1. sports
2. hunting and shooting

.50-95 Uberti Model 1876
by Ken Kempa
Stepping back into the past, we take a look at a modern reproduction of a lever gun that
served back in the Old West. Uberti is currently offering the Winchester Model 1876 in
three calibers: .45-60, .45-75, and the .50-95. One of the smoothest guns this author
has ever handled, I look at loading the biggest of the three.
I am a modern shooter and hunter, hooked for certain on scopes, stainless actions and
barrels, and synthetic stocks- preferably in camouflage. Having had black powder
muzzleloaders on and off over the past 35 years, I would rather be shooting smokeless
cartridges if my preference were to be shared. Nowadays though, it is hard to not give
notice to all of those cowboy action competitions, and the mostly reproduction rifles,
pistols and shotguns they are shooting.
When I actually got to handle the Uberti Model 1876 rifle at SHOT Show, I immediately
was attracted by the color case hardening, the looooong octagon barrel, and the
unusual brass block, visible from the top and bottom of the action right behind the barrel.
Then I worked the lever. It was the smoothest rifle of any type I had ever cycled and not
by just a little, but a whole lot slicker and smoother. It felt as if every internal part of the
gun had been dipped in a super lubricant, which in comparison, makes Teflon seem like
beach sand.
Again and again and again I worked the lever on that Uberti. What is that sliding part on
the top for? What do you call that brass block that goes up and down behind the
barrel? What is that twisty-thing behind the back end of the lever loop for? How many
cartridges does the full-length magazine tube hold? Questions, questions, questions… I
had to find out for myself.
The Cartridge and Test Rifle
For my testing, I requested a .50-95 version, the largest caliber offered. It is a bottlenecked rimed case, about 1.890” long, having a water capacity of 85 grains. A black
powder cartridge, the many sources I checked indicated that loads up to 29,000 psi
would be a reasonable upper limit even though the Uberti is made of materials far
stronger than the original ones manufactured over one hundred twenty years ago. Only
for this modern reproduction and never any originals, the listed loads were limited to
26,000 psi.
The rifle carries a 28” heavy octagon barrel that measures 3/4-inch across the flats at
the muzzle. It is 49” long overall with an empty weight of around 10-1/2 lbs. I found the
full-length tubular magazine will hold 11 cartridges plus one in the chamber. Using a
Barnes 450-grain Original and a full charge of powder, each cartridge weighs around
740 grains, and a magazine full adds another 1-1/4 lbs. to the rifle.
The action and lever feature a beautiful color casehardened finish. Right behind the
barrel is a brass carrier block which transports cartridges up to load into the chamber,
and serves to carry and eject fired cases out of the rifle. Once the magazine tube is
loaded and the lever is cycled, the carrier raises the last round loaded to be in line with
the chamber.
The breech block, which actually looks like a thick automotive engine valve, drives the
round forward into the chamber. As the lever is fully closed, the brass carrier drops
back down into the lowered position picking up the next cartridge from the magazine
tube. Of course the first downward movement of the lever also serves to cock the
hammer, which can thereafter be lowered into the half cocked position. The lever has a
fully closed safety which requires that it be fully raised up against the bottom of the
receiver for firing. At the back rear of the lever is a rotating lever lock which prevents
the lever from being worked to load the rifle. At the very top of the receiver is a sliding
dust cover to keep the insides clean when not in use or when traveling. It moves back
and stays to the rear once the lever is first cycled. When done firing, the shooter can
simply push it forward to the closed position.
As if twelve total cartridges were not enough, a sliding cover in the curved buttstock can
hold an additional three cartridges. With the 450 grain Barnes flat point jacketed bullet,
this rifle can carry a total of 6,750 grains of .50 caliber projectiles. That is the equivalent
payload of about 40 rounds of .30-30. Not many rifles today are capable of coming
anywhere close to that amount of firepower.
The rifle has very basic open, adjustable sights. Windage is controlled by loosening a
screw on the standing front site and drifting it in the opposite direction that you want the
bullet to go. Drift left to make the bullet move to the right. Elevation is adjusted by
moving the stepped sight ramp forward or back. Moving it rearwards raises the rear
buckhorn open sight which also raises the bullet impact. The trigger pull is extremely
smooth with very little overtravel and measures around 5~6 lbs.
Again, it is unbelievable how smooooth the operation of this rifle is. Place the gun in
anyone’s hand, and they cannot work the action just once. All who handled it worked
the lever again and again. Never have I handled a rifle with action so incredibly smooth.
Uberti craftsmen are to be recognized and commended for producing a firearm of such
silky operation and great overall quality. So not only is it lovely to look at, it feels so
alive in you hands. Hundreds of rounds through the rifle, even when shooting as fast as
I could work the lever, aiming and shooting, resulted in perfect functioning every time. A
cowboy or settler on the prairie would have found great peace and comfort if they could
have been fortunate enough to have an original, which functioned as well as this Model
1876.
Reloading Components Tested
Brass is available from Ten-X Ammunition (www.TenXAmmo.com) and also from
Bertram Brass, out of Australia. At over $3.00 per case due to very limited production, I
find that to be about the only drawback to the cartridge. Ammo from Ten-X is also
correspondingly priced at $99 per box of twenty. Once you have the cases though,
reloading really costs no more than loading a .45-70. RCBS provided the FL die set for
my tests, and I later found that it was a last-minute addition to the line.
It may prove difficult to track down proper dimensions for a cartridge over one hundredtwenty five years old. As a result, this early set of FL dies only sized the neck about half
way down, leaving a mild second shoulder which caused no problems at all in loading
for feeding through the rifle. I also found the expander plug to be a little oversized, so I
bypassed using it altogether. Seating bullets was no problem once I was certain to
chamfer each one with a Lyman VLD chamfering tool. Using this tool has become a
standard procedure for me on all of my rifle cartridges. It is that good at enabling easy
bullet seating without unnecessary scraping of lead or jacket material. Having had prior
excellent success in .50 caliber jacketed bullets from Barnes, I obtained 300 and 450
grain .510” flat points Originals from them.
The powders tested included: from Accurate 5744 and 2015, Hodgdon H4198, H322,
and H4895, IMR was represented by their 4227, 4198 and 3031, and lastly Vihtavuori’s
N133. As the cartridge is a relatively low pressure round, but also a very large caliber
that drops pressure relatively quickly as the bullet travels down the barrel, I choose to
use only the Federal 215 Large Rifle magnum primer to ensure good ignition. Using
QuickLOAD, I elected to have beginning loads assembled at a minimum of 20,000 psi;
stopping at 26,000 psi for the suggested maximums.
Results and Recommendations
The listed 350 grain lead bullet load from Ten-X is very unique in that the bullet does not
have any traditional lubricant in the single grease groove. Instead, they apply a wet
silver colored coating from the aerospace industry which is then baked on. They call it
their Slick Silver process. The actual bullet weight came out to 339 grains as the lube
groove is not filled as it would normally be. I obtained 2.2” average 3-shot groups when
shooting at 50 yards using the open sights. With my over a half century old eyes and
bifocals, I was fairly pleased with knowing that a boar at that distance would be in a
world of trouble if I smacked him with a .50 caliber lead slug from the Uberti.
My starting loads using the 300 grain Barnes bullets was an eye opener. I had fairly
bad range conditions with a stiff wind, but directly at my back. Loads using 5744, N133,
H4895 or IMR 4198 would shoot into groups only 1-1/4 to 1/1-2” wide, but sometimes
over double that in vertical dispersion. I was certain that the narrow but tall grouping
was me and not the rifle or the loads. Shooting the top loads under the same 300 grain
bullet, I realized some improvement. N133 again did very well at 1-1/8”, and IMR 4198
shot only 3/4” wide, but again, I had vertical stringing.
A few days later, I hit the range with loads featuring the much heavier Barnes 450 flat
point as well as the better shooting 300 grain loads for a re-shoot. Turns out the vertical
stringing was the shooter’s old eye getting used to the open sights. My early reward
was a first group with the 450’s of only 1-inch using N133 powder. Very happy, I just
kept shooting and shooting those big bullets down range. Maximum loads using H4895
averaged 1.1”, and 1-3/8” with either IMR 4198 or 3031; H4198 was also good at 1.2”.
Note that the rifle has a very leisurely rate of twist of only one turn in 40”, yet
clearly the 450s were stabilized. And the best 300 grain loads also shot much better
with no vertical stringing.
Keep in mind an open sighted, long and heavy lever gun is not for taking up in the
mountains for goats or sheep. However, it would be an excellent rifle for hogs or black
bear, where the ultra-smooth Uberti would excel for fast follow-up shots. In water
testing the 300 grain load using H4198, the Barnes expanded to 0.79”, while still
retaining 97% (290 grains). Several of the maximum loads using this bullet are plenty
fast and accurate for hunting within range limitations of the shooter using open sights.
I did not realize expansion with the heavier bullet in my water tests, but that was to be
expected. My .50 Alaskan was excellent in Africa using the heavier 450 grain Barnes,
but it delivered around 300 fps faster than the top loads in the 50-95. I still would not
hesitate to hunt boars with the heavier bullet, knowing it most certainly would go in very
deep and probably exit. With a .50 caliber hole through the boiler room, most game will
not be going very far. Due to the weight of the rifle, I found recoil to not be an issue at
all. I would rate the top loads as being comparable to slug loads in a 12 gauge; all other
lesser loads would not give most shooters anything to worry about.
Summary
The Uberti Model 1876 is the smoothest rifle of any action type I have ever cycled in my
life. It is of extremely high quality in fit and finish, and it is truly a pleasure to shoot, look
at, and handle. While you can also get it in .45 calibers, I found working with a .50 to be
a lot of fun. Most any shooter can easily handle my starting or maximum loads, with
the most accurate top loads being excellent for wild boar hunting out to ,perhaps, 75
yards or more. Once you get past the relatively high cost for ammunition or brass, once
you have the cases, it can be reloaded for about the very same cost as a 30-06 or a
45-70.
Personally, if I just wanted to experience the joy of shooting such a finely crafted
weapon such as this Uberti, I would choose the caliber I fancied the most. If I wanted to
really use it in the field for hunting, I would probably go with one of the .45s, or maybe
this .50 caliber. What really would entice me would be a carbine version having a 22 or
24 inch barrel. I would have the top rear of the barrel drilled and tapped to accept a one
piece Marlin 1895 scope base, install an extended eye relief scope, develop and test
loads to my heart’s content, and then remove the modern sighting system for good. I
could then plink with my most accurate target loads for fun, and someday show up for
the hunt with my best performing hunting loads.
The other gentlemen would surely take notice when I uncased it at the hunting lodge.
I know for certain that none of the other hunters could get by with only cycling the
action once!