Uberti 1873 .45 Colt Bore Diameter (?)

[BadRambo]

Hello All ----
Strongly considering an Uberti 1873 rifle in .45 LC. I am VERY interested in finding out the actual BORE DIAMETER that they are producing this rifle in. I cannot find this info anywhere since Uberti still does not have its manuals up on its site and I have surfed until dropping to find this info.

Any owners of this rifle out there that know FOR SURE what the BORE DIAMETER is????

Greatly Appreciated,

Bob

[Will]

I understand that they very a bit, but I have a Uberti Henry and it is very acurate with as cast .454 slugs.

[BadRambo]

Howdy Will ----

Thanks for the info. It does not surprise me to hear of the variability of the diameter but who knows? I am also assuming that these Ubertis (I have never owned one) are rugged enough to take full pressure loads if you wanted to shoot them for hunting purposes , e.g. jacketed loads at full pressures....have you done any testing on your Henry with "above-CAS" pressures???

Sounds too like it would be a good exercise for me to slug the bore if I get one, just to make sure, especially when seeking accuracy with higher pressure loads.

Thanks again Will !!!!

Bob

[Will]

Do not, do not, do not! use high powered loads in a toggle link action rifle! You may not blow it up but you'll definatly shorten it's life span.

You can get pretty good velocity by using black powder. My loads clocked rite at 1200 fps out of my Henry. 38 grains of 3f Graf's drop tubed into 45 case, magnum CCI primmer, soft cast 250 grain PRS bullet. Was good enough to drop a deer in it's tracks at 75 yards. Wouldn't hunt at much farther than that, but I can ring the steels at 200 meters all day with that load. Bullet entered just left of spine, splintered spine, and lodged in belly. Black powder loads in these rifles are about as hot as you can safely go.

While they'll shoot jacketed loads, you'll get better performance IMHO with nearly pure lead cast slugs.

These rifles were designed for black powder and even with modern steel the limiting factor is the toggle link design.

[BadRambo]

Hello Again Will ----

I agree with you that the toggle-link designs could not handle the big power cartridges that came along when the toggle-link design was replaced I believe, with Brownings first lever action design (1886??)

I certainly don't plan to weaken my rifle --- I have been trying to contact Uberti about the bore diameter and got back one answer that was incorrect (bore diameter for .44-40 in lieu of .45 COLT)...HAR! And these folks make the rifles!!!

Anyway, the vast majority of the shooting with my rifle will be with cast lead loads of moderate energy levels, and certainly at cowboy power levels since that is the main reason I am buying it.

No doubt, as the example you cited, there would be no problem taking deer-sized game with very acceptable loads. The thing I enjoy about the .45 COLT round, is how versatile it is. I have Blackhawks, replicas, and now a rifle coming in it, and if I really enjoy CAS I will probably invest in a pair of Vaqueros...(to be in vogue -----

Thanks for the comments and suggestions.

Bob

[ 06-28-2006, 05:40 PM: Message edited by: BadRambo ]

[Will]

If you've never tried black powder loads, I think you'll be surprised at just how powerfull they are compared to smokless loads of the same pressure. From what I under stand it's because black powder burns slower the recoil impulse is spread out over a longer period of time. I am getting rite at 1200 FPS with black powder, while the same load with smokless only runs about 900FPS. Sounds strange that you can get higher performance out of black powder than smokless, but at the lower pressures you can push a bullet harder and faster with black than smokless. Of course with the newer smokless powders out there you could probably replicate the performance and have the powder burn nearly the full length of the barrel and still keep the pressure down.

[Will]

probably the best way to find out bore dia. is to hammer a soft lead ball for fishing wieght down the bore, then check with a mic.

[BadRambo]

Good Morning Will ----

Well I can't do any testing yet, since I am still waiting the stupid California waiting period for my rifle --- but I will certainly be trying some BP loads in it when I start testing various loads. I have been testing some BP loads in my replica revolvers -- aside from some models just not tolerating the fouling and binding up very quickly, the BP shoots very well, and of course, lends the authentic period reality to the shooting. It is fun. My Colt Army seems to do much better in tolerating fouling (around the cylinder mechanism) than do my Remingtons which foul and bind after only around 10 shots. The fouling gets into the cylinder rod quickly and the tight tolerances are not very forgiving and bind quickly.

I will be slugging the bore of the rifle too, just to know what the bore dimensions really are. I am still hoping for an answer as well from Uberti / Benelli which seems real hard from them to produce for some reason.

Thanks!!!

[BadRambo]

Well I finally got the answer I was looking for from Uberti relative to the groove diameter of their 1873 Winchester replica rifle. They state it to be 0.450".

This may work out just fine using soft 0.452" slugs from an accuracy viewpoint. Wanted to post this for FYI for others too, that are considering one of their fine rifles.

Cheers!!

[Will]

You sure that .450 is not the land dia.? I checked the records on mine and it miked out at .452-3 groove dia. Anyway mine loves soft .454 slugs.

good luck and have fun, these are realy great rifles and and lot of fun.