44 Special 73’ range report.

Elk creek

Mixed bag on the 44 special 73’ on a range day. First the good, 200 grain rnfp’s shot and feed great. A fist sized group at 50yards. The 240 grain swc’s. Shot good too, but will not feed reliably. Now the bad. I loaded the mag with 10 rounds and all went well until I got to the number 5 round and the follower got stuck in the magazine. It fed fine if I pointed the rifle up and let gravity work….. once I got home I tore the rifle apart and found the magazine tube was out of round. And the follower got stuck in the mag tube. After a short session with a rubber mallet and wood block the mag tube is back in round and the follower is free. After fixing that the action was not as cycling correctly. The carrier was not dropping out when closed. I took the side plates off and it was bone dry inside no lube whatsoever. After a generous application of RIG grease all is back to working and in proper order. Another day for an accuracy test….. 

CHIRO1989

*sigh*, jealous of all your uninterrupted gun time in one day....

earlyagain

Still a happy ending. I wouldn't have been able to fix it.

Elk creek

CHIRO1989 said:

*sigh*, jealous of all your uninterrupted gun time in one day....

Days off are just that. Screw the yard! Chores in the morning after noon it’s my time. 

Wambli Ska

Good range report!  Glad you got the mechanical issues taken care off.  Maybe the feeding issues with the 240s had to do with the lack of lubrication?  If not they might just work themselves out with a little break-in.  And yes, I still hate you… 🤬

Ernie Bishop

That ended better than I thought it might-Happy for you.

Elk creek

Ernie Bishop said:

That ended better than I thought it might-Happy for you.

Thank you! 

Elk creek

I will say having been inside an original Winchester 73 from the 1890’s and being inside the Uberti, those Italians sure can make the old designs right. The parts were very will made and fit. The internal machining ans toggle links are far superior to those I found in the winny. Sacrilege I know but there it is. 

sakodude

Glad you got it all sorted out. I have a mold that drops a 232 gr GCRNFP that would probably shoot very well for you.
guess it’s time to dig out the casting stuff!

Antonio

Seems like you had as good as a time whacking the gremlins out of your '73 as test-firing it.

Funny how some people in the collecting world will bash anyone firing an original '73 for "risking a fine collectible piece" and also dismissing someone who buys "a shameful italian imitation". Even if you get an original long ago altered by a previous owner or in worn condition as shooter they´ll say it´s "an incorrect gun that should be broken down and sold for parts". 

Elk creek

Antonio said:

Seems like you had as good as a time whacking the gremlins out of your '73 as test-firing it.

Funny how some people in the collecting world will bash anyone firing an original '73 for "risking a fine collectible piece" and also dismissing someone who buys "a shameful italian imitation". Even if you get an original long ago altered by a previous owner or in worn condition as shooter they´ll say it´s "an incorrect gun that should be broken down and sold for parts". 

iVerdad! I do enjoy a project, and getting it to work. I use to get worked up over stuff like this but in the end I can fix it and I love tinkering. 

Wambli Ska

I think "tinkering" with guns is the natural progression for gun lovers that have some mechanical ability/interest.  I save the big stuff for professionals like Justsomedude but the things that can be fixed simply or with part exchanges or upgrades I'm more than happy to do myself.  I guess we just can't help ourselves...

Antonio

Probably the brand-new gun that needed more tinkering to work properly I've seen so far was the Zastava .22LR rifle. To make my PM-22 a completely reliable and good-looking rifle I had to lightly polish the chamber, set the trigger, tweak the magazine (polish burrs in all parts, tweaking the spring, and cleaning and oiling it everywhere), work the stock finish, fit the extractors, etc. 

Not complaining since the whole test-and-tweak process was fun and for the price you end up getting an old-school all steel and wood rifle with excellent performance, but not for everyone I know. Most will like a straight out-of-the-box reliable accurate shooter.