Finally ordered a Uberti Cattleman 1873.....

[offhand35]

I have 4 Ruger single actions already, a NMBH 41mag, a Vaquero in 40 S&W  , an Old Army, and a New Model Bearcat. But......I wanted  a 45Colt or 44Spl in a frame that is actually sized to the gun to carry hiking and backpacking.  Plus there just seems to be something to the feel of the Colt and like sized facsimiles..... I've admired the USFA Rodeo,  but just did not pull that trigger for some reason.....although 1 or 2 years ago would have been better than now, what with the new prices and all.
Anyway, while perusing GunBroker last week, I found this dealer in PA that has 210 Uberti 1873 Cattleman Hombres in 45Colt , and 75 in 357mag,  in  Dutch auctions, as well as  recurring single gun auctions for each caliber. These are new in the box.  The individual auctions are "Buy It Now" for $260 plus $20 shpg.  So after viewing that auction for the 45Colt version about 30 times, I finally hit the  BIN  button, and hope to have it by the end of the week.
A major factor in this decision is the number of great reviews and comments that have shown up on this forum over the years in   regard to the Ubertis.

My intent for posting in this forum now is to express appreciation to everyone who has posted in regard to the Uberti revolvers over time, AND to let everyone on this forum know  that these  single gun and  Dutch auctions are going on for such an affordable price.  Just search the word Cattleman in the revolver heading in GunBroker to find them.

I handload for everything that I shoot, and had decided to look for this style single action revolver rather than continue my frustrating  search for a reduced load for the 41mag that I can shoot consistently.  My Vaquero is interesting, but I have no interest to carry that one as a "working" gun, as it is simply part of my 40S&W series.  [Talk about oversized for caliber!]

After I get it to the range, I hope to report on it as well, to continue to contribute to the info regarding these revolvers.

[Bigeasy]

The Uberti Cattleman is a nice revolver.  Best used with standard factory spec loads.  Might want to order a replacement spring kit.  They don't cost much, and can come in handy, as  S/A's using original Colt style lockwork on occasion can break a spring with heavy use.  The small leaf spring under the locking bolt in particular.   $260.00 is a great price for this revolver.  Since I live in PA, now you got me thinking.... I could use a S/A .357..

Larry

[mantihunter]

Congratulations on your Uberti purchase. I've owned 2 Blackhawk 45 Colts and a Vaquero in 45. Thought they were WAY too big for my liking. I bought a 4 3/4" Cimarron (made by Uberti) 45 Colt a while back and love it. Gonna shoot it with black powder loads only and 250 gr cast bullets. Should be a near perfect packin' pistol. Have fun with your new toy.

[ratdog]

i have several uberti's great guns. caution i reloaded some 45 cal bullets for my ruger 200 grainers would work great in my ruger black hawks but not in the ubert's bullets are to long needed to be seated more into case the 250 grain i loaded wroked fine not quite as long my little uberti bird  head with thee and 1/2 inch barrel is a shooter had a bretta marshal basically same gun but hump on grip shot to left bought used sold it i like ubert's fit is tight lighter shot nice real quality don't shoot hot loads 250 grain bullet 7 grains win 231 my favorite load in my rugers to. the 200 grainers i also use in my 1911 no problem i cast 250 grain bullets from lee mold . have a great week end

[offhand35]

Thanks for the replies, everyone! The Uberti came in yesterday, and fit, function and lockup seem top notch! The finish is matte black, the reason for the lower price for the same action that is in all the Uberti guns. Essentially the same finish were I to shell out for a USFA Rodeo. It came in the box covered or dipped in oil. I have to break it all down to clean it.  Even though I wiped the outside down thouroughly, it still seeps oil when the action is cycled!
 I cast up a whole bunch of the Lee 255gr RNFP in 1:20 lead/tin alloy. These need to be sized to .452 to fit the cylinder throats.  I have plans try a bunch of different loads with different powders to see how it shoots in the next week or so, all in the 800-875 fps range.  This is still over 400 ft-lbs of energy at the muzzle, and plenty enough for anything that needs stopping. Provided it shoots reasonably well, it should make a great woods walk/hiking gun.
I do have a T/C Contender bbl in 45Colt, but it will be easy to keep the loads separated as it has a .455 bore, and I load a Lyman .454 250 gr bullet for that.  It looks different from the LEE's

I will post more later after I have gotten to the range with it.

[gcrank1]

I've had a Millenium version (Cabelas) for several years and it has been quite satisfactory. It shoots .452 happily. The flat finish stripped off easy and with a degrease and cold blue looks like a well cared for old original (except for the brass grip frame).
Hope yours works as well as mine.

[offhand35]

I did get to the range yesterday, and shot 5 different powders with the Uberti 1873 Hombre. Three of them grouped into the "I'm not going to bother any further with" category. The Blue Dot load was better than the 1st 3, but the real surprise for me was the AA5744 load! I had hardly considered using 5744 in cast handgun loads before, but now I'm going to try it in my recalcitrant Ruger NNBH 41mag.

Anyway,  I am posting photos of the Blue Dot and AA5744 targets, shot at 17yds, off hand. The bullet is the LEE 452-255-RF with BHN 10.4 alloy, sized to .452 for the cylinder chamber mouths, and tumble lubed with LEE Liquid Alox.  The AA574 load was from the Accurate Smokeless Powder Number Two manual, averaging 823 fps. The Blue Dot load is from LEE's Modern Reloading, 2nd ed., averaging 928 fps [I thought this load felt a little hot, though it is less than what Alliant shows on their web manual]. Velocities determined as an average of 5 rounds over a Chrony.

All the loads shot to the same POI,  2" low, and 4" to the right.  The 2" low would be easy to correct, but the 4" to the right will entail some sight bending.....

[gcrank1]

Is that one or two hand hold? Grip makes such a difference in POI. Not bad for starters, hey!

[offhand35]

Thanks, gcrank! Those are for a two hand hold.  I can shoot 38spl much better than that, from a Ruger Service Six and T/C Contender.  Anything bigger and stronger like 357mag or 41mag my groups tend to look more like a shot pattern.  So you can understand that I was pretty encouraged with that AA5744  group with the 45!
So now I plan to make up a quantity of that 45 Colt load, and get accustomed to it and the Uberti.
I think I will try different bullets, I have a Lyman RNFP  mold that just came in, and possibly another, a SWC coming in soon.
Then make plans to adjust the windage and elevation very cautiously on the front sight.

I'm pleased with the Uberti in 45 Colt. Shooting  it has a feeling of power but it seems much more controllable than my 41Mag.

[gcrank1]

Ahhhh......2handed, I'll bet with one hand, like God and Sam Colt intended, that it centers up!
Have fun, that what it's all about.

[offhand35]

Well, I got to  the range again with the Uberti 1873 Cattleman Hombre. I tried three levels of loading with AA5744 with the Lee 255gr RNFP and with a LEE 252gr LSWC, all sized to .452.  The revolver did not like the LSWC as much but still shot essentially 4" to the right and low. The RNFP still shot the same, 2" low [not a real problem"] and 4" to the right. So this remains a problem. At the same session, I also shot my Ruger NMBH 41mag 4 5/8", and it shot pretty much as it always has for me, with no improvement to grouping with AA5744, so at least the Uberti is very consistent, but still not viable as a hiking/woods carry gun.

So today I proceeded to clean the guns I shot the other day, and upon careful observation of the Uberti, I find that the importer's roll stamp on the top of the bbl is perfectly aligned with the rear sight notch, BUT the front sight is installed approx 1/2 the width of the roll stamp to the LEFT!
Hmmmm....if I were to move the sight to align perfectly with the roll stamp and the rear sight notch it would be about the amount I would want to center the POI.

So,  now I guess I need to pursue a warranty claim with Uberti..........

[gcrank1]

Bummer!
If I'm thinking about this correctly, they tightened it in a tad too far? A local 'Smith may be able to loosen it just that amount without it becoming too loose so your windage is good for your hold. For me, that beats bending a sight blade over.
I hate sending guns, and handguns are expensive to ship.

[StrawHat]

... I cast up a whole bunch of the Lee 255gr RNFP in 1:20 lead/tin alloy. These need to be sized to .452 to fit the cylinder throats.  I have plans try a bunch of different loads with different powders ...

The two powders I use most in my 45 long Colts are Unique and blackpowder.  I prefer blackpowder but the Unique load works well also.  What Lyman bullet have you tried?  I have used 454190, 454490, 454424 and 454423.  All work well for their intended purpose but I keep going back to 454190.

[offhand35]

The only mold I have shot in the Uberti 45 Colt so far is the LEE 255gr RNFP and the LEE 252gr LSWC. The Uberti did not seem to like the LSWC, but it may have been due to sizing it in a Lyman 450, leaving, as it turns out, the front band unsized. In the future, I am going to run these through my LEE .452 push through sizing die first, then lube them in the 450.  I have a 454424 SC and a 452424 DC mold, both purchased used, and could not get acceptable bullets from them last session, so went back make a bunch of the LEE RNFP's at that time to try to rescue my time spent.  Hmmm...as it turns out the 452424 and 454424 molds are very different from each other.    I do have a 452190 SC mold, but have not tried it yet.  I like the RNFP in a revolver load, and with two LEE molds for that bullet, I was able to get  a few hundred acceptable bullets in 1 1/2 hrs,  and so will probably put off the 452190 for a while.
   I've never had any Unique on hand. Historically I have  used quite a bit of HERCO and Blue Dot.   The HERCO shot ok, but I found greater promise with  Blue Dot and with some  AA5744 that I originally had on hand for 405Win cast loads, with some apparent success with the 45Colt, as my target shows.
  The next step for the Uberti is to turn the bbl to center POI, and then decide which load to sight in for, and file the front sight to raise POI at 25yds.  Blue Dot is much less expensive than 5744.
....And then, a lot of shooters like Red Dot for standard loads, so I may pick up a can to try before doing any modifications. 
All this work up is delaying my hopes to carry this revolver as a trail gun during our summer hikes this season,  but it all has to be taken one step at a time,  so I can be confident in it should the need arise.

[shot1]

With your 255 gr bullet try 8 grs Unique it has always shot good in most pistols. You can fix your windage problem yourself. Remove the cylinder and the ejector rod and housing. Place a piece of masking tape on the frame and one around the barrel where they meet on top of the frame. Draw a line with a pencil across both pieces of tape from front to back. This will be a reference line as to where the barrel is aligned so when you turn the barrel you can see how much you turned it. Get you two pieces of hard wood and clamp them together in a vice and drill a hole where the two pieces meet completely through. The hole needs to be large enough so the diameter of the barrel will fit through it with a wrap of leather around the barrel and will tighten up in a vice to hold the barrel tight. Get you some powdered rosin, the best place to get it is at a sporting goods store in the baseball section in a pitchers rosin bag. Place some of the rosin on a piece of leather, a piece of old boot tongue will work. Wrap this around the barrel and clamp with the wood blocks around the leather and barrel in a vice. The rosin must be against the barrel with the leather between the barrel and the wood blocks. The rosin will let the leather grip the barrel and keep it from turning. Take a piece of hard wood, I use an old pick handle, stick one end into the cylinder window of the frame and use it as a leaver to unscrew the barrel some. Then tighten it back up watching your witness marks on the tape. To adjust for the pistol shooting right I would stop my tightening when the witness mark on the barrel got to within about the width of the pencil line itself before the original lines lined up. It does not take much turning of the barrel to make a bunch of point of impact movement. Put everything back together and see were it shoots. You can adjust more if need be in the same manner. You are lucky that it is shooting low. You can file the front sight down a very little at a time and shoot to see how much the point of impact goes up.   BEFORE YOU DO ANY OF THIS FIND YOUR MOST ACCURATE LOAD THAT YOU WILL ALWAYS USE. Then you can tune the pistol to this load.

[offhand35]

Bummer!
If I'm thinking about this correctly, they tightened it in a tad too far? A local 'Smith may be able to loosen it just that amount without it becoming too loose so your windage is good for your hold. For me, that beats bending a sight blade over.
I hate sending guns, and handguns are expensive to ship.

What I found is that the roll marking on the top of the bbl is indeed in line with the rear sight groove, BUT the front sight blade is actually a little to the left of that line! So, when I get the bbl turned, the front sight will be properly lined up, but the roll marking will be a little to the right of the true centerline.
 I did get a universal SA bbl vise block set. Between that and a well padded large pipe wrench it should turn ok.  I did try it once already, but the swivel base on my Craftsman vise did not hold. So  I have to block that rotation with a length of wood to the back wall off my bench, and try again.
Hopefully in the next day or so.