Taylors 1873 in 357/38 Special

I want one in 45 Colt. Very nice!

Nice looking gun. Let us know how it shoots.

DO NOT run hot .357 loads through that gun.

The toggle link mechanism is a weak action and while safe to fire, extended use of magnum ammo will cause the parts to rapidly wear out. Stick with .38s and you’ll be fine. These rifles get good reviews from CAS.

.38SP "cowboy" loads are fine. Even regular .38. .357 magnum won't blow up the rifle but it will eventually stretch the frame. I've heard of one cracked frame. That might be incredibly rare .... but these rifles are nice enough to want to treat them well!

Howdy

The cracked frame example may be from me. A bunch of years ago a friend bought a used 38/357 Mag Uberti 1873. (The Taylors rifle is actually made by Uberti) When he got it home he found a hairline crack in the frame. He brought it back to the store and got his money back.

1. All firearms made in Italy are proofed in government run proof houses. The proof rounds used are slightly higher pressure than American proof loads.

2. Proofing only tests the firearm for one proof round. Not the same as firing many, many hot loads over the years.

3. Since my friend bought his rifle used, there was no telling why the frame cracked. Too many 357 Magnum loads? Too many 'extra hot' 357 Magnum loads? No way of telling. But the frame was cracked and he brought it back and got his money back.

4. Frame stretching is pretty much restricted to the brass framed rifles such as the Uberti 1860 Henry and the Uberti Winchester Model 1866 Replica. I have never heard of a steel framed Uberti rifle with a stretched frame.

5. One does not have to restrict oneself to 'Cowboy' loads in these rifles, any SAAMI MAX ammo is fine.

6. That's a very pretty rifle with the checkering on the wrist and fore end.

7. Here is my 44-40 Uberti 1873. I bought it used about 15 years ago or so for Cowboy Action. The varnish is pretty scratched up from being slammed down on various props over the years. Used it for about 5 years until I bought my Henry about 10 years ago. P.S. I have never shot anything but Black Powder through mine (the Henry too) but I would not hesitate to fire SAAMI standard loads through it.

That's a sweet looking rifle, would love to come across one like that.
Waiting for updates once you get to the range.

Orion8472 said:

Thanks guys! Yeah, I only plan on shooting 38 Specials out of this rifle.

Click to expand...

Then that rifle will last forever. That is one fine looking rifle. Very nice. Enjoy.

Orion8472 said:

Thanks guys! Yeah, I only plan on shooting 38 Specials out of this rifle.

Click to expand...

So did you check out what I told you about looking to see what was causing it to not feed your snap caps very well?

Problem w/ 38SP in a `73 Win is that the OAL must be 1.53+(sometimes ++) in order not to jam feeding into the action.
I've found that MagTech LRN's will work..., but then there's that pesky "R" in the last 3 ltrs.

Orion, are you a handloader ?

Beautiful rifle!
I've been keeping an eye out for one of those myself.
Local shop has a couple in 44-40, but I'd prefer 38/357 since I already load for it.

OP that is one gorgeous rifle.
Recently got one (Miroku 16" trapper version) myself, & have become completely smitten with the 1873 design. 24" version up next, soon as I have the shekels.

Orion8472 said:

MEHavey, no, I'm not a reloader. I don't have the place to reload....though I do have a bunch o 38 Special casings in case I ever do.

Click to expand...

A bazillion years ago, before I started loading my own ammo, I saved all the 38 Special brass from the ammo that I shot. I knew that sometime I would need it.

Eventually I had a couple of buckets full.

Fast forward about 30 years to when I started loading my own ammo, I started using that old 38 Special brass.

I won't go into here all the different cartridges I load now, but I will say that I buy new brass for all of them except 38 Special.

Still working on those couple of buckets of 38s.

Lucky man. I’d never have to worry about damaging it with .357’s because I would baby a beauty like that shamelessly.

As others have said, the Uberti 1873 in .38/.357 is the top rifle in SASS competition. I see you also have a SA revolver in your avatar. You should check out a local match. Compare your rifle to one that has had a little action work-these toggle link rifles can be made very smooth.

You might as well go ahead and order a tang sight. You will not be able to put that rifle down.

I love the Uberti toggle link guns but they tend to be a bit heavy as .32-20's and .357's.

Winchester used the toggle link action in the 1876 rifles which used ammunition as potent as the .50-95 Express. Of course these were black powder firearms with a different pressure impulse.

While reproduction rifles have the advantage of modern metallurgy, I agree that the prudent course in the OP's case, while the rifle is safe for .357 loads, is to use .38 Special ammunition for the majority of range time.