73 Uberti 44-40

[Eric Johanen]

Sitting in the back of the vault were my Uberti Henry in .45 Colt and the 73 in 44-40. Have not had them out for quite a spell so I pulled out the 73 and gave the bore a fresh cleaning. I have on hand both a smokeless load using American Select and black powder loads with
GOEX 2 fg. These are loaded with the Lyman bullet. I'll get it on the range this week to empty the old reloads. I just placed an order with Tom at Accurate Molds for a iron 2 cavity mold #1 the 43-215C and #2 the 43-220C, bullets for smokeless and black powder. Much casting this winter. I got out my Uberti nickel plated Remington 1875 and blued Schofield and they got a fresh cleaning also. I forgot just how much fun these gun can be and will be getting reacquainted with them before the snow fly's and shooting them a bunch next season. I neglected some really nice guns this season doing all the work with the Sharps rifles. The American Select load is very accurate and clean. I'll work up loads with Swiss and OE 1.5 fg and Kik 2 fg and see how they work next season. So many nice fun guns and so little time to shoot them. Bet you guy's are feeling bad for me!

[Mike]

I also have the Uberti '73 in .44-40, a couple of them, and my favorite is a sporting rifle with a 24" barrel and short magazine. Not the best for cowboy action without the full length magazine but plenty good for me. The '73s do tend to get ignored, especially after I got that Low-wall in .44/40 from C. Sharps Arms. My favorite black powder load uses 34 grains of Olde Eynsford 2F which both the '73 and the Low-wall really seem to like. For revolvers I'm still using 7.5 grains of Unique and all of my .44/40 shooting uses the Lyman #427098 bullet. My black powder loads use the Starline nickel plated cases and smokeless loads go into brass cases for simple identification. While I already have a nice variety, I still would like to get one of the Uberti '73s with the 30" barrel. Shoot sharp, Mike

[Eric Johanen]

Mike, they really are nice rifles and good shooter's to boot! I use 35 grains of GOEX 2 fg with the Lyman bullet and can shoot a 6 stage CA match without cleaning. Barrel on mine is 24 inches and I have a lube star on the muzzle. I did have to remove a little material from the cartridge carrier on my Henry so it would not bind from powder fouling after 3 or 4 stages. Took very little brass off the sides and it gave me the proper clearance to shoot through a match without cleaning. The 73 needed no attention to be fully reliable all the way to the end. A bit more lube capacity with the 43-215C will be a good thing and the 43-220C Lyman copy with a crimp groove will work nicely in both the rifle and handguns. I use a .428 dia. bullet for both rifle and handguns mainly due to tight chambers in my Remington 1875. Anything larger with Remington brass and the cartridges either will not chamber or are hard to fully seat. At .428 dia. they all shoot very well with both black an smokeless powder.

[Mike]

Eric, Good notes. I size my bullets to .429" and I've had no problems in chambering with those bullets, primarily in Starline brass but other brands are used too, especially with the smokeless loads. Both of those Accurate bullets look good but I've never had any problem with the Lyman #427098 with no crimp groove. In fact, I must admit that I prefer it with the "authentic" shape it brings with it, being the old standard that it is. Lubed with Vigilante bullet lube it leaves a fine lube star on the muzzle of my Low-wall, as seen in the picture. Accuracy is great too. In a recent black powder match with targets at 50 and 100 yards I did very well at 50 yards but did not adjust my sight high enough for 100, which gave me a score lower than desired. See "Old West Centerfires" in the 2015-5 edition of The American Sharps Shooters. Yes, that was all my fault, magnifying glass and all, but it was still a lot of fun. I really should put a peep sight on one of my '73s but it is very hard to get away from that Low-wall. Shoot sharp, Mike

[Eric Johanen]

I too like the Lyman bullet and have used it for years with black powder. I have seen some set back rarely with smokeless and that is why I was looking for a new design that still preserved the nose shape of the traditional bullet. Both of these designs are cut with a traditional nose. I plan on using the 43-220C for smokeless loads and the 43-215C for black along with the old standby Lyman in my handguns. Should be tons of fun!

[Mike]

Eric, My copy of #427098 was bought in 1980 or maybe a year or two before, double cavity. I took it to a good 'smith who hollow-pointed one of the cavities, so with each casting cycle I get one solid and one hollow point. My first use with those bullets was in my old Model 1892 carbine and I used the hollow point on a blacktail buck with a shot through the neck. Maybe I should say a shot in the neck because it broke the spine but the bullet also broke into three pieces and did not give total penetration. That was when I used the hollow points for hunting loads and the solids for my revolver loads. These days I put black powder loads in nickel plated cases for quick identification and use either solids or hollow points for whatever. You might say I've had my Lyman mold too long to give up on it now but I'm certainly eager to hear about how those Accurate bullets work for you. Attached is a photo of my short magazine Uberti Model '73 rifle. Just looking at it now reminds me that it needs more exercise. Shoot sharp, Mike

[Stephen Borud]

I have a 73 Uberti 44-40 in a 30" barrel I killed a 15" antelope buck at a 174 yards. Good little shooter.

Stephen

[Eric Johanen]

Stephen, I'll bet there is a good story from that hunt. I have not taken my 44-40 73 hunting, but I have hunted with a 56-50 Spencer. I have carried it several times but not seen a good buck to pull a trigger on. Would like to change that someday. 174 yards is a very good shot!

[Mike]

Stephen, Now I want one even more..! Shoot sharp, Mike

[Dave Roelle]

That's a shot to remember Stephen --- how about a load detail ?

I'm in negotiations on an original 86 in 40-82 ----it should make a super hunting rig if i'm lucky enough to make a deal.

Keep well---stay safe

Dave