Percussion Revolvers

[CoyoteJoe]

For what it's worth Dan, when I buy a new percussion revolver I think of it as a kit, if I put enough work into it it will shoot OK for a while. I see lots of folks defending the Italian guns while in the same breath admitting that the Ruger Old Army is a vastly superior gun. What's special about the Ruger? It just a Ruger, which means OK quality but not outstanding at all. Yet, among C&B revolvers it IS outstanding because the imports are just not nearly so good. Generally, they pay a lot more attention to exterior fit and finish but very little to the interior fit and finish. Internal parts are soft and springs are prone to breakage. It is standard advise to always have a few backup parts such as the trigger/bolt spring and a hand with spring attached because those parts are especially prone to breakage but pretty much all of the parts are prone to breakage. Who ever heard of keeping spare parts for a Smith & Wesson revolver or even a Ruger? But for the Italian revolvers it is standard recommendation because parts breakage is so common.
Now to be fair it must be said that the Italian revolvers retail for maybe one third the price of a S&W or half the price of a Ruger Old Army, so in terms of bang-for-the-buck, I still feel the Italian revolvers are a good deal, I've often marveled at the fact they could sell so cheap.
But I agree with Dan, an Italian repop ain't no Colt.

 

[CaptainKirk]

+1 on Joe's post
I am no gunsmith, but I seem to know my way around the C&B revolvers...ask anyone who knows me. You win some, you lose some. I've bought (and sold some) 20+ in the last year, and each and every one has needed something in the way of attention. That being said, if you approach each one as a potential "kit" you'll never be disappointed.

 

[USMA65]

I have to admit that now after reading several of these posts I am thinking the next squeeze of the trigger may cause my non-kit Uberti to fall apart :hmm:

 

[Dickydalton]

Now they made me do it, I just bought a 2nd Gen. 1851 just to see if it's better than my Piettas.
It's all YOU GUY'S FAULT.

 

[Dickydalton]

My 2nd Generation 1851 came today.
I love it. It's beautiful and shot sweet except for one cap falling off even though pinched. I already ordered Tresos from the Possibles Shop today because neither CCI or Rem. #10s were tight and CCI #11s worse yet.
Pietta V/S this Colt? No contest. But I only have one Colt so far. :haha:

 

[Dphar]

I really am having a problem believing you have shot or worked on many Italian pistols.

Well, I own three of them, so yeah....yer having a problem.

I used to work on SAs of all kinds for a living. All brands, all eras.

If the current C&Bs are all CNCed its likely because the moulds wore out and it would surely cost more to retool the moulds than to do the CNC thing where only the cutters and eventually the machine wears out. But CNC is not magic either. Remember, garbage in, garbage out...

If people here are so well informed why do they ask questions? Better yet why do they ask questions then ARGUE with the answers when they don't like them?
Its likely because between buying a C&B at Cabela's and getting to their car in the parking lot they become and "expert"...
Dan

 

[ebiggs1]

Must be a slow day, huh, Dan? :hmm:

 

[Dickydalton]

Well boys, the Piettas were still shooting last week. the Colt broke the hand spring. Go figure. I used one from the pietta parts kit and filed it a bit and now the Colt works again. Maybe the 1970's metal was fatigued?

 

I've found there to be very little if any difference among the various importers. At least for guns produced in the last 10-15yrs. The notion that Uberti ships good guns to Cimarron and crap to Cabela's is more than a little silly. The way I understand it, from talking to folks at Cimarron, is that they have their own QC staff at the Uberti facility. Which is good but it's no guarantee. I've gotten a bad sixgun from them and stellar guns from Taylor's, Dixie Gun Works and Stoeger (Uberti's house brand). Replicas in general are all something a crapshoot but they've all continually improved upon their product in recent years. Although they really shouldn't be singled out because most new guns need some sort of attention. The days of 2lb triggers on factory guns are long gone. My advice would be to handle individual guns before purchasing. Which is why I'd rather drive 2hrs to Dixie Gun Works and have to pay almost 10% sales tax, because at least I get to inspect them first. If you order them, it makes little difference. The disparaging remarks about Cabela's are unfounded and I know of no other retailer that lets you return a new C&B pistol that has been fired.

 

[bob308]

just how many of the new pistols are sent back with the cylander split? it was a common problem with the colt walker and the 60 army till the army cylander was changed to a nonfluted design.

i do think alot of problems with the new capand ball guns is man made. as in the owner plays with it. or tries to make it better.

 

[Zonie]

Interesting. :hmm:

I've never seen a report of a modern reproduction cap and ball pistol with a split cylinder, fluted or unfluted.

The original Colts made in the 1800's did have a cylinder splitting problem and it was usually attributed to the soldiers loading the conical bullet backwards into the chambers.
I never figured out how this would cause the problem but it was a popular theory at the time.

The real problem with the original Colts was most likely the poor quality of the iron they used to make their cylinders.

Getting back to modern times, the reproductions are very much like the originals and this includes using some of the weaknesses of the originals like the hand, trigger and bolt springs which often caused problems and still do.