Got me another 1873

[rbertalotto]

Picked this one up off a cowboy in Californi! Thanks Doc!

Its a real mixed breed. SRC receiver, carbine barrel, rifle forend, unfitted lower tang........But for $500, it was a bargain!

It is 44-40 and the bore will be relined as it is real bad. But the internals are very good condition. Ordered a screw kit from Homestead Parts as some kitchen gunsmith with Craftsman screwdrivers had his way with it at some point in its life. Ordered a dust cover also.







Lots more pictures here:
http://public.fotki.com/Rbertalotto/things-that-go-bang/1873-winchester-44-40/

Thanks for looking!

[dusty texian]

That a good find! Cool looking Carbine/Rifle.,,,,,DT

[The Pathfinder]

Could it be a short rifle, just built on a carbine receiver? or is it a real parts gun?

[rbertalotto]

More info......

Got her all taken apart today. Had to drill out a couple of screws that the Kitchen Gunsmith really buggered up.

I ordered a whole new screw kit from Homestead Gun Parts and a new extractor as I broke  it trying to get it out of the bolt. Ugh!

The internals are in amazing good shape. Relatively new links were added recently. All the springs are in perfect shape.

The butt stock had a crack that a bit of JB Weld took care of. The butt plate didn't fit well and when I removed the screws the wood in that area was a mess. One screw hole had been plugged with a filter from a cigarette to hold the screw in! More JB Weld to the rescue!

More updated pictures here:
http://public.fotki.com/Rbertalotto/things-that-go-bang/1873-winchester-44-40/

The rifle papers at the Cody Museum as being shipped:

WINCHESTER MODEL 1873 - SERIAL NUMBER 133113
Serial number application date not available
Type: Rifle
Caliber: 38
Barrel Type: Round
Trigger: Plain
Received in warehouse on September 24, 1883
Shipped from warehouse on October 06, 1883, Order number 7789

So, as you can see, nothing is "right" with this ol gal. It never was a Saddle Ring Carbine. It shippeed as a rifle and someone decided it really wanted to be a SRC !

The saddle ring was installed in the wrong place and this interferes with the bottom tang. I fixed this by filing it back and TIG welding in in place from the back side.
It was shipped as a 38-40 and it now wears a 44-40 barrel.
It was shipped as a rifle with a 24" barrel. It now has a 20" barrel.

So, it will be a "working" rifle....Used in Cowboy Action Shooting and put away wet!

[w44wcf]

rbertalotto,
Nice find!   Your rifle, as it is now would have been considered a "Rifle" as the letter indicates, since it has a fore end cap and there are no barrel bands.  It is possible that the when it left the factory, it could have worn the same length barrel but in .38 W.C.F.

w44wcf   

[rbertalotto]

Updated the article with a dust cover fix:

http://rvbprecision.com/shooting/winchester-1873-saddle-ring-rifle-rebuild.html

[treebeard]

Congrats  on the work you are doing on the '73. It is a lot of fun getting these neglected and often abused originals
going again. Who does your reline work?

[rbertalotto]

Thanks!

I do my own relining. bought the drill and liners from Brownells.

[The Pathfinder]

Weird that it's a 3rd model frame but uses a 2nd model dust cover rail. does it look like the milled in one was ground off, or does it look like it was always that way?

[rbertalotto]

It WAS a 3rd model frame with an integral rail. I milled the rail off and installed a 2nd model rail. This was all clearly detailed in the article on my web site....  wwwrvbpecision.com

Thanks

[The Pathfinder]

My bad, was distracted while reading and must have gone back at a different spot. I'll have to go back and re read thru again. Really nice job on it. Hope the second model I'm trying to build up from scratch comes out half as nice.