Uberti 1866 lever action

I got an older Uberti replica of the Winchester 1866 Yellow Boy in .22 l.r. a few weeks ago. Uberti doesn't offer the 1866 in .22 l.r. currently.

The carbine version that I have is surprisingly heavy for such a slender rimfire rifle and is a fairly well made rifle.

The walnut stock is fitting well enough but has an ugly patch of putty on the right side of the handguard to hide some imperfection. Cycling is pretty smooth after a little work and the rifle works reliably, with positive extraction and ejection. Loading is done through a gate in the mag tube.

I shot the carbine off hand at 25 yards and found out that the sights were a little off and that the front band was too loose to keep the front sight wiggle-free in the same position. With a small leather strip it was easily fixed and the carbine went to the range today to sight it in again.



I shot it at 50 yards from a simple sandbag rest and found the crude sights not helping my old eyes. After sighting the rifle in and adjusting the sights by drifting the rear sight over, I shot the remaining rounds. A little under 2 1/2 inches is all I came up with using CCI standard ammo but that carbine is a lot of fun to shoot and will be mostly serving as a plinker at 25 yards.

It's a beauty. I want one in .44 special. What a classy little plinker.

Wyatt Burp said:

It's a beauty. I want one in .44 special. What a classy little plinker.

Click to expand...

Thanks,

the rifle works like a charm, even in .22 l.r. but the 1866 was originally a rimfire design and is now only available up to .38 Special. The Uberti 1873 is available in .45 Colt, .357 Mag, .44-40, .44 Mag.

I had a Euroarms 1873 in .357 Magnum that did not feed .38 Special since the (end of the ) elevator is also the cartridge stop the next cartridge from the tubular magazine was blocking the elevator.

I think that the Winchester 92 action is better suited for more powerful rounds than the toggle lock of the 66 and 73 models. I see a Rossi 92 in the future ...

1873 Rifle and Carbine | Uberti

My dad had a Uberti "Yellow Boy" in .38 special that was left to him by a close friend. Up to 50 yards or so, if you pointed out a target, Pappy could hit it with that rifle.

When my dad passed, it came to me. It has been years since I fired it; need to get it out and seen what I can do with it.

Muley Gil,

you should revive those precious family memories by taking that gun out to the range and enjoy it.

Andyd said:

Thanks,

I think that the Winchester 92 action is better suited for more powerful rounds than the toggle lock of the 66 and 73 models. I see a Rossi 92 in the future ...

1873 Rifle and Carbine | Uberti

Click to expand...

I have an original 1904 vintage 1892 in 357 Magnum and it feeds 357 Magnums perfectly. As for feeding 38 specials, it has the exact same fussiness as the one Hickok45 posted a video of. Meaning it will feed 38 specials but you have to use a "hitch" the the working of the lever.

BTW, don't blame me for the refinish or the conversion, that was done by a Previous Owner. When I saw it at a local gun show it was wearing this lovely furniture and calling out to me. BTW, that previous owner traded it in with some issues I had to address. First was the magazine was dented where the pin in hte front mount retains it and would shoot loose after two or 3 rounds. Second was a front sight that was much too short. Made up a hardened steel arbor to repair the magazine tube and ordered up a Marbles front and rear tang sight. Now with one of my handloads worked up for this rifle 1/2 inch groups at 50 yards are doable when I'm shooting well.



I also have a 20 inch Rossi M92 and think these rifles are a good value for the money. However, for 499.00 for a brand new rifle at a gun show you can't expect perfection. In my case the action was rather stiff and rough cycling. By using a thin flat stone I was able to remove the burrs in the receiver left by the internal broach cuts and that smoothed out the cycling a lot. Next, the spring for the ejector was much stiffer than needed and this caused a distinct bind between the bolt and locking lugs. That was corrected by purchasing and installing a new ejector spring for an 1892 Winchester from Homestead Parts. Finally the lever detent was stiffer than I felt was necessary, so I shortened the detent spring by 1/2 coil. Now that 499.00 dollar Rossi is actually slicker than my original Winchester and it feeds 38 special perfectly. Yeah, Rossi corrected the cartridge lifter issues seen in an original Winchester converted to 357 Magnum. Note, Rossi offers a very short mounting rail for a Scout Scope that mounts to pre-tapped holes under the rear sight assembly and the Weaver 4x28 Classic K Series Sctout Scope is the only scope that I've found that has the correct eye relief to mount in this short rail and clear the ejection port. Sorry, no pic of the Rossi right now, someday I should do something about that. I'll also note the Rossi isn't as accurate as the octagon barreled Winchester but with the right hand load 3 MOA is achievable.

The only real issue with the 1892 Winchester is that removing the bolt and associated internals for a good cleaning is a MAJOR PITA. Look at the videos available on Youtube on how to approach this task. Also expect it to be at least a 2 hour job the first time you do it and 1/2 hour with a good bit of practicing. The most difficult aspect is fishing the lever back into the bolt during re-assembly but with enough trial and error it can be done. Once you've done this a few times you'll forget about cleaning with the bolt removed and do a full break down only in the event of being caught in a sudden storm or if the bolt and breech get so crudded up from shooting debris a full internal cleaning is needed. BTW, as a handloader I can tell you that H110 is not only perfect for Rifle ammunition it is also probably the cleanest shooting powder on the planet in a rifle.

Scooter,

That is one nice rifle.

Are you sure you got the dates right, though? The .357 magnum wasn't introduced until 1934.

Congrats on a fine little .22!

I love lever actions and "need" to get a .22 version.

He also noted that some previous owner converted it to .357. Lots of .32-20s got that treatment during the years when .357 rifles were non-existent.

Jack

Andyd said:

I see a Rossi 92 in the future ...

Click to expand...

That's a nice looking 1866 . . . I didn't know they'd made them in .22LR. Very cool plinker.

As for the Rossi 92, I have an EMF (made by Rossi) 1892 saddle ring carbine in .38/357 with color case hardened finish that I am very fond of. Handles both .38 and .357's with ease. I've actually taken a couple of whitetail deer with it using .357 rounds.

The only thing I don't like about the latest Rossi's is the bolt safety, but I removed mine and plugged the hole and like it much better now.

As far as smoothness goes, the 92 action is much smoother. But there's still something very old west working the toggle actions of the 66-73 rifles and some cool mechanical "ca-chunk" workings going on there. I have a well used Browning B-92 .44 Magnum carbine. It and my heirloom 92 Winchester are two favorite rifles. But the Browning action is a little smoother than the Winchester .44-40 pictured here.

daddy bear said:

He also noted that some previous owner converted it to .357. Lots of .32-20s got that treatment during the years when .357 rifles were non-existent.

Jack

Click to expand...

I still do not find that remark. He stated "I have an original 1904 vintage 1892 in 357 Magnum". That is pretty unmistakenly including the calibre to be original. The conversions and refinish are not exactly specified.

Andyd said:

I still do not find that remark. He stated "I have an original 1904 vintage 1892 in 357 Magnum". That is pretty unmistakenly including the calibre to be original. The conversions and refinish are not exactly specified.

Click to expand...

scooter123 posted: "I have an original 1904 vintage 1892 in 357 Magnum and it feeds 357 Magnums perfectly. As for feeding 38 specials, it has the exact same fussiness as the one Hickok45 posted a video of. Meaning it will feed 38 specials but you have to use a "hitch" the the working of the lever.

BTW, don't blame me for the refinish or the conversion, that was done by a Previous Owner."

I do believe when he stated "original", he was referring to the rifle being an "original" Winchester, as opposed to the clones that have been produced in the last 30 some years. scooter123 does reference the conversion.

Andyd said:

Thanks,

the rifle works like a charm, even in .22 l.r. but the 1866 was originally a rimfire design and is now only available up to .38 Special. The Uberti 1873 is available in .45 Colt, .357 Mag, .44-40, .44 Mag.

I had a Euroarms 1873 in .357 Magnum that did not feed .38 Special since the (end of the ) elevator is also the cartridge stop the next cartridge from the tubular magazine was blocking the elevator.

I think that the Winchester 92 action is better suited for more powerful rounds than the toggle lock of the 66 and 73 models. I see a Rossi 92 in the future ...

1873 Rifle and Carbine | Uberti

Click to expand...

Uberti currently lists three versions of the 1866 replica in calibers .38 Special, .44-40, and .45 Colt. I put several thousand rounds through my 66 in .45 Colt shooting Cowboy Action matches. Yes, the 92 action is much stronger than the toggle lock of the earlier 66 and 73, which is one reason I switched to a Marlin Model 94 in .45 Colt.

For the OP, how does the .22 load? The 1866 was also known as the King's Patent because it incorporated a loading gate in the side of the frame as do many traditional lever action rifles. This was a change from the Henry, the predecessor to the 1866 which loaded by pushing the magazine follower up towards the muzzle, then twisting a sleeve on the barrel to hold it while rounds were dropped down the magazine tube.

Andyd said:

the rifle works like a charm, even in .22 l.r. but the 1866 was originally a rimfire design and is now only available up to .38 Special.

Click to expand...

My '66 Uberti Yellowboy... in .45LC...


But... I bought it some time ago...

The 1866 in .22 l.r. loads through a cut out in the mag tube, the inner tube with the spring has to be pulled out pretty far to allow the cartridge to fit in. I think that was also how a Winchester 9422 XTR was loaded that I used to own.