Choosing calibre

[dgw65]

Loading wise, I like 44spl, it makes a nice big hole, brass is fairly easy to spot in the grass and is fairly cheap to buy. loading wise, it's very easy to do due to big case and bullets. and only uses around 5gr of a cheap shotgun powder to get very repeatable results.
brass is also cheap to buy especially compared to 44/40 and 32/20. and you can even use cut down 44mag if you know anyone disposing.

Yeh that sounds interesting hmm..

I would stick to straight-walled pistol calibres were I you. You can buy off the shelf ammo, and if you do decide to reload, you have the advantage of being able to use carbide dies.

Can you explain the carbide die bit plz?

[Alpha1]

Straight wall cases can be sized using a carbide die the advantage over normal steel dies is you do not need to lubricate the brass case.
If you are reloading rifle calibers .308 for example you need to lube the brass case otherwise it can stick in the die and they are booger to get out.

[Mike95]

I had a Uberti 1873 in 45 Colt.. not the best calibre.. weak action, small loads in a big case.. would prefer the 44/40 or the .357. Remember, the action is an 1866 design.. oal cartridge is precise, otherwise you get a jam in the lifting block..
Lovely rifle..

Mike95

[DaveB]

Straight wall cases can be sized using a carbide die the advantage over normal steel dies is you do not need to lubricate the brass case.
If you are reloading rifle calibers .308 for example you need to lube the brass case otherwise it can stick in the die and they are booger to get out.

Not just rifle cases. Cartridges with any sort of bottleneck (i.e. .38-40 and .44-40 for example) also need to be lubed. Too little lube and you get a stuck case. Too much lube is almost as bad. That's why I like carbide dies and straight-walled cases. It's just easier.

[redcat]

Get the.44-40 - the little bit of extra care needed in reloading shouldn't be reason enough to stop you getting the classic combination of the Winchester '73 and its original cartridge. If you are intending using it for competition get the 20" short rifle with octagonal barrel. For the real classic look go for the 24". Either way you will get a great gun.

Redcat

[dgw65]

Get the.44-40 - the little bit of extra care needed in reloading shouldn't be reason enough to stop you getting the classic combination of the Winchester '73 and its original cartridge. If you are intending using it for competition get the 20" short rifle with octagonal barrel. For the real classic look go for the 24". Either way you will get a great gun.

Redcat

Well this was my thinking, a 24" 44-40 oct barrel Uberti should give me a 'proper' cowboy rifle experience for realistic money, I actually plan on competing in a different discipline so the '73 would be purely for enjoyment. Reloading seems a whole new hobby in itself though so at the moment I'm in denial and will likely wait to see how much I shoot it.. but yeh I guess it's inevitable.

[FredB]

Gallery rifle shooters use a lot of ammo and reloading is an economic neccessity---as is casting your own bullets. The straight wall pistol cases use relatively heavy, thick walled brass and crimping causes this to split after only a few reloads. The 44-40 case is very thin walled and can be reloading many times without problems. I am still using some Winchester cases that i bought in the 1980s.
Fred

[dromia]

The use of steel dies is also no impediment to reloading the 44-40 either.

The bottle neck is so shallow that lubing every case is not necessary I just lube every 5th one whether it needs it or not.

There is a lot of nonsense, like most of the stuff on this damned internet, about loading the 44-40 and it is no more difficult, complicated or requiring care beyond that which you would give hand loading any calibre.

If you use the proper propellant, black powder, then it is even simpler with even less opportunities for load error.

[dgw65]

Gallery rifle shooters use a lot of ammo and reloading is an economic neccessity---as is casting your own bullets. The straight wall pistol cases use relatively heavy, thick walled brass and crimping causes this to split after only a few reloads. The 44-40 case is very thin walled and can be reloading many times without problems. I am still using some Winchester cases that i bought in the 1980s.
Fred

Oh. See now this is news, I've read more or less the exact opposite about reloading 44-40 cases, paradoxically the reason given was that the thicker straight walled cartridges were more durable - it's lucky I have an enforced waiting period where I can do nothing but read or I might've been put off! So the cases can obviously be used way more times than I'd imagined then!

The use of steel dies is also no impediment to reloading the 44-40 either.

The bottle neck is so shallow that lubing every case is not necessary I just lube every 5th one whether it needs it or not.

There is a lot of nonsense, like most of the stuff on this damned internet, about loading the 44-40 and it is no more difficult, complicated or requiring care beyond that which you would give hand loading any calibre.

If you use the proper propellant, black powder, then it is even simpler with even less opportunities for load error.

Thank you, again this is all news to me and contradicts advice I've had (not on here) - it was way easier starting a hobby when all you had was library books and a bloke ur mother knows.

[Mattnall]

...it's lucky I have an enforced waiting period where I can do nothing but read or I might've been put off!

Be careful, half of what you read on the internet is most likely rubbish, and I wouldn't trust the other half too much either.