Pawn shop find need some advice

[sharps1863]

Ran across a Used Uberti Brass Frame Henry in 44/40 at the pawn shop this morning. Price was $545+tax. I was hoping that a fellow member that shoots one of these could give me some pointers to look for problems, "any places in the brass frame that is subject to cracking". The action worked good and the bore was fair, needed a scrubbing. The rifle would rate about 85% outside.

[gamekeeper]

I only have a Uberti Yellowboy in .22WMR same action near enough, it seems well made and very sturdy, weighs a ton but comes up nice.

[M. M. Wright]

Man, you better jump all over that. Those are $1200 guns and the caliber would be right for me too. I've never even heard of one cracking. About the only stress problem would show up in the links. I doubt one man could live long enough to wear one out. Only drawback is having to reposition your support hand as the magazine follower comes back. Using black powder makes the barrel heat up rather quickly too. Just wear a glove on the support hand. Heck, I did that any way for the splinter forearm on my sxs shotgun. Do you shoot SASS? If not most of what I said won't matter to you anyway.

[COSteve]

Done

[92&94]

I'd be all over that.... and I don't even shoot 44-40

[Sixgun]

I'll disagree. Its a hit or miss and if its a miss, you just ate $545. You do not know the history of the gun and if "85%" is any indication, to me, its an indication that is was a cowboy rifle that ate up 20K rounds and probably has loosened up to the point where its "worse junk" than it originally was.

A "like new" or "hardly touched" rifle would indicate that the original buyer bought it and played with it for a few hundred rounds and would be OK.

Last month, my buddy "The Gunny" calls me to ask my opinion on a Rossi 44-40 half rd. / oct. barreled rifle that looked like it was new for $399. I told him to stay away from it as I would rather take my chances on a Marlin than a Rossi. He bought it anyway. At the gunclub a week later, while I was shooting a 120 year old 1892 in 32-20 with no issues, (7,497 logged rounds) he was trying to figure out how to fix the junk Rossi rifle that shot 2 and 1/2 FEET to the left.

The barrel was never properly straightened at the factory. I told him I could wack it with a 40 oz. hammer over a railroad tie with a piece of leather over the metal. He said he will sell it to some fish.

Hit or miss.....hit or miss..........Ask the pawn dude if its guaranteed....yea, right. -------------Sixgun

[buckeyeshooter]

I shoot a 1866 yellowboy in CAS in 44-40, similar to the 1860 made by uberti. I have never had any problem with the gun. These are 'toggle link' actions so they are not very strong. As long as the gun cycles correctly, it should be ok. If not, there are alot of CAS gunsmiths who could fix this model at not a big cost.
I would check it closely to be positive the barrel is ok on the inside. I have seen several shoots where someone fires a squib round where the bullet sticks in the barrel, then the operator fires a second behind it. At 44-40 pressures -- no blow up, but it does damage the barrel with a ring or buldge. I would check this carefully on a used gun. Especially if the barrel is dirty on the gun in question.A dirty barrel would be a great way to hide the damage.

[jnyork]

I would listen to "sixgun"s advice above. Cowboy Action rifles get a lot of rapid fire and treatment rougher than most of us would want for our rifles. The fact that the rifle LOOKS a little rough would make me suspicious that it might BE rough. I would be VERY VERY cautious about this gun. k

[Griff]

Yep, cowboy action shooters have been a great boon to the availability of this nice copies of historical guns... but conversely the use therein is MUCH harder use in a few short years, than the originals have seen in the their 150 year life!

That's not to say that it isn't still in fine shooting shape, but like Sixgun said, it's a hit or miss proposition. If you can buy with the provisio to have a 3-5 day inspection period to have it checked out by a competent gun crank, (head space and frame stretch are the two likliest culprits) and get your money back you might have found a bargain.

[sharps1863]

With this Pawn shop it is guaranteed until it goes out the door, then it is yours. It is a 50/50 buy, but I also have look at the economy around here. At lot of people are still out of work and the pawn shops are full of merchandise. Guns especially, they pawn better and people pawn them and don't pick them back up. I'll go back Weds. when I'm off and if it still there take a better look at it and see how firm he is on the price. One other thing it is a 1860 not a 1866 side loader.
I have another one at a different Pawn shop to look at again too, it is a H&R Officers model Trapdoor Springfield in 45/70. It is priced about $40.00 more and I know it has been sitting in the rack for over 3 months. But I have 2 trapdoors already. Decisions decisions

[hfcable]

quote: " I have another one at a different Pawn shop to look at again too, it is a H&R Officers model Trapdoor Springfield in 45/70. It is priced about $40.00 more and I know it has been sitting in the rack for over 3 months. But I have 2 trapdoors already. Decisions decisions [/quote]

that officers model is a good buy at that price too. is it the rifle or the carbine? they are really good shooters, and very nice handling.

[Ray Newman]

For What-it-is-worth: At one time I had one of those 1860 Henry clones in .44-40. Sold it off because it had the old style firing pin.

If the firing pin, etc, was not kept scrupulously clean, the pin would not fully retract. I was always afraid that a cartridge could fire even if the bolt was not fully in battery due to the residue on the pin.

From what I was later told, the firing pin was redesigned to prevent this.

And someplace there was an article about a 1866 Winchester clone that was damaged from a frozen or sluggish firing pin when a cartridge fired before the bolt was back in battery.

[Nate Kiowa Jones]

Uberti brass framed rifles could be damaged by magnum loads stretching them, however, a 44-40 is an unlikely caliber to be loaded at magnum levels. Is it an 1860 or 1866 model? BTW, the 1866 is more like a $960 rifle new HERE. I'd try to get some dummy rounds and cycle them through to check feeding if possible.

I've had two in here that were stretched. The tell is a slight gap where the rear vertical end of the side plate meets the receiver. It will be slightly gapped more so at the top.

I'll disagree. Its a hit or miss and if its a miss, you just ate $545. You do not know the history of the gun and if "85%" is any indication, to me, its an indication that is was a cowboy rifle that ate up 20K rounds and probably has loosened up to the point where its "worse junk" than it originally was.

A "like new" or "hardly touched" rifle would indicate that the original buyer bought it and played with it for a few hundred rounds and would be OK.

Last month, my buddy "The Gunny" calls me to ask my opinion on a Rossi 44-40 half rd. / oct. barreled rifle that looked like it was new for $399. I told him to stay away from it as I would rather take my chances on a Marlin than a Rossi. He bought it anyway. At the gunclub a week later, while I was shooting a 120 year old 1892 in 32-20 with no issues, (7,497 logged rounds) he was trying to figure out how to fix the junk Rossi rifle that shot 2 and 1/2 FEET to the left.

The barrel was never properly straightened at the factory. I told him I could wack it with a 40 oz. hammer over a railroad tie with a piece of leather over the metal. He said he will sell it to some fish.

Hit or miss.....hit or miss..........Ask the pawn dude if its guaranteed....yea, right. -------------Sixgun

The Irony. It is true the older InterArms imported Rossi's were pretty rough and the Marlins of that era were generally better made. But that's just not true now. Since 2000 when Rossi re-tooled they have been much better. But, on the other hand the marlins have tanked. Go figure.

BTW, if that half round half octagon was a 44-40 then someone changed the barrel. That gun was about a 2 year limited run in 45lc only. It was one of the last imported by InterArms before they went out of business in the late 90's. Then EMF imported a few 38/357mag in the early 2000's. So, if he still has it let me know. I might be interested in it.
Could be you just need to shoot some 45's in it.

[Sixgun]

Quote ----Nate--------------BTW, if that half round half octagon was a 44-40 then someone changed the barrel. That gun was about a 2 year limited run in 45lc only. It was one of the last imported by InterArms before they went out of business in the late 90's. Then EMF imported a few 38/357mag in the early 2000's. So, if he still has it let me know. I might be interested in it.
Could be you just need to shoot some 45's in it.


Nate,
Its a factory 44-40. We eventually got it shooting right by loosening the front barrel band and cocking it to the left and by adjusting the Marbles tang sight all the way to the right. It looks like hell (sight arrangement) and I would not use it for a tomato stake. (The gun itself looks new) I have a bad habit of telling it like it is and I really laid it on my bud for buying junk so I think he is ready to sell. I'll pass the info along.------------------6

[COSteve]

Done

[Nate Kiowa Jones]

Quote ----Nate--------------BTW, if that half round half octagon was a 44-40 then someone changed the barrel. That gun was about a 2 year limited run in 45lc only. It was one of the last imported by InterArms before they went out of business in the late 90's. Then EMF imported a few 38/357mag in the early 2000's. So, if he still has it let me know. I might be interested in it.
Could be you just need to shoot some 45's in it.


Nate,
Its a factory 44-40. We eventually got it shooting right by loosening the front barrel band and cocking it to the left and by adjusting the Marbles tang sight all the way to the right. It looks like hell (sight arrangement) and I would not use it for a tomato stake. (The gun itself looks new) I have a bad habit of telling it like it is and I really laid it on my bud for buying junk so I think he is ready to sell. I'll pass the info along.------------------6

That's why I'm always reluctant to say, "no, they never made that gun" Someone always comes up with one. I am curious though, was it an InterArms import or EMF? The EMF should have a color-cased receiver.