New 1873 arrived today.....Thought I'd have a heart attack!!

[rbertalotto]

I ordered a Uberti Special Sporting rifle, 1873, octagon, 20", pistol grip, 45LC.......

It was ordered through Gun Broker through a very nice place out in South Dakota, Kones Korner......Charlie Carter took very good care of the whole deal. No issues there......

So the box is delivered to my friends Gun Shop. When I arrive to see it, it is one mass of soaking wet cardboard!

We took the outer box off. Or I should say, it fell off. And here is what the inner box looked like:

http://images51.fotki.com/v102/photos/2/36012/10139402/P1030047-vi.jpg
http://images58.fotki.com/v154/photos/2/36012/10139402/P1030048-vi.jpg

And it too was soaking wet!

But thank God the rifle was in a plastic bag and was in perfect condition:

http://images108.fotki.com/v360/photos/2/36012/10139402/P1030050-vi.jpg
http://images58.fotki.com/v132/photos/2/36012/10139402/P1030052-vi.jpg
http://images15.fotki.com/v235/photos/2/36012/10139402/P1030051-vi.jpg
http://images38.fotki.com/v231/photos/2/36012/10139402/P1030053-vi.jpg

Can't wait to get out and shoot it!

[waco]

sweet looking rifle!

[swheeler]

Looks nice, waiting for a range report.

[tacklebury]

Very sweet man. ;) Definitely want to hear about shooting her. ;) Reminds me of my 1881 Marlin. ;)

[bmanis]

Uberti makes some nice looking rifles. I have the 1866 in 45lc. It is a blast to shoot. I know you will enjoy it. I too am waiting for a range report.

[TXGunNut]

Glad it turned out OK, methinks a freight company needs a stern talking to. Thank goodness for plastic!

[missionary5155]

Good morning
That is nice to look at !
Sounds like the typical driver in a hurry having to make his over filled route in record time leaving the article "by the door" ... Whoever packed it did a good job.
Mike in Peru

[gman82001]

Man that's purdy if you don't mind me asking how much is somethin like that I would love to have a 45 lever to go with the vaquero

[Calamity Jake]

Yap them 73's are purty, and they shoot good too!!

[Throckmorton]

I'd a had a heart attacke seeing my new gun in a box like that !!

very nice rifles,a favorite of the cowboy shooters because of their stright feed design. You're gonna love it !!

[cgtreml]

I ordered a Uberti Special Sporting rifle, 1873, octagon, 20", pistol grip, 45LC.......

It was ordered through Gun Broker through a very nice place out in South Dakota, Kones Korner......Charlie Carter took very good care of the whole deal. No issues there......

So the box is delivered to my friends Gun Shop. When I arrive to see it, it is one mass of soaking wet cardboard!

We took the outer box off. Or I should say, it fell off. And here is what the inner box looked like:

http://images51.fotki.com/v102/photos/2/36012/10139402/P1030047-vi.jpg
http://images58.fotki.com/v154/photos/2/36012/10139402/P1030048-vi.jpg

And it too was soaking wet!

But thank God the rifle was in a plastic bag and was in perfect condition:

http://images108.fotki.com/v360/photos/2/36012/10139402/P1030050-vi.jpg
http://images58.fotki.com/v132/photos/2/36012/10139402/P1030052-vi.jpg
http://images15.fotki.com/v235/photos/2/36012/10139402/P1030051-vi.jpg
http://images38.fotki.com/v231/photos/2/36012/10139402/P1030053-vi.jpg

Can't wait to get out and shoot it!

Just curious who was the shipper. I sure wouldn't want to use them again.
Thanks

[W.R.Buchanan]

You know alot of people look down their noses at Italian made copies of US guns. Some weren't that great 15-20 years ago. That's not the case anymore.

I think this a pretty limited mentailty considering Beretta has been in business for 500+ years. Also most people don't realize that pretty much all Italian guns are made in one valley in the country. Kind of like Sheffield England and Seiki Japan is where knives are made.

Also Beretta is supplying our Military Pistols so they must know how to make pretty good guns.

Another little tid bit. Most of the smaller shops in that gun valley subcontract to Beretta, but when they aren't doing contract work they are making high dollar shotguns. Like the kind that cost $100K+. the vast majority of those guns never are seen in the US. They are sold to rich people over there and European Royalty.

Questioning the quality of these products need go no farther than looking closely at the next Ferrari you see. They are works of art and made by the finest craftsmen on this planet and their gun people are more of the same. Italy and Germany are places where craftsmanship still matters. Also If you see the program on Natgeo about the Ferrari Factory you'd never question the quality of another Italian product. I would love to live in that factory and it would be a considerable up grade from where I'm at now.

Fiat Owns a chunk of Chrysler now too. If you have seen the commercial with JLo driving around in a Fiat 500 look in the fine print at the bottom and you'll see Chryslers name! Comparing that car to the Fiat 500's of the 60's is not real smart. Most car mags are rating that car above most of the small Jap cars.

That is a really nice gun you got, it is well finished and you'll get alot of joy from shooting it.

I'd much rather see Made in Italy on something than Made in China! And Don't laugh China is producing guns and ammo as we speak and it will only be a matter of time until US companies start sourcing guns and parts from them.

My dad always said "Pay a little more,,, Get alot more" You done good, and the fact that you were so lucky on the shipping will transfer over to the gun, and you'll do good with it too.

Randy

[Buckshot]

You know alot of people look down their noses at Italian made copies of US guns. Some weren't that great 15-20 years ago. That's not the case anymore.

I think this a pretty limited mentailty considering Beretta has been in business for 500+ years.

I certainly hope rbertalotto's new rifle is a tack driver. My Uberti 38-55 Hi-Wall I bought 3 years ago was a beauty to behold, but it's barrel must have been sourced from the craftsmen of the Kyber Pass. It was a ***. Was sent to Banana River Outfitters under warranty (my dime $32). They said it had a bad muzzle. Via a borescope there was some "wavyness" to the lands in a few places, and a couple 'scratches' in the barrel. Recrowned it and sent it back to me. They apologized about it taking so long as they had an entire shipment of Uberti pistols to go through, and ended up sending them ALL BACK TO ITALY!

I tried it again. Still a worthless ***. Cimarron then had me send it (my dime again, $28) to a place in Texas, where it took 3 months to get a new barrel. This time it was fine. If you check around on the internet you'll find out the concensus is that Uberti couldn't produce a match grade barrel if their lives depended on it, and producing 2 good barrels in a row is cause for celebration. Pedersoli on the other hand has an excellent reputation for thier barrels.

I wouldn't buy a brand new Uberti anything on a bet.

Also Beretta is supplying our Military Pistols so they must know how to make pretty good guns.



The Beretta designed handgun our military uses is produced in a plant here in the U.S.

..............Buckshot

[rbertalotto]

Man that's purdy if you don't mind me asking how much is somethin like that I would love to have a 45 lever to go with the vaquero

Around $1100 ( Call Kones Korner in South Dakota and ask for Charlie)

Italian Made...........

I bought the gun to shoot and compete in Cowboy Action. I thought about buying an original 1873 because of the investment side of the equation. But I wanted to shoot it and buying antique firearms is buying a pig in a poke. I have a fair number of "investment grade" antique firearms. Fun to look at and a very high "fondle factor", but none of them are great shooters.
I have a "bunch" of Italian cones......Pedersoli Sharps, Uberti SAA revolvers, various shotguns. All are great firearms right out of the box. Not one of them ever gave me any repair issues. Wish I could say the same about Remington, Marlin and Winchester.

I took this rifle to the range yesterday and to say it was accurate would be an understatement.

At 50 yds, the first shot was a bulls eye! Although I wasn't lead to believe this gun was unfired, it obviously had been. I find it hard to believe that Uberti sights them all in.
Second and third shots cut the first hole!!! I had to walk down to the target as I didn't have my spotting scope and I could only make out one hole. (6.9g Green Dot under a Lee #90349 / 255g RF boolit)

My father was "Made in Italy". We bought the second FIAT ever imported into America. A 1959 Fiat 500 Bianchina. We had it for 15 years and it was a fantastic car. 499cc air cooled rear engine, suicide doors, full "sun top", 70mpg..........I'd give my right arm to get it back. He sold it and bought an Austin Healy Bug Eyed Sprite.

I've owned dozens of Ducati and Moto Guzzi motorcycles. There is a Moto Guzzi V11 Sport Roso Mandello sitting in the garage as I type this. There is a saying about owning Italian motorcycles......." Making mechanics out of riders for over 100 years!"

Ora vai fuori e sparare le vostre armi e permette di smettere di parlare di loro!

http://images51.fotki.com/v102/photos/2/36012/10172640/DSC_3727-vi.jpg

http://images51.fotki.com/v628/photos/2/36012/10172640/DSC_3737-vi.jpg

[W.R.Buchanan]

Buckshot: I know the M9 is made in the US as it was a stipulation of the contract, that they had to be made in the US.

I personally think this was a mistake as there were several outfits that could make Service grade pistols already here.

The move from.45 to 9MM was idiot politicians sticking their noses were they didn't belong. If the 1911 was such a bad gun then why are more made now then back then? Plus there are 9MM versions and Hicap versions as well, no reason for changing in the first place, and really if they were going to change guns they should have adopted the Glock as it is the easiest handgun to shoot there is, and as far as reliability versus cost, there is no comparison.

Then we'd have a Glock Factory in the US instead of the Beretta Factory.

Also it should be noted that Uberti is NOT Beretta .

As far as those bad barrels are concerned, maybe that's why most of those Italian gunmakers make high dollar shotguns? No problem rifling those. They do nice engraving too. :mrgreen:

Randy

[KirkD]

I took this rifle to the range yesterday and to say it was accurate would be an understatement.

At 50 yds, the first shot was a bulls eye! ...
Second and third shots cut the first hole!!!
That is impressive! Looks like you have got yourself a first class, gorgeous shooter.

[4719dave]

wow thats a sweet lookin rig 45lc next on the list
Around $1100 ( Call Kones Korner in South Dakota and ask for Charlie)

Italian Made...........

I bought the gun to shoot and compete in Cowboy Action. I thought about buying an original 1873 because of the investment side of the equation. But I wanted to shoot it and buying antique firearms is buying a pig in a poke. I have a fair number of "investment grade" antique firearms. Fun to look at and a very high "fondle factor", but none of them are great shooters.
I have a "bunch" of Italian cones......Pedersoli Sharps, Uberti SAA revolvers, various shotguns. All are great firearms right out of the box. Not one of them ever gave me any repair issues. Wish I could say the same about Remington, Marlin and Winchester.

I took this rifle to the range yesterday and to say it was accurate would be an understatement.

At 50 yds, the first shot was a bulls eye! Although I wasn't lead to believe this gun was unfired, it obviously had been. I find it hard to believe that Uberti sights them all in.
Second and third shots cut the first hole!!! I had to walk down to the target as I didn't have my spotting scope and I could only make out one hole. (6.9g Green Dot under a Lee #90349 / 255g RF boolit)

My father was "Made in Italy". We bought the second FIAT ever imported into America. A 1959 Fiat 500 Bianchina. We had it for 15 years and it was a fantastic car. 499cc air cooled rear engine, suicide doors, full "sun top", 70mpg..........I'd give my right arm to get it back. He sold it and bought an Austin Healy Bug Eyed Sprite.

I've owned dozens of Ducati and Moto Guzzi motorcycles. There is a Moto Guzzi V11 Sport Roso Mandello sitting in the garage as I type this. There is a saying about owning Italian motorcycles......." Making mechanics out of riders for over 100 years!"

Ora vai fuori e sparare le vostre armi e permette di smettere di parlare di loro!

http://images51.fotki.com/v102/photos/2/36012/10172640/DSC_3727-vi.jpg

http://images51.fotki.com/v628/photos/2/36012/10172640/DSC_3737-vi.jpg

[helice]

Roy,
Glad to see that this has turned out so well. That soaking wet box would have sure tightened up my hemorrhoids.
As per the rifle: 1. there's some beautiful color hardening and
2. there's some pretty figure in that stock. (and that's the kind of figure that won't get a guy in trouble.) ;-)