 87 is safe to shoot with 2-1/2" black powder shells, so is a Winchester 93)

 

Much bandwith has been expended discussing the logic of all of this.  HOWEVER, that is a long dead horse.  No real reason to try to figure it out.   The rule is the 97's the only allowed pump shotgun, and that's the rule.

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13 minutes ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

 

I don't know about the Walch, but I have a feeling from the pic that it's not SASS okay.   Revolvers are only allowed to have 6 cylinders, except for the Nagant, which has 7.    Of course, it might be one of those grey area things like the LeMat that is technically a no no according to the rules, but that some clubs may let you use for the coolness factor.  However, you'd only be able to use it for 5 shots and would need a second revolver.

 

Burgess slide action rifle?  Not familiar with that one.

 

Burgess shotgun?   Mine doesn't fold, but it shoots real nice.  Sadly, not SASS Legal because it's "not a 97" which is the only allowed pump action shotgun.

 

Spencer pump?   Nope.

Winchester 93?  Nope.

Burgess pump?  Nope.

Marlin 98 family?  Nope

Norinco 93/97?  Nope.

 

Admittedly the Marlin 98 is not allowed for legitimate safety concerns.  But all the others, as near as I can tell, they are only not allowed because they are not a Winchester 97.  (If an an original Winchester 87 is safe to shoot with 2-1/2" black powder shells, so is a Winchester 93)

 

Much bandwith has been expended discussing the logic of all of this.  HOWEVER, that is a long dead horse.  No real reason to try to figure it out.   The rule is the 97's the only allowed pump shotgun, and that's the rule.

the Walch has 6 chambers, two charges, two caps per chamber, and two hammers and triggers as well.  I didn't realize that about the burgess, It's a shame about the burgess, I think allowing it in sass might be a great way to get uberti or someone to make a repro of a cool gun.  apparently, the burgess slide action rifles were very similar to the shotguns, I don't know that I've actually seen any, I thought there was a Forgotten Weapons vid on the rifles, but I could only find them on the shotguns...

 

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Thank you all for the information, I feel like I learned a lot, the gun in question is no longer available, so I'll probably let this thread go for now, thanks again!

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