My new Uberti 1873... and a question.

[TheHappyGunner]

Hello all,

First, let me introduce myself. My name is TheHappyGunner and I'm from central Pennsylvania. I am 21 years old, a student at Penn State and just got my first 1873 rifle on Friday! 

I have browsed these forums and others for three years researching all the information I could find on Uberti's 1873 rifles. I made myself aware of all of the possible shortcomings that some have out of the box, but I'm here to tell you that my rifle features none of the problems I had read about... but one completely new one. 

First off, I ordered my rifle in September through Taylor's & Company. My rifle is chambered for .44 WCF and features a 24.25" half-octagonal barrel and a straight-grip stock. Overall, I would say my rifle is very good out of the box. The case coloring is appealing, the action is smooth and not too stiff, and the trigger breaks at about seven pounds with 0 creep! Everything is tight, the screws come out with ease and are not soft, and the sights are aligned perfectly! However...

There's something funny happening with my trigger. It has free forward movement. Cocked or de-cocked, the trigger can be pushed forward about half an inch without resistance . This isn't really a "problem" as it doesn't affect the function of the rifle at all, but it doesn't seem to me like it should be a common occurance. As previously stated, contact with the sear is good without any creep when pulling the trigger, but there's quite a bit of forward motion.

Is this normal? On all of the threads I have read in the past few years, I haven't seen anyone mention anything like this. I know there are some real experts on these rifles in this community so I thought I'd bring it before you guys, first.

For your viewing pleasure, here are some shots of my new rifle! I have never owned a Uberti or even a lever action before, and I figured I'd start out with one of the best!

Have a great evening,
TheHappyGunner

[wildman1]

I had to go and open the gun safe to try that. The first '73 I grabbed was my Winchester. No forward movement. Then I tried a Uberti '73 made in 1988. About 3/8" of movement. Next one a couple of years old. About 3/8" movement. So I would say that is normal for a Uberti. wM1

[Johnny McCrae]

Recently I bought a new Uberti 1873 in .44-40 WCF with a 24-1/4" barrel. I just checked it and it appears to have around 1/4" of movement. My Uberti 1866 does not have any movement. I'll be taking the 1873 in for an action job soon and will ask my gunsmith about this.

[Pettifogger]

Quite normal.  73s have a two piece trigger to accommodate the lever safety.  (The little tab behind the trigger.)  The gun is designed so that you can't pull the trigger until the lever presses that tab down.

[Cliff Fendley]

What Pettifogger said. Normal to have movement on the 73 although 1/2 inch seems like quite a bit.

The 66 is different and the trigger spring keeps the trigger pushed back against the hammer.

[Pettifogger]

I had to go and open the gun safe to try that. The first '73 I grabbed was my Winchester. No forward movement. Then I tried a Uberti '73 made in 1988. About 3/8" of movement. Next one a couple of years old. About 3/8" movement. So I would say that is normal for a Uberti. wM1

Are you talking about one of the "New" Winchesters?

[wildman1]

Yes, I don't own an old Winchester '73, yet.  The OP inquired about free forward movement which my Ubertis have. The Winchester does not. However the Winchester's trigger can be pulled BACK freely about 1/4" before any thing happens.  wM1

[Wes Tancred]

As mentioned above, this free motion of the trigger is a characteristic of the trigger-block safety mechanism that was first introduced by Winchester on the Model 1873. The previous Henry and Model 1866 rifles lacked this feature. The Uberti replicas are faithful in both respects. Very early 1873s, as well as those with optional set triggers, also lacked the trigger-block safety; and the same is true in the case of the Model 1876.

The new 1873s from Winchester have the refinement of an additional light spring tension to take up the free motion (keeping the trigger forward, as Wildman describes above), and eliminate the "floppy" quality of the trigger.

Uberti added this Winchester design safety to their replica of Colt's Burgess rifle.

[Pettifogger]

Yes, I don't own an old Winchester '73, yet.  The OP inquired about free forward movement which my Ubertis have. The Winchester does not. However the Winchester's trigger can be pulled BACK freely about 1/4" before any thing happens.  wM1

That's what I wanted to point out.  The new Winchester trigger is two pieces just like the Uberti and the original.  An almost standard tuning trick with the Uberti is to put a spring between the trigger and sear so the spring pushes the trigger to the REAR.  That eliminates slop.  Winchester put the spring in their trigger on the wrong side of the trigger pivot pin.  So the spring pushes the trigger FORWARD which is the exact opposite of what you want.  By the time you compress the trigger safety and start pulling the trigger the Winchester has a LOT of slop before the trigger hits the sear.  The new Winchester trigger is horrible out of the box.

[wildman1]

Have you taken the "slop" out of the '73 that you are using for CAS now? wM1

[Pettifogger]

Yep.  I have all the photos to do an article for the Cowboy Chronicle about tuning the new Winchesters.  They have several differences from a Uberti or an original.  I bought one in .44-40 and it now runs like a scalded dog.

[wildman1]

Might be the Gent shootin it.     wM1