Hunting with the Uberti Walker

[chickenmcnasty]

Hey all,

I took the Walker to the range the other day as I intend to hunt deer with it this fall. Shots would be 20 yards or closer. The issue I'm having is that the impact is around 8'' high at the 20 yard mark. I have been using 60 grains of 777 which is a little stout and plan on decreasing the load and using cream of wheat filler, but I doubt this will take the poi down enough.
I have heard of filing the rear sight on the hammer, but i'm not sure how far down it could be safely filed and how much difference that would make in poi. Does anyone have any good solutions for this issue? Thank you for your time!

[rodwhaincamo]

There's a fellow who hunts with a Walker and T7 with a ball, and he has chosen 2F as he says it reduces the pressure and he finds it more accurate. He claims to get 66 grns in there.

I don't know if he had modified his Walker in anyway.

Reducing the load a little is a good idea though, especially if you won't file the hammer V.

I'd think filing the hammer V would be a good thing anyway in that it would open it up to give a better sight picture even if you didn't file it deeper. I intend to do this with my '58 Remington.

[chickenmcnasty]

i'm not against filing the hammer, i'm just not sure how far I can file it and have it still be safe.

[rodwhaincamo]

The only other thing I can think of is to use a less powerful powder if not using filler.

I often use wads for filler as it's easier and more exact.

[rodwhaincamo]

I'm certainly not the guy to ask about modifying the hammer V, but I don't see why some filing would hurt. I'm not sure you could do too much as long as the filing was thin and not too wide. That is to a degree. But my sense of logic has failed me before…

If nothing else you could always replace the hammer if you take too much off.

[chickenmcnasty]

do you think a 20 grain less powder charge would decrease the poi much?

[maillemaker]

I replaced the front sight on my Uberti Walker. Here is how I did it:

http://www.4thla.com/articles/walker...lker_sight.htm

Steve

[chickenmcnasty]

awesome write-up on replacing the front sight! What do you mean when you say the sight is "staked"? I guess i'm so used to dovetails that I'm not sure what this means.

[salvadore]

I know a C&B will work on charging rogue gophers.

[rodwhaincamo]

Were it me I'd try to file the sight into a notch and drop the sight's base by maybe 1/32" and see what the effects are and begin working on my accurate hunting load.

Many state their most accurate loads are with 15-25 grns or so and often with standard Goex powder. This certainly won't do for a hunting load so a compromise must be made between accuracy and power.

For my Ruger Old Army I've found it's accurate hunting load seems to be 35 grns of 3F Olde Eynsford or Triple 7 with my 195 grn WFN bullet. This is certainly more powerful than a modern standard .45 Colt load if Mr. Beliveau was getting about 470 ft/lbs using 30 grns of 3F T7 with a Lee conical.

Using Mr. Beliveau's work we can get an idea (everything is different but I wouldn't think by too much) of what you might get in your Walker. 33 grns of 3F T7 gave a ball in a Ruger 370 ft/lbs. 7 more grains and another 1.5" of barrel would likely give you well over 400 ft/lbs.

I'd prefer a WFN over a ball or RN conical for something that may want to cause me harm though.

[maillemaker]

awesome write-up on replacing the front sight! What do you mean when you say the sight is "staked"? I guess i'm so used to dovetails that I'm not sure what this means.

"Staking" is basically pounding the metal to deform it and cause an interference fit. The Walker sight is set into its slot, and then a chisel-like object is hammered into the barrel, very close next to the sight, deforming the barrel and effectively closing up the slot, thus pinching the sight and holding it firm.

I did not want to try to re-stake the new sight, as it would harm the blue finish. So instead, I soldered it in place.

Many state their most accurate loads are with 15-25 grns or so and often with standard Goex powder.

That is the usual load for 1860s and Remingtons, but not the Walker. My Walker does well with 35-45 grains 3F Shuetzen. Had another fellow at my last skirmish competition tell me his son uses 50 grains.

Steve

[olyinaz]

Just bear in mind that you'd have to file the notch and the top of the hammer to get the job done (lower it overall in other words). Take windage into account too - might as well solve for that while you're at it. The hammer is case hardened so the outer layer is extremely tough (files will initially glide right off it). Once you get through the first few mils it'll cut pretty easy.

That said, I'd rather see you put a more modern notch in it and then fit a proper front sight to match. It's not too difficult - a perfect job for a good gunsmith. In the past I've done it with epoxy vs. solder and had no trouble, but I don't use my guns for competition etc. so they get pretty light duty.

Oly

[Shotput79]

I think if you try fixing the problem with the V in the hammer you would want to do a little at the time while at the range so you will be able to see how it changes the POI. A good gun smith would be able to put a good Colt front sight on it for you. I believe you can do the hammer job yourself. Just remember a little at the time fire the gun and stop when you get the POI were you want it. Mike Beliveau dose show folks how he dose it on YouTube. I've been able to get pretty good groups out of my Walker with 50 and 55 grs of Goex or Pyrodex P. Most all the Walkers do well with those kind of loads. I don't use Trip 7 much anymore but 45 to 50 grs seem to work OK in the Walker when I tried it. The groups it put out wasn't anything to write home about using it.

[Hellgate]

I have opened up the rear sights on two Walkers to get a better sight picture. How much you can "lower" the rear sight to bring the POI up is dependent on how much clearance there is with the top of the barrel. Some colts have a lot of room to grind down the hammer top and others don't. If there is not much clearance then you need to install a taller front sight. You can easily pull out the factory sight and install a brass shim that is properly shaped and the right height and then epoxy it in place (or use JB Weld).

[chickenmcnasty]

Thank you all for the great advice