Uberti 1873 Carbine 44-40

[MikeM.]

I have a new Uberti 1873 SRC in 44-40 caliber. The specs on this gun state that it has a .429 bore. What is the best size lead RNFP bullet to use for reloading for this? I don’t see many .429 bullets out there but see a lot of .427 and .430 ones. Can you guys give me
Some advise on this? I am wanting a 200gr lead RNFP bullet so tell me what you guys recommend ,ok

[454PB]

If it truly is a .429" bore, then .430" will be a good fit. However, I suggest you slug the barrel.

[Wayne Smith]

Same thing you shoot in a 44Mag. .429 is the standard. Unless you shoot BP, then get a boolit with a large lube capacity.

[Outpost75]

If you don't yet cast your own, these 215-grain .430" flatnose from Matt's Bullets work well with either smokeless or black:

230872

http://www.mattsbullets.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=70&products_id=275

[MikeM.]

Thanks guys!

[mdi]

Best way to find what you need is to slug your barrel. 44-40 normally uses .427"bullets, so a .429" barrel sounds OK, and I'd use a bullet at least .002" larger than groove diameter. If you are purchasing cast bullets, shop around. I've seen commercial cast bullets, 44 caliber, run from .429"-.432". Just checked Beartooth Bullets and they offer a 44-40 cast, 200 gr. FN in diameters from .428"-.430". But again, it's all sorta a WAG unless you know for sure what you gun's barrel measures...

It's kinda like buying socks; you don't really need to know what size you wear, and you can just keep buying socks and trying them on until you find a pair that fits. Or buy socks for the known size of yer feet...

[MikeM.]

I am just going off of what the factory specs on the rifle say as far as the .429 bore size.

[Outpost75]

The old folklore says .427 for .44-40s, but larger is more common on old rifles as well as new ones. I've seen original 1873 Winchesters as large a .435". Modern rifles are mostly .429-.430 because manufacturers use the same barrel tooling for .44-40 barrels which they do for .44 Magnums and the great majority of European reproductions are made that way, although I have seen Japanese ones which are tight.

Moral of the story is that your mileage may vary, so never take dimensions on faith MEASURE your barrel!

[DaveM]

Best way to find what you need is to slug your barrel. 44-40 normally uses .427"bullets, so a .429" barrel sounds OK,...

FYI, Uberti has been using the same bore size on their .44-40s as their .44 Mags for many years. These modern guns will benefit from larger than .427 bullets.

OP, in my Uberti 1860 Henry and 1873 Sporting rifle, I uses bullets cast from the Accurate Molds 43-215C from 1:20 tin:lead alloy, sized to .429. I suppose I should try .430 but they shoot well. I lube with a 50:50 mix of beeswax and mutton tallow, and load them over 35 grains / 2.2cc of 2Fg or preferably 3Fg. The 1873 will group into 1.5" at 50 yards when I use Swiss 3Fg.

Edit: Beat by Outpost75 by a minute!

[mdi]

I'd still slug the barrel. SAAMI rifle groove diameter is .431", handgun barrels the dimension is .429". It' good that the OP uses the factory info rather than "internet wisdom". But there are manufacturing tolerances (My Puma has a groove diameter of.432"+, still in tolerance and .430 bullets lead the bore). So if Uberti used 44 Magnum dimensions on their 44-40 barrels, what happens when someone shoots a 44-40 bullet in a .431" barrel?

I'm not arguing this thread, just saying no matter what Uberti said, what they did in the past, what Joe Caster does, it's all a WAG unless the caster/shooter knows for sure what size/diameter his gun's barrel is...

[Green Frog]

I bought an old Navy Arms (made by Uberti) Henry that was basically the equivalent of NOS. It is strictly intended for use in the Repeater Class of the North-South Skirmish Association, so it's black powder, lead bullets only when I'm competing. So far I've been using my team captain's loads which are the standard RNFP bullet seen frequently on the line at N-SSA and a lightly compressed load of 2F Goex. As for sizing the bullets, IIRC, he said he uses .429 in HIS Navy/Uberti of about the same vintage, so I figure they should work for me as well... he sure does well with his! :mrgreen:

Froggie

[Hickok]

Load the largest diameter boolit that will still chamber in you rifle.