Uberti 1873 in 45 colt

[RyanJames170]

For those of you who shoot these guns what have you found for good loads? Both black powder and smokeless, I am personally planning to run 200-255gr bullets threw it with both BP and smokeless powder, my plan is to go hunting with it this year.

Also with your loads what sort of velocity do you guys see?

The rifle is a Uberti 1873 clone with a 20” octagon barrel.

[Tall]

You will likely get the best performance from your rifle using Alliant 2400 powder.

Info here: https://www.alliantpowder.com/reloaders/powderlist.aspx?page=/reloaders/powderlist.aspx&type=1&powderid=9&cartridge=36

[freakonaleash]

I have had one with a 30" barrel for a decade or more. i always shoot black powder. Make sure you use a bullet designed for black powder that carries a lot of lube. I have never owned a chronograph, so I don't know how fast they go.

[Sam Sackett]

You would do well to stay away from the “Ruger only” loads. The 73 has a toggle link action and won’t stand up to them for long. If you want heavy loads, go with a Marlin 1894 or Rossi 92. They will hold up to heavy loads.

Sam Sackett

[RyanJames170]

You would do well to stay away from the “Ruger only” loads. The 73 has a toggle link action and won’t stand up to them for long. If you want heavy loads, go with a Marlin 1894 or Rossi 92. They will hold up to heavy loads.

Sam Sackett

I have a gun for heavy stuff, I intend to keep to 1873 SAA loads, I just happen to be curious on what people get for velocity with there favorite load as it might indicate to me the rifles may like a particular velocity ie if several people say they get best accuracy around 1100 fps with different powders I would start my loads in that general aria..

[kaiser]

I have the rifle you mentioned. My favorite bullet is a 255gr cast from a Lee mold left unsized at .453 to .454 diameter and tumble lubed with Alox. My favorite loads are with SR4759, AA5, Unique, and Unversal not to exceed 15,900 psi (CIP max) listed for the .45 Colt in Europe where it is made - well below Ruger/Contender pressures! My PACT chronograph registers a high of 1410fps with an average of 1325fps out of a 20” BBL. Brian Pearce has written that the “toggle link” can take upwards of 20,000psi, but cautions that continuous use is not advised. I’m satisfied that 1200 to 1350fps is plenty sufficient for the deer I’ve taken, which seems to have about the same effect and range as the .44 magnum out of a pistol. While the model 92 clones and 1894 Marlin will handle more pressure, the “fun factor” begins to “fade” with each succeeding grain of powder! IMO Uberti makes the “slickest” cowboy rifle of the bunch with a cartridge that is a perfect match for its action; just pay attention to cartridge OAL length. Too bad Colt blocked Winchester’s efforts, “back n the day”, to market a .45 Colt rifle along with the pistol to the Army - “Custer’s last stand” may have ended differently!

[Wheelgun]

The Cimarron/Uberti 1873 24” really likes these.
NOE 453423 250gr
- 5.5gr TiteGroup
- 6.5gr Bullseye
- 8gr Unique
Lee 452-200RF
- 7gr TiteGroup
- 7.5 Bullseye
- 9gr Unique

[jimb16]

I use a 265 gr, PC'ed RNFP in mine with 7.5 gr Unique for hunting. Out of my 73 Uberti it chronos 1050 fps. I get 5 shot groups of around 3/4 inch at 50 yards. The deer that I've hit with it have dropped in their tracks. No bullets recovered. They blew right through the deer. I tried 8.5 unique and had an accurate load with a velocity of 1170 fps. Not quite as good as 7.5, but still plenty accurate for hunting.

[RyanJames170]

I have the rifle you mentioned. My favorite bullet is a 255gr cast from a Lee mold left unsized at .453 to .454 diameter and tumble lubed with Alox. My favorite loads are with SR4759, AA5, Unique, and Unversal not to exceed 15,900 psi (CIP max) listed for the .45 Colt in Europe where it is made - well below Ruger/Contender pressures! My PACT chronograph registers a high of 1410fps with an average of 1325fps out of a 20” BBL. Brian Pearce has written that the “toggle link” can take upwards of 20,000psi, but cautions that continuous use is not advised. I’m satisfied that 1200 to 1350fps is plenty sufficient for the deer I’ve taken, which seems to have about the same effect and range as the .44 magnum out of a pistol. While the model 92 clones and 1894 Marlin will handle more pressure, the “fun factor” begins to “fade” with each succeeding grain of powder! IMO Uberti makes the “slickest” cowboy rifle of the bunch with a cartridge that is a perfect match for its action; just pay attention to cartridge OAL length. Too bad Colt blocked Winchester’s efforts, “back n the day”, to market a .45 Colt rifle along with the pistol to the Army - “Custer’s last stand” may have ended differently!

The velocity you get from 16,000 psi is pretty respectable, do you have load data that gose upto 16,000 psi?

[kaiser]

Ryan- standard cautions and “hold harmless” liability apply for any loads that work for me in my Guns - use at your own risk! My favorite load is 12.9 or 13.0 grains of Alliant’s Blue Dot; or 8.7 grains of Unique; or 10.5 grains of AA5 - all with a 250 or 255 grain cast bullet. I strictly adhere to an overall cartridge length of 1.595 max for smooth “feeding” and use Lee’s crimping die instead of “roll” crimping. Most of these loads are shown as “max” in various reloading manuals at around 14,000 psi. The tricky part comes into play when you start “mixing and matching” different makes or designs of bullets with different makes of brass and primers. Another favorite load is with SR4759, which is now obsolete and is very slow for the 45 Colt. I found it to be very accurate in my 20” rifle barrel, but less so in my 7 1/2” pistol; and somewhat dirty in the pistol. (I do not offer any data on this powder due to its obsolescence.) Good luck and consider your Uberti to be a rare collector item worthy of limiting experimentation much beyond published data; for your 20” BBL will increase most of your loads near the 1300fps threshold.

[RyanJames170]

Ryan- standard cautions and “hold harmless” liability apply for any loads that work for me in my Guns - use at your own risk! My favorite load is 12.9 or 13.0 grains of Alliant’s Blue Dot; or 8.7 grains of Unique; or 10.5 grains of AA5 - all with a 250 or 255 grain cast bullet. I strictly adhere to an overall cartridge length of 1.595 max for smooth “feeding” and use Lee’s crimping die instead of “roll” crimping. Most of these loads are shown as “max” in various reloading manuals at around 14,000 psi. The tricky part comes into play when you start “mixing and matching” different makes or designs of bullets with different makes of brass and primers. Another favorite load is with SR4759, which is now obsolete and is very slow for the 45 Colt. I found it to be very accurate in my 20” rifle barrel, but less so in my 7 1/2” pistol; and somewhat dirty in the pistol. (I do not offer any data on this powder due to its obsolescence.) Good luck and consider your Uberti to be a rare collector item worthy of limiting experimentation much beyond published data; for your 20” BBL will increase most of your loads near the 1300fps threshold.

one that i might try is Alliant 2400 in place of your SR4759, as it might just burn long enough to take advantage of the 20" barrel, there looks to be data for this in the Alliant powder manual and also layman's book,

i will cross reference the data you listed with my books that i have, i can always try them in my 92 action first and if they seem too warm i will back them off. ie if i see velocity's well above the 1200-1300 FPS range

[gunnie]

I run one for SASS comps here in Australia. I use a 350gn cast FP sized to. 452", that I cast and powder coat myself.
I use Alliant Unique for a moderate load that produces 980-990fps. It certainly makes the plates dance. Plus is very accurate too, the wife won a 75m silhouette comp with my rifle & loads.