Uberti M1876 45-75

[abcollector]

I've been thinking about a Uberti M1876 in 45-75 with a 22" barrel. Just wanting to know if anyone here owns or has shot one. Buffalo Arms Co is the only one I've seen that has them listed. Are they that scarce or has anyone seen them else where?

I'd like an original but that's way, way above my pay grade.

Thanks guys!

[Hobie]

I've been thinking about a Uberti M1876 in 45-75 with a 22" barrel. Just wanting to know if anyone here owns or has shot one. Buffalo Arms Co is the only one I've seen that has them listed. Are they that scarce or has anyone seen them else where?

I'd like an original but that's way, way above my pay grade.

Thanks guys!

John Taffin just had a whole article published in the GUNS Magazine 2011 Special Edition on the subject. Good coverage including chronographing of popular factory loads. Cimarron has them.

Mine is the 22" Chaparral SRC.

[RIHMFIRE]

every uberti gun I have handled were top quality as far as fit
and finish...the one thing they do have a problem with is a heavy trigger....
and they are accurate one you find the right recipe...

[longarm4146]

the fit and finish on the Uberti guns is really nice and either Cimarron or Taylor's and Co should have what you want. I've had bunches of Cimarron guns and always had good service with them, give Chris or Robert a call and see what they have.

[Martini450]

I have a Uberti in 45-75 with a 28" barrel from Taylor's, and it's a beautiful rifle. So far I've only had a chance to put about a hundred and fifty rounds through it, mostly black powder handloads, but it is showing promise of being an accurate rifle. The factory trigger was horrendous, but that was an easy fix once I got it to the gunsmith. I'd highly recommend one of these rifles, they're a lot of fun.

[Cimarron]

I have a Cimarron with the 28" barrel in .45-75 WCF. I ordered it direct from Cimarron through a dealer friend. I've been working up smokless loads and have put several hundred rounds through mine. I am looking around for some Swiss 1 1/2F to start working on a black powder loading. Fit and fininsh is very nice and I got lucky with the trigger pull on mine. This rifle has really rekindled my interest in reloading and shooting again.

[abcollector]

This is encouraging to hear about the Uberti's as far as the quality of the rifles. For sure the 28" models seem to be the most common/available but I'm leaning towards the 22" simply because it's 6" shorter. As for the trigger pull, I'll worry about that once I have one.

I already have some ammo coming... Ten-X smokeless 350gr FP. I'd like to get some brass too and was wondering if one brand of brass was better than another or any to be avoided? As I plan on reloading (could you afford NOT to?) what does everyone like for brand of reloading dies? I'm going to have to go with smokeless powder also so BP is out.

Keep the info coming...

[Wayne Miller]

I was going to order another Shiloh Sharps, but I have to say the '76 SRC has REALLY captured my interest.

[Hobie]

Just for our information, why can't you use BP? As you might know there are some rather vociferous proponents, nay, fanatically dogmatic users of BP in this rifle. Some of those folks seem unable to accommodate the idea that some people simply can't use BP. In explaining why you can't you might convince some of those folks to follow a rather less zealous approach in forum interaction.

[Cimarron]

I bought a set of RCBS Heritage dies. I've always had very good service from RCBS and the price is reasonable. As for brass there are a couple of makers. I bought Jamison (seemingly the lowest cost for ready made brass) and have been satisfied. I have also had good results from IMR 4198 and AA5744 smokless powders. I ordered some of the Buffalo Arms Co. 350g bullets cast in 20:1 to try them out and then went ahead and bought the mold JIM459350. Keep looking and I think you will find a SRC or a short rifle. Good luck.

[Larryo-1]

Cimarron:
I, too, have a 45-75. It is an earlier version with the larger chamber. I like the advantage of the extra 5 grains of case capacity. All my cases are fire-formed albeit Jamison, 348 Bertram or 50AK. No problems for me at any rate. One of my favorite loads is 76 grains of Swiss½ under a Hoch 350 grain bullet that is cast at 16:1 which was taken off an original box of 45-75 ammo. This load has been chronographed twice at 1445fps. The free recoil was calculated using the Barnes formula to be 22 foot pounds. The other Swiss load that I like is 72 grains. That load Chronographs at 1422fps. Somewhat less on the recoil. One smokeless load that I perchanced upon was taken from Ken Waters book and it is 22 grains of 2400. That load is in the 12-1300fps range. When I first got my rifle it had a nice even trigger pull of right at 12 pounds. I got that down to 5½ pounds and that is just where I like it. The other thing that I did was get rid of that crappy "plastic-like" finish and put on a hand-rubbed linseed oil finish. Much, much better. Hope all this palaver has helped.

[Hobie]

Larry,

You might mention your barrel length, I've forgotten or I'd say...

And I didn't mention brass but I have Bertram, Jamison and formed from .348 and .50 AK (my preference for forming brass). All work.

[Larryo-1]

Hobie:
Yep, I forgot too. It is the standard 28 inches.

[Larryo-1]

One more thing. Cimarron should perchance to check out our 45-75 site on the CAS site for alot of goodies about the 45-75.

[abcollector]

Hobie, yes the reason for not using BP is simply the fire danger here where I'm at most of the year. Right now not a big deal as we're getting some rain but the other ten months out of the year is more than a risk worth taking. If it weren't for that, I'd be just fine with using it .

Are the Uberti chambers still the same (slightly different location of the shoulder) or have they now standardized with the rest of the manufacturers? As far as groove diameter for cast bullets, do they seem to be standard also at .458"? I know it's best to slug the bore of your own but I'm just trying to get a "feel" of what to expect. I don't like surprises and a bore at .461" would be a surprise.

ah, another thing I wanted to ask was the rifling twist. Does Uberti use the original twist or have they shortened it?

Thanks guys!

[Hobie]

My understanding is that Uberti now chambers the .45-75 WCF rather than the .45-75 Uberti.

[Cimarron]

One more thing. Cimarron should perchance to check out our 45-75 site on the CAS site for alot of goodies about the 45-75.

Larro-1 I have been a posting memeber on the CAS site since about last May before I bought my .45-75. Thats where I learned about the Uberti .45-75 UCF wildcat chamber. Hobie is correct in his statement about the Uberti chambers being WCF now. I made sure of that by contacting Uberti in Italy and Mike Harvey at Cimarron Firearms Co. before I ordered mine. I even made sure of it when one of the fellows at CAS sent me a fire formed UCF case. I took it to the Wannamacher Gun Show in Tulsa last spring and the guys at Run-N-Iron out of Bertrand, Nebraska let me try to chamber the UCF case in two of their new Uberti rifles. One was a SRC and the other was a standard rifle. It would not chamber in either one. It lacked about .200" from letting the actions close. As to the groove diameter the published data on the Cimarron site says it is .456" with a 1 in 20 twist. I have been sizing my bullets to .458 but just the other day decided to make some up sized to .457". I'll let you know if there is any perceivable difference in accuracy with these using the smokless powder. I have added a Marbles tang sight and removed the buckhorn. This gives a 36" sight radius. As soon as I find some Swiss 1 1/2F in Tulsa or Oklahoma City I will begin loading up some BP. As I stated in an earlier post this gun has rekindled my interest in BPCR. I've gotten my Shiloh Sharps, Remington Rolling block, 1886 Browning and Trapdoor Springfield out and plan on doing some reloading for them. It's kind of funny, back in the early 1980's we set up a table at the Tulsa Gun Show and I had all the literature for the Shiloh guns out and could only sell three. One to myself, one to a buddy and one to someone interested in a percussion model. I was able to get a 3 gun discount and was thrilled when my .50-2 1/2", #3 sporting rifle with extra heavy barrel came in. A couple of years later I sent it up to Big Timber to have a German silver nose cap installed on the forend. This was pre Quigly Down Under days and seemingly no one wanted a Shiloh Sharps. Some of my buddies have been going up to Montana to the Quigley shoot the last few years and I am thinking about making the trip with them next year. Mmm I seem to have deviated from the 1876, but they are great guns and I hope you find a good one abcollector.

[Larryo-1]

Cimarron:
Appreciate the return answer from you. Where did I come up with that 76 grain load? On one of the comments on the CAS site, someone had taken an original cartridge and dumped the powder and weighed it. There was 76 grains instead of listed 75 grains. So I told myself why not give it a try. I did and it works great in my larger case. Now in a regular case you would have a very compressed load but it would probably work. At any rate I have tried lots of different powders and as I stated earlier, I like the Swiss and it is readily obtainable here in the NW part of Montana where I live. Right now I have been playing with H-4831 and IMR-4831. Just got done testing 10 rounds of the IMR stuff on the Chronograph and was not as impressed as I was with the H version even though both left powder grains in the cases. Was fun to play with and both were in the 1350fps range. I used magnum primers to help but still got the powder grains which is what you get with 4831. Were I you and you get that Swiss try the 72 grain load first. It is pretty accurate in my rifle. By the way, before I went and got that Hoch mold, I was using BACO's 350 grain bullet and it is darn good. I just prefer to make my own alloy and cast my own stuff. Hope this all is of use for you..

[Cimarron]

Larryo-1:
Back 27 years ago when I first got into BPCR the only selection in powders was Goex or Pyrodex. Things have come a long way in the last 27 years. What is it now, about 5 or 6 black powders to choose from and 3 or 4 substitutes? It's too bad we don't have the selection of black powders that they had in the late 19th century. I seem to recall reading that some of the English powders left little or no shot to shot fouling in the barrel. Thats why I want to get the Sharps out and do some loading with it. I've got a Tom Ballard adjustable nose pour paper patch mold that will throw bullets from 325g to 700g.

As for the .45-75 WCF I'm sure modern solid head cases will not hold the amount of powder that the old baloon head cases will. If I can get 70-72g of black in mine that will be just fine. The BACO JIM359350 bullets that I pour have been exiting the barrel over my Oehler 35P chronograph at around 1385 fps, using AA5744.

I wish more guys were shooting the .45-75 and posting there experiences here.

[Larryo-1]

Cimarron:
I used to have a Sharps Business Rifle. Now my cousin has it. It is a 45-90. I have two Ballard nose pour molds. One for that Sharps and one for my Rolling Block 40-82. I like paper patched bullets but it takes alot of spit to cut and wrap but it is worth it. My oldest boy uses paper patched bullets in his '86 40-82. Seems to work okay as he has killed lots of deer and one moose so far.

In my 45-75, I can use either the 72 grain load or the 76 grain load. I think that perhaps the 72 grain load may be a tad bit more accurate but it is almost a toss-up. I have tried Fg and FFg and the Swiss is by far the best. Like I said-I had used the BACO bullets until I got my Hoch mold and now that is what I use all the time. I have used 20:1 and 16:1 alloys and my rifle seems to perfer the 16:1 alloy the best. I get my tin and lead from BACO and do my own mixing. As far as the Hoch mold is concerned, I cannot say anything bad about it. I have one also for my 40-82 and it is great also. They are spendy but well worth it. I agree with your statement that there should be more chatter about the 45-75. It is a great historical caliber. Now that brass is more or less plentiful for it who knows what may happen. Hang in there.

[Hobie]

I love mine despite the big action.