My Winchester 1873. It's in 45 Colt. Yes, I know, Winchester never made a '73 in 45 Colt. But, Winchester didn't make it, I did. I picked up a stripped frame with lower tang cheap, the number was worn to unreadable. I had the hammer still in it. Those are the original parts, the rest, I did, one way or another. The barrel was made from two barrels, and original Winchester barrel in 32-20 that was shot out, and a Rossi .45 Colt barrel for a '92 model. I measured down the tapers to where they were the same size, cut the shot out barrel off and bored it out to about halfway between the bore size and OD. The Rossi barrel was turned to be a tap in fit. They were put together and carefully welded around the octagon, and then it was re-straightened. The magazine tube is also Rossi '92. The front sight was made, as that early style was hard to find. The rear was purchased. The wood was purchased and antiqued. The buttplate also purchased. The forend nose cap was made from scratch. The sideplates are modified Uberti, and antiqued. The lever, trigger, cartridge carrier lever, bolt, firing pin, and toggles were made from scratch. The receiver finish is as received, all other metal was antiqued. Springs are Uberti. I had no measurements, just pictures in books and a borrowed Uberti, but they changed all the dimensions, so I just had to use proportion and guesstimation. Made three sets of toggles, the last ones worked right, and drew the bolt back to the proper position.
Shot for a few years in CAS before I stopped doing it. Still have the rifle. Of course, it's mine. In every way.
Originally Posted by Gunfixr
My Winchester 1873. It's in 45 Colt. Yes, I know, Winchester never made a '73 in 45 Colt. But, Winchester didn't make it, I did. I picked up a stripped frame with lower tang cheap, the number was worn to unreadable. I had the hammer still in it. Those are the original parts, the rest, I did, one way or another. The barrel was made from two barrels, and original Winchester barrel in 32-20 that was shot out, and a Rossi .45 Colt barrel for a '92 model. I measured down the tapers to where they were the same size, cut the shot out barrel off and bored it out to about halfway between the bore size and OD. The Rossi barrel was turned to be a tap in fit. They were put together and carefully welded around the octagon, and then it was re-straightened. The magazine tube is also Rossi '92. The front sight was made, as that early style was hard to find. The rear was purchased. The wood was purchased and antiqued. The buttplate also purchased. The forend nose cap was made from scratch. The sideplates are modified Uberti, and antiqued. The lever, trigger, cartridge carrier lever, bolt, firing pin, and toggles were made from scratch. The receiver finish is as received, all other metal was antiqued. Springs are Uberti. I had no measurements, just pictures in books and a borrowed Uberti, but they changed all the dimensions, so I just had to use proportion and guesstimation. Made three sets of toggles, the last ones worked right, and drew the bolt back to the proper position.
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