Dapper Dave Posted February 19 Posted February 19 I mean, they should handle cartridges of the factory normal overall length, right? Has yours shown definite preferences for something else? No, I haven't had any problems yet, but I keep hearing that COAL is vitally important with these rifles. Just curious what your personal experiences might be, if you don't mind. 1 Quote
Rye Miles #13621 Posted February 19 Posted February 19 You mean OAL? I load .38’s in my 73 at a OAL of 1.49 works fine! 1 Quote
Boggus Deal #64218 Posted February 19 Posted February 19 I try to run them around 1.55”. Maximum length is determined by the length of the opening in the frame. Minimum length is determined by the ramp in the carrier. The shorter the cartridge is, you have to push every cartridge in the magazine tube forward that much every time you work the lever. Just extra, unneeded effort in my opinion. 2 Quote
Cyrus Cassidy #45437 Posted February 19 Posted February 19 53 minutes ago, Rye Miles #13621 said: You mean OAL? I load .38’s in my 73 at a OAL of 1.49 works fine! Pard, both abbreviations are commonly used. The "C" in COAL refers to "cartridge." To the OP, my Cimmaron 1873 isn't sensitive to COAL / OAL at all. I shoot both .357 magnum and .38 special with a variety of bullets and lengths, and it never fails. EXCEPT, it is sensitive to bullet shape. For example, semi-wadcutters will jam it up every time, even though they work just fine in my Marlins. 4 Quote
Rye Miles #13621 Posted February 19 Posted February 19 25 minutes ago, Cyrus Cassidy #45437 said: Pard, both abbreviations are commonly used. The "C" in COAL refers to "cartridge." To the OP, my Cimmaron 1873 isn't sensitive to COAL / OAL at all. I shoot both .357 magnum and .38 special with a variety of bullets and lengths, and it never fails. EXCEPT, it is sensitive to bullet shape. For example, semi-wadcutters will jam it up every time, even though they work just fine in my Marlins. Okay never heard anyone use COAL, JUST OAL. Okay learned something! 3 Quote
Abilene Slim SASS 81783 Posted February 19 Posted February 19 Dave, I’m assuming you’re wondering about your newly acquired .44-40? Unlike the ‘73s in .38/.357 which accommodate a wide range of lengths, it can be finicky with cartridges loaded at or very near maximum OAL. Some.44-40 bullets can put you at the max which can cause feeding hiccups when picking up the cartridge from the mag tube. Sounds like you have a cartridge that’s working well. 3 Quote
Blackwater 53393 Posted February 19 Posted February 19 My .38 only 1866 replica isn’t very sensitive to COAL/OAL, but it’s really picky about bullet profile! You can forget ever using a SWC and it doesn’t like the really bulbous RNFP bullets either. They’ll run, but it’s really balky and slow. I’ve found a nice Truncated Cone profile that runs like butter and it’s available in two weights, (although, for our purposes, the selection is moot) and I put back plenty of them! If I shoot that rifle, I use up all the RNFP cartridges in the pistols. My .45 rifles will generally eat anything but SWCs and wad cutters and as long as I don’t exceed 1.610” they don’t really care. I’ve run shorter rounds, (1.52”) without the feed becoming clunky. 2 Quote
DeaconKC Posted February 19 Posted February 19 My 73 and my 66 are both fussy if I get just a few thousandths over. Mine are in .45 Colt. 3 Quote
Creeker, SASS #43022 Posted February 19 Posted February 19 My 73's "seem" to run best with my 38 Specials at loaded at 1.50. It works well in all of my rifles; so, I haven't seen any reason to experiment further. 3 Quote
Old Man Graybeard Posted February 19 Posted February 19 My 357 rifles don't seem to be too picky...or my 45 colt rifles. My 44-40's ...one is very length sensitive...the other not so much 1 Quote
WD Farren Posted February 19 Posted February 19 (edited) In my mind the 1873 elevator mechanism shears the tip of the bullet if it is too long. If too short it catches the rim of the next bullet in the magazine which partially protrudes into the elevator. Edited February 19 by WD Farren 1 Quote
Gateway Kid SASS# 70038 Life Posted February 20 Posted February 20 5 hours ago, Creeker, SASS #43022 said: My 73's "seem" to run best with my 38 Specials at loaded at 1.50. It works well in all of my rifles; so, I haven't seen any reason to experiment further. When I started in 2007 I used marlin cowboy competition in 38 only (not compatible with 357). Those ran best at 1.5” OAL When I switched to 73’s I had a lot of 1.5” 38’s and they ran fine in the 73’s as well. While I tried several different lengths, styles and velocities never found anything that worked better. As Creeker said, everything worked so never saw a need to change after that. Regards Gateway Kid. 1 Quote
watab kid Posted February 20 Posted February 20 mine was sensitive but once i found what it liked it was smooth sailing , odly enough works in all my rifles in that caliber and the revolvers dont care Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.