I picked up a new toy off Gunbroker, a Winchester Modlel 73 short rifle case hardened finish. I got it in.357 because I already have a Vaquero in that caliber and I like it. What the hell, they should match, right?
No I'm not about to start doing cowboy action shooting but I'll admit I've wanted one of these since I was a kid. I had a Mattel version that shot roll caps and the Mattel 'shooting shells'. A spring loaded round with a plastic bullet and a brass case. When the hammer came down the bullet actually shot out of the barrel. The only time I put that gun away (and the matching Fannit Fifty six gun) was to play with my plastic tommy gun.
Well I've got the Winchester now, we'll have to see about a Thompson, but I digress.
Picked the gun up yesterday new. Generously coated in Cosmo. After giving it a good scrub and oil it was off to the range to sight it in. It was bang on for elevation with a light factory .357 load (win 110g soft point semi wad). But about 2 inches right. I put 20 through it to make sure it was the gun and not me, it was the gun so I tapped the sight ever so slightly with a punch to drift it over and bang, good enough for govt work.
I could bang the 1/4 size silhouette at 100 yards off hand 10 for 10 with no effort. I'm not a fan of buckhorn sights but these seemed fine. The action was very smooth and soothed out even further after 50 rounds.
I tried some .38. Win white 125g semi wad. About a 1 foot hold over from the .357. The delay from the bang to the ping on the plate was disconcerting at first, amusing once I expected it. No recoil at all and I could get rounds off and on target almost as fast as I could work the action.
Fit and finish on the gun is excellent. Stock is american walnut, looks very classy but still a 'working' gun. The case hardening was well done and not painted on. The gun isn't cheap but you get what you pay for.
It's a heap of fun to shoot, with .357 it performs better ballistically than an M1 Carbine and could easily take medium to large game.
No I'm not about to start doing cowboy action shooting but I'll admit I've wanted one of these since I was a kid. I had a Mattel version that shot roll caps and the Mattel 'shooting shells'. A spring loaded round with a plastic bullet and a brass case. When the hammer came down the bullet actually shot out of the barrel. The only time I put that gun away (and the matching Fannit Fifty six gun) was to play with my plastic tommy gun.
Well I've got the Winchester now, we'll have to see about a Thompson, but I digress.
Picked the gun up yesterday new. Generously coated in Cosmo. After giving it a good scrub and oil it was off to the range to sight it in. It was bang on for elevation with a light factory .357 load (win 110g soft point semi wad). But about 2 inches right. I put 20 through it to make sure it was the gun and not me, it was the gun so I tapped the sight ever so slightly with a punch to drift it over and bang, good enough for govt work.
I could bang the 1/4 size silhouette at 100 yards off hand 10 for 10 with no effort. I'm not a fan of buckhorn sights but these seemed fine. The action was very smooth and soothed out even further after 50 rounds.
I tried some .38. Win white 125g semi wad. About a 1 foot hold over from the .357. The delay from the bang to the ping on the plate was disconcerting at first, amusing once I expected it. No recoil at all and I could get rounds off and on target almost as fast as I could work the action.
Fit and finish on the gun is excellent. Stock is american walnut, looks very classy but still a 'working' gun. The case hardening was well done and not painted on. The gun isn't cheap but you get what you pay for.
It's a heap of fun to shoot, with .357 it performs better ballistically than an M1 Carbine and could easily take medium to large game.
