Essential armoring for new Rem 1875 and 1873 Winch

[Logan]

I'm just breaking into CAS and have received a pair of 1875 Remingtons and an 1873 Winch in 44-40.  I've been reading all the armoring that can be done to get the guns match ready.  Since I'm just starting out I'd just like to do the basic work on the guns for now. 

On the Remingtons I'm thinking of lightening the hammer spring and smoothing the actions.  The trigger weight is not bad.  What other armor work should I consider on these pistols?

For the 1873 Winch I've read of a long list of work that can be done.  For the moment I would prefer not to short stroke it.  The action and trigger do need a bit of work.  Again what would be the recommended basic work needed to get it ready for matches?

Thanks

[Angel_Eyes]

For your first few matches, run them as they are so that you can get used to the match format.

Get the sequences in your mind and concentrate on safe usage of your firearms.

Once you have got all that down pat, then you might have a better idea of what tuning is required'

Personally, I run all mine as they came from the factory, except my shotgun which lost the chokes, not easy with a side-by-side!

[rdstrain49]

Yep, what he said.

[Logan]

Thank you

[River City John]

If secondhand, give all a thorough cleaning. Amazing what cleaning out the crud and a slight oiling will do.

RCJ

[Angel_Eyes]

Hey RCJ, where do you get 'Slight' oil, I've been looking everywhere for something that good!

[River City John]

It takes slight of hand to come up with it.
RCJ

[Red Cent]

Logan, the 1873 will benefit with a little bit of tolerance removal. Taking away the burrs, rough edges, and those things that make a lever action difficult, the biggest thing working against you is the hammer spring. With the Winchester on your shoulder, cycle it firmly but a little slow. Leave the hammer cocked and cycle it again. Big difference huh? Now if you could just smooth everything up and leave the hammer spring off life would be great. HAH!
If you reload settle on a primer brand. Preferably Federals. Take the stock off the rifle. There are two screws working with your hammer leaf spring. The one on the end, the one that threads through the leaf spring; back it off until almost flat with the top side of the leaf spring. Put some non-permanent lock tite on the screw and leaf spring.The middle screw will not (shouldn't be) be touching the leaf or not much. Put the stock back on. Start tightening that screw. Here I would have a couple of cases with primers only. Chamber one, cock and pull the trigger. Probably will not fire. Keep tightening until it fires. Give it another quarter of a turn and you have got it. Should be a big difference in cycling the action.
Same goes for a pump shotgun. The biggest thing to overcome is the hammer spring. When I tune a 97, I take the spring out and start to flatten it to a match a template. 'Course, a lot of guys simply do about the same thing as the rifle. They loosen the hammer spring screw.
Keep safe.

[Red Cent]

Also, there are a number of after market springs for the '73. In addition to the hammer spring, the next best thing is to replace the lever spring and the lifter/elevator spring. Marked difference in operation. I use Whisper springs in my '73s.
http://www.thesmithshop.com/springkits.html
Now if you change these, then it is logical to replace the solid, heavy, brass lifter/elevator with a gold anodized aluminum lifter.
http://cowboysandindianstore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=6

Be aware that this will not set right with the rules of NCOWS. Great organization but they follow different rules.

The items I have noted are for speed.

[Logan]

Thanks Red.