Uberti vs Cimarron vs Winchester lever rifle question.

[FoghornLeghorn]

I currently own 3 lever action rifles (unless you count falling block, as well). An old all steel 308 BLR, a Henry Golden Boy in 44 mag and a pre safety Winchester 94 30/30.

I'm now looking on Gunbroker at 1873 replicas in 45 Colt and 357 calibers.

For the Winchester brand, I'm limiting the search to Miroku manufacture. Are all Winchester lever rifles made there?

I also assumed the Winchester brand is better than Uberti or Cimarron, but all three brands are priced about the same when we're talking recent manufacture.

Are they all about the same?

Would one want to stick with Winchester for nostalgia's sake?

The purpose is just for plinking at the range. Not cowboy shoots or hunting or anything like that.

[mikejonestkd]

Uberti and Cimarron are both made in the same factory ( owned by Beretta ). They are very similar in terms of build quality. My local smith has a slight preference for Cimarron levers for cowboy action use, and he sees many, many rifles a year. I have one of each and can't tell the difference in build quality.

Winchesters made in Japan are of excellent quality. You can't go wrong with a Miroku made 1873

Quick edit- I need to see pics of your 55 mag lever gun!!! That has to be insanely powerful!!

[FoghornLeghorn]

Thanks for pointing it out. That would be a heck of a wildcat in the Henry.

[SundownRider]

I have a Miroku made Winchester High-Wall. Quality is excellent, you will not regret that choice. I also have a USA made Winchester 1894 in .45 Colt. Good quality there as well, and you can still find them here and there. (I’ve heard they made a few). My favorite, though, is my 1892 Winchester in 44WCF made in 1895. That quality is hard to replicate these days.

[HiBC]

There is another thread currently running regarding a Cimarron single shot 45 70.
The new rifle has a loose barrel,which caused problems.

The customer returned it to Cimarron customer service.

At this point,the customer does not have a rifle and he is dissatisfied with a lack of communication from Cimarron.

I thought Cimarron was pretty good stuff,but this story would be an issue for me.
A company can throw away $50,000 lot of advertising money over the cost of customer service on a $1500 retail defective from the factory rifle.

Seems real stupid to me. Word gets around.

Search "Sadly,Cimarron SINGLE shot" thread.

[NoSecondBest]

I’ve owned a few different Miroku guns and they are of outstanding quality. Not just good, but outstanding. The Japanese don’t cut corners on quality when it comes to cars, optics, or guns. All my Miroku guns are very, very accurate with the right loads in them. Don’t even think twice about Miroku’s quality, it’s second to none.

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

Cimarron does not make anything, they are an importer. The 'Winchester' Toggle Link rifles they sell, the 1860 Henry, the 1866 Winchester, and the 1873 Winchester, are all made by Uberti. Just like Taylors, who is also an importer, not a manufacturer.

For years Cimarron claimed their products were better than those of any other importer. Years and years of seeing these rifles in Cowboy Action shooting matches has shown most of us that the stuff offered by Cimarron is no better and no worse than any of the other importers.

Miroku of Japan makes the lever guns currently marketed by Winchester. They are of excellent quality. It should be noted though that the parts for the Miroku and Uberti made rifles are just different enough that they do not interchange. Also, there are plenty of after market parts available for Uberti rifles, particularly short stroke action parts. There are no after market parts available for Miroku rifles.

[T. O'Heir]

The Winchester brand is just that these days. Just an FN Herstal Group brand name. All their rifles are made in Japan. That's not really a bad thing though. Brownings(also just a Herstal Group brand name) and some Weatherby's are too.
I'm pretty sure you can buy based on the price alone and not lose.
Oh and in the 19th Century, Winchester rifles, like Colt revolvers, were horrendously expensive. No cowboy could ever afford one.

[FoghornLeghorn]

Thanks for the all the responses. Valuable info.

[FoghornLeghorn]

Originally Posted by mikejonestkd

Uberti and Cimarron are both made in the same factory ( owned by Beretta ). They are very similar in terms of build quality. My local smith has a slight preference for Cimarron levers for cowboy action use, and he sees many, many rifles a year. I have one of each and can't tell the difference in build quality.

Winchesters made in Japan are of excellent quality. You can't go wrong with a Miroku made 1873

Quick edit- I need to see pics of your 55 mag lever gun!!! That has to be insanely powerful!!

Thanks for that info. Because of the thread HiBC referenced, I think I'll pass on both Uberti and Cimarron.

Pity, because they make rifles with the features I like. Octagonal barrel. Color case hardening. 357 mag caliber. 1873 model.