3-Digit 1873
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- Опубліковано 27 лип 2024
- Join us as we take a look at a very early 1873 Winchester. This one's been refinished, so were checking it out and doing a little shooting prior to performing a complete and correct restoration on this iconic piece of history.
Thanks for the tour!
It always amazes me that these rifles get to a hundred plus years and no one ever bothers to sight it in. It's the same with all the old Winchesters I have, none of them are ever on target when I get them.
I've grabbed a modern repro and I love it. I'd enjoy an original!
Looking forward to your project. Thanks for sharing the old girl.
I'm absolutely green with envy, I can't wait to see it when you finished.
I know it's going to be beautiful, you do excellent work on these old guns.
I really appreciate and enjoy your videos.
What an amazing find! A three digit 73! Absolutely incredible! Super cool iron receiver 73!
What a great 73 Winchester, I’d say it’s been carried on horse back many times, I bet the ol fellow really like it when he got it new ,compared to the other rifles available
Absolutely. The 44 WCF cartridge alone was a tremendous advancement at that time.
Hope ya told the auction site what a fine job they did !!
Yea. Of course, it did a lot of good. However, the more I looked at it, the more excited I got about the challenge of make it look great again without breaking the bank.
@@thecinnabar8442some of the bad guns I have bought have been the best once I fixed them, must be a desensitized:)
Disease
@@thecinnabar8442 You're the guy that can do it !!
I am gonna LOVE this series of videos. Thanks Mark.
I'm really looking forward to this restoration, too.
What a great old iconic rifle, Jimmy Stewart would love it. The combination of the 1873 and 44 WCF was a real game changer back in the day. Your rifle will look great with a proper restoration, and I even think all the "character marks" in the wood furniture will add to the nostalgic look of a working mans ranch rifle. Can't wait to see the progress.
That looks like a good project we all get taken from time to time don’t worry I bought a kayak online that never came oh well. The only .44-40 I have right now is a old Colt New Service that has a sewer pipe for a barrel.
A beautiful piece of history... you will do it proud once it hits your bench.
Thanks my friend for shooting the old 73.....
Shoe🇺🇸
as an old cowboy shooter, neat to see that old black powder 44. i once had a turn of the century 1894 38-55. it didn't group very well with its over-sized black powder bore, these old guns would probably have a story to tell....if they could talk! i tried casting over-sized bullets, but then they were too tight to chamber well. finally gave up on accuracy hopes and sold it back to the gun shop owner who i bought it from. i think he kind of wanted it back anyway!
Ouch, hope you didn't get hurt too bad. This is one project I'll be anxious to follow. A 3 digit gun w/set trigger is a great find.
Love the 1873, I have a second model with thumb print on dust cover and special order 28 in barrel with threaded mag plug, shoots like a dream
Sounds like a great old rifle! The early 2nd models had the threaded mag plug through approximately SN 51,000. Many of the changes that were made in the 1873's didn't coincide exactly with the major changes that took place between the 1st, 2nd and third models.
What a great find. I'm looking forward to seeing how you restore it as it desrves to be.
Thanks I really love seeing these old rifles featured on your channel and I love the history you share about them.
If it were all original in good condition it would make a wonderful museum piece to showcase. Due to the fact it's been significantly altered you can do a complete rebuild and have a safe accurate shooter once more. It's fitting that iconic rifle be used! Looking forward to more on that beauty.
Me too!
Beautiful rifle, thank you for sharing.
You're very welcome!
Really looking forward to the restoration! Thank you.
Me too!
Such a picturesque setting ♥️ I love the area under the ridge along the lake . You have the best of it. Thanks Mark😁
A great old rifle! I’ll be looking forward to your restoration on it! Thanks for sharing!
I know it isn't an original, but still a beautiful piece. Would love to own something like that. In fact any 73 would be amazing to own. Thanks for sharing Mark.
Keep and eye out Patrick. It's going to be even more beautiful soon.
Make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, my father in law always said that and he was right. I'd be happy to have a rifle like that regardless. Presently all I have as far as lever guns is a 1873 357 mag Taylors & Co. Uberti tuned and short stroked for cowboy action. Man I love that rifle, it would probably one of the last things I would part with and hopefully someday my grandson will love it as much. One day I will have one of these originals, can't say enough about your channel and what you do bringing us all this history.
Thanks a bunch!!!!
That’s a really cool old 73
That's a nice one Mark!!
Thank you kindly!
Looking forward for the videos on the restoration
Wow what a beautiful rifle. Cant wait to see you do the restoration
Beautiful rifle keep up the good work.
Thank you mark. It is always good to see those old ones shooting. Keep it up.
Great video as usual Mark. Hate that the auction wasn’t what it was to be, but it seems to have been a project for you anyway. My 1873 that was made in August of 79 has a 5 groove barrel as well and it’s oversized too. It slugged out to .433” though. I tried many different bullets to try and get something that shot decent through my old 73. I finally found some soft lead bullets that are .429” but are hollow base. Those done very good and I wasn’t having to stretch my brass to fit oversized bullets in the case. And then I had a guy “John Kort” send me some of his bullets which were cast in a Accurate 43-215C mold. Used pure lead and I really love these bullets. So much so I bought a mold for myself. They have a wide lube groove that carry’s a lot of lube. I’m going to send you a handful of both bullets for you to load and give them a try. I load with 35-40 grains of 2F Swiss mostly.
Those bores were made oversized for a reason. When firing Black Powder and soft lead bullets upon firing the bullets would bump up to size, filling the bore and give consistent and accurate shooting
1873's in good condition, which weren't shot much, don't have oversized bores. I've slugged enough of them to know. However, a happy coincidence of soft lead bullets is that they will bump up and fill the lands after the bores have become oversized from use and/or neglect. I was using black powder and soft cast bullets and still not getting acceptable accuracy in this shoot. Next time, I'll be using a larger diameter soft cast bullet and black powder. Thanks for watching and commenting.
Great video again Mark! Can't wait to see you spruce this one up a little, would be fun to watch. Let me know if you need some .432 cast bullets. Mine are lubed smokeless, and I use them in my old Whitney.
Really enjoyed this video Mark. Despite it's issues I would be proud to own it. How cool it must be to fire a 150 year old first year 1873. It boggles the imagination to ponder it's history.
It's always fun to watch the shooting Mark. I will also enjoy watching you working with this rifle and putting it back right.
Great video. Thanks for sharing
You're very welcome. Thanks for watching!
Nice Project Mark 😀😊😀👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Thank you. Really enjoy your videos👍👍
You should mention the auction house so other buyers could be aware dealing with them.
I have a beautiful 1912 1895, marked 30 US, for 30-40 Krag. I shot it, and it was keyholing. I slugged the barrel, and it's a .312. So, now I need bullets.
I think it’s in good hands!
All in all the rifle seemed to shoot correctly
now it just needs a decent restoration.
We all get burned by buying online time to time. Even in person it happens. Part of the collecting world. Still a great rifle!
My dad owns a very early 73 as well. SN 1071
WCC Western Cartridge Company? Not sure what the 3rd C could be. Possible it may have been a test rifle for Winchester's Western Cartridge Company? Interesting old piece.
It's possible, but I've always just seen a "W-W" abbreviations in their old ads.
@@thecinnabar8442 I've also seen WW (Winchester Western) in the catalogues and old ads (or copies of old ads). Mystery markings for sure. Will be fun to watch the restoration on this old gal
Nice old rifle, thanks for sharing. My black powder 2f loads with modern brass are not too far off from yours. My 3f loads crowd 1300fps with a 200 grain bullet. Even though it was misrepresented that's still a very near piece being such an early production and the set trigger is a plus. Is that one a 24 inch barrel? My first model with set trigger is a 26 inch but I guess that was all optional.
The rear sight appears to be from a early 73 carbine…if you restore it please show how you make a raised thumbprint dust cover.
Will do. It involves large diameter exhaust pipe and some creative stamping. 🙂
Love your expertise and your videos. Just wondering if hollow base bullets might expand to fill the grooves better?
Another great video...thank you Mr. Vice President. Not that you need another project, but any thoughts about maybe powder coating some .431s for that '73?
I have thought about that. I even have some powder coat to try, but just haven't taken the time to use it. I would think that you'd still need to use lube when shooting black powder loads. I haven't tried powder coated bullets with black powder yet.
The only thing i can think of is the western costume co. But that doesn't account for the third c. I have various tools around here stamped ccc or ycc but i haven't run across wccc. Anyway its a neat rifle. Ill be following along to see what you end up doing with it. Take care
Curious if a concave hollow base bullet sized like you had. The base would obturate to the bore better and may improve velocity and accuracy. I use a .45 caliber .(458) hollow base in my 45-70 Springfields.
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Wow, your opening has changed. I like the original if you're wondering.
Beautiful country and great video. Where area are you guys in?
Thanks a bunch! We're in SE Oregon
Sweet toy sir.
Don't believe I ever heard that saying. Was that rear sight dovetailed? I couldn't quite see. If so where can i get one?? That be a great sight on top of my 1866 Remington carbine.
They have them on the Homestead Parts website. Unfortunately, they're out of stock right now.
I'd love to know what those long lever guns are like handling wise.
This has happened to me so many times!
I really should stop buying auction guns, but it's hard to find the kind of guns I like while living in such a remote area.
Makes you wonder if they didn’t “clean” up that bore to make it over sized wonder if you can get other folks with same guns to reach out with their bore dimensions and compare ? Sure is too bad they molested that beauty great video though Mark !
Fun video, is the gun worth sleeving?
Really nice video. Just discovered this channel. Can someone help me? I own a 1963 pre-64 winchester 1894. It has a 22G rear sight. Is this rear sight correct for these? I’v been told is period original but not the factory one. Any Winchester expert out here can help me?
gotta wonder all the history that '73 has seen. If only guns could talk.
Even with a good bore, could the lands be worn to account for the overbore?
Could the letters stamped have something to do with Western Cartridge Company ?
Hi Mark. I have three original Winchester rifles and none of them have original sights on them. The original rear sights have that nice thick adjusting ramp and are very well made. The aftermarkets aren't even close to the originals. I can't seem to find original sights anywhere. Do you know of a source to get real sights?
The two sources I used most often for original parts are EBAY and Old Arms of Idaho. You can find a large selection of original Winchester sights from both sources. Like any original Winchester part, sights have gotten very expensive. Good luck.
If you complain to the auction house they might give you some compensation. They did for me.
I don’t think I would want to use jacketed bullets in an old barrel like that.
Thanks David. Jacketed bullets at lower velocities are perfectly safe in early mild steel barrels. It's only at increased velocities, that they cause wear to rifling. I wouldn't have any interest in shooting this rifle with hotter, higher velocity loads anyway.
I do not know what part of the country the gun came from. But I would start looking at county correctional centers,
A very nice project rifle! I suppose the mutilation was done to it when it was just an old rifle and not worth anything, but at least you can work your magic on it without loosing any originality. Stay safe! Chris B.
Could you please do a video on how to get new walnut to look like an old Winchester reddish brown? I got a miroku and the wood just looks too plain.
Check out the videos on the TimberLux website.
@@thecinnabar8442 I’ll look into it thanks
I was a catalog description writer for a large antique firearms auction house in the northeast. The business was brutal and intentional false advertising of condition was not only not tolerated, it quickly impacted our bottom line if customers began suspecting foul play on our part due to misleading or out and out lies in descriptions. I suspect in your case the description writer of your '73 was not as knowledgeable as he/she should have been . If I had written up a '73 and failed to mention its set trigger my boss would have absolutely put me on notice. The fact that that they didn't mention it in your gun may indicate the the writer was too inexperienced and actually believed it to be an "honest" gun overall. You wanted to get a '73 with some collector value and they sent you a "shooter". That is unacceptable. I wished that you had mentioned the house where you had received it but I also understand why you didn't. At the very least I recommend you call them about your concerns to give them an opportunity to make some restitution to you and to ensure that writer and the photographer receive additional training. In the meantime I curious to see how your new project develops. Thank You Mark!
Thanks for that very interesting inside information, Jeff. Actually, I did mention the auction house by name, but I made you read between the lines. 😉
@@thecinnabar8442 Age is catching up with me. I missed it. I'll take another listen. Thanks!
Can you be certain it is an original barrel?
There's no way to know beyond a shadow of doubt whether any Winchester barrel is original since they aren't serialized. However, since we know that the earliest 1873's have five-groove barrels as this one does, I'd surmise that there's a very high probability that this is the original barrel. It doesn't seem very likely that someone replaced one five groove 1873 barrel with another.
@@thecinnabar8442, How do slug and measure a bore with an odd number of grooves?
you didnt say wha caliber
Actually, I said it several times and even added text on the screen showing that it is 44 WCF. All first model Winchester 1873's are 44 WCF.