turning the barrel

[purechangepaul]

Hi everyone,
I have an1873 with the gun shooting low and to the left by several inches. I have seen that one may turn the barrel to correct this. How hard is this, how do you do it and is it better left to an expert.
I am not too worried about shooting low, but the left error will drive me nuts.
thanks

[wildrider]

Originally posted by purechangepaul:
Hi everyone,
I have an1873 with the gun shooting low and to the left by several inches. I have seen that one may turn the barrel to correct this. How hard is this, how do you do it and is it better left to an expert.
I am not too worried about shooting low, but the left error will drive me nuts.
thanks

[wildrider]

Hi, you can correct side errors turning (slightly) the barrel. But in my handloading experience I've seen that sometimes different charges can modify the point of impact from left to right (non only up and down) or viceversa.
Bye to everybody.

[purechangepaul]

wildrider,
thanks, how do I turn the barrel? If I place it in a vice grip will it turn easily, do I need a lubricant on the threads, and do I turn the gun grip while the barrel is in the vice grip?

[wildrider]

Remove the cylinder from the frame (and the ejector, of course). Place the barrel in the vice grip (put something like a piece of rubber in between to avoid spoiling the blue) and insert a piece of wood in the frame, like a square stick. Turn the wood slowly... That's the way Mr. Merlino, CEO of Uberti, exlained to me during a visit of the factory in Gardone Val Trompia.
Good shooting!

[Gunsmith]

If the barrel is loose, wildrider's method will work. If the barrel is tight, you will probably twist the frame and make the problem worse. A specially made frame vice from a gunsmith supply is the safer way to do it.

[purechangepaul]

Wildrider,
thanks for info,this is just what I needed. I will shoot a bunch of more rounds to see if it was something with the type I used before, and if it still persists, I will turn the barrel. One final question, when you say to remove the ejector, do you mean to remove the ejector tube,spring and rod , and if so does it unscrew from the ejector rod tube screw? thanks again, no better souce than the CEO!

[wildrider]

Yes, you've got to unscrew the screw under the barrel and you'll be able to remove the ejector tube, the spring and the ejection rod. I guess that a professional gunsmith's vice is the best choice... What I can say is that I saw this trick in the factory (the barrel in the vice) and I had been told I could do the same at home. Very easily. But I never tried.
Bye, Bye.
P.s.: what caliber is your gun?

[purechangepaul]

wildrider,
thanks, the gun is a 45 LC

[purechangepaul]

gunsmith,
What would a gunsmith charge to do this?

[Gunsmith]

When I miss with a single-action it is to the left--practice dry-firing to see if your trigger pull is causing it. Try using a different part of your finger and concentrate on pulling straight back.
If the gun is the problem, there are a couple of things you can do like widening the rear sight notch to the left or filing some metal off the right side of the front sight.

[ 02-22-2005, 09:55 AM: Message edited by: Gunsmith ]

[purechangepaul]

Hello all,
I resolved the problem by returning it to the store and they replaced it. I have not fired it yet but am sure it will shoot better. The gun was bought at cabela's and I am very pleased with the customer service. Thanks for all the help.