Uberti Expendable .45 LC

Mark_Mark said:

$750 for a Ruger New Vaquero? too much?

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That's about the going rate in my area.

Mark_Mark said:

it’s very nice! I wish our sales tax was not 10.1%.

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Ouch, that's gotta suck. I thought 6% was bad enough.

This little Cimarron was made by Uberti. I got it NiB for somewhere in the low $400's OTD less than a year ago.

It's a very good shooter and hasn't malfunctioned. My friend and I and all four of our daughters have shot it and enjoyed it very much.

You don't have to pay a lot for a decent-looking, functional SAA clone. (Though I do prefer my Rugers in some ways.)

I considered getting a 3" model for CC "just for fun" and decided that was a bad idea. I typically carry a 2" DAO revolver, major reasons being that it doesn't have to be cocked, or even removed from a pocket. I might not have the time or space to both draw a longer revolver and cock it.

I had a Cimarron Model P just like that in 45 when they first showed up. Fit and finish were beautiful, but the trigger locked up soon after getting it.

I asked around and was told Bob Munden was the guy to send it to, so I called him and got his wife on the phone. She seemed very knowledgeable about things too and said it wasnt the first they'd had, and to send it in they would take care of it.

About a week after Id sent it, I got the gun back with a note that he needed a few extra bucks as it needed more than initially thought, which I happily sent. All told, I think it cost me $60.

Mark_Mark said:

thanks! I’m a long time reloader. I’m thinking of making “wax” loads for it, i seen cowboy guys on the internet talk about it. If I get it, it’s been there for a few years, it’s definitely going to be a novelty. Alright… off to the shop to see if I can do some horse trading

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Okay, okay... giving away secrets time.

Get the stupid gun. Make yourself some #8 shot loads. Invite your pals out to a range with no RO. Bring party balloons. Blow up a bunch of balloons and tape them to targets 10 yds out and spread out like the bad guys in the movie. Then have at it with the stupid gun and shot. You'll pop all the balloons like you actually knew how to hit something and your pals will be amazed.

Howdy

Master Blaster:

Regarding the hole around the firing pin causing primers to flow:

Many years ago I bought a used Uberti Cattleman. I took it home and loaded some live rounds (45 Colt) into it in the basement. Not intending to shoot it, I just wanted to get familiar with it, this was the first revolver I had with a true Colt style lockwork. When I closed the loading gate, the cylinder froze up completely. I could not put it on half cock to rotate the cylinder and unload it, I was standing there with a loaded revolver that I could not unload. To make a long story short, I was finally able to rotate the cylinder enough at half cock to unload it. There was a large burr in the metal around the firing pin hole that was digging into the primers and preventing the cylinder from turning. I was finally able to unload it with 5 rounds with deep scratches across the primers. This is fairly common with Uberti revolvers, although I have never again experienced a situation quite this bad. When the firing pin flashes trough the hole in the frame, it 'finds its way' through the hole. That is part of the design and that is why there is a small amount of vertical play in the firing pin. As the hammer is dropped repeatedly, the firing pin, which is hardened steel, rubs across the steel of the frame, which is not hardened. Eventually this will often (not always) raise a burr around the hole for the firing pin.

I notice the email said 'stoned pucker at firing pin hole'. I assume this meant they stoned the burr down flat again, so the cylinder could spin. Stoning the burr down will do nothing to prevent it recurring. A burr will continue to rise unless a small amount of material is removed around the firing pin hole.

I eventually sold that revolver, but I still have another Uberti Cattleman that I bought used about 15 years ago. Here is a photo of the hole in the frame for the firing pin. My solution was to wrap a long drill bit with masking tape so only the point was exposed. Then I lowered the bit through the barrel until the point touched the frame, and very, very carefully tuned the bit by hand, removing a tiny amount of metal around the hole. This solved the problem. Any burr that forms will not rise out of the slight relief around the hole. You can see the relief around the hole is not perfect, but it has served me well over the last 15 years or so.






Colt solved this problem many, many years ago by pressing a hardened steel bushing into the frame around the firing pin hole. The bushing is hard enough that the firing pin does not raise a burr as it flashes though the hole.

Howdy Again

I wandered into a local shop a few years ago and they had a used New Vaquero chambered for 45 Colt.

I needed another single action revolver chambered for 45 Colt like a hole in the head, but the price was $550, so I bought it.






This was a few years ago, I have no idea what they are going for now, but that is what I paid. Very little wear on this one, I could see it had not been fired much by the previous owner. I knew who he was, he would buy a new gun, keep it for a little while, shoot it a little, then sell it when something else caught his fancy. So I got a very nice, almost new, New Vaquero for $550.