Cabela's Uberti 73

[hp246]

I just picked up a used Uberti 73 in .45 Colt.  It has "Cabela's Sydney, NE" stamped on the top of the 23 1/2"  octagonal barrel.  Receiver is color case hardened and has Cat. 4722 stamped on the underside.  Wood does not appear to be anything special, looks about like most of the Uberti's I've seen.

I was not aware that Cabela's did any importing.

My questions:
1.The front sight is terrible.  I can hardly see it.  I noticed it is held in place with a lock screw.  When I Googled sights for this gun, all I came up with is information on the Lyman Tang sights.  Who is a good resource for an ivory style sight for this gun?
2.  the gun is unmodified.  Doesn't even look like it's ever been apart.  ran some rounds through it and it functions fine.  A bit heavy on the lever.   I can't afford all of the parts to do all of the modifications at once.  What order would you recommend making modifications?  



 

[jimbobborg]

I suspect if you searched "Uberti" and not "Umberti" you'll find lots of front sights for your rifle.

edit : Fixed it  

[Major 2]

 Track of the Wolf ....I chose this one,  FS-TC-BB-81 works very well

find your choice here >   http://www.trackofthewolf.com/List/Item.aspx/874/1

[hp246]

I suspect if you searched "Uberti" and not "Umberti" you'll find lots of front sights for your rifle.

Thank you for pointing out my typo.  Yes, I did Google Uberti and the only thing that comes back is Tang sights.  Pages upon pages of tang sights.

[hp246]

Track of the Wolf ....I chose this one TFS-TC-HB works very well

find you choice here >   http://www.trackofthewolf.com/List/Item.aspx/874/1

Thanks.  I did go to that page, and do not see that part number listed.  Nor does it come up in a search of the site.

[Major 2]

http://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/874/5/FS-TC-BB-81

sorry looks like I did not cut & paste correctly ...I fixed it


To make it a snug fit ...I used a Dremel Tool cut off wheel, and cut a brass shim out of the side of a 38 cal. shell

  side view looks a bit like this    (  .... makes nice little spring shim and works great , slid it in under the sight.

[hp246]

Thanks Major 2.  Looking for a front sight with the Ivory style insert.

[Pettifogger]

The Uberti front sight is just a standard 3/8" dovetail.  Most CAS shooters have replaced them with a standard Marbles front sight.  You can go to Brownells and find dozens of variations.  Just as an FYI, modern "ivory" front sights are white plastic.  They are brittle and the bead is easily knocked off.  Most shooters use the Marbles with a brass bead.  Remove your front sight and measure from the bottom of the dovetail to the top of the sight.  That is the approximate height you want.  Don't worry that the new sight does not have the set screw.  Few dovetail sights do.  Even on the Ubertis some have the screw and some don't.  In either event, they should be a tap in fit.

As to your second question buy or grind the stock mainspring to reduce the pressure on the lever.  Replace the carrier and lever springs (the two little screws in the bottom of the receiver in front of the trigger guard) with Whisper Springs.  Just these two modes will make the gun much smoother.  You can do other things as time and money allows, but just changing the springs will have a marked difference in how the rifle feels.

[hp246]

The Uberti front sight is just a standard 3/8" dovetail.  Most CAS shooters have replaced them with a standard Marbles front sight.  You can go to Brownells and find dozens of variations.  Just as an FYI, modern "ivory" front sights are white plastic.  They are brittle and the bead is easily knocked off.  Most shooters use the Marbles with a brass bead.  Remove your front sight and measure from the bottom of the dovetail to the top of the sight.  That is the approximate height you want.  Don't worry that the new sight does not have the set screw.  Few dovetail sights do.  Even on the Ubertis some have the screw and some don't.  In either event, they should be a tap in fit.

As to your second question buy or grind the stock mainspring to reduce the pressure on the lever.  Replace the carrier and lever springs (the two little screws in the bottom of the receiver in front of the trigger guard) with Whisper Springs.  Just these two modes will make the gun much smoother.  You can do other things as time and money allows, but just changing the springs will have a marked difference in how the rifle feels.

Thanks Pettifogger.  The white just works better for my vision.  Was curious about the set screw, as I've never seen that before.  Wondered if it was because of sloppy fit of the dovetail.

[stuck_in_73]

Let's see some pictures! Break em' out!

[Abilene]

...I was not aware that Cabela's did any importing....

They used to import the Ubertis.  Their prices tended to be lower than the other importers.  Then one year I got their catalog and the Uberti rifle prices jumped way up, higher than the other importers.  Shortly after that they stopped carrying them.  I expect that was 10 or 12 years ago.

[hp246]

Let's see some pictures! Break em' out!

I haven't had any luck posting pictures on this site.  tried again tonight.  When I use the attachment method, I get an error message.  When I try using Photobucket, it just prints the code, not the photo.

[stuck_in_73]

Paste the code in the text box. It should be the picture link.