.45 Colt in Winchester 1873

For all of you who shoot the Uberti 1873 Winchester copy in .45 Colt, I have one to brag about.

Back in 1981 I ordered a Winchester 1873 Carbine from Navy Arms. When I received the rifle it was chambered for .44 WCF. Having a handgun in .45 Colt, I wanted a lever gun in the same caliber. I engaged the services of a great gunsmith, Bill Gostomsky, who now resides in Western Maryland.

I had him replace the barrel with a Douglas .45 caliber barrel and chambered for the .45 Colt. The rate of twist was 1:16, something I insisted on. After a four month wait, I finally got my rifle back. With Lee 255 grain RNFP's it shoot 1.5 inches at 75 feet.

The best group I got was with Winchester .45 Colt and their 255 grain conical. This was before the various "Cowboy" loads we have today.

This rifle proved to be a great plinker and fun gun and was used by me at the 1984 End of Trail.

I used this rifle in cowboy action matches up until 1999 when I went over to Black Powder and started using an 1866 Yellowboy.

It still gets dragged out when I shoot in a "Wild Bunch match when I use smokeless in all my firearms.:Fire:. :cbpour:

Grape,

That sounds excellent, but you know that here on the interweb it didn't happen without pics! :)


Cat