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.
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.