Fun show is in town this weekend.....I've been wanting to get into Cowboy Action Shooting and would like to pick up a 73 Winchester.

I know that I want something color case hardened and an octagon barrel would be preferred.  I don't know that I much care between 38/357 and 45 Colt.

I don't have much experience with these at all, other then reading a bit on the internet and looking at some prices.  they seem to be hard to find, as gun.deals lists many of them as all out of stock.

I guess the main thing is that I don't want to get burned on a purchase by not knowing exactly what to look for.  Any things that could be a huge gotcha?

I used a Uberti 1873 24 inch octagon bbl in 44-40, and a Pre Taurus Rossi 1892 in 44-40 when I was doing CAS. Uberti has the uber cool factor, while the Rossi has the quick handling, lighter weight factors going for it. Personally I would not use an original 1873 for CAS, as you're going to shoot A LOT OF AMMO out of them. I would keep my original 73 for range and hunting purposes. jmtcw and ymmv.

Both the Uberti and the Rossi will stand up to the use and abuse of CAS shooting regardless of caliber. Shoot with confidence.

yeah, I see the Uberti's are very popular, as it seems they are solid and have great parts availability.   Part of me just feel odd about buying the remake and not the real Winchester, although yes, the new ones are from Japan, so I guess that's not a totally solid argument.

They're heavy, and you won't need the weight for recoil control, since Cowboy Action Shooters shoot bunny-farts.

That is one of the reasons I left Cowboy Action Shooting. When I competed I used full house black powder charges in all the things. Or at least BP equivalent smokeless loads. Got tired of the gamers and their mouse fart loads, lever throw shortening kits and the like. It was not, imho, in the "Spirit of The Game".

Different strokes for different folks and all that, but to me it felt like it was going the way IPSC did years ago when it morphed into a game for pro shooters and race guns, instead of the match for "everyman" and out of the box gear. jmtcw.

I agree.

If it were me, I would get either the Winchester or the Uberti in 38/357 but I would get an 1892 with a round barrel.

If you want color case hardening, the receivers come that way.

JMO, the octagonal barrels are unnecessarily heavy in 38/357.

Winchesters are as purdy as a Uberti -

I recently got a Cimarron-imported Uberti 1873 20" octagon short rifle in .45 colt and it is very nice. It has a 2018 production date code. The color case finish is average to decent but the wood has gorgeous tiger stripes all over the stock. I was expecting the action to need some stone work, but the internals were surprisingly burr-free. I did a deep clean of the manufacturing residue and lubed the internals with some Slip EWG grease and worked the action for about an hour watching TV. It is now nice and slick. The screws were difficult to remove initially as all Uberti's are known to be, but I soaked the screw heads in penetrating oil for a few hours before I tried to turn them. I was initially looking for the 24" full rifle length, but I'm glad I got the 20" short rifle. I would not mind getting their 1866 clone next, probably in the 19" round barrel saddle ring carbine configuration.

Interesting perspective.

I own two original 1873 Winchester's; 1886 and 1888 productions, and have owned a few 1873 Uberti's, and still own an 1866 Uberti Sporting Rifle. If you were to blindfold me and hand me an identically configured Uberti (24" octagon barrel) I couldn't possibly tell the Uberti's from a Winchester. They are, if nothing else, identical on the outside and I think it'd take a set of calipers to find internal differences. Conversely the "new" 1873 Winchesters are a far cry from the originals and the difference can be seen easily at a glance.

If one bides their time, they can find an original '73 for not much more money than the new Japchesters and the originals will appreciate in value. Both of my '73's are chambered in 38 WCF and I love them, and they would be among the very last firearms I'd sell.

My Miroku Winchester 73 is a much nicer gun than the Uberti 73 I had.

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If you'll look closely, the Uberti you pictured has pretty decent wood. My 1866 Uberti was the same way. The problem is the finish Uberti uses. Here's one of mine "before". Notice the wood doesn't look like much-





Stripped and refinished with a linseed oil/turpentine mix, the difference is quite noticeable-

The Miroku built guns are worth every penny. Better than anything that ever came out of New Haven.