Need a Winchester 73 mechanic

[Marc]

I made another trip to the range with the 73(44 WCF) today. I was mainly getting sight adjustments and settings for levergun silhouette. That effort was successful and now I need a match!

I discovered a problem with the rifle while I was at it. I was having a hard time getting the bolt closed on a cartridge. I thought it was because the extractor was to stiff. That is not the problem. The problem is that the bolt has a lot of slop. With a round in the chamber, when the extractor hits the rim it pushes the bolt up. The little lug on the bottom of the bolt face hits the rim and stops everything. Until today I was using R-P brass which has a bigger bevel on the back of the rim. Today I was using Starline brass and it has a smaller bevel on the rim so the lug misses the bevel and it takes a lot more pressure to force the lug past the rim. I found that I could push down on the bolt with my thumb and the action would close easily.

The question is how to fix it? I could bevel the top of the lug but there is not a lot of metal there so I don't know if that would work well. The real fix would be to get the slop out of the bolt but I don't know any easy way to do that. What say you experts?

[Griff]

PM on its way.

[Nate Kiowa Jones]

I made another trip to the range with the 73(44 WCF) today. I was mainly getting sight adjustments and settings for levergun silhouette. That effort was successful and now I need a match!

I discovered a problem with the rifle while I was at it. I was having a hard time getting the bolt closed on a cartridge. I thought it was because the extractor was to stiff. That is not the problem. The problem is that the bolt has a lot of slop. With a round in the chamber, when the extractor hits the rim it pushes the bolt up. The little lug on the bottom of the bolt face hits the rim and stops everything. Until today I was using R-P brass which has a bigger bevel on the back of the rim. Today I was using Starline brass and it has a smaller bevel on the rim so the lug misses the bevel and it takes a lot more pressure to force the lug past the rim. I found that I could push down on the bolt with my thumb and the action would close easily.

The question is how to fix it? I could bevel the top of the lug but there is not a lot of metal there so I don't know if that would work well. The real fix would be to get the slop out of the bolt but I don't know any easy way to do that. What say you experts?

Hello Marc,
The problem you are experiencing with that gun is because the little lug/ rim shelf there on the bottom of the bolt face is worn or in other words too short. It should be long enough to start under the rim before the extractor contacts the rim. One stop-gap fix is to shorten the extractor just a little so it doesn't contact the rim before the rimshelf can get under and support the rim. Another somewhat better option is to grind the bottom of the bolt off and solder on a new piece to make a longer rim shelf. This is also a good fix if the bolt is so loose and setting low it allows the extractor to go into the chamber instead of the extractor cutout when closing the action on an empty chamber.

[Marc]

Thanks Griff, I will note that number.

Nate, that makes sense. The extractor seems to be a little long so I will take a bit off there first. There is a slot in the barrel under the chamber that I figured the lug is supposed to fit into. The lug is to short to go into the slot. Ultimately I will repair the lug but I will try working on the extractor first. The extractor lifts a little when the bolt is closed on a round so it is longer than it needs to be.

I have an old cartridge case marked "W.R.A.CO." and "44 W.C.F.". It has a small primer pocket. I have no idea how old it is but it has a radius on the back of the rim edge. I suppose that radius is there for a reason.