Uberti 1873 lever action

[Wayne Smith]

I have the above short rifle. I currently have an overly large cartridge (won't fully seat) in the action. I have removed the side plates and that doesn't help getting the cartridge out. The action opens fully but the cartridge won't eject.

What do I do next?

[veeman]

Use a dowel from the muzzle end and tap it out, action open.

[HWooldridge]

Can you tap it out with a ram rod?

[dverna]

I do not like dowels. A good stiff cleaning rod will work. Best is a brass rod but not many folks will have one that long.

Gentle taps until if comes out.

[Wayne Smith]

No, not stuck in the barrel or chamber, it won't fully enter the chamber and is stuck in the action, will not eject. The cartridge will move back and forth in the brass carrier. It won't come out.

[HWooldridge]

I'm going on memory here but I think you can pull the shell carrier then you can push the cartridge out the end.

[elmacgyver0]

Perhaps a picture may help?

[Wayne Smith]

I'm going on memory here but I think you can pull the shell carrier then you can push the cartridge out the end.

That sounds like it would work. How do I pull the shell carrier?

[square butte]

Does the cartridge fully enter the lifter and raise with the lifter when you start to close the lever - Order does the bolt not drive the cartridge into the chamber of the barrel ? Two Different problems - I think you may be miss using the word chamber to describe part of the lifter. If the cartridge is not fully entering the lifter from the magazine, that usually indicates that you Cartridge overall length is too long for the action. Sometimes one that is too short will allow another one from the magazine to start to enter the lifter just a little bit and will bind up the lifter from raising the one already in there. If your cartridge will not fully enter the barrel chamber, then you cartridge diameter is too large. Fix for the first problem is to find a cartridge that has an overall length that will cycle properly in your gun

[Wayne Smith]

The cartridge is fully in the lifter. And yes, the lifter will move up and down somewhat. You are probably right, I'm using 'chamber' when I should be using 'lifter'. And I guess 'shell carrier' and 'lifter' are the same, too.
I thought it should eject, and was surprised when it didn't.

[square butte]

It'll only eject a cartridge if the extractor on the bolt has engaged the base of your cartridge

[elmacgyver0]

Is the front of the bullet not moving back far enough to clear the magazine tube?
I had this on my Henry when I tried to cycle the action slowly when unloading so I could grab the cartridge before it hit the ground.
Lever actions like to be cycled smartly.

[Leadmad]

If its in the lifter and its going up and down simply remove the magazine tube end cap,mag tube spring and follower and point to rifle to the ground and the cartridge will drop out the bottom of the mag tube

Good luck and cheers

[Wayne Smith]

It'll only eject a cartridge if the extractor on the bolt has engaged the base of your cartridge

that it had. I had to use a screwdriver to get it off the extractor. Did not eject. I assume it should eject a loaded cartridge, not just an empty shell.

[Wayne Smith]

Is the front of the bullet not moving back far enough to clear the magazine tube?
I had this on my Henry when I tried to cycle the action slowly when unloading so I could grab the cartridge before it hit the ground.
Lever actions like to be cycled smartly.

No, at this point it would have to clear the chamber, and it does. It is not too long.

[peter72]

I don't have a solution but I know what you mean. I stupidly didn't measure the cartridge oal and when the lifter picked up the cartridge I hadn't seated the projectile in far enough which stopped the the lifter lifting the cartridge up in line with the chamber.
I was lucky in that the projectile was a cast bullet and was able to cycle it with a more vigorous use of the lever.

Sent from my SM-F936B using Tapatalk

[HWooldridge]

This video shows disassembly: https://www.google.com/search?q=removing+1873+cartridge+carrier&client=safari&sca_esv=0103479f8e340fb7&channel=ipad_bm&ei=-prOZaG9B92qqtsPmeef4Ao&oq=removing+1873+cartridge+carr&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAaAhgDIhxyZW1vdmluZyAxODcz IGNhcnRyaWRnZSBjYXJyKgIIADIFECEYoAEyCBAhGKABGIsDMg gQIRigARiLAzIIECEYoAEYiwMyCBAhGKABGIsDSIlhUOsPWL5Y cAJ4AZABAJgBrAGgAfYQqgEENi4xNLgBAcgBAPgBAcICChAAGE cY1gQYsAPCAgUQIRifBcICBBAhGBXCAggQIRifBRiLA4gGAZAG Ag&sclient=gws-wiz-serp#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:d11bf0c0,vid:PSmcLuzrEQo,st:0

[elmacgyver0]

Ejector missing?

[Wayne Smith]

Ejector missing?

I'm wondering that. Not even sure what it is in my 1873, I know what it is in my Marlin 336.

[FLINTNFIRE]

Well I may be wrong but I believe the elevator does the ejection , when I have had a issue I have closed lever and finangled it out through loading gate .

Hope you succeed , not sure finangle is a word but wiggle or do whatever it took to get it to slip back out the gate

[Wayne Smith]

I pulled the plug and spring and follower and got it out that way. It will eject an empty case, so I assume that the ejection mechanism is activated by completely closing the action, which I could not do with the cartridge.

Thanks all for the suggestions and support.

[G W Wade]

After firing, the extractor pulls the case rearward. The radiued cutout at the rear of the carrier rotates the case upward and out of the action. GW

[Wayne Smith]

GW is it typical that it will not eject a loaded cartridge? I don't think I've run any 44-40's through this one like I have my Marlin 30-30's.

[FLINTNFIRE]

The case in chamber comes back while the elevator is down as the elevator comes up the fired case is in opening , the 73 will eject a loaded case that has been chambered as the elevator is able to go down , look into action as you function it to see what does what , only issue I have ever had was to long as it is a straight up and down elevator unlike the feed on later winchesters which come on a angle , the elevator has the narrow part more forward that is what knocks the case up and out .

[G W Wade]

Loaded rounds will eject if not too long. I am guessing being the cartrdge didn't feed into the barrel ( from being fat) it was still in the carrier... Carrier is down picking up another shell when ejecting fired. Should have been able to pop out of loading gate if loose from extractor./ or slide out the mag tube. Good luck Love my 73"s except for some of these happenings. GW

[Wayne Smith]

What was too fat was the boolit, I think some of them grew on me. Cast them years ago, and have no idea what the alloy was, and in more than two or three casting sessions, probably with slightly different mixes.

Appro po of nothing - I have two Uberti Cattlemen, one 7.5" and one 4.75" barrels. The short gun is much tighter over all than the longer one, and some of those boolits which will chamber in the bigger one will not in the smaller one. Shooting BP the short one locked up while the longer one was still shooting, as well. That's why I mentioned it being overall tighter.

[jimb16]

Your problem sounds like your OAL is too long. They won't feed into the chamber because they won't come up. The bullet is too long for the length of the feed channel. If you do manage to get it into the chamber, it won't go all the way in due to the same problem. The front of the bullet (probably the front driving bands) are hitting the rifling and stopping the round before it is fully chambered. Then it won't eject because the nose of the bullet catches on the rear edge of the chamber and the prevents the round from coming up and out! That is why the bullets that are best for that rifle are the round nose flat points seated deep enough to not catch the rear of the chamber.

[Wayne Smith]

No, not too long. The cartridge was fully in the lifter, but the boolit was too big to completely chamber.

[dangt]

Go through disassembly and remove the carrier block. I think you are saying the cartridge did not chamber because of a too large bullet diameter and the extractor was able to pull it back out into the carrier, where it is trapped.

Disassemble.

[Wayne Smith]

Go through disassembly and remove the carrier block. I think you are saying the cartridge did not chamber because of a too large bullet diameter and the extractor was able to pull it back out into the carrier, where it is trapped.

Disassemble.

Yup, that pretty much describes it. Got it out down the bottom, though. Didn't have to disassemble, thank God.

[indian joe]

Well I may be wrong but I believe the elevator does the ejection , when I have had a issue I have closed lever and finangled it out through loading gate .

Hope you succeed , not sure finangle is a word but wiggle or do whatever it took to get it to slip back out the gate

this !!

finangle is a word ................

If I didnt know different, I might think he has got a 45 colt round in a 44/40 .........................

[indian joe]

No, not too long. The cartridge was fully in the lifter, but the boolit was too big to completely chamber.

aha moment here
if the round wont chamber fully (or almost) then the lifter remains up ---(work the action empty and watch the lifter snaps down at the last little bit of the lever stroke) ....as others have told - the lifter IS the ejector - it comes up under the case / round and flips it out using the extractor as a pivot - so - when you finangled the part chambered round back out of the chamber it returned to its place in the carrier - only way to fix that is - finangle it back out the loading gate (easiest) OR pull the magazine cap, spring, and follower.. If the round wont chamber (almost fully) you cant ever get it out the top of these actions

[Wayne Smith]

Thanks, Joe. Now I understand. The lifter is the ejector!

[Griff]

1. Since you got the cartridge out, carefully inspect and measure it to ensure it's within SAAMI specs (https://www.leverguns.com/dimensions/images/4440wcf.jpg). You need a dial caliper that measures to the .001", Northern Tool is a decent source. You don't need a Starret
t or Mititoyo, nor do you need a digital one. But you need one to craft quality ammo. Yes, you can reload without one, just as you can reload without a scale, but if you aspire to a level of precision beyond "good enough", you'll eventually want one. While at Northern Tool pick up a magnetized parts tray, as that'll help keep loose screws, pins and miscellaneous parts from rolling around and getting misplaced.
2. Go to VT''s website (vti.com) look at the exploded view for an 1973 and learn the nomenclature for the various parts so everyone's speaking the same language. If your 1973 is an Ubert6i, while there pick up a set of their hardened screws, Uberti factory screws are notoriously soft and easily buggered.
3. Visit Brownell's and get a set of quality hollow ground screwdriver, I always recommend their Magna-Tip sets... they even have sets that are firearm specific.
4. Now that you're equipped, take the side plates off. Remove the links, watch for the pins to drop, put them and any screws removed in your magnetized tray. Loosen, but do not remove the two screws on the bottom of the frame and swing the lever and carrier springs to the side, (outside the frame), remove the lever screw. If it didn't come out with the links, remove the lever/link pin. remove lever. Push the carrier up a little and remove the carrier arm. It can either come up & out thru the side openings or drop down thru the slot in the bottom of the frame where lever comes thru it. With the bolt pushed to the rear, the carrier will drop out the bottom of it's mortise. Now, with either a bore camera (cheap Chinese ones off EBay will work fine... (I have one that's basically a USB attachment and I can view what the camera sees on my laptop or tablet)... or using a small dental mirror, check out the inside of the chamber... Make sure there's nothing stuck in there. Sometimes, a case will separate leaving part of the case in the chamber... even the neck will impede a round from fully chambering. Anything there will make it an unhappy rifle.
5. Another helpful tool is a case gauge. I have a L.E.Wilson case gauge in almost every cartridge that I reload, a couple of duplicates even. The 44-40 is kind of a finicky cartridge with chambers all over the map. If your ammo goes in an LE Wilson case guage, and doesn't go in your chamber... it's your chamber that needs fixing.

Note: None of the above is set in stone, nor do I intend to sound condescending, but, while you may know all this and more, maybe the next reader that encounters the same or similar problem might be a complete newb and struggling to figure this stuff out on his own... so a little more teaching here might help the next guy.

[Wayne Smith]

VTI.com is excellence in television technology Verneck Technology - there must be another address?

[FLINTNFIRE]

https://www.vtigunparts.com/store/default.asp

[Wayne Smith]

Thanks, found it. ordered some parts, too.