73 shorty

[bigted]

Man i am on a roll. Looks like i just won a Winchester 1873 45 Colt in a Davidson special carbine with a 16 inch barrel.

When it gets to my house i will be able to post pictures and a comparison to an original article made in 1884.

This has become a sickness for me and my new addiction seemingly to the 1873 rifles.

92's are slick and smooth and stronger ... BUT ... the 73 platform is what i would consider the " original article " . So much class and they just seem rite somehow.

More news to follow as well as proud photo's.

[danmat]

Congrats.thats awesome! I have the case hardened octagon rifle in 357 I love it, it’s a beauty.

[Walks]

Congratulations.
I favor the '73 myself, but I prefer a longer bbl. I've a 19" Carbine in .44WCF, A 30"bbl Rifle in .44WCF and a pair on 24" bbl Rifles in .44WCF & .44SPL. I seem to favor the 24" bbl in .44WCF.
I've tried the 16" trapper, the 20" short rifle and that 18 1/2" "brushpopper". Didn't care for them.
And I have one of the old WINCHESTER 94 Trappers in .30WCF. There is no accounting or understanding of why one person LOVES one gun, and another could care less.
Good Luck with that new "Rifle". The .45COLT Rifles tend to blacken the cases with most loads. In particular the UBERTI'S, not so much in the MARLINS or japanese made "winchester's".

[bigted]

Thanks. I have had win 1892's in 45 Colt and really like the chamber except the huge chamber ( i think so the straight large shell will run thru the action ) that makes shooting my favorite loads ... black powder ... a messy affair with fouling through the action past the huge chamber and into the total action.

The 38 WCF in my 73 has no such problems. It is a real treat to shoot my BP loads thru. No mess back in the lifter area. A small bit on the lifter and in the lifter well but not a bit back into the trigger area that seems isolated successfully.

All i know is that i have fallen head over heels for the 73 and look forward to playing with this shorty. Yep i do like the short carbine rifles ... but then i like the long guns too tho. My 38 WCF has a 25 inch barrel and it shoots very well. The parts carbine will have either 16 or 18 inch barrel but that is a project that's going to take some time.

Now that i have shot and handled a 73, i yearn to own more. What a nice surprise in rifles. Wish i had discovered these years ago. Well never too old to learn new stuff i guess.

[Texas by God]

CAS shooters favor the 73 I'm told - and those folks shoot a lot. I'd love one in 44-40; The Original.

[bigted]

Shorty should be in me paws this week. Man am i in a lather ... these 73's have wakened a brand new addiction.

Think i will have to re evaluate my project gun, a 44 WCF in 16 inch barrel length sounds bout right.

[bigted]

Got the lil hummer. Very nice fit n finish. All blued and pretty plain wood. It is a users rifle which suits me perfectly.

Handles WAY easy. Swings like none i ever held. Front sight is golden blade prolly brass but does well in the sun.

I had 30 loads of lee 255 grain boolits lubed with spg. Sparked with cci large pistol. 35 grains KIK 2Fg powder. Bout 1/8th inch compression. This will be the last 45 Colt black powder loads through this rifle. What a mess from blow back round the case. However the 8.5 grain unique did better and the lee 230 grain tumble lube truncated nose did very well with the same 8.5 grain unique loads.

All in all a very very fun rifle to play with. Shotgun birdies at 35 yards became broken pieces very fast. This shorty 73 will make a great little camp rifle and i plan on eating lotsa camp meals from it.

I heartily recommend these very short 1873's made by Miroku as they are very handy and accurate enough to collect game with ease.