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1873 Uberti Rifle Problem


Quiet Burp

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At my last match my first shot with my 1873 Uberti rifle I couldn't get the lever down. I had to jiggle it a few times (felt like it was locked up) and then it went down and I was able to cycle through the all the bullets in the magazine without a problem.

 

It did this in four scenarios, always just the first bullet, its never done this before.

 

Any ideas on what caused this?

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1 minute ago, Quiet Burp said:

At my last match my first shot with my 1873 Uberti rifle I couldn't get the lever down. I had to jiggle it a few times (felt like it was locked up) and then it went down and I was able to cycle through the all the bullets in the magazine without a problem.

 

It did this in four scenarios, always just the first bullet, its never done this before.

 

Any ideas on what caused this?

What caliber?

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Almost certainly a poorly machined and smoothed loading mortise. 

 

Load up a magazine with ten dummies (or at least one dummy after 9 live rounds - be REAL careful).  If you look down in the carrier from the top and see the rim of the first cartridge sitting slightly cocked off to the side, the loading mortise not being beveled properly is what is locking the action.  You can fix this problem each time when you load up magazine.   Reach up through the loading gate and get a stick or your pinky finger onto the base of the cartridge sitting in the carrier.  Push it forward and usually it will straighten out and lay straight in the carrier.   This problem usually appears only on the first round to come out of magazine, due to more spring tension on the stack of cartridges when the mag is loaded with several rounds.

 

Here's a good walk-through of how to fix this:

http://www.pioneergunworks.com/technical-info/

 

Scroll down to the topic in the PDF files:

Model 66 & 73 frame modification to improve feeding of the first round

 

and click it.  Follow instructions.

 

good luck, GJ

 

 

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The cartridge OAL is 1.490

 

I've shot around 7-8 thousand rounds through the rifle and its never happened before and its just happening on the first one, then its fine for the next nine?

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2 minutes ago, Quiet Burp said:

The cartridge OAL is 1.490

 

I've shot around 7-8 thousand rounds through the rifle and its never happened before and its just happening on the first one, then its fine for the next nine?

So you haven't changed anything? Nothing odd has happened other than it starting to  hickuping on the first round?

 

Hopefully someone smart will chime in.

 

Phantom

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That's pretty short OAL unless the carrier has been "re-sloped" on the cartridge return ramp.   I usually loaded .38 Specials to 1.540" and that was after re-sloping the return ramp.  

 

BUT - a short cartridge length will cause the "two-cartridges-on-the-carrier" jam regardless of if it's the first round or the next to last one.  What you describe is not a short cartridge caused problem.

 

good luck, GJ

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2 minutes ago, Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 said:

That's pretty short OAL unless the carrier has been "re-sloped" on the cartridge return ramp.   I usually loaded .38 Specials to 1.540" and that was after re-sloping the return ramp.  

 

BUT - a short cartridge length will cause the "two-cartridges-on-the-carrier" jam regardless of if it's the first round or the next to last one.  What you describe is not a short cartridge caused problem.

 

good luck, GJ

Sometimes the added pressure of a loaded mag tube can cause issues on marginal rifles.

 

But, he says that nothing has changed with the rifle and that this problem just started up.

 

Phantom

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He's my brother in law and I load for him.

 

He's got the same rifle, 1873 Uberti Competition factory short stroked with a spring kit install.

 

All my .38s are 1.490, I've looked at his rifle (no expert that's for sure) and can't see why its happening. I'm going to take it down for him and clean it, that's all I can think off. 

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Looking down in the carrier when the jam occurs will also let you see if this is the "two-cartridges-on-the-carrier" problem, too.  If you see a bunch of rim of the second cartridge sticking back into the carrier where the FLAT surface is, instead of the rim sitting out over the RAMP surface that returns the second cartridge into the magazine, then yes, the OP has a short-OAL problem that can be solved by loading longer or re-sloping the ramp.

 

All it takes is going to the range, running the gun until you reproduce the jam, then LOOKING in the carrier slot.   Your eyes will tell you what is wrong.  And pushing either the first cartridge straight or the second cartridge back into the magazine will most likely "fix" the jam temporarily.  Then you will know what has to be worked on.

 

good luck, GJ

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After you load the rifle, look down at the last round loaded, on the carrier.  If it is quite crooked, then it is probably the problem that Garrison Joe described.  If you straighten that round on the carrier (with a knife blade, screwknife, or anything) and that makes the carrier lift properly for the first round, then that confirms the problem.  Now, why it would suddenly start doing it with no other changes is a mystery.

 

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Another rare problem in a 73 is that you have a cracked or otherwise damaged loading gate.  If the perpendicular tab section of the gate bends back into the action under pressure from the full stack of cartridges, that tab can jam the links or let that first cartridge rim get back into the loading gate mortise even if the mortise is properly beveled.   It is a problem that does not just go away by itself usually.   And 73 gates are a lot stronger than 66 gates, where its a kinda common problem.

 

Shove a finger in the loading gate, you will feel a problem if a cartridge is back in the mortise.

 

good luck, GJ

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Loose screw on the loading gate can cause this too.     GW

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Pretty sure we've worked out the problem.

 

My elbow flared up last week and I did carry the rifle from the LT to the shooting bench holding my hand over and around the chamber, I knew I was carrying it different because I could feel that it was different.

 

Just re-created the problem, when there are 10 rounds in the magazine and I hold the rifle the way I did on Sunday my fingers push the carrier up a little and its staying there and its just enough to jam the lever stopping the loading of that first round. My jiggling of the lever on the stage had made it go down and allowed the first round then to be loaded.

 

Loading up to around 6 and pushing the carrier up, it comes back down on its own accord. Loading 10 and pushing it up it stays that little bit up (Whisper Springs and brass carrier).....So pretty sure that's what happened on the weekend. Loaded lots of 10 dummy round then and rifle cycled perfectly every time from the first round. Just have to be careful to make sure I don't carry it so that I push the carrier up again :( 

 

 

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8 hours ago, Quiet Burp said:

Pretty sure we've worked out the problem.

 

My elbow flared up last week and I did carry the rifle from the LT to the shooting bench holding my hand over and around the chamber, I knew I was carrying it different because I could feel that it was different.

 

Just re-created the problem, when there are 10 rounds in the magazine and I hold the rifle the way I did on Sunday my fingers push the carrier up a little and its staying there and its just enough to jam the lever stopping the loading of that first round. My jiggling of the lever on the stage had made it go down and allowed the first round then to be loaded.

 

Loading up to around 6 and pushing the carrier up, it comes back down on its own accord. Loading 10 and pushing it up it stays that little bit up (Whisper Springs and brass carrier).....So pretty sure that's what happened on the weekend. Loaded lots of 10 dummy round then and rifle cycled perfectly every time from the first round. Just have to be careful to make sure I don't carry it so that I push the carrier up again :( 

 

 

May I suggest a Positive Slam Down Mod?

 

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