Need help finding import Uberti Firing pin

[captainbarred]

Hey all,

I have a Uberti 1873 Cattleman.

The firing pin was extremely loose(yes I know they need to be loose, but this was way too much) so I ordered a replacement from Numerich.

Got the firing pin and the pin to hold it in place and swapped it out.

Looks right, a decent amount of play... but no boom!

The pin is actually NOT long enough!

Simply not making enough contact with the back of the round to set it off.  If I remove the cylinder and dry fire it barely comes out through the hole.

The gun is a bit older, it was imported from Italy, so Beretta support said not to even bother sending it in as they only work on the newer mfg guns.

Could I have gotten too short of a firing pin???  Could I have damaged the hammer somehow when replacing it?

I am tempted to just sell it and buy a brand spanking new one, but who would buy it if broken, gun store wont, and even if they did I wouldn't get anything for it.

I hate the idea of keeping a defective non-firing gun on my permit if its going to sit in the safe the rest of its life....

Anybody have any ideas??

[Pettifogger]

Call VTI and tell them what you have and what the problem is.  If there are parts avaiable, they willl have them.  http://www.vtigunparts.com/

[Sgt. Jake]

    If as Pettifogger sugests and VTI cant help you, you might give Happy Trails at The Smith Shop a call,he can make a firing pin for just about anything.        Adios  Sgt. Jake

[captainbarred]

Thanks guys, VTI has the exact same schematics as numerich, right down to the numbers,  and I suspect the parts are exactly the same...

I was looking at the Smith Shop and I am kind of wondering now if the action work he does might not be a bad idea.

The cylinder hangs up(a lot) and not just when loaded.  It looks like it hangs up on the stop(dunno technical term) that sticks up through the bottom of the frame and catches/stops the cylinder from rotating when its at the correct spot to fire.  Subsequently, it leaves a line all the way around the cylinder.

More I think about it, more problems there are with it... heck the screw hole on the end of the barrel that holds the ejector housing in place is stripped and therefore shakes loose every time I shoot the thing(well... back when I could shoot it).

I only paid $200 for it, you guys think its worth sinking more cash into, or should I not bother and just buy a new one or a Ruger Vaquero?

[Pettifogger]

VTI has lots of stuff that is not on their website.  Also, the Uberti parts have changed through the years.  They still have a lot of the old style parts.  Give them a call.  Sounds like your bolt (what you are calling the stop) is out of time.   Not terribly expensive, especially if you can do any work yourself.  (The hammer cam could also be worn.  Buying a new hammer and bolt could start to get expensive.) The stripped hole may be a bigger problem.  If the screw goes in and holds at all, what I would do is red loctite the bugger in.  You seldom, if ever, need to remove the ejector housing for maintenance.  Any excuse to buy a new gun is a good excuse.  The New Vaqueros are about the same size as a Colt and like all Rugers are built like a tank.

[captainbarred]

I used loc-tight, purple I think, that held for 5 shots 

I think I do have some of the red around here though....

I'll give VTI a call.  Thanks.

[captainbarred]

Hey, just got off the phone with VTI.  Jim was very knowledgeable and helpful, ordered up the older style firing pin which he actually confirmed over the phone is longer than the new style pin.

They don't have the bearing and whatnot that used to go under the pin, but he said I shouldn't need them.

thanks again for all the help gents!

[Major 2]

Sounds like the guns had some trying times...
The firng pin issue now solved addressing the Bolt issue is next ( it is not uncommon for bolt drag, Rugers are well known for it )
At $200 you did not get hurt.. I'm thinking all issues could solved for way less that the cost of a replacement Gun.
Course , there is always a good reason to get a NEW gun...

The timing issue, and drill and retap the ejector screw & new screw should not be more than $100...
However, removing the Ejector and shorting the gun to a 2" ejectorless Sherriff pocket model might be cool too.
Just an idea...

[captainbarred]

A little more fooling around with it and I found another possible cause where the bullets get hung up when loaded.

The Gate has a little forward/back play.  Looks like I may need to fully disasemble the gun to see if I cannot get the play to tighten up.  Also the hole that the pin comes through appears to be bubbled out a tiny bit, i'll hit that with the dremmel on a slow speed to try and get that flush.

After I do that I may replace the gate just to make sure its tight, and doesn't cause hang-up then I may mess with the bolt as well, it looks pretty darn worn.

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

Read my reply in your other thread about the burr on the firing pin hole. Do not use a Dremel tool. More good guns are screwed up with Dremel tools. Use a file. Read my answer.