Any Opinions on the Uberti 1875 Top Break No.3?

[bulbboy]

I have been looking at ordering one of these. Anyone have any first hand opinions??

 

[Seiko]

I don't have the #3 but do have a Schofield.
Very good quality, fit and finish is excellent. I've shout about 300 rounds through mine without a problem.

 

[cane]

That's the Schofield, I have one with a 5" barrel, in .45 Colt. I use mine for cowboy action shooting. It feels totally different from a Ruger or Colt, some people like them, some don't. It isn't a real strong action but perfect for what CAS shooters use. If there is any pressure on the trigger, you can't cock them. Uberti, which makes these, also makes a #3 called the "Larmie" and a #3 russian model. The defference being the latch design and grip shape.

 

[Jim March]

The general reputation of all these modern S&W top-break repros (including the one S&W recently did) is that they're weak compared to a rigid-frame SA like the SAA or various clones.

In an SAA or related design, the cylinder is the weak point. The gun will hold together so long as it does, basically. It's possible to hammer one apart with repeated use of a load the cylinder can (barely) contain but it's not common.

In top-breaks, the latch will fail before the cylinder does, and both the hinge and latch can be battered to scrap. Hence you don't see these in 357 at all - 38Spl and 45LC/S&W are the norm and in 45LC strong warnings are issued to stick with "Cowboy loads" - soft lead of 200-250gr usually loaded to no more than 800fps (which is significantly less muzzle energy than a real 19th century black powder SAA load). Note that CAS/SASS rules limit all ammo to under 1,000fps for safety and that includes what's shot out of lever carbines...so the loads can't clear 1,000fps even from an 18" barrel. Which gives even less in handguns.

IF what you're really looking for is an "old west SA that can be rapid-reloaded for carry" (and yeah, I've thought of it too!) you want the Beretta Laramie version of this gun in 38Spl, and then either use moderate amounts of the Winchester or Remington 158+P lead hollowpoints or better yet, Buffalo Bore's standard-pressure yet respectable velocity 38Spl combat loads.

Beretta owns Uberti (purchased 'em about 3 years ago). The Beretta version has an improved safety for safe six-up carry plus Beretta always tells Uberti to "max out" in the quality control department for Beretta guns - their SAA-ish series (Stampede) has a good rep. If I had the money I'd buy a Laramie in 38Spl.

The usual 45LC combat loads range from a 200gr JHP @ 1,100fps to Speer's 250gr Gold Dot JHP @ 900fps. I've read a number of warnings to stay away from these loads in a top-break, they just can't cope. A 2nd/3rd gen Colt can handle these in mass quantities as can any decent modern repro such as Ubertis, the Ruger NewVaq, etc. (In 357 an SAA or close clone can handle monster factory loads including 125gr @ 1,600+ (800ft/lbs!), 170 @ 1,400 (similar energy), etc.)

Given a choice of a 158gr 38Spl doing 950fps+ and with reliable expansion, and a 225gr slug doing 800fps and guaranteed not to expand, I'll take the 38 in a fight thank you - esp. with the radically lower cost of 38 practice ammo.

I've also heard that most of these top-break repros have cylinders close to the dimensions of an S&W N-frame...so a speedloader from a 27 (in 38) or 29 (in 45LC) should work. Buy a single cheap HKS first, make sure it works, if not see if the store will trade it for...I dunno, GP100? L-frame six-shot? I'm pretty sure a K-frame speedloader will be too small...