Taylors 1873 in 357/38 Special

[Driftwood Johnson]

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

Certainly true, but the OP's rifle looks to have a 20" barrel, so it will not be as heavy as one with a 24" barrel.

A 44-40 or 45 would be lighter as the barrels all have the same outside dimensions.

Note too, the OP's rifle is not a carbine, it is a short rifle. Carbines had a different buttstock configuration, and had barrel bands attaching the fore end to the barrel. Carbines lacked a fore end cap, and the barrels on carbines were round and had more taper to them, resulting in a lighter barrel and a lighter gun.

One more note to the OP: I suggest you learn the proper way to shoot a rifle with a crescent shaped butt plate as yours has. You will probably find if you place the two points of the butt plate against the meaty part of the shoulder, the points will dig into your flesh under recoil and it will hurt. You may not experience any pain with 38 Special ammo, but I guarantee it will hurt if you fire 357 Magnum ammo through it. Some guys put a leather pad over the butt stock to compensate for this. The proper way to shoot a rifle with a crescent shaped butt plate is to hike it a little bit further out on your arm so the points of the crescent encircle your shoulder joint. The points should not be touching you. The points on a crescent shaped butt plates like that were designed to keep the butt from sliding up or down when you worked the action. You will probably also discover that you need to raise your elbow (the one near the buttstock) to raise the rifle sights to your face, rather than hunching over to see the sights. Lastly, you will probably find it convenient to stand at an angle to the target, rather than facing it straight on. This will mean the rifle will be slung across your body, rather than pointing straight away from your body.

Trust me on this, I have been shooting lever guns with crescent shaped butt plates for a long time. If you do as I say, you will be able to fire 357 Magnum ammo through that rifle all day long and it will not hurt.

 

[LeftyRed]

Nice looking rifle. Definitely on my “to get” list, but maybe in 45LC.

Lefty

 

[Orion8472]

Thank you for the advice, Driftwood Johnson. I will do those techniques whenever I can get out to the range with it. Definitely can't do the "AR-15 Tactical" style of shooting something like the 1873....and that's just fine with me!

Yeah, I'll mostly only be shooting 38 Special out of it. It's currently all I have anyway.

 

[RainDodger]

I have the same rifle. The recoil is not objectionable at all... in fact the rifle is heavy enough that you have trouble believing you're shooting a .357 Magnum. I've had mine for oh... 6 or 8 years I suppose, and it's been a pleasure. Nicely made, and I've only taken the side plate off once, just to take a look. It all seemed fine to me, but I didn't examine it with a microscope. Just enjoy it... or send it back, whatever you want. I gotta say, it's a LOT more comfortable to shoot than my Browning 92, in .44 Magnum, which is a carbine, and very light. I wish the calibers were reversed....

 

[Orion8472]

Okay, I just came back from the range. I don't have a lot of 38 Special, so didn't take many rounds with me. I ran some round nose 38 special through it. 10 rounds. No problems with function. Lever reacted quite well. No binding like I was getting with the snap caps. I like how the sound is, coming from the 20" barrel. Has a different sound than other rifles I've shot.

It does shoot a couple inches high at 25 yards. 100 yards, though, is pretty much on target. I didn't buy this rifle to "get great groups", but just to have an 1873, so I'm not worried about groupings. Glad I got it!