Golly, that's some Good Wood!

[King Medallion]

I'm tempted, its the only caliber I don't have, but.....
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/1068842101

[Hair Trigger Jim]

Good wood, good barrel, unknown action?

[Abilene]

Yeah, that's a big 'but' !  Can't say about that one, but a lot of Chaparrals had wood that was sort of laminated or something.

If you do pass it up, you just know somebody will come along saying they've got a Chappy 40-60 that is perfect! 

[Hair Trigger Jim]

I was just typing that I believe that pretty grain was applied on top of the actual wood on those early Chaparrals, when along came Abilene and beat me to the draw!  (Still looks pretty!)

[King Medallion]

I asked the seller if he knows any history to the gun. We'll see.

[Major 2]

At the Shot Show in 2007 held in Orlando Fl. I was working for the General Deco Contractor (Freeman Co. if anyone cares)
Anyway, Charter Arms was the early importer for Chaparral.
Charter Arms had a big booth as I recall 40'X 60, but just two 8' tabled end to end
for the two 73 rifles, a several Italian SAA types & a double shotty.
I got a very good look and handle on the two 73's.
 I commented at the time on this BB, about the strange painted on grain mystery wood.
and the C card sized gaps wood to metal.
Sometime later Chaparral offered black walnut replacement wood...by then Charter Arms
was no longer involved. The gent who's card stated at the Show, he was the VEEP of sales for Charter Arm/Chaparral wing, later tried to carry on importing for a while.
But, I think the warranty issues and returns overwhelmed him.
Marstar of Canada carried them, but Chaparral finally cease production.

The posted Gunbroker gun has the early painted on grain mystery wood it appears.

[King Medallion]

Thanks for that intel, Major. I'm thinking I'm passing anyway as the seller it not responding to my questions. That alone tells me to walk away. But as I look closer at the pictures, the wood to metal isn't the greatest, and there is something funny looking about that carrier that is disturbing, the forward left side. Looks burnt or chipped, something.

[Major 2]

I did a quick search for original post

Major 2
"Still running against the wind"
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#7

July 01, 2018, 07:06:52 AM


I recall a table within the Charter Arms booth at the 2007 Shot Show.
A simple 2' X 8' draped table and upon it lay the first two Chaparral 1873's I laid eyes on.  They were 44/40's as I recall.

That that juncture (January 07 )  Charter Arms was to be the importer ( that lasted about 4 months ) and Charter Arms dropped them...

But I get ahaed of myself ...this was "SHOT" the industry's big brew HaHa SHOW"....this as I pointed out in my review then,  was where the Manufacturer's put their BEST foot forward....

Well, most manufacturer's did anyway.... At 10 feet the first two Chaparral 1873's I laid eyes on ...looked OK ...@ 10 feet I said...

What I got to hold was something else again.... Some kinda Mystery wood with painted grain pattern and wood to metal fit was the thickness of a dime gapped in some places .... I'd seen better fit & finish on toy crap cap guns.
Shortly there after, Charter Arms offered a walnut upgrade kit , and then shortly after that Charter Arms drop all mention of any association with Chaparral....

I took some heat on this very BB by the next FFL that set to handle them ( archives may show that drumming  )
He aparently later saw the light as the guns myriad of issues shown forth ... he too,  bowed out

It is really too bad.... I really wanted to see Chaparral succeed , now if they had set out to make Tomato sticks they would have !


(the heat I got was from the gent I mentioned, former VEEP of Sales Charter Arms)

[Black River Smith]

If this was a 26" I would be all over it for that price and fix the issues.  Yes, I still want a 40/60.  I would be happy having both the 45/60 and then a 40/60 to compare cartridge/caliber qualities.  This rifle -- 1st - is too short for me, 24", oh, maybe.  2nd - the magazine screw is sticking out like my 45/60 was, easy fix for a patient person, back in '14, I was.  3rd - what I don't see is a picture of the bolt shell tab, that little piece of metal on the bottom of the bolt - that is sooo important to the toggle link's ejection, I am concerned.  4th - mine also had the excessive gap between the bolt face and extractor claw, you know that patience comment above, well not another #$%#$!^& doing that replacement job again.  Really not that hard but 'darn' that patience factor can be short, now.

King,
That burn mark you see on the lifter, well it looks like a lot of grease to me.  Won't say it's not hiding a flaw in the brass but it may be nothing, either.

Darn did I mention it was too short for my likings.  Shucks!  It is a 40/60 Win, something you do not see a lot of these days.

[Coffinmaker]

  OK - ALL
Back when these rifles first started to come into the country, I still had my Shingle out, and buyers were bringing me these rifles in DROVES!!  They are/were GARBAGE.  they were manufactured in the same factory that was Armi San Marco.  The barrels were pretty good, except most had way excessive Head Space.  Bad Extractors.  The Cartridge Guide Tab at the bottom of the Bolt was either broken or missing entirely.  The replacement parts provided by Chaparral were WORSE than the OEM parts, and unless your an accomplished machinist, there was NO FIX for the ABYSMAL head space.  The "wood" as shown on Gun Broker is NOT the real wood.  The real wood is either Poplar or some form of Beach that is "wrapped" with photo facsimile of wood.  Damage it and you're screwed.

In the past, one of our contributors "Geezer D" chronicled his road to making a Chaparral just functional.  He is a great machinist and by the time he got the thing just safe to shoot, he had invested well over a THOUSAND Bucks.  More than the original purchase price.  I personally got to the point I refused to work on them.  What you are looking at is a very expensive tomato Stake.  Do not walk away, RUN AWAY!!

[King Medallion]

Personally,  the short barrel is the big draw for me, and the 40-60 caliber, which is the only one I don't have.  But, the biggest  deterrent is the name. Chaparral. Couple that with all the fine intel stated above, I'm passing. Chit, I barely have time to shoot the ones I've got.

[Black River Smith]

King,

Could you or would you, please explain your preference for a short barreled rifle in a large caliber like the 40/60.  To me the lighter rifle (short barrel) just seems contrary for a larger caliber. It would seem awkward and difficult to handle the recoil.

I can understand CAS/SASS desire for a short pistol caliber rifle for faster movement between targets but not for large calibers.

Maybe your explanation would change my mind about these short barreled rifles, that some people even purposely create.

Thanks, if you don't mind sharing your beliefs and motives.

BRS

[kwilliams1876]

The '76 is not a light rifle and the .40-60 is not a heavy recoiling round.
In the .40 .45 and .50's with a full mag tube they are quite hefty. You would hardly notice the recoil difference with a shorter barrel.

[King Medallion]

Well sir, my reason would be I simply don't have a need for a long barrel. I don't hunt much anymore,  and the 76's aren't legal to hunt with anyway here. I'm  not a long distance shooter, my range is 125 yards max, and if I can hit anything at that range with regularity, I'm happy. All that extra barrel isn't needed for me. And a shorter barreled rifle is easier to handle. That's why I like them.

[Black River Smith]

Fair enough, Thanks.

[Buck Stinson]

The "fancy" finish was applied to the wood on this gun.  If you look closely, you can see this finish overtop of the straight grain, especially of the buttstock.