'73 short stroke

[44 Dave]

Have any of you "cowboy shooters" short stroked a '73.
I plan on stroking my 2nd model '73. Have an extra original lift arm to build up, and links coming that will need the metric end holes filled and re-drilled to US and firing pin retract pin added to the left link.
I borrowed a set of standard short stroke links to make calculations before acquiring the needed parts.

[Hawg]

I don't understand why anybody would want to short stroke an original. If you want a stroked 73 get a Uberti.

[44 Dave]

I like the challenge and will not change any of the original parts, so it will be able to change back.
Bought this round barrel 1880 '73 a number of years ago for $300/ with broken firing pin and main spring. the action had a bunch of fine shot in it that screwed it up but the rifling is good.
I did quit using my 2nd gen. Colt .45 and bought Ubertis in .44 WCF

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

The purpose of short stroking a toggle link rifle is to take up the extra 'unused' motion of the lever so that the shooter can shoot faster. This is a very common modification in CAS shooting circles, it allows a very fast shooter to shave a few seconds off of their rifle time. Be advised that short stroking a rifle means the lever travels through less of an arc to work the action, so the amount of effort needed to work a short stroked rifle is actually increased. For this reason, when installing a short stroke kit, it is always advisable to do a complete action job, lightening the springs AND polishing the parts to remove as much friction as possible so the shooter does not suffer a disadvantage from short stroking the rifle.

There is no such thing as a 'standard' set of short stroke links. They are made by several different outfits, and some shorten the stroke more than others. After installing the links that shorten the stroke the most, some shooters have been dissatisfied with the result and have gone back to a slightly longer stroke, because of the leverage issue.

Here is a photo of three rifles with their actions opened the maximum amount. From the top they are an Uberti replica Model 1873, a real Winchester Model 1873 made in 1887, and an Uberti replica 1860 Henry. The Henry has been short stroked, the other two rifles have not.





In this photo I have piled the rifles on top of each other to show a comparison of the length of the lever strokes. The short stroked Henry is on top, the original 1873 is in the middle, and the Uberti 1873 is on the bottom. You can see the two unshortstroked rifles have their levers opened almost the same amount, the original Winchester has a stroke ever so slightly less than the Uberti 1873. The Henry short stroke is a moderate version of a short stroke. When I had the gun worked over by my favorite smith, he asked if I wanted the 'wicked' short stroke. I said no, and he put in a kit that did not shorten the stroke quite so much. With a really short stroke, the lever would have been closed even more. CAS rifles with really, really short strokes can be operated by merely flicking the fingers open without removing the hand from the wrist of the stock. I cannot do that with my short stroke. Obviously, with one of the super short strokes, the leverage has been reduced so much that unless the rifle is gone over very carefully to reduce the friction and lighten the springs, one will not have enough hand strength to operate the action by flicking open the hand.




Be advised that the angle of the full stroke of the original Winchesters varied slightly over the years. Some had a slightly longer stroke than others.

Be advised short stroke kits are often not simple drop in parts. With some short stroke kits the timing of the action needs to be adjusted or the rifle will not function properly and will jam.

Be advised that putting short stroke links in your original 1873 may require adjusting the timing so the rifle will feed properly. If this is required, you will be altering some original parts, and that may mean that the original links will no longer function properly in your rifle.

Personally, I can't fathom why anyone would want to short stroke an original Winchester. But it is your gun and your money.



P.S. Why did you stop shooting your 2nd Gen Colt? I shoot mine all the time.

[AKexpat]

Driftwood,

That was a VERY informative and well-done post, and I knew nothing about this prior to your info.

Thank you, sir!

Jim

[Tidewater_Kid]

Not to mention posting pictures of beautiful rifles for us to drool over!

TK

[44 Dave]

up date:
Added metal to an e-bay lifting leaver and roughly shaped it last night.
Have the length of new links fitted within a few thousandths and friend e will close the metric end holes for me tomorrow.
Not quite sure how I will press the firing pin return pin into the left link, may reduce the diameter of a 7/64 drill bit then use the shank for the pin.

[44 Dave]

Finished it today and ran 10 rounds through it. The stroke is 2 1/2" shorter, and only a little mechanical advantage lost (still a smooth easy action).
I can return it to original by loosening 2 screw and removing the side cover and leaver screws then returning the original links and lifting leaver.

[44 Dave]

DSCN5616 (Small).JPG
The top one belongs to a friend, one year newer, but untouched. Even with the shortened stroke the action work on mine makes it smoother and easier to cycle.

[salvadore]

Of course once you you have shortened the lever movement you need to find a good 1
20 gr. bullet powered by fire cracker powder.

[44 Dave]

Didn't do this to win just to have enjoyment (can easily be changed back).
I shoot 200 gr. on top of 5.5 gr of Trail Boss and sometimes Frontier cartridge, black powder.
All of my pistols have action work with bolt blocks and action stops. I enjoy this sort of thing as much as shooting them.

[Hawg]

Just me but I fail to see the attraction in it. I don't like the Browning .22 lever action because the stroke is so short.

[salvadore]

Not only does the bl22 short stroke Hawgy, but you have to clean the barrel from the. Muzzle and the action is almost impossible to clean. They suck for design. Buy a Marlin.

[Hawg]

I don't mind cleaning from the muzzle but don't like that short lever throw. it messes me up if I shoot one and then shoot a real lever action.

[44 Dave]

DSCN5476.JPG
Would you argue with this?

[ms6852]

Driftwood, that was an outstanding post. Fantastic information, I continue to amaze myself as to how little I know and how much more I need to learn. Thank you sir and happy shooting.

[Hawg]

DSCN5476.JPG
Would you argue with this?

I would argue it's legitimacy

[Driftwood Johnson]

Just me but I fail to see the attraction in it. I don't like the Browning .22 lever action because the stroke is so short.

Howdy Again

I will tell you exactly why I had my Henry short stroked, and it has nothing to do with shooting faster. As you may or may not be aware, with a Henry rifle the follower tab jumps backwards every time a cartridge is stripped out of the magazine. The purpose of the follower tab is to be able to pull the follower all the way forward and out of the way when loading the rifle. Since there is no fore stock on a Henry, the follower tab protrudes through a slot in the underside of the magazine. In this photo the follower tab is a few inches forward of the frame.




If the follower tab should be blocked from moving by the front hand holding the barrel, the rifle will stop feeding. Shooters of a Henry rifle usually have to learn what is called the 'Henry Hop'. This consists of moving the hand at one point to allow the follower to get past the hand.

In my case, I use a spacer stick that I place in the magazine after I have loaded the usual ten rounds we shoot in CAS.

Here is my spacer stick.





Here is the spacer stick inserted behind ten rounds in the magazine.





And here is where the spacer stick winds up after all ten rounds have been fired. Rather than place my left hand halfway up the barrel, I hold it just ahead of the frame. So I never have to move my hand, my hand never interferes with the magazine follower, the spacer stick gives me a little bit less than five inches of space behind the furthest back position the follower tab reaches.





But with the factory full stroke, the lever bumped into my hand every time I worked the action. The short stroke allows me to hold the rifle the way I like, and my hand never interferes with the motion of the follower tab, and the short stroke prevents the lever from bumping into my hand. This photo demonstrates how I hold my Henry while I am shooting it. My left hand is just ahead of the frame. If you look carefully you will see the follower tab hanging under the barrel about eight inches from the muzzle. Yes, I usually wear a glove on my left hand in the summer because the barrel gets very hot after firing ten Black Powder rounds, and there is no wood to hold.





Regarding going back and forth between my short stroked Henry and any other lever gun, the stroke on the Henry has not been shortened very much. None of my other rifles has a short stroke because I am not concerned about my hand interfering with the motion of the lever, I grab all my other lever guns further forward on the fore stock. So the small amount of short stroking on the Henry does not cause me any problems when I shoot one of my other non-short stroked lever guns.