Winchester 73

Marc · Post by **Marc** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 7:52 pm

I bought a 73 today in 44-40. It is one I posted about a couple weeks ago. It was made in 1916 according to the list in "Legacy of Leverguns". The action is tight and the bore is bright! The bore is pitted but has good rifling. The bore slugged at 423" and the groove is .429". There is some wear at the muzzle. Hope it shoots anyway! The wood is solid except for an old crack at the end of the forend. The dust cover is bent and doesn't close all the way and the dust cover spring and screw are missing. That shouldn't be hard to fix. Going to shoot it Thursday.

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J Miller · Post by **J Miller** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 7:54 pm

Marc,

Sounds like fun. Let us know how it shoots.

Joe

Post by **Chuck 100 yd** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 8:32 pm

COOL ! I would love to own it!

KirkD · Post by **KirkD** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 9:34 pm

It will shoot just fine. I'll look forward to a range report with photos of your targets and groups.

Post by **Ysabel Kid** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 10:38 pm

KirkD wrote:It will shoot just fine. I'll look forward to a range report with photos of your targets and groups.

+1

Congratulations!!!

What loads are you going to shoot through it?

Griff · Post by **Griff** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 11:20 pm

Very nice. Look forward to the range report.

Jaguarundi · Post by **Jaguarundi** » Wed Jun 04, 2008 1:39 am

Sweet rifle

!

AndyM · Post by **AndyM** » Wed Jun 04, 2008 6:40 am

very nice - I love those 73's
good investment also...

RIHMFIRE · Post by **RIHMFIRE** » Wed Jun 04, 2008 6:42 am

I like it...
Have fun at the range...
let us know what loads your shoot'n
and how they group
wish i could go too!

TedH · Post by **TedH** » Wed Jun 04, 2008 7:01 am

Sweet! Will be looking for the report.

A local shop has one just like that. It's been tempting me everytime I go in there. But I think it is way overpriced so it will propably be there a while.

Marc · Post by **Marc** » Wed Jun 04, 2008 9:47 am

Yes, it should be fun! I don't expect much from the first range session. I scrounged 20 cases and 20 undersize cast bullets. I have a variety of powders to try including the holy black so some of that will be burned too. There is a gun show this weekend so I will be looking for a mold and whatever else I can find there.

rjohns94 · Post by **rjohns94** » Wed Jun 04, 2008 10:11 am

that really shines. Beautiful

Lefty Dude · Post by **Lefty Dude** » Wed Jun 04, 2008 7:02 pm

Marc wrote:Yes, it should be fun! I don't expect much from the first range session. I scrounged 20 cases and 20 undersize cast bullets. I have a variety of powders to try including the holy black so some of that will be burned too. There is a gun show this weekend so I will be looking for a mold and whatever else I can find there.

Try 5.9 Gr. of Unique with a 200 gr lead bullets, this shoots real sweet in my 92 Rossi & my Uberti 73 44-40's. my bore grooves are .429" and I shoot .430" size. Try and use Winchester brass as the necks are thinner. Stay away from Remington brass the necks are thick and so are the case rims. With the Rem. brass my 73 ejector hangs up 7 stove pipes the brass or sometimes locks up the bolt & carrier.

I use 7 gr. of unique with a jacketed 200 gr.soft point. Again this is a light load.

ole pizen slinger · Post by **ole pizen slinger** » Wed Jun 04, 2008 8:41 pm

You're going to enjoy shooting this rifle. I have a 38-40 Winchester 73 original. I have shot 7.5 grains of Unique and 13 grains of 2400 with a 170 grain cast lead bullet. I have also shot 36 grains of Goex fffg with the same bullet. The black powder load is by far the most powerful and I suspect you will find that to be so in your 44-40. Don't be suprised if the rifle exhibits poor accuracy. Mine has a hard time keeping them in a 5 gal. bucket at 50 yards. You will find that the barrel also fouls after about 15 BP rounds. Just clean it out and start over. The brass on both the 38-40 and 44-40 is bottlenecked and will seal the chamber much better than rifles that are chambered for straight walled cases (45 Colt, 357 Mag, etc.) I use Starline brass and the case walls are about 0.008 in. thick at the mouth so be careful about resizing--you can ruin a case very quickly if not careful. Enjoy the rifle. The old ones are a lot of fun.
ole pizen slinger

jd45 · Post by **jd45** » Wed Jun 04, 2008 8:55 pm

What a beauty! I wouldn't worry about the pitting in the bore just yet. My brother has a sporterized .303 Enfield with same & it shoots great!. BUT....if it doesn't, you might try fire-lapping it. I know a guy with your same rifle.........wouldn't group for nothing. He fire-lapped it & Lo & Behold!....it ain't a tack-driver, to be sure, but it IS respectable as far as accuracy. Keep a good thought & good luck! jd45