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Thread: Welp, bought a garage sale 45LC Uberti 1873. Lets talk...

  1. #1
    Boolit Bub ProudOkie's Avatar
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    Post Welp, bought a garage sale 45LC Uberti 1873. Lets talk...

    Welp, I paid $250 for the ole girl. Near show room shape, thinking thats a good deal I reckon. Has the pop up rear semi buckhorn sight with graduated out to 900 yards. No way this pistol round shoots that far out of a lever gun rifle?

    Any feedback on what I need to know on these guns or good loads would be appreciated. Have some Unique on hand and some WW to melt. ONLY have a 250 grain round nose mold figure thats prob not safe int he lever gun.

    Thanks!
    If you're 'gonna do it, do it right - Aim small, miss small - Don't Tread on Me

  2. #2
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    Most of the SASS 73's get fed a steady diet of 200 gr. RNFP bullets, since they're used on steel targets at relatively close distances, so there's no need to hotrod them. I don't know if that's what this one was used for, but I shoot with a lot of people who do use them for that purpose. TrailBoss is a good powder for these guns, too.

    By the way, you got that rifle for about $1,000 less than they sell for new, if it's had any action work done on it.

    Hope this helps.

    Fred
    After a shooting spree, they always want to take the guns away from the people who didn't do it. - William S. Burroughs.

  3. #3
    Boolit Master Jedman's Avatar
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    It will shoot out to 900 yards, trajectory would be crazy steep, there is a YouTube video where Jerry Miculek is shooting a 9 mm revolver at 1000 yards and he mentions the bullet is well over 150' high before dropping in at 1000 yards.

    Jedman
    Last edited by Jedman; 05-02-2018 at 09:46 PM.

  4. #4
    Boolit Master

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    Quote Originally Posted by ProudOkie View Post
    Welp, I paid $250 for the ole girl. Near show room shape, thinking thats a good deal I reckon. Has the pop up rear semi buckhorn sight with graduated out to 900 yards. No way this pistol round shoots that far out of a lever gun rifle?

    Any feedback on what I need to know on these guns or good loads would be appreciated. Have some Unique on hand and some WW to melt. ONLY have a 250 grain round nose mold figure thats prob not safe int he lever gun.

    Thanks!
    If the sight radius on that rifle is 20" and if that rear sight will allow you to move the sight up about 1.203" from a 100 yard zero (that's only about a 3.72 degree departure angle) and you should be able to stuff enough black powder in a 45 Colt case to propel a 255 grain bullet at a muzzle velocity of around 1050 fps, and if it doesn't hit a low flying buzzard after rising to about 53 feet at 491 yards the bullet should come to ground at somewhere around 900 yards from the muzzle.

    I don't know just how accurate the load would be at that range but I know I sure wouldn't just stand around if someone were shooting at me from 900 yards with that rifle.



    Last edited by Tom Myers; 05-02-2018 at 08:23 PM.
    Respectfully,
    Tom Myers
    Precision Shooting Software


  5. #5
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    I'll come get it for $350 haha. Smoking deal you found there!

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  6. #6
    Boolit Buddy
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    Just what color of ski mask were you wear'n ,,, (lol) great find ,, treat her good .

    coffee's ready ,,, Hootmix . ps. I camp down in S.E. Okla.

  7. #7
    Boolit Buddy maglvr's Avatar
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    "No way this pistol round shoots that far out of a lever gun rifle?"
    I wouldn't stand out at 900 yards and have someone try to hit me LOL.
    The .357 Magnum......
    1935
    Major Douglas Wesson, using factory loads, which were a 158 gr. soft lead bullet, traveling 1515 fps, from an 8 3/4" barreled S&W, producing 812 ft. lbs of muzzle energy.
    Antelope - 200 yards (2 shots)
    Elk - 130 yards (1 shot)
    Moose - 100 yards (1 shot)
    Grizzly Bear - 135 yards (1 shot).

    It kind of makes one wonder, why today, it will bounce off anything bigger than a rabbit

  8. #8
    Boolit Master

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    Don't try to use the round nose in it! It will likely jam! Those 73s want the flat nose. The round nose is too long for that action unless seated extremely deep. I load mine with a 250 gr. rnfp and 9 grains of Unique which is supposed to be a factory duplication load. Very accurate in my rifle.

  9. #9
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    Where'd the op go? To jail for stealing that rifle?

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    Yeah! We know it worked for Gus in "Lonesome Dove" when he adjusted his rear sight a couple of times and plugged the renegade buffalo hunter on the prairie. Actually, I think that's what got me interested in owning a '73.

    Attachment 220299

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Der Gebirgsjager View Post
    Yeah! We know it worked for Gus in "Lonesome Dove" when he adjusted his rear sight a couple of times and plugged the renegade buffalo hunter on the prairie. Actually, I think that's what got me interested in owning a '73.

    Attachment 220299
    A "chicken dance" that ended badly!
    And a horse fort worked for Gus.

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  12. #12
    Boolit Master northmn's Avatar
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    Consider that the rifle in question in Lonesome Dove was a Henry using a 44 Rimfire. The show was also fiction, but the shot could have been made. The bad guy took a while to die also. As to the markings on the sight. I would guess that they are the same markings or the same sight as used on the 44-40, Whether they would be truly graduated for 900 yards is open to question. Even the 22 LR has warnings of a mile or better for range.

    I would find a way to take home a 73 for 250 also.

    DEP

  13. #13
    Boolit Man
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    on our military rifles for full battle rifles all the countries had sights that went on out to 1200 yards or so. I don't think that meant you could hit a man or even see one at that distance... They called it 'plunging fire' and I believe the point of it was that if you were aiming at an enemies position out that far and he was say in the open or in a trench you could lob bullets down on his position. If nothing else.. that would have been.........disconcerting?

    lazs

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by lazs View Post
    on our military rifles for full battle rifles all the countries had sights that went on out to 1200 yards or so. I don't think that meant you could hit a man or even see one at that distance... They called it 'plunging fire' and I believe the point of it was that if you were aiming at an enemies position out that far and he was say in the open or in a trench you could lob bullets down on his position. If nothing else.. that would have been.........disconcerting?

    lazs
    waste of ammo unless you have unlimited supply of it.

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  15. #15
    Boolit Grand Master

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    Quote Originally Posted by lazs View Post
    on our military rifles for full battle rifles all the countries had sights that went on out to 1200 yards or so. I don't think that meant you could hit a man or even see one at that distance... They called it 'plunging fire' and I believe the point of it was that if you were aiming at an enemies position out that far and he was say in the open or in a trench you could lob bullets down on his position. If nothing else.. that would have been.........disconcerting?

    lazs
    That was before the machine gun made area fire with rifles passe. Prior to that beating an area was taught and was used out that far.
    Wayne the Shrink

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  16. #16
    Boolit Buddy
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    Quote Originally Posted by ProudOkie View Post
    Welp, I paid $250 for the ole girl. Near show room shape, thinking thats a good deal I reckon. Has the pop up rear semi buckhorn sight with graduated out to 900 yards. No way this pistol round shoots that far out of a lever gun rifle?

    Any feedback on what I need to know on these guns or good loads would be appreciated. Have some Unique on hand and some WW to melt. ONLY have a 250 grain round nose mold figure thats prob not safe int he lever gun.

    Thanks!
    Alliant only shows one load for the 44-40 with Unique. That load is with a 200 gr. bullet. These guns are nice guns, but won't take a lot of hot rodded loads. Mostly used for Cowboy Action these days, but certainly could be effective on deer with the right load and bullet. Parts are readily available through Taylor's & Company and a couple of others. Uberti has a reputation for using soft screws and using Magilla to tighten them at the factory. Make sure you use proper screwdrivers, or you can easily strip them out. If you do a Google search, you can find a couple of suppliers of hardened screws.

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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