Would you rather new or new and slicked

[Bowtie747]

Hey guys trying to find my lever action go get started. Those of you who have been around. Would you rather buy a gun and send it off to be slicked up or just buy a gun already slicked up? Also who sells guns who are new but slicked up? Thanks 

[KingSnake]

If I was going to buy a new rifle, I would buy a new one from Shotgun Boogie that he has done his magic to. 

[Leroy Luck]

Either way. Just make sure you know everything about it from the seller. Helps if something goes wrong down the road. 

[Buck Garrett]

SBGW gets my vote. I have 2, and they sing. 

 

[Badlands Bob #61228]

While there are some famous gunsmiths around the country that sell slicked up rifles, I would opt for a local gunsmith to do the work if there is one available.  That way if you have a problem in the future, you can take it to them without spending a fortune on shipping.  Ask around your local Cowboy matches and find out who does good work locally.  You might be surprised what you find.

[Texas Maverick]

21 hours ago, KingSnake said:

If I was going to buy a new rifle, I would buy a new one from Shotgun Boogie that he has done his magic to. 

I had him slick my primary up and then bought a new one from him. They are the same so you can't go wrong either way. His rifles are not cheap but well worth it. You will never outgrow his rifles.

 

TM

[Rye Miles #13621]

New and then have the local gunsmith short stroke it. 

[Hoss]

There are many very good cowboy smiths around. I’d find a local guy who can work on them. My experience:

I’ve never had a Vaquero go down. Had a front sight fall off once. 
I have a backup SKB. I’ve never needed it. 
I have 2 identical Uberti-Win 73s. I’ve had to use my backup several times. They are a bit more prone to problems. Just more moving parts. 

[Cholla]

On 2/21/2025 at 4:52 PM, KingSnake said:

If I was going to buy a new rifle, I would buy a new one from Shotgun Boogie that he has done his magic to. 

This. I bought a 73 on Gunbroker and had it fixed up. There is no comparison to the product SB offers. They are expensive, but it's a buy-once-cry-once thing... unless your spouse wants one as well.

[Anvil Al #59168]

Got our last two 73's new. From the gunsmith who 

put in the SS kit and tuned them before we picked them up. 

 

 

[John Kloehr]

Speaking about (mostly) '73s and small sample sizes:

 

Rossi: Might have been a '92. Low purchase price, requires slicking to even begin to be a pleasure to shoot; handled one at an NRA convention and lost interest.

 

Uberti: Cycle it a bunch of times, but you will send it out for slicking at some point; I have an awesome slicked example (Evil Roy model slicked by Grimes). If I ever decide to shoot /38 Special, I know I can not outrun this rifle.

 

Miroku: Cycle it while binge-watching the spaghetti westerns to break it in, it will run fine; the lever safety will shortly be the negative item requiring lightening. This is the gun I shoot and I have a lighter replacement spring to install. Not as good as the amazingly slicked Uberti but I'm not that good either. I  just like this gun.

 

Between Uberti and Miroku, another consideration is a varnish vs oil finish. Inevitable dings will leave marks on either. Sand and refinish the Uberti or just add more oil to the Miroku. Or screw it for either and carry the scars with pride. So far, I do not have enough damage to repair.

[Tall John]

Unless you live close to one of the smiths, you can spend $60-$100 just for shipping and insurance EACH WAY to/fro a gun smith.

 

i bought a Uberti ‘73 Comanchero model which is short-stroked and tuned at the factory.  Not as slick as my Mirakou that I bought second hand from a world champion but it is plenty slick and I’ll never out run it.

 

shoot lots of different guns at your local club before you buy anything!

 

Pioneer Gunworks, Shotgun Boogie or Ken Griner are all good sources for slicked new guns.

[Possum Skinner, SASS#60697]

I'd buy one already slicked up from Lefty Wheeler.

[Shawnee Hills]

Buying an already worked rifle from an established smith is the best way to ensure that you're not buying someone else's problem.  However, depending on how you want to advance in the game, you may end up changing the rifle later.  Once I decided that I wanted to be more competitive, Cody rifles started to appear in my vault.  Over time, I discovered that they were holding me back so ended up with 5th gen short strokes from Jim Bowie plus several other modifications.  These rifles are pretty easy to work on so all of that was done by myself.  The same option is open to any mechanically inclined shooter willing to put in the effort.

 

Used rifles can be found for a fair price buy you need to be careful about what you're buying.  Every now and again you'll see something pop up in the classifieds here that's a really good deal but you'll need to be quick.  These are a bit rare because. in my humble opinion, most postings are priced a bit on the high side.

 

 If looking at a used rifle, you may want to focus on the following:

• How is the overall condition?  Is it clean or does it look like it's been neglected over time?  Any rust?
• Does the wood show a few dings from normal match use or is it beat up like its been tossed around a lot and left in the rain?  Has the wood been repaired?
• How do the screw heads look?  Have the slots been boogered up from using incorrect hardware-bought screwdrivers?  (this is a big indication as to how the rifle has been cared for)
• Do the front and rear pads on the lever appear that they'll touch the tang evenly?  If not, you may be looking at a bent lever.
• Do the front and rear sights look like they've been beat in with a ballpeen hammer or are they clean?
• Any dents in the mag tube or barrel?
• Is the stock cut?  If so, it might not fit you which will mean either a replacement or adding a spacer.
• Does the muzzle or crown have any dings?
• If it has an aluminum carrier, how chewed up is it?  These all get chewed up over time and need replaced.
• Does the bolt extension appear to be excessively worn?
• If used for black powder, was it cleaned well after each use?  Double check bore condition on these.
• Is the price fair?

While the above list might seem excessive to some, it is a good bit of what I use when looking at used firearms.  My focus when buying used is getting something in very good condition that I can work with without having to deal with the previous owner's problems.  Yes, that typically means a bit higher cost but I've found that it's worth it.  My last two purchases from the Wire classifieds were Lightnings that I'm very happy with.

 

The advice to try several rifles at a local match is solid.  That will give you an idea of what will work for you and give you direction on advancement.  However, simply running 10 rounds through a rifle won't tell you much.  Ask a ton of questions of shooters that have advanced to a level that you would like to be.  Most of them will be more than happy to share their advice and experiences.

[Griff]

I shot stock rifles for years... first a Rossi, then an 1873 Uberti,  both slicked up myself.  I enjoy doing as much of my own work as possible.  Neither are a hard critter to learn how to do a little judicious slickin' up on.  Or the Marlin 1894 for that matter.  I've never felt that my firearms hold me up from occupying the podium... I do that well enough on my own!

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

Generally speaking, none of my rifles have been slicked up, and I do just fine.   Granted, I am not a top tier shooter, but my rifles all seem to work the they way they are supposed to.   (A mixture of original Colts, Winchesters, a Marlin some replicas.)

The only exceptions to this have been a couple of rifles that I HAD to have an action job done to.   The first is an Armi San Marco 92 whose action was so rough out of the box that it was unusable.   After I had an action job done to it, I came to feel that my Rossi 92, which I had thought was fine, was a little clunky, so I had an action job done to it as well.   By Action Job, I mean smoothing it out to run like an original Winchester, not turned into a race gun. 

Another gun I had work done to was an early Navy Army imported Uberti 66.   It had been "over slicked," in my opinion.   The lever safety had been removed, and the hammer spring was so lightened that the hammer fell visually slower than any of my other other toggle link guns and I took it to a local smith to ask if he could return it to "more or less factory" specs.   (It's still super smooth)  And now it runs really fine.

The only other work I've had done is some repair work as needed when things have broken, which is not a common thing to have happen.

If you have the talent to compete for the belt buckles and intend to make a run at them, you will probably need the maximum of slicking up.   But if you have no aspirations on that, then you probably don't need to have the expense. 

[Doc Moses]

"Buy once Cry once". Didn't work for me. After shooting a couple of years I had a different idea of what I wanted than when I started. Buy stock and smooth them up yourself. Then when you really KNOW what you want you can send them to get worked on, or replace them with new slicked up guns. Now, at 5 years in, I know what I like...for now.  I kind of up-grade my gear one gun at a time just for fun instead of trying to have everything perfect from the jump.

Just my way of doing it. If I had know this years ago it would have saved me some money when I started. (Gotta say that it was still a blast buying and trying stuff, even though most of those guns are gone now)

Can't go wrong with either option.

[Sgt. Hochbauer, SASS #64409]

My main match rifle is an Uberti 66 in 44wcf which I shot for several years stock. Due to having to replace the barrel I had it short stroked and slicked up. I was having a lot of fun shooting it stock, but I can now miss with it a bit faster than before. My wife shoots a 73 done by Cody super smooth and slick. He recently did the action on a Miroku Winchester and its very nice now but not as slick as an Uberti. It was pretty nice to shoot right out of the box but even nicer now. Depends on your budget too. I will never be a top shooter no matter what work is done to my guns, but they are nicer to shoot. 

 

Hochbauer

[Flanigan Flats]

I find myself in this dilemma currently and elected to order one already slicked up from Pioneer Gun Works. I’ll let you know how it works out. 

[Cpt Dan Blodgett, SASS #75655]

Years ago maybe 2010 bought a slicked up 92 Rossi from NKJ Nate Kiowa Jones the Guru of the 92.  Great rifle sent him my circa 1995 Rossi 20 inch carbine in 44 mag came back equally nice.  Fast forward to 2022 got a Miroku 92 carbine from Cabellas that had a large loop lever changed over to a regular lever and had Lassiter work his magic.  It is now my favorite rifle cannot say it is any slicker than either of the NKJ guns but it does say Winchester on the barrel.  I also have a Miroku 73 in 44-40 even though one can run a 73 faster than a 92 they feel clunky to me.  If a 92 was good enough for JW in Red River they have to be good enough for me.  As stated have bought already slicked and sent out for slicking or handed to the person doing the slicking at Winter Range/EOT Lassiter for a chinese 1887 shotgun and the Miroku 92.  Have been very pleased with the results on all the guns that have been slicked.  Add to this a pair of Original Vaqueros that Bob James' local gunsmith, did I was quite satisfied with them as well.  Any and all methods of getting them worked will work the important thing is the person doing the job.  Some have long backlogs but the result is  worth the wait in my experience.