Uberti 1873

[pantannojack]

I examined a new in store Uberti 1873 today. Very impressive at a attractive price < 500$. I was interested to count the clicks from hammer down thru full cock. It is missing the safety notch before half cock. OK, almost no one recommends loading 6 and using the safety click, maybe for good reason, I will not argue. But with the striker/f pin on the hammer and hammer down it can be seen protruding into the chamber .If this design change is a safety feature I think it would have been wiser to just make the cylinder with 5 chamber holes and a blank non loadable one.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

One of the SASS safety rules is only load 5 rounds. The sixth chamber still needs to be there for an "On the clock reload of one round."

The "Common Practice" of only loading 5 rounds didn't exist in the 1870's! The Colt Walker, Dragoon and Army revolvers (as well as many others) had stops between the chambers to lower the hammer on and still have 6 shots. The Colt Patterson was only 5 shots and when Col. Walker talked to Col. Colt, six shots was one of the mandatory specifications!

I noticed many Lawyer inspired new copies of classic designs no longer have a traditional "Half Cock Notch". I had some 1911's like that too, I just installed a WW I beavertail hammers to return them to the design that JMB (all hail) intended them to have. For lack of a better word: Fads in how pistols are carried, come and go. The original design allowed for people to make their own decisions. (That used to be the American way: Free Choice!)

Ivan

 

[alwslate]

My guess is that there are many users of traditional type single action revolvers, including the three screw Rugers, who carry them in the outdoors for hunting or just to have, who load all six chambers and use the safety notch. They figure the user is supposed to know his own gun and they don't have to prevent themselves from doing something stupid by carrying a partially loaded gun.

 

[pantannojack]

"On the clock Reload"? Is that for just one round with out ejecting a empty? Is the SASS course six shots?

Many years ago I bumped into a shooting match where everyone ( but me ) were swooned by autos. The course was 8 steel targets at spitting distance timed for hitting all eight. The hot rocks would close their eyes ( i imagined ), and spray & prey two or three magazines hopefully to hit all eight quickly. I, with my Ruger Blackhawk 4 5/8" 45 Colt, not Short Colt, aimed one handed and struck six, then calmly ejected and reloaded one empty and a second then registered correctly and aimed & shot the final two targets. I won a hat for fastest time.

Since then I avoid any one who sweats and hyperventilates over stopwatches while handling real guns.

 

[Baltimoreed11754]

SASS uses 5 rds as a safety measure as some shooters still use genuwine Colt SAA's or old model Rugers that don't have a transfer bar.

 

[RMFnLA]

I've seen more than one safety notch break on SAA types, including Colts, so I wouldn't use that for carry.

Hammer down between cases or, better yet, locked down on an empty chamber.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

120 metallic rounds and 25 to 40 shotgun rounds is typical for a 6 stage SASS match, I would have 2 to 5 misses usually. The philosophies of "Slow is Smooth, and Smooth is Fast!" and "You can't miss fast enough to win!" got hold of me. I slowed my aiming down and my match standing climbed.

Many clubs throw an "On the Clock Reload" into the mix every now and then. Sometimes just one round per revolver, sometimes 5, sometimes in the carbine, and just about all the time for shotguns. Reloading is often where time is gained or lost. (except for Wild Bunch, shotguns are only allowed two rounds loaded at a time) Shotguns: SxS's are faster for just two shots, If you get your reloading worked out Model 97's are faster for 4 or more shots at a time. During Match season, I practiced two nights a week on my farm. 50 rounds of handgun, 25 rounds of carbine and 50 to 75 of shotgun each practice. The majority of shots were on the clock reloading drills. The only thing I couldn't practice at home were "Moving Targets" I didn't own a way to make steel plates swing! At least once a week I shot Sporting Clays or Skeet to practice flying targets. You get lots of strange looks shooting skeet with a sawed-off Model 97, or you want all your birds thrown on continuous report and you keep reloading!

Ivan