The toggle lock on the ‘73s is the smoothest of the pistol caliber actions. With a short throw lever kit the 1873 action can be run the fastest of any of the traditional lever guns, hence their popularity in cowboy action shooting.
I have had a Marlin 1894 in .357 for about 15yrs and my new Rossi 92 blows it out of the water for smooth cycling straight out of the box.
Which has made me very curious about 1873 models and how much better an action can get.
Originally Posted by SwampDweller
Reliability and strength arent necessarily interchangeable. Individual examples of any type can also have more or less machine marks left inside. Marlins have generally felt pretty gritty and sludgey to me unless slicked up, and they can be pretty slick, same for anything else. Part of why 73s feel slick is the way the action functions, as well as the fact that the carrier(lifter) raises the cartridge mostly horizontal, rather than angled and have to make it around the corner of the chamber so to speak.
In terms of parts availability the Uberti guns probably have it over the Miroku guns, though to me I wanted the Miroku for the perceived quality (all the Miroku guns Ive had or seen are very well made) as well as the name Winchester on the gun. Ubertis are pretty good, and better over time, but have had some quirks, like gunsmiths saying theyve seen some that the barrels didnt torque or index quite right and the factory loc-tited them in place rather than change the barrel or set it back a thread and re-fit the mag tube and fore end. Its been a while since that was reported, and I think theyve upped their game since. ubertis also have a reputation for soft screws, in Colt type pistols and I believe in rifles, to the point theres replacement screw sets available. As far as needing parts, im not sure either really need parts in general, though its nice to have access to spares if one loses or damages something. I havent inquired from Winchester about 73 parts so far.
The loading gate/spring cover/whatever one wishes to call them, have had some issues with Ubertis I believe, the cartridge stop on the back of them have broken, it seems to be a known thing if looking on the CAS City forum site. I dont know if the Miroku guns suffer from the same malady, (I recall asking about it some time ago but dont recall the details) though it occurred to me i may want to get a spare or two. I like keeping basic parts that are easily lost or damaged. Most of the originals seem to have held up well, I dont recall what was changed on the copies that caused the problem. Theres some nit picking by some people about 'theyre more like the originals in some minor detail". None of which details that were mentioned in those discussions were things I care about....although I much prefer the Miroku carbine front sight, a stud brazed onto the barrel with a blade pinned into it, the Uberti carbines have the front sight made as part of the front band. I had a Uberti 1866 so made, it was a huge pain in the arse if it got dropped or bumped, you had to then re-zero it. I dislike that type front sight greatly. Doesnt seem to bother other people.
I wonder if the magazine spring in the Uberti 73s is the same as the 92s, I have no experience or information about that detail. In the Miroku 73 I have the spring is very soft and many coils, I believe its intended to be so to reduce spring pressure and the cartridge slapping back into the stop when the carrier comes down. It also makes the magazine super easy to load, none of the business of not loading a round all the way in so the next one can start easily. The 73s and 86 load slick as can be without such methods. the 92s and 94s nearly as slick when the back of the gate is polished well and other internals arent too rough. Ive done trick of not pushing each round all the way in in the past with Winchester 94s and thought I was clever, then several times had a handful of shells spit back out the gate. When they work correctly none of that is needed or desirable. Winchester used to suggest it, but I believe they were covering their tail when making roughly finished guns and got complaints on them being hard to load. Blame it on the user, not the gun. Theres a simple fix for 94s that are hard to start cartridges in.
Last edited by Malamute; 05-02-2024 at 09:40 PM.
“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.”
― Theodore Roosevelt
Yeah, it sounds like there are pros and cons for each. I just can’t find much on long-term use of Miroku 73s.
I also have been looking at the BLR. It’s more modern but shouldn’t that give it an edge?
An edge in what sense? I have no personal experience with the BLR guns, though I bought one to trade to a guy that built a chevy motor for me ages ago. He hunted with it and also bought cheap USA brand (Winchester white box I believe) 308 M80 ball loads, it locked the gun up solid. I dont recall how he got it unlocked, but it wasnt a field expedient procedure. I think he sold it shortly after that and got a winchester 94 to hunt with. I believe they are generally accurate, but I never was very interested in them due to their non-traditional appearance. Thats all I have on them.
The only person I know with a Miroku 73 is a friend and gunsmith, he shoots cowboy action, he said he has around 50k rounds of 45 Colt through his with zero issues. I love my 357 carbine, and doubt I'll ever live long enough to wear it out or hurt it. Due to life situation Ive not shot it much so far, but hope thats taking a turn for the better.
“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.”
― Theodore Roosevelt
Perhaps more robust/simpler? I could be totally off on that.
I was also considering the Marlin 1894C in .357, but the "Marlin jam" associated with it's lack of controlled feeding has turned me off. The only long-term, somewhat high round count information I can find on lever actions in regular use seems to be with Cowboy Action Shooting, and the '73 dominates that field seemingly with good reputation whether from Uberti or Miroku. The only reason I'm considering Uberti over Miroku is because supposedly it's easier to replace parts.
The current Browning BLRs are Miroku-made. (Current meaning since some time in the Eighties, I would think.) Mine have only been lightly used, and only with .308 Winchester ammo, not 7.62 NATO, so, I have never pushed the robustness/durability envelope. I have seen anecdotes about BLR’s becoming locked-up tight, some of which “sounded” a bit hyperbolic, but some of which seemed credible. My only local friend, who also uses BLRs, has not pushed them hard, either, as far as I know, just local deer hunting. I simply don’t know what to think about BLRs, as a fighting rifle, if conditions were to get really bad. BLRs chamber high-pressure ammo, and lack much strength for primary extraction.
Certainly do vet EACH lot of ammo, for signs of extraction issues. That is not going to allow for the occasional overly-hot round, but, at least, one can be reasonably sure that the whole lot is not going be a problem. At the very least
In a true end-of-the-rule-of-law scenario, during which maintenance is problematic, I am not sure that I would prefer any lever-action weapon, over a reasonably rugged turn-bolt, or a 5.56 NATO AR/M4. If I had to go to a Very Dangerous Place, where I thought I might have to shoot beyond typical pistol-fight/shotgun distances, I have reached the point that I would rather bring an AR/M4, with appropriate 75-grain or 77-grain ammo, if regionally legal to do so.
Retar’d LE. Kinesthetic dufus.
Don’t tread on volcanos!
The BLR has a VERY complex bolt assembly. It received some early praise, for being AR15-like, in design, but design and execution can be different, in the real world.
Retar’d LE. Kinesthetic dufus.
Don’t tread on volcanos!
Two people who were very influential in my firearms journey - though at widely separated parts of my life - believed that the best "well, I guess this is it" gun to have was a sporterized Mauser in 7x57. They had seen things come and go, and if all the chips were down, they both figured that was the rifle and cartridge combo least likely to let them down.
I suppose they would get laughed out of town nowadays, but I still don't think they were too far off the mark.
gn
"On the internet, nobody knows if you are a dog... or even a cat."
I'm not necessarily looking at it as a end-of-rule-of-law type rifle, I would agree that an AR (or in my case, 5.56 Polish Beryl AK) or, if one wanted a manually operated rifle, a rugged bolt gun would be a better choice. My primary uses for this would be home/self defense, maybe some hiking/woods/camping, and perhaps some cowboy action shooting. That said, it still needs to be reliable. I also see the BLR in .223 is discontinued, so I think something like a .357 Mag would make more sense than a full power rifle caliber like .308. Also open to .30-30, which it's my understanding that rifle caliber lever guns are less finicky than pistol caliber. But the '73 seems to get good marks for reliability, including among those who shoot quite a lot in cowboy action.
What about the 1895 Winchester? Was that a durable rifle? Or the 300 savage rifles?
Sent from my SM-A326U using Tapatalk
Reply With Quote