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Thread: Uberti 1866 Yellow boy

  1. #1
    Boolit Master dikman's Avatar
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    Uberti 1866 Yellow boy

    Picked up my new yellowboy a couple of days ago (photos not the best, it was a bit sunny). It's marked as made in 2013, but the guy I bought it from never used it, he bought it and put it in his safe and that's where it stayed (still has the protective plastic covering the brass bits). It's a .38sp Sports Rifle version.
    I'd already found a couple of excellent youtube vids on tweaking one, so I knew what to expect. As it comes from the factory the lever needs a bit of effort, using the shoulder and arm, to operate. I stripped it down completely (only thing left attached was the barrel!) and, as I expected, found a fair bit of black gunk inside, probably from the machining I suspect. I washed everything in petrol and started smoothing and polishing anything that looked like it might be rubbing. I thinned down the two springs that operate the lever and lifting block and for good measure put a small washer underneath each one. This alone made a heck of a difference to the operation. I thinned down the hammer spring a bit and also put a washer under that. There were a few other bits that I had to grind down and use the buffer on, all up I spent just under two days on it.

    Now I can operate the lever with my fingers, not my shoulder!!! It feels beautiful and smooth and cycled some dummy rounds without a problem. I wouldn't mind fitting the coil spring replacement for the hammer spring, as that is where the remaining effort is required, but maybe later. One thing I won't be fitting is a short stroke kit, they just don't seem "right" to me.

    The rifle itself is a thing of beauty! The finish is excellent, other than the forestock could do with thinning a little where the wood meets the metal (maybe later, if I decide to refinish the wood). The inside was a bit disappointing, and could have been cleaned up a bit I reckon before leaving the factory, but if you're prepared to spend a bit of time on it then it will be time well spent. Most folks who shoot Cowboy Action seem to go for the 1873, so that was enough of a reason for me to get the Brass One. Being used to shooting an 1892, this thing is noticeably heavier and makes some remarkable metallic clanking/clattering noises when it operates!

    Forgot to mention that it came with the nice leather carrying bag.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails 1866 1a.jpg   1866 2a.jpg  

  2. #2
    Boolit Grand Master

    Beagle333's Avatar
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    Very nice. It's a shame that it didn't run good as-is from the factory, but good to know that can be remedied with a little TLC.
    KE4GWE - - - - - - Colt 1860, it just feels right.

  3. #3
    Boolit Master dikman's Avatar
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    As a shooter it would have functioned quite well as is, but being brass I was concerned about excessive wear inside where steel meets brass. Besides, I accept that with any gun I buy I'll end up stripping and "working" it a bit, and as long as the basic construction is sound then that's fine (unlike Marlins, apparently).

    I have no complaints really.

  4. #4
    Boolit Buddy
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    I have both the 73 and 66. I prefer the 66. Mine have the been short stroked. Had to do a bit of clean up on the carrier. Can operate the lever with one finger if necessary. I don't worry about the machine marks unless they are contact points.

  5. #5
    Boolit Master

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    Have the carbine version of the 1866. Little rough when I bought her 'barley used' (was a demo from the SHOT show). Took her apart and found a few pieces of debris etc., cleaned each part and reassembled...smooth as butter now. A nice rifle indeed, congrats!
    “I won't be wronged. I won't be insulted. I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people and I require the same from them." the duke

  6. #6
    Boolit Master dikman's Avatar
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    hp246, I was only concerned with the contact points, as you say. If I wanted to clean all the machining marks I would still be going!!!

    I would have preferred the carbine version, but this was a pretty good deal and down here you can't just go out and get one, it can take months if it has to be ordered in. One advantage is that it holds 13 rounds, so if I encounter one of those silly stages where you have to load an extra round I can just whack it in when I pick up the rifle (I can do that with my .44-40 1892, much to the surprise of other members - the first time they didn't see me do it and thought I'd cheated and loaded 11 first!).

  7. #7
    Boolit Master
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    Beauty. Need to have one of those in 44 Special one day.

  8. #8
    Boolit Master
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    I picked up one many years ago in .44-40 it is marked western arms. which was made by uberti. shoots great. I use it for deer hunting on the farm.

  9. #9
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    Click image for larger version. 

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    Mine is a 44/40, made in 1975.
    You cannot discover new oceans unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore

  10. #10
    Boolit Master dikman's Avatar
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    Nice! .44-40 always seems like the right calibre for a lever gun.

    Finally got to shoot mine today. Went well until half-way through the third stage and it jammed, couldn't get the lever to move! Started dismantling it, removed the toggles but couldn't get the breech block to move. We put a ramrod down and started tapping it and eventually the breech block moved back - with half a case! The other half was somewhere inside the barrel! Luckily I had taken the '92 as well, so finished the day using that

    When I got home I stripped everything down and eventually had to remove the barrel!! I could see the case just inside the barrel and finally managed to remove the jammed bit by using a sharp probe under the edge of the case and slowly twisting it up to bend the case inwards. It was stuck solid. We think it might have been a case separation? Not sure. Unfortunately, it broke off the small lip on the bottom of the breech block, that helps hold the cartridge rim in position. I'm going to have to try dobbing a small piece of weld on there (using a MIG) and file it to shape. If I need a new block it will have to come from the US, so much $$$ and time.

    Oh well, I've now completely stripped it down, I wonder how many can say they've done that to their new gun?

  11. #11
    Boolit Man
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    That is a beauty.
    I'd personally rather have a 38, easy to reload and l have buckets of brass already.
    My trapdoor carbine has an original "stuck case removal tool" in the butt stock. but I doubt it would get that one out. (I know it's the wrong size) but.
    If you can find someone with tig machine you'd be better off. Much easier to get a first time good weld with less filing. I looked up breach blocks for it, and was surprised to find them so fast. $83.00 and $89. bucks. I'd try welding it first. If you weren't so far away, I'd tell you to bring it over and have it fixed in no time.

  12. #12
    Boolit Master dikman's Avatar
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    Thanks for the thought. The MIG probably wasn't ideal, but it worked. Took a LOT of filing to slowly get it to the point where it worked properly. I managed to dig out the brass from the breech end, it was well and truly stuck!!! I also ended up smoothing out a few more places for good measure, now I just have to find the time to put a few rounds through it to make sure it's ok (I need to convince myself that it was, in fact, just a faulty case).

  13. #13
    Boolit Man
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    I keep thinking of all the things that would cause a case separation, and add your experience to the nickle knowledge file.
    How many times was the case reloaded?
    Have you measured the chamber? Is it tight for the size of the bullets?
    was the chamber wet in any way? oil,?
    I'm sure you've thought about all this already.

  14. #14
    Boolit Master dikman's Avatar
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    Yep, been pondering about this for some time.
    I don't know how many times the case had been used, as with CAS-type shooting it's difficult to keep up with it. (Using too many rounds!).
    I haven't measured the chamber yet, or slugged the bore.
    I had fired about 35 rounds (10-shot stages, so into the 3rd. stage) with no issues, which to me is pointing to a faulty case?
    I had wondered whether I had inadvertently made a "hot" load, which may have stretched the case, but no-one mentioned any difference in the sound of the report, so I ruled that one out.
    I use a Lee FCD to crimp and wondered if I'd overcrimped it but I can't see how that could happen (I'm struggling for ideas here!).
    I tried a few loaded rounds in the chamber, sliding them in and out manually, and they seemed fine, no sign of any catching/sticking.
    Hoping to get to the pistol range tomorrow to try it out.

  15. #15
    Boolit Master dikman's Avatar
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    For anyone who might be interested, I went to the range today and put 50 rounds through it.
    5 rounds were tight, i.e they wouldn't eject by just moving the lever down normally. Two required extra effort and 3 were VERY tight! Of those 3, one split half-way down the length of the case and about 1/3 of the way around it, 1 had a bulge and split in the middle of the case (but the mouth was intact) and one jammed but with no damage to the case.

    The other 45 fired and cycled with no issues.

    I went home and ran them through the wet tumbler to clean them and then carefully inspected every one under a magnifier. I found two others with small splits starting at the mouth and one that had a very slight bulge/crease halfway down. As this was after re-sizing I figure I'll chuck this one out.

    Based on all this I'm assuming that some of my cases are nearing the end of their life and that is causing my problem? These cases (Winchester and Federal) have been used, up until now, in my revolvers with no problems - load is 3.9 gns. of W231, which is pretty much the minimum loading - so is it likely that the chambering in the rifle is causing additional pressure that doesn't occur in the revolver cylinders? Compared to many of you I'm still a neophyte at this, so have no experience to fall back on. Any thoughts will be gratefully accepted.

  16. #16
    Boolit Master



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    Are you sure that you don't have a chamber anomaly. I have a Cimarron 1866 in 44 special that produces a bit of a bulge about half way down in every case it has ever fired. It has an oversize chamber.
    Being human is not for sissies.

  17. #17
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by square butte View Post
    Are you sure that you don't have a chamber anomaly. I have a Cimarron 1866 in 44 special that produces a bit of a bulge about half way down in every case it has ever fired. It has an oversize chamber.
    I agree, and suggest you check it before shooting any more.
    You cannot discover new oceans unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore

  18. #18
    Boolit Master dikman's Avatar
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    I responded to square butte's post, but my reply seems to have gone awol!

    I did wonder about the chamber, but I figured that because the rest of the cases worked fine that should rule out a chamber issue? If the chamber had some sort of deformation inside wouldn't it affect virtually all cases?

    I checked some fired cases with a digital micrometer and couldn't see any obvious problems.

  19. #19
    Boolit Man
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    I kinda think you answered your own question.

    my friend has a very used first generation colt single action army. All the cases have a nice bulge in them after firing.

    You would notice it.

    might be time to toss the brass.

  20. #20
    Boolit Master dikman's Avatar
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    I'll reload the cases that I just used, keep them separate from the rest and run them through again, separating any that are tight but undamaged as they should still be fine in the revolvers. Looks like I'm going to have to do this with the remaining 300 or so loaded rounds to sort out the cases. Oh well, always something new to learn.

    I might dismantle the rifle (again, I'm getting good at this) and polish out the chamber, just for good measure, plus I'll have to get some Cerrocote sometime and take a casting of the chamber I reckon.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check