The Chiappa 92 carbine in 44 mag we own is fantastic.
Beautiful walnut stock, case hardened receiver and slick and accurate out of the box without the tune up and smoothing needed by most Rossi rifles.
.357/38 lever guns. What are your favorites?
- Thread starter wbaad
- Start date
The Chiappa 92 carbine in 44 mag we own is fantastic.
Beautiful walnut stock, case hardened receiver and slick and accurate out of the box without the tune up and smoothing needed by most Rossi rifles.
Parroting of anecdotal bs "reviews" by people who have never held a specimen of the gun in their hands is where a lot of disinformation comes from.
An opinion should be based on actual experience handling and shooting the firearm.
The Achilles heel of the 73 is ironically the weak albeit fast cycling toggle link action.
The toggle link action is a lot weaker than the 1886, 92, 94 actions.
We use our 44 mag rifles for moose hunting and wouldn't trust even a modern 73 with our hot hunting hand loads.
Great for what they are meant for which is cowboy action with the modest loads they use in that sport.
Uberti makes a 1873 clone in 357 mag/38SPEC, 44-40, 45LC and 44 mag.
They are pretty pricey. Even more so than the Miroku Winchesters.
The one we looked at in the United States had a case hardened receiver and was mouth wateringly beautiful.
They are made by Turnbull and are true custom guns and priced accordingly.
They are pretty pricey. Even more so than the Miroku Winchesters.
The one we looked at in the United States had a case hardened receiver and was mouth wateringly beautiful.
They are made by Turnbull and are true custom guns and priced accordingly.
The H001T model? I think you're going to like it... a lot. It's just a tad front-heavy because of the octogonal barrel, but once you get used to it, it's one sweeeeeeet shooter.
Yup, the H001T.
It's basically the high end yellow model without the fake brasslite that costs $100 more.
We looked at the Browning BL-22 but it was too expensive and while the trigger assembly that travels with the lever is tolerable in the BLR center fire models the hubby didn't want it in a 22LR version.
The pistol caliber Henry rifle the Big Boy though beautiful and smooth was too heavy and expensive.
The receiver material in the Big Boy was real brass.
A gorgeous looking gun to use as a mantle piece.
Agreed. Were you saying that I was parroting some reviews? I've read good reviews on some guns, bad on others, more about customer service, a few with horrible experiences out of the box, etc... But gotta love it when people think they know what you have seen or read better than you do.
Caliber magazine: "Chiappa’s history has been a little spotty, as well. They’ve built everything from the beloved little Badger rifles to the rather cheap 9mm and .22lr M1 Carbines to the technically impressive, but somewhat confusing, Rhino revolvers." (Disclosure: they do go on giving a fine review for a couple lever action in that article).
Glad you like your own, I'll be looking into that model myself. Probably won't be my final choice unless I can scope it easily, but that's not the rifle's fault (top eject and scopes...).
(edit: no, it's not the only review I read, lol... i'm a tad more throughout than that.)
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i called winchester about that, they said any off the shelf ammo is not a problem. i was shooting some american gunner 357 mag and thats going just over 2000 fps out of it. pretty smoking hot compared to the original calibers for the 73
I also have a 79 Marlin 1894c will never part with it. The only thing I have to ask is your butt plate crooked too? The rest of the guns great but I think the stock was built on Friday.
Good luck finding one i lve mine. Save your money get a uberti and find a good gunsmith. I shoot cowboy action and guys give up their marlins to buy them.
Here is my babyMarlin 1894C
This beauty is '79 production so no fugly "lawyer approved" cross bolt safety
Shoot straight - chrisco
Good luck finding one i lve mine. Save your money get a uberti and find a good gunsmith. I shoot cowboy action and guys give up their marlins to buy them.
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I'd have to agree on the weakness. I've got a little (very little) experience with the originals and it's not made to take a steady dose of modern ammo.
73 action is weaker then the others, does that mean its too weak? i don't think so. i think if there was a major problem of 73 shooters getting bolts shot back in the face everyone would know about it. or even major parts failures. i haven't heard of any that i can find. maybe if people put in short stroke kits and make the toggle links at odd angles then shoot hot loads sure. plus the original 73 was made from an iron receiver until 83 i think. and with todays modern steels and tighter tolerances i think its safe to shoot any modern off the shelf load, not hotrod handholds maybe but i don't think thats safe in any firearm.
it is a weaker action for sure but I'm trying to say that its good enough to not need to worry about it.
it is a weaker action for sure but I'm trying to say that its good enough to not need to worry about it.
fingers284
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Alberta Cowboy Ranges
Sorry James but you are wrong, in my shop I do have a box of broken toggles,pins, bent pins, elongated or broke out toggle buttresses, have handed some guns back to their owners telling them that they now own a boat anchor (two in particular come to mind that had developed .045 headspace, one fired out of battery because the extractor claw held the case far enough out of the chamber to allow an unsupported case explosion, one quit firing because the firing pin didn't reach the case when chambered) and I do have an acquaintance who was carted off the firing line (Quigley match) to the hospital by a good friend with the rear of a firing pin stuck in his eyeball from a toggle action.
you are right that all the new guns are made from modern steel and you would think that with modern cnc machining that they would all be cut the same and equal in all aspects...but there in is the problem... they aren't. The problem is that they are all still 1873 designs and need tolerances to work...these tolerances allow movement and fragility of the moving parts are their downfall. The fact is that some with tight tolerances can stand a round or two without breaking or even 2 or 300 without a problem but it is a Russian roulette game with any toggle action with anything more than a medium loading. Remember, metal fatigue can happen immediately and catastrophically or it can happen accumulatively over time...
All of the above pertains to Italian makes, however, I have unboxed a half dozen new Miroku's in the last two years, I love them, very nice guns BUT when you take the side plates off they are built with the exact same tolerances as the others. Enough so that I won't be playing roulette with one...that Winchester man might be right...or he might be wrong and your the one that will pay the price...not him. Why save for months and spend hard earned money on a $1800 gun just to prove someone else was wrong. If you want to shoot strong ammo use a proven strong action. To do otherwise you are a danger to yourself and anybody else on the firing line at the same time.
Incidentally I have never seen a toggle action that has been short stroked with an over torqued anything...quite frankly, their owners treat them with the respect they deserve.
you are right that all the new guns are made from modern steel and you would think that with modern cnc machining that they would all be cut the same and equal in all aspects...but there in is the problem... they aren't. The problem is that they are all still 1873 designs and need tolerances to work...these tolerances allow movement and fragility of the moving parts are their downfall. The fact is that some with tight tolerances can stand a round or two without breaking or even 2 or 300 without a problem but it is a Russian roulette game with any toggle action with anything more than a medium loading. Remember, metal fatigue can happen immediately and catastrophically or it can happen accumulatively over time...
All of the above pertains to Italian makes, however, I have unboxed a half dozen new Miroku's in the last two years, I love them, very nice guns BUT when you take the side plates off they are built with the exact same tolerances as the others. Enough so that I won't be playing roulette with one...that Winchester man might be right...or he might be wrong and your the one that will pay the price...not him. Why save for months and spend hard earned money on a $1800 gun just to prove someone else was wrong. If you want to shoot strong ammo use a proven strong action. To do otherwise you are a danger to yourself and anybody else on the firing line at the same time.
Incidentally I have never seen a toggle action that has been short stroked with an over torqued anything...quite frankly, their owners treat them with the respect they deserve.
whats a medium loading? its in black and white in the manual that its designed to shoot modern factory cartridges only, with substantial safety margins over the saami established standards. and with confirming with winchester directly it led me to believe i can shoot regular off the shelf ammo. am i wrong? i don't want a bolt to the face as much as anyone but why wouldn't they chamber it for 38 special only like the 66 if it was dangerous. is cowboy action loads the only safe ammo to use regularly what your saying?
fingers284
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Alberta Cowboy Ranges
You do whatever floats your boat but I know Uberti's are chambered for .357 as well and they and their importers claim they are safe BUT my personal observations and box of broken parts prove to me that they are not always right. One thing I will clarify also is that the magnum chambering are not always the culprit neither, some of the repairs went into 44-40's (as was the one that embedded the firing pin in its owners eye) after the owner used what he characterized as "heavy hunting loads" as well.
I have never had to fix a toggle action of any breed that was only feed a diet of "cowboy" rounds so you take that for what its worth to you its your 1800 gun and your forehead/eyeball.
Unless one was thinking about taking up cowboy action shooting why would they bother getting an ultra expensive 1873 that was a inferior strength action by design?
A Rossi 92 albeit a kit (you're buying a project) gun that might need fixing and smoothing for 1/4 the money is a much better buy for plinking and hunting.
The 3 Rossi 92s that our family owns are superb.
The hubby looks on a new Rossi like most people look on a crossword puzzle or a paint by number kit ... a winter project to chase away the doldrums.
The guns are made of good steel and decent Brazilian jungle hardwood.
The fit and finish and polishing are lacking and a few evenings shop work will make these diamonds in the rough into jewels.
The hubbies hand loads are quite vigorous and he has taken plenty of deer with his Rossi 92 in 357 mag.
Mostly 1-shot kills.
I always bring my fullstock 44 mag 12 incher as a backup, took a nice buck with it couple years ago... JP.
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Nice!
Where did you get the stock/crescent butt?
I may have to go check out the ranch hand at crappt tire again. Once bitten twice shy on the rossi
Took if from my 24 inch Rossi 92 and tossed the rest of the rifle in the safe, were it's still lay, at the beginning of the mare leg rifle i wanted a full stock so bad, i bought a brand new rifle for it... JP.
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Like Remlins most of the Rossi rifles can be made into real nice guns if you're handy with tools.
You're best to deal with a lgs that will take let you check the gun from butt plate to barrel crown before buying it.
That will screen out the most outrageously bad lemons right at the point of purchase.
