New vintage 1860 Army replicas

[Cololab]

Hi All,
New member with a question about new versus older 1860 Army replica revolvers.

Are any currently manufactured brands ready to go out of the box, with properly fitted arbors, good springs, etc? I've researched this extensively on the net and haven't really found any consistent answers. I'm really not handy enough to gunsmith all the various issues that some of these revolvers have.

Sorry, I know this is a topic that has been beaten badly.

 

[45D]

The Pietta open top revolvers are the only revolvers made correctly today. Uberti's (current and all previous) and all other previous copies have short arbors.
(Doesn't mean they can't be corrected. )

Mike

 

[springfield art]

The financial system in Italy is very much under threat; there's worries that inflation will have a negative effect upon manufacturers there, from shoes to cheese. The newspapers never comment upon gun making or replica-producers, but you can bet that higher prices for Italian-made guns are in the cards. If you want something made in Italy, get it now or stash away, as it wouldn't be a surprise if any of the companies eventually went out of business. Not saying they will, just that high prices are in the future. Italy's monetary system is becoming more and more stressed.

 

[springfield art]

The Pietta open top revolvers are the only revolvers made correctly today. Uberti's (current and all previous) and all other previous copies have short arbors.
(Doesn't mean they can't be corrected. )

Mike

Good to see props being said about Pietta; some fellows who claim "Uberti only!" are not being objective.

 

[Desperado]

Good to see props being said about Pietta; some fellows who claim "Uberti only!" are not being objective.

I would say uberti is still a better gun. I’ve no experience in this but allegedly there are slightly better barrel/cylinder and action tolerances, even with the arbor issue, and usually a nicer finish.

Piettas are fine, not having to tune the arbor is intrinsically very nice, and the gap between the brands is close…
But at the end of the day they lose out for the reasons I stated above, as well as the fact that AFAIK the pietta still stamps “black powder only made in italy” right on the side of the barrel, which is certainly harder to fix than an arbor and spoils the gun, especially where they stamp it.

 

[45D]

Yes, just because Pietta corrected the arbor situation, doesn't mean they're "tops" so to speak. The action parts have a ways to go. I was leaning to the op's "out of the box" criteria. For a newbie, it would be the better ( until they learn how to correct the arbor themselves or have it done) then the transition to Uberti would be "natural " lol !!!
(I'm a little biased)

Mike

 

[ZUG]

If you are just a casual shooter or just a plinker then all of the replicas will be fine "out of the box"

 

[Jim in Wisconsin]

The "black powder only" stamping would be enough to stop me from buying a gun. The short arbor stuff wouldn't bother me at all.

 

[SDSmlf]

The "black powder only" stamping would be enough to stop me from buying a gun. The short arbor stuff wouldn't bother me at all.

The stamping is cosmetic, while the short arbor is functional (accuracy and how easily the action works). Depends on if you are getting a gun to look at, or a gun to shoot.

 

[Timber Wolf]

The stamping is cosmetic, while the short arbor is functional (accuracy and how easily the action works). Depends on if you are getting a gun to look at, or a gun to shoot.

Sometimes we like to look at the guns we shoot.

 

[SDSmlf]

Sometimes we like to look at the guns we shoot.

That old ‘what just happened’ look as you try to explain how you missed?

Have a recent Uberti Walker that before ‘fixing’ the arbor could be made to shoot over a foot high or low at 50 yards depending on how the wedge was inserted.

The problem with the short arbor is the tendency to drive the wedge in too far, closing the cylinder gap (moving the POI) and jamming the gun. You had to check and make sure the cylinder was moving freely and adjust the wedge before capping. May not seem like a big deal, but when on the clock (SASS for example)…. Not a good deal. Some guns would seem to hang up with just firm thumb pressure. With the arbor the correct length, you could not close up that cylinder gap with a mallet. A quick bump with the pummel of your knife handle and you were good to go.

Checked two different vintage Colts (both with all matching serial numbers) and found both to put .003”/.005” pre-load on the bottom of the frame. To confirm we used shims (.002” to .006”) in the hole in the barrel assembly to find when the barrel and frame made contact. Do not know if that is how the guns left the factory, but that is how the were found 150 plus years later. The most recent Ubertis I have checked had arbors nearly an 1/8” short.

 

[springfield art]

Many of us are casual plinkers; the fellows who work toward the 'cloverleaf' groups have great patience beyond mine. I thought there was a movement to stamp stuff on the BOTTOM of barrels?

 

[Dale Lilly]

My two nickel and gold Piettas are marked: 1860 Colt, round barrel, on both sides [black powder only] and [Pietta] on the other; 1858 Remington, hex barrel, on flats each side of the bottom; my brass 1858, FIE, marked Black Powder only on left flat by bottom and FIE on the grip frame bottom [I have no idea who made the FIE]. I use them so seldom, and only for plinking, that the markings do not bother me. I am not a revolver guy Dale

 

[jimhallam]

The stamping is cosmetic, while the short arbor is functional (accuracy and how easily the action works). Depends on if you are getting a gun to look at, or a gun to shoot.

Surely the "BP Only" stamping is because the makers want to cover their backs in any court case where the firer loaded with 777 or Pyrodex or whatever. The ambulance-chasing lawyers are everywhere these days ;-(((((

 

[Eras Gone]

None of the the new Ubertis Ive bought in the last few years have short arbors.

 

[Johnny Tremain]

The one I got had to be repaired. Its repaired.
Now to trade it for a flintlock pistol.

 

[mushka]

I have both Pietta and Uberti revolvers. Both are good functioning and good looking guns. Pietta .36, Uberti .44. I point revolvers rather than use the sights and at 15 to 20 yards they both do well enough for me.

 

[springfield art]

My two nickel and gold Piettas are marked: 1860 Colt, round barrel, on both sides [black powder only] and [Pietta] on the other; 1858 Remington, hex barrel, on flats each side of the bottom; my brass 1858, FIE, marked Black Powder only on left flat by bottom and FIE on the grip frame bottom [I have no idea who made the FIE]. I use them so seldom, and only for plinking, that the markings do not bother me. I am not a revolver guy Dale

I thought FIE was a trade mark Fireams Import & Export. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Plinkers are good!

 

[SPQR70AD]

Surely the "BP Only" stamping is because the makers want to cover their backs in any court case where the firer loaded with 777 or Pyrodex or whatever. The ambulance-chasing lawyers are everywhere these days ;-(((((

how would 777 or pyrodex blow up a pistol? what they mean by BP only is not to use smokeless powder

 

[Desperado]

Seems my comments have stirred up the hornets.
First thing’s first; Uberti is also stamped black powder only, and has been for quite a long time, at least 30 years, BUT; it’s on the bottom of the barrel, under the loading lever, where it is invisible until you are loading the gun, or disassembling it for loading—the very action to which the warning is pertinent.
This is completely sensible, and leaves the aesthetics of the firearm unspoilt.