38 special in an 1873

[MetalMagus]

Hi,
Just bought an Uberti 1873 in 357. Wanted to gather opinion / people's experience of using 38 special rounds in them. I'm interested in finding out if they feed reliably given that they are a shorter overall round.

Thanks

Sean

[lapua338]

I much prefer the .38 Special cartridge in my 1873 Competition Rifle.

The rounds feed much easier with the shorter overall cartridge length.

[jimbo303]

When I got my Uberti 1873 I bought a batch of 38 Special and 357. Both cycled absolutely fine.
I guess some of the choice depends on what you want to use it for. I found the 38 Special was a bit tame, so I swapped the remainder for 357 back at the Dealer. I now solely use 357 and reload my own so I can have a heavier load for longer distance.
It's a personal choice entirely.

Enjoy the rifle - they are cracking pieces and I really enjoy using mine.

[dromia]

Moved to correct forum.
Future mis-posts will be removed.
If in doubt ask.

[MetalMagus]

Thanks for the info gents. Good to know that either feeds fine. I think I will try both and see which I prefer. Will eventually reload my own. But factory ammo for now until I get a little use of it.

Apologies for posting in the wrong forum. Plumped for everything shooting, didn't associate it with reloading and ammo. But on thinking on it, it becomes obvious.

Cheers

Sean

[bradaz11]

I've just done some testing in mine, same components, and various loadings, in both 38 and 357 cases each time i found the 38 to be less accurate than the one in the 357 case, so for that reason I'll be doing all my loads in 357 cases.
Be careful with 357 though, my first dummy i made up that was in the crimp groove of the bullet would not cycle in the rifle as it was too long, so some factory 357 may not fit your gun. Also i wouldn't want to use full poke 357 in it anyway

[MetalMagus]

Thanks for the info.
I have some Magtech "Cowboy" ammo in both 357 and 38 to try. See which one works best. I'm a little way off reloading my own yet. But, will get there.

[redcat]

The 1873 Winchester has a built in gauge to check for oversize cartridges. Open the lever, turn the rifle upside down and drop the cartridge into the elevator slot. If it won't go in it's too long.

Redcat

[MetalMagus]

Good to know Redcat.

Thanks

[Vossie]

The 1873 Winchester has a built in gauge to check for oversize cartridges. Open the lever, turn the rifle upside down and drop the cartridge into the elevator slot. If it won't go in it's too long.

Redcat

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