Uberti '73 Problem



When I bought my Uberti 73 (20", oct. barrel, .45 Colt), I was thrilled to be getting one of the best lever guns made for cowboy action shooting. These rifles shoot and look great. I took it to the range and the very first time I loaded it and tried to cycle the lever, it jammed. I couldn't believe it. I finally got the rifle to fire and I reloaded it, and it jammed again. And again, and again...
I was more than a little PO'd. I called Cimmaron and was told to shorten the magazine spring. The tech said they'd had this problem with a few of the rifles, but clip off some spring and it would work perfectly (or I could return it and they'd send it back in 45 to 60 days). So I shortened the spring. It didn't help at all.

I did some research on the web and posted a question about the problem on a couple of forums, and I discovered that quite a few folks had the same problem as mine. It makes me wonder what kind of quality control these expensive guns go through--allegedly they're all checked at least once. If mine was, I'd like to talk to the inspector, because it never, ever fed the last round loaded.

The first photo illustrates how the last round I loaded (first one to fire) kept hanging up in the frame. It wouldn't feed into the carrier block. I had to stick my finger into the loading gate and push it in and over to get it to straighten out so that I could cock the lever. All the cartridges after the first one fed perfectly.

Disclaimer: I'm not a gunsmith, so take anything I suggest with a big grain of salt and at your own risk. All I can say is, I talked to four gunsmiths and some knowledgeable shooters about this problem and read everything I could find. I followed their advice and now the rifle cycles perfectly. If you have any doubts about your skill level (like I did at first) then you should give your rifle to an expert. I'm too Irish to do that (stubborn).



Suggested Fix



I'm indebted to Will Shootem and Coffinmaker for explaining how to cure this problem Here's what they wrote:
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There is a "bevel" missing from the frame. The "73 and "66 rifles should have a small bevel at the bottom of the back wall of the mortice the carrier block rides in, to guide the cartridges into the carrier block. None of the new build Uberti rifles I have built/workked on the last two years have had the correct bevel at that point. Looking down from the top, where you see the round cocked a little side ways, the case rim is under the ledge of the mortice and is stuck there because the ledge is square and there is no bevel. The gun must be torn down and a bevel filed into the frame at that point. For proper quick feeding, the bevel needs to extend all the way across the frame. A nice approximate 45 degree bevel is required across the bottom ledge of the mortice. The bevel eases the cartridge into the carrier block as it rises and "squares" it up. Without the bevel, no amount of fiddling with bullets, case length or loading gates will fix the problem.
(Coffinmaker)

*Well, I am a professional gunsmith, and this problem is very common on all Uberti rifles. So common in fact, that it's the first thing I do to one of these rifles when I do an action job.
It is caused when the top of the cartridge rim hits the top edge of the cutout that the cartridge passes through when it's pushed through the loading gate. The cure is to file a small ramp that will push the cartridge rim forward as the carrier goes up. After doing this, you won't have to straighten the last loaded round out to get it to feed smoothly.
Will Shootem Pioneer Gun Works



Here's what I did. I took off the side plates and loosened the springs. If you need to know how to do that, check our Marauder's excellent website Here


There were a lot of rough edges, burrs and metal filings inside the receiver. Here are some examples: Rough!



Here's the view from the right side:



I filed metal off the areas shown in the next two photos. After filing I smoothed the metal with an oil stone.




Don't forget to shorten the magazine spring if it's too long. Be sure to oil it. Better yet, replace the stock spring with a stainless steel.
That's all there is to it. It's not hard. I was able to reach all the edges without disassembling the action. After cutting I blew the action out with canned air and oiled everything.

Have fun and shoot straight!!
JD Yellowhammer
Oct. 2007