Quiet Burp Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 My Grandson and I shoot (share) a '73 Uberti lever gun, its a .357 but we shoot .38's. Two years since I've bought and its had a lot of ammo through it now. This is a lot different than taking a bolt out of a bolt gun to clean. It needs cleaning, can some kind folks walk me through how the easiest method is to clean a '73? When I say the easiest, the one where hopefully I'll have no parts on the kitchen table when its back together Thank you very much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leroy Luck Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 There are some very thorough videos on YouTube that would definitely let you reassemble it without leftover parts 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erasmus Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 The easiest method is to turn it upside down and hose down the inside of the receiver with brake cleaner, but it's not what I would suggest. As mentioned above, check out some videos. 73's come apart VERY easy and have like 2 moving parts (well more than that, but not many more). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Rich Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 Take the side plates off and take a pic with yer cell you can easily see where every thing goes after its cleaned. One place most people do not clean is the firing pin hole in the bolt. It's easy to clean, just run a pipe cleaner thru the bolt with a little of yer favorite cleanin agent on it thru the hole. Don't forget to put the fp spring back in when ya reassemble it. kR 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Painted Mohawk SASS 77785 Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 Yep watch a few vids..not a good idea to not know how to take it apart. Once done a few times becomes easy peasy. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Bill Burt Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 I've been in the game since 2011. We have 5 1873s in use in the Burt family. During that period I've only gone beyond taking the side plates off once. As Kid Rich said, take a picture. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fretless Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 36 minutes ago, Kid Rich said: Don't forget to put the fp spring back in when ya reassemble it. If you do forget, you may not know until the next cleaning. It works fine without that spring. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Rich Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 1 hour ago, Fretless said: If you do forget, you may not know until the next cleaning. It works fine without that spring. Some of them are tuned with it some without. kR 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
"Big Boston" Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 The '66 and '73 designs do have a few friction points that need some attention when lubricating. Be sure to check these areas and take appropriate action. I'm assuming that a BP shooter would have a few different recommendations than a smokeless shooter would when it comes to lubrication. In addition, there is that old oil vs grease when and where issue. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snakebite Dust SASS 75484 Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 It is really not that hard to break down , clean and put back together. Watch a couple of you tube videos. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reverend P. Babcock Chase Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 Howdy Quiet, I too was trepidatious to take apart my 66's until I had a typical loading gate tab break. I just, carefully, pulled the one side plate to put the new one on, but also got a look inside. Since then, have seen a couple of videos and now have no fear. I still am careful to put the parts on the bench in the position and order in which they were removed. Good luck, Rev. Chase 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Equanimous Phil Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 Uberti uses quite soft screws and some of them come quite tightened from the factory. So, use quality screw drivers of the right size for each screw! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Graybeard Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 Sometimes ..those screws are insanely tight. I have bent and broken screwdriver tips getting them out the first time. And you will booger up some of the screws. VTI gunparts usually has hardened screws in stock. Also...I would suggest an impact driver to get some of them out the first time. Brownells has one...and if you get the kit...it comes with some hardened tips. Videos are your friend for the first few times taking them apart and putting them back together. I don't have any problem doing it now. Just deciding how far I want to take them apart for how deep a cleaning. If you have a shooting buddy that is familiar with taking them apart...that would be a big help too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Maverick Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 16 hours ago, Quiet Burp said: My Grandson and I shoot (share) a '73 Uberti lever gun, its a .357 but we shoot .38's. Two years since I've bought and its had a lot of ammo through it now. This is a lot different than taking a bolt out of a bolt gun to clean. It needs cleaning, can some kind folks walk me through how the easiest method is to clean a '73? When I say the easiest, the one where hopefully I'll have no parts on the kitchen table when its back together Thank you very much. Hope these help. https://marauder.homestead.com/files/Winchester_73.html https://marauder.homestead.com/files/73Carbine.htm TM 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Devil Dale Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 (edited) Videos are abundant on the Internet, and they are fine, as far as they go. Don't be surprised if you watch a video, then take your side plates or stock off and see something entirely different. There are many tuning/upgrade kits out there and all of them look and operate differently. Many brand new guns are offered with one or the other of those kits installed. I strongly suggest getting together with a friendly fellow CAS shooter who has experience with different short stroke and spring kits. Get them to walk through a disassembly and reassembly on YOUR GUN with you. That way you will come away understanding how the works function in the firearm that you own. Ask around to find someone who really knows what they are doing (doesn't just think that they do.) And FWIW, I disassemble the side plates, lever, lifter, carrier and bolt on my '73s after about every 200 - 300 rounds, and prior to any big match. I shoot light Titegroup loads, and they tend to blow back and be fairly dirty. I take the effort, because I want the guns to work uniformly, without extraction, feeding or other problems and without excessively wearing the contact surfaces. Others' mileage may differ and probably does. Properly done disassembly does no damage to a firearm. Failure to clean a firearm will eventually stop it from functioning correctly. So I take the time to keep 'em clean. JMHO. Edited March 22 by Dusty Devil Dale 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster Ron Wayne Posted March 23 Share Posted March 23 YouTube is your friend 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griff Posted March 23 Share Posted March 23 On 3/22/2024 at 8:00 AM, "Big Boston" said: I'm assuming that a BP shooter would have a few different recommendations than a smokeless shooter would when it comes to lubrication. In addition, there is that old oil vs grease when and where issue. In the years since I bought my first one in 1987, I've had it and the others apart and back together many, many times. What others have said about good screwdrivers is a must. Make sure they are hollow ground. I prefer and recommend the Magna-Tip sets from Brownell's. The lever screw is usually the most difficult outside the magazine cap. SliX makes a purpose built tool for the mag cap. As a mostly BP shooter, my recommendation is to grease, sparingly, and only in those areas that are not accessible without taking the side plates off. I.e.: Link pins, and cams for the carrier arm and lever springs. I run the carrier dry, or when I have lubed it, I've used a dry, powdery lubricant. It never seemed to really make a difference & quit its use fairly quickly. I've taken about 0.010-0.015" off the sides of the carrier to give it looser fit in the mortise. For BP, this allows me to run a 3-day match without removing it to clean the carbon buildup from the fouling of BP. By the way, there are several versions of the oil vs. grease issue. For instance, I own and drive an 18-wheeler... my wheel bearing on the tractor are oil bath, yet in a nearly identical configuration, the wheel bearings on my trailer are grease. My rule of thumb has always been grease where it requires disassembly to re-lube, oil where it's accessible for replenishment. 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiet Burp Posted March 24 Author Share Posted March 24 How many rounds would you put through your '73's before you would feel the need to do a deep clean? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rancho Roy Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 Quote How many rounds would you put through your '73's before you would feel the need to do a deep clean? Depends on caliber. I started Cowboy with 38-40......Would clean after 30-40 matches and the insides always looked like it was just cleaned! Now I shoot 38 Special. After one match the insides are a mess.....But I can get through 3-5 matches before a thorough cleaning. Until then, I simply turn rifle upside down in a gun cleaning rest and spray the dick'ins with RemOil and let it drain out. A blast or two of air from my compressor and I'm good to go! A quick bore patch or two if the spirit moves me.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowtown Scout, SASS #53540 L Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 I’m supposed to clean my ‘73 oh I shoot 38-40 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Bill Burt Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 11 hours ago, Quiet Burp said: How many rounds would you put through your '73's before you would feel the need to do a deep clean? When I do cleaning it’s usually four ‘73s, four SKBs and 8 Vaqueros/Single Sixes, so I don’t do it more than I have to. I ‘deep’ cleaned all 16 guns in the week between Christmas and New Years. We’ve shot about 13 matches since then. Typically I would go another month or so then clean, but SC State is three weeks away, so I’ll clean them this week, Then again before the GA State Match in May. They probably won’t get cleaned again until a few weeks before the National. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Graybeard Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 As far as the frequency of cleaning...some of it depends on caliber and powder. My 45 Colts get dirty faster than my 38's do...and they get dirty faster than my 44-40's using APP...which is a black powder sub. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Devil Dale Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 If you are shooting a dirty powder in light loads, the case expansion is not always enough to seal the case to the chamber wall, and blowback occurs. Those conditions require more frequent cleaning of the forward receiver area and bolt/extractor groove. Build up of crud under the top extractor will eventually affect extraction uniformity. I've never seen crud build up on the carrier enough to affect feeding, but I suppose it could happen. The fit of lifter, carrier and bolt face during feeding is very critical, so heavy build up probably could have an effect. I never let mine get that dirty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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