Browning/Miroku 92 ctg length question

[Malamute]

Can the Browning 92 be made to feed 38 short Colt loads? I know some 92s are quirky about what they will feed, but I think they can be worked with to get them to feed shorter loads if one knows how (which I don't). Perhaps Steve or someone else knows the answer.

[Nate Kiowa Jones]

"What to feed it"
This comes up almost weekly in the emails I get. The original 92's were designed to work with bottleneck ammo in the 1.5" to 1.6" OAL using a round nose flat point bullet. What that means is they don’t work well with really long 357’s or really short 38’s.
The most common problem with the shorter 38's is the gun will throw out, flip or stovepipe live rounds with the empty's. This is because the shorter 38 coming onto the carrier from the tube can bounce forward enough that the rim is too close to the rim slots in the guides and when you lever it fast the carrier just catapults them up or out with the empty. If you run it slow it may work.

[Malamute]

Thanks Steve, that's what I was looking for.


Do you have any thoughts or opinion on if the Miroku 73 in 357 will stay tight longer than the Ubertis in the same caliber? I recall you mentioning youd seen some 357s that loosened up in time.

[Rube Burrows]

"What to feed it"
This comes up almost weekly in the emails I get. The original 92's were designed to work with bottleneck ammo in the 1.5" to 1.6" OAL using a round nose flat point bullet. What that means is they don’t work well with really long 357’s or really short 38’s.
The most common problem with the shorter 38's is the gun will throw out, flip or stovepipe live rounds with the empty's. This is because the shorter 38 coming onto the carrier from the tube can bounce forward enough that the rim is too close to the rim slots in the guides and when you lever it fast the carrier just catapults them up or out with the empty. If you run it slow it may work.

I just found this out last weekend when working up some new loads for an old Rossi 92 I have in .357/.38.

I had them too long at first and so I figured if I shortened them up to about 1.42 that it would be good. WRONG....... it would just flip them all the way out of the gun when cycled, like it was ejecting an empty. Ended up setting on 1.52'' on the overall length and ran 150 rounds through it flawlessly.

[Nate Kiowa Jones]

Thanks Steve, that's what I was looking for.


Do you have any thoughts or opinion on if the Miroku 73 in 357 will stay tight longer than the Ubertis in the same caliber? I recall you mentioning youd seen some 357s that loosened up in time.

It will depend on round count. I think with Uberti's experience and Miroku WinS quality I think they a pretty much the same. The main problem is the 73 style toggle link action and Cowboy action shooting round count. The CAS gun will see 100 times more rounds down range than you average firearm. Think about, you have 3 different hinge point in the 73 action, 6 if you count both sides. Each time the gun is fired there will be some wear on those pins, though minute. But over time I have seen 73's shot with CAS 38 specials even shoot loose.

I will say, I have also seen new out of the box Ubertis with excessive headspace. Back in the blackpowder era .010" was not considered excessive. Now days with smokeless it is. I've seen several New Ubertis at .010". So, that may have been a big factor as well. If it's too loose to start with it's only going to get worse but faster.