24 Uberti 1862 Police unpack

Treso nipples will solve the cap jams without the second main spring. I already done the 2nd main spring and slixshots and don't use either of them any more. Also fixed the short arbor with a washer sanded to size and press fit, now the wedge goes all the way in, everytime.

markdwhite15 said:

Downloaded a copy of Larsen Pettifoggers Tuning the Pietta P&B revolver a few years ago. Used it to tune my 3 Pietta Colt repos. Don't claim to be a gunsmith, but it worked for my purposes. Professional gunsmiths are beyond my broken down mud roller pension

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Those are nice articles and have excellent information except for the "test". You can't put a barrel on an open-top revolver at a 90° angle (except possibly for late Piettas) and then swing it down to the frame to see how far off it is . . . It won't fully go on the arbor because of the broached wedge slots. You can dress the arbor to make that happen but now it's SHORT and SKINNY!!
You don't need to make the situation worse before you make it better!
Just start with a spacer that is too thick and reduce until you can assemble with your preferred barrel/cylinder gap (endshake on an open-top platform with no gas ring).

Mike

markdwhite15 said:

Just called Midway customer service, they sent me a prepaid return label. This would be a good price for you folks who work on these revolvers, not so much if you want a revolver that's ready to go out of the box. I have 3 Pietta Colt repros, this is my first and last Uberti.

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Dont give up on Uberti because of this. They are generally good guns. I have been using their Colt 1873 long barrel and Winchester 1873 for years without a problem. I also have their Remington 1858 that was made in the 1970s and that is the only one that needed some work on the base of being in use for over 50 years. I would take a Uberti over a Pieta.

45D said:

Those are nice articles and have excellent information except for the "test". You can't put a barrel on an open-top revolver at a 90° angle (except possibly for late Piettas) and then swing it down to the frame to see how far off it is . . . It won't fully go on the arbor because of the broached wedge slots. You can dress the arbor to make that happen but now it's SHORT and SKINNY!!
You don't need to make the situation worse before you make it better!
Just start with a spacer that is too thick and reduce until you can assemble with your preferred barrel/cylinder gap (endshake on an open-top platform with no gas ring).

Mike

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Thanks, my 1860 Army and 1851 Sheriff are CNC Piettas, I bought an 1861 Police from a member a few weeks ago,its a 2009 Pietta. It's under construction, fixed the oversized bolt and the cylinder slots it buggered up. The arbor seems slightly short on it, I'm in the process of rounding up some shiming material for that. Live alone out in the hills and can't drive anymore so it's a slow process. Bought Treso nipples for it. Something to tinker with, whiskey, and Pink Floyd keeps me getting up in the morning

Midway’s no return policy is for those with buyer’s remorse and not for getting a defective or damaged one. I have several Uberti pistols purchased at Midway and have been fine OOB including a Police Pocket model. My last one was an Uberti Navy Remington that came in a Taylor’s box. Beautiful gun with super smooth action.

ernbar said:

Midway’s no return policy is for those with buyer’s remorse and not for getting a defective or damaged one. I have several Uberti pistols purchased at Midway and have been fine OOB including a Police Pocket model. My last one was an Uberti Navy Remington that came in a Taylor’s box. Beautiful gun with super smooth action.

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The uberti Remington navy is next on the list for me.

Gtrubicon said:

The uberti Remington navy is next on the list for me.

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We have two pietta 1858 navy models one 2013 one 2023 both cylinders interchange and both shoot really tight groups.

ernbar said:

Midway’s no return policy is for those with buyer’s remorse and not for getting a defective or damaged one. I have several Uberti pistols purchased at Midway and have been fine OOB including a Police Pocket model. My last one was an Uberti Navy Remington that came in a Taylor’s box. Beautiful gun with super smooth action.

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I have a 2023 Pietta 1858 Target with 3 percussion cylinders and a Howell 45acp cylinder. Nice revolver, had to rework the oversized bolt though. Shoots 10" high and my bed groups so far is 2 1/2" at 25 yards. Working on the sights

markdwhite15 said:

I have a 2023 Pietta 1858 Target with 3 percussion cylinders and a Howell 45acp cylinder. Nice revolver, had to rework the oversized bolt though. Shoots 10" high and my bed groups so far is 2 1/2" at 25 yards. Working on the sights

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I am thinking that's next on my list looks like a fun gun to shoot.

markdwhite15 said:

...this is my first and last Uberti.

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Sorry but I've got dozens of these guns and that is just silly.

GYJ said:

Sorry but I've got dozens of these guns and that is just silly.

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Okay, send me one and I'll give it another try.

markdwhite15 said:

I’m this is my first and last Uberti.

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GYJ said:

Sorry but I've got dozens of these guns and that is just silly.

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I’ve probably owned a few more than a dozen Ubertis guns over the years, and believe I have two or three left, with only a 1996 vintage Walker that gets regular excercise. When new, it had the short arbor (about 1/8” short), gritty action and it’s timing was off, but for when it was made, all expected and repairable. We called it tuning.

Not that long ago I made the ‘mistake’ of stating I wanted another Walker to pair up with the one I had. Well, one arrived around my birthday…. Unfortunately, more problems that can be explained briefly, but short story, it was returned for a replacement. The replacement seemed to be the twin of the one it replaced and it was also returned, for a refund this time. A third one was ordered from another supplier, and it was a disappointment that was also returned. My 1996 Walker continues to be an only child.

Some blame Covid and resulting supply chain issues for Uberti’s current quality problems, but I am not so sure. When I shot SASS quite a few years ago, I purchased two Uberti 1873s, and while they both became good shooters, that was only after replacing or reworking most every moving component in both of them. It’s just the way it was.

Yep, that is just silly.

SDSmlf said:

I’ve probably owned a few more than a dozen Ubertis guns over the years, and believe I have two or three left, with only a 1996 vintage Walker that gets regular excercise. When new, it had the short arbor (about 1/8” short), gritty action and it’s timing was off, but for when it was made, all expected and repairable. We called it tuning.

Not that long ago I made the ‘mistake’ of stating I wanted another Walker to pair up with the one I had. Well, one arrived around my birthday…. Unfortunately, more problems that can be explained briefly, but short story, it was returned for a replacement. The replacement seemed to be the twin of the one it replaced and it was also returned, for a refund this time. A third one was ordered from another supplier, and it was a disappointment that was also returned. My 1996 Walker continues to be an only child.

Some blame Covid and resulting supply chain issues for Uberti’s current quality problems, but I am not so sure. When I shot SASS quite a few years ago, I purchased two Uberti 1873s, and while they both became good shooters, that was only after replacing or reworking most every moving component in both of them. It’s just the way it was.

Yep, that is just silly.

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Read an article a while back by a feller who seemed to be knowledgeable about the whole Uberti vs Pietta thing. Said when Uberti went CNC they fired all their master gunsmiths, figured they didn't need them anymore and could save some money. Pietta on hearing about it hired all of them. Hmmm

markdwhite15 said:

Read an article a while back by a feller who seemed to be knowledgeable about the whole Uberti vs Pietta thing. Said when Uberti went CNC they fired all their master gunsmiths, figured they didn't need them anymore and could save some money. Pietta on hearing about it hired all of them. Hmmm

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If that's true, I'd say Uberti didn't loose much . . . when you can't impart a definite "spec" by simply correcting the arbor situation, how much "master" do you need?
At least Pietta decided to correct it and at least be that much closer to original design, but they're a "one trick pony" with everything built on one platform ( and manure action parts). Uberti still produces 4 frame sizes ( with excellent action parts) so, an easy fix isn't too much to ask for if they'll produce revolvers folks want.
I work on a lot of both and haven't found anything much "wrong" with either maker ( especially Walkers lately). Wonder what "problems" folks are having . . .

Mike

45D said:

If that's true, I'd say Uberti didn't loose much . . . when you can't impart a definite "spec" by simply correcting the arbor situation, how much "master" do you need?
At least Pietta decided to correct it and at least be that much closer to original design, but they're a "one trick pony" with everything built on one platform ( and manure action parts). Uberti still produces 4 frame sizes ( with excellent action parts) so, an easy fix isn't too much to ask for if they'll produce revolvers folks want.
I work on a lot of both and haven't found anything much "wrong" with either maker ( especially Walkers lately). Wonder what "problems" folks are having . . .

Mike

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Mike, the one trick pony may not be bad as in the case for example of the Pietta 58 Navy that’s built on the larger Army frame making it inaccurate as far as frame size but strong since it’s a .36 using the extra steel of a .44 frame?

Snooterpup said:

Thant’s what they say but if you call them and report the problem they will take it back. At least they have for me.

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Me too! They took back two revolvers, one for a trashed box! It depends how you approach them. I have been a customer for 16 years and if that made a difference I don’t know. I always politely asked to speak to a supervisor.

45D said:

If that's true, I'd say Uberti didn't loose much . . . when you can't impart a definite "spec" by simply correcting the arbor situation, how much "master" do you need?
At least Pietta decided to correct it and at least be that much closer to original design, but they're a "one trick pony" with everything built on one platform ( and manure action parts). Uberti still produces 4 frame sizes ( with excellent action parts) so, an easy fix isn't too much to ask for if they'll produce revolvers folks want.
I work on a lot of both and haven't found anything much "wrong" with either maker ( especially Walkers lately). Wonder what "problems" folks are having . . .

Mike

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All true, read it, thought about it, who knows what to believe nowadays. The Uberti 1862 Police is the only game in town so I took a shot. I normally always go for forged and milled over cast and mim. What I really desire is an original Colt 1851 Navy presentation grade in mint condition, but it ain't gonna happen. These are play guns for me, my serious weapons are Colt, SIG, and S&W suppository handguns. Like to shoot em more than working on em.

I choose uberti for more accurate depiction and better overall finish. The tinker is part of the appeal of cap and ball or muzzleloading in general. It gives you a sense of satisfaction and added knowledge when it all comes together. All tje originals were hand tuned and that is still necessary today. The replica arms are made at a price point and everyone has differing amounts of use and expectations. They are trying to make them as cheap as possible so some can
Just "experience" cap and ball and others want to shoot them alot. For those that wanna shoot, you tune it to perfection... or as close as you like.

45D said:

Wonder what "problems" folks are having . . .

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One Walker had a very ‘secure’ barrel to frame fit. As received, the cylinder would not turn nor could you cock the gun. After removing the wedge with an arbor press (new gun, didn’t want to damage barrel), the barrel could not be removed from the frame even with a cheater on the loading lever. Fear was something was something was going to break or bend before the barrel moved. The second Walker gave up the barrel assembly with some persuasion, but something was broken or missing in the trigger hammer assembly inside the frame. Likely repairable, possibly fairly easily, but not acceptable for a brand new gun at full retail. Options were to return for refund/replacement, or live with what was received. The third Walker, from a different supplier, had been shot for testing by the manufacturer or shot and returned by a customer. Either way, it was severely rusted with pitting well underway. Again, not acceptable, at least in my opinion.

Can not say with certainty why or who’s fault the above problems were, but as a retail buyer, they were not mine, nor did I want them to become mine without a discount on the purchase price. That wasn’t an option. Common denominator was Uberti.

Or possibly my expectations for a new gun are just too high and it is my fault? Call it functional, possibly needing tuning for optimum performance vs non-functional.

markdwhite15 said:

Read an article a while back by a feller who seemed to be knowledgeable about the whole Uberti vs Pietta thing. Said when Uberti went CNC they fired all their master gunsmiths, figured they didn't need them anymore and could save some money. Pietta on hearing about it hired all of them. Hmmm

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Uberti has been CNC for decades.

markdwhite15 said:

Okay, send me one and I'll give it another try.

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This ain't a charity.

Right now I have 40 Uberti guns going back to 1986. 18 of those were bought since COVID in 2020. Three of which are percussion guns from Midway in the last two years. The newer guns are the best of the bunch. If they are turning out a bunch of garbage produced by non-gunsmiths, I have yet to encounter one.

I'm not trivializing anyone's experience but to have your singular experience and declare that every Uberti gun being turned out is garbage is simply absurd.