Uberti 1885

[Neutron]

Got one the other day in 45-70 and am thinking about changing sights from the rear buckhorn & front post, to a lyman front globe and some kind of ghost ring or peep rear sight. My eyes are not what they used to be and the buckhorn is hard to be very accurate with for me. I will want to use for hunting some so don't really want a tiny peep that will be hard to see thru at low light conditions. I will be shooting mostly 300 grain factory loads. The rifle has a 30" octagonal barrel. Any suggestions on sights? Will a ghost ring work where the dovetail is for the rear sight or is that too far forward? How do I tell what height front or rear sight to order? Does anyone know the dovetail size uberti uses? Thanks.

[dodd3]

get the marbles tang sight the come with 3 eye apertures one of the apertures is grate for hunting nice big hole like a ghost ring. the sight is very compact,plus you will have easy windage agistments.you can also get the uberty one  that looks the same as the marbles    
bernie

[TexasMac]

Neutron,

Bernie's suggestion is a good one.  I have not used a "gost ring" sight on a highwall but have used one on a Marlin lever action.  It was mounted as far back as possible, close to the eye, but not too close to allow for recoil.  They work great for deer hunting but are not usefull if mounted forward of the receiver.  By the way, you should be able to use the front post sight that came with the rifle.  Try it before changing it out for a globe site.  You eye will automatically center the top of the post in the center of the gost ring image.

I've considerd getting a Uberti highwall for deer hunting and have not because I'm concerned about the ability to quickly shoulder and recoil of the cresent shaped buttplate.  I sure don't want it to hang up on clothing when raised up quickly for a snap shot.  But the owner of Cimarron Arms assures me that the Uberti buttplate does not have the sharp corners as does/did other 1885 highwall copies.  I'm not convinced yet so I'd sure like to get your feedback.  If I do spring for a Uberti it will either be in .45-70 or .40-65.  Have considered .38-55 or .38-50 but I'm not set up to reload .38 caliber at this time.

Please do post how the rifle handles and shoots, including recoil.  

By the way, why Neutron and not protron, atom, electron, etc?  Just curious.   :grin:   Thanks.

Wayne

[Neutron]

I have only got to shoot it once so far.  I used a slip on recoil pad for 9 shots and shot 1 without it.  I was only wearing a t shirt and  a thin jacket so had no recoil shield on or anything.  With the recoil pad and shooting federal 300 gr factory loads recoil was not bad.  I was shooting off sticks from a sitting position.  Without the recoil pad it was a little stouter.  None of it seemed too bad while shooting but later and the next day my shoulder was a little tender.  Similar to shooting 20 or 30 rounds from an '06 hunkered over the bench.  The edges of the buttplate are rounded some and I would not worry about it hanging up.  It feels pretty good shoudered without any pad till you pull the trigger.  The rounds smaller than 45-70 would probably be much easier recoil.    They make a model with a shotgun butt and if I was mail ordering it in 45-70 that is what I would get, but I think it only comes with a round barrel. A recoil shield on my shoulder might make quite a difference with the crescent butt plate.  Plan A is to take a limb saver slip on pad and find something like some rubber or leather or something to fill in the crescent so the pad is fully supported inside and then to cover it with leather so it looks decent.  Plan B is to have a carpenter buddy make a wooden stock extension that I could put a regular recoil pad on and to cover the xtra wood with leather.  I can't really say much about accuracy till I get to shoot at paper but it seems ok so far.  The gun is very nice and handles pretty well.  While shooting I did not think the recoil was a big deal with that load but I am going to make it easier on the shoulder so I can shoot it for longer sessions.  The stock rear sight is not great.  The elevator piece on mine is only functional on the two highest settings the lower settings are not tight.  It could maybe be tweaked a bit (bend the flat part behind the buckhorn) to make it work.  The handle "Neutron" is just what popped into my head when whatever name I was trying to sign up under was taken I think.

[marlinman93]

Neutron,
 Here's some sights that are reasonably priced, and decent quality. I have the Winchester vernier tang sight for Low/High Walls on my original Winchester High Wall, and it works very well. I know you said you wanted more of a ghost ring for hunting, but I find that if I remaove the aperture on this sight, it works like a ghost ring, and gives a good sight picture for hunting. Not bad at $59 either!
 http://www.jeffsoutfitters.com/store.aspx?panel=1&categoryid=67

[dodd3]

the site that marlin man gave you for the tang sights are very good value for money ,if you remove the rear buckhorn sight  i would fit a lyman folding leaf rear sight in its place then you can use that sight as a reference for the tang, thats wot i do  like in this photo.  
bernie  
 

[terjeness]

I just bought a Uberti-produced highwall (32",octagon barrell).45-120, and want to use it on a bison hunt in January '06.
What does anybody out there know about reloading, and especially what kind of ballistics can I expect? I was thinking of using 405 grain jacketed bullets, like to ones the .45-70 is loaded with (w/smokeless powder).
However, I plan on using BP. I'm thinking about putting a mid range vernier sight on it...
Any advice? Experience?
Mr.T

[marlinman93]

tergeness
 Welcome to the forum!
 I had a Pedersoli Sharps 1874 in .45-120, and it will definitely do the job on buffalo! I'm not sure smokeless powder is a good choice in the .45-120, as it will end up with lots of empty case with most smokeless powders. I tried a few loads from my old Ideal manuals, and didn't get good consistent smokeless loads. Accuracy was well within hunting needs though, at around 2.5-3.5" groups at 100 yds.
 Velocities with most average loads run in the 1500-1700 range using a 450-500 grain bullet. A lighter bullet in the 350-360 range will give more velocity, but I'd stick with the heavy ones for buffalo. If you use the 405 gr. jacketed bullet, 56.0 grs. of 4895 should give around 1700 fps. If you use the same weight (405) cast bullet, reduce the charge to 50.0 grs 4895, for 1600 fps.
 If you decide to use black powder, don't expect to get anything near the 120 grs. that the cartridge used to hold. I found about 105 grs. of ffg would fill the case leaving just enough to slightly compress the charge, with a 500 gr. plain base bullet and a card wad. Velocities with bp were around 1300 with this load.
 You'll be glad you got that 32" barrel as it takes that much to burn all the powder the 45-120 uses! Be prepared for a good amount of recoil in that caliber. It can beat you up, even with a heavy weight gun.
 Hope this helps!

[longhornrph]

Terjeness-I don't own a 45-120, but I helped a fellow load up 20 rounds for one a couple of weeks ago.  We found that 120 grains of Goes Cartridge grade bp poured slowly through my drop tube would easily fit into his sized cases, leaving room for a card wad.  Don't know how they shot; this fellow was mostly interested in the cool factor of the long 3.25" case and clouds of smoke.  You might search for the Shiloh forums and look for the one addressing bp reloading-lots of good info.