Have Uberti 1973: Need Load

[bmanis]

What are some good 45 Colt "cowboy" loads to try in my Uberti 1873? Only boolits I have now are Lee 230TC but I have access to several more. What works well for some of you Uberti shooters? I have Unique, 2400 and a few other powders.

[Nobade]

#454190, good soft lube, a large pistol primer, and enough FFg to give about 1/8" compression. It doesn't get much better than that in a '73!

Don't forget to anneal your brass well before you use it to keep everything clean and get even better accuracy.

[rexherring]

Most of the Cowboy shooter here are shooting Trail Boss and a 200 gr RNFP boolit in theirs. Very mild recoil for fast shooting at competitions.

[pbcaster45]

When I first started shooting my Uberti 1873 I was pretty sure I had a pretty lemon (one foot patterns at 30 yards!) Posts by WildmanJack got me thinking that it was probably my reloads that were the problem (hardcast factory bullets, sized .452). First thing that helped was switching to soft alloy bullets (Hornady 255 gr. LFN, Desperado 250 gr. FP, Remington 250 LFN) with a diameter of .454-.455. Second thing was a proper set of reloading dies for the Uberti's fat chamber. Fired cases measured .484 just above the case head and my Dillon Carbide Die was sizing them down to .476! Luckily I still had the original steel sizer die from my RCBS Die Set made in 1985. Cases sized in the RCBS steel die came out .480, a much better fit. Cases were expanded with a .454 expander plug from a set of RCBS Cowboy Dies. Groups went down from 1 foot to 2 inches! And that was for the whole magazine too.

+1 For Trail Boss

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc265/pbcaster45/45ColtRNFPs.jpg

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc265/pbcaster45/Uberti73Winchester30yardgroup.jpg

Bullet: Remington 250 gr. FN Lead (.454)
Powder: IMR Trail Boss 6.0 grs.
Primer: Federal 150
Case: Remington (.454 Expander)
LOAL: 1.595

[Bullet Caster]

I use the Lee 255 grain RNFP over 5 grains of bullseye. Try to stay in the 14,000 cup range for the Uberti. It won't take the pressure of hot loads used in the Rugers. BC

[Aje]

I'm with Nobade if you want the most fun out of the rifle and cartridge Black powder's the go.
Having said that I have been known to use a #452664 over 8gns of Unique or the same boolit over 5.8 gns of Trailboss

Aje

[Grapeshot]

I have used the Lee 45-255-RNFP and the Lyman .452 250 grain Cowboy boolits cast from range lead and lubed with a variety of smokeless powder lubes to include Lyman's Super Molly. The best accuracy I have had from my 1873 Uberti Winchester Carbine is with these boolits and 8 grains of Unique. Since I've had such good luck with Unique, I haven't changed the load in over 30 years.

Maybe I need to try Trail Boss one of these days.