Pietta or Uberti, which should I buy?

[MrMystery02]

I was almost entirely set on buying a Uberti Remington 1858 New Army because it was said to be closer to the original. However I started getting impatient with Uberti because there is only 2 dealers is my country and I contacted one of them and he told me they rarely get Uberti shipment and the Remington did not get restocked at all this year which makes it 9 months, I guess replacement parts are more rare as well. Also heard on this forum that the quality decreased in Uberti because they did some sort of factory upgrade and laid off skilled workers, meanwhile I heard people claim the Pietta quality increased again. Is the Uberti only slightly more accurate to the original? Do they both fire conical bullets as well, (heard an owner complain it did not fit as well in Pietta). Both can be converted to fire cartridges, right? Are they both about as far off to the original, one only slightly closer than the other? Is it true that the Pietta surpassed Uberti's quality? They both cost about the same where I live and the Pietta 1858 is in stock.
I need help deciding which to buy, the rarity of Uberti made me skeptical and I keep hearing a decrease in its quality in the recent years.
Thank you for your help in advance!

 

[TrophyGuy]

I faced the same problem a few months ago and gave in to buy a Pietta. Pleasant surprise. The fit and finish of the Pietta is better than any Uberti I own. I believe the Pietta's barrel is too long to be an exact copy, but I don't care as the quality is superb. I believe there is a lot of common parts sourcing between these two brands.

 

[1861 Springfield]

there is no parts swapping and uberti is much better quality imo

 

[maillemaker]

I own perhaps 10 or so reproduction percussion revolvers. About half Ubert, half Pietta, and a couple of Euroarms.

Uberti Remington NMA (out for accurizing)
Uberti Remington NMA Stainless BP -2001
Uberti Walker CL - 2013
Uberti 1860 Army BS - 2002
Pietta 1851 Navy CT - 2018
Pietta Remington NMA CU - 2019
Pietta Spiller & Burr CS - 2017
Pietta 1860 Army CL - 2013
Euroarms Remington Navy XX7 - 1977
Euroarms Rogers and Spencer BS -2002

As you can see, half of them are less than 10 years old. All but one are 20 or less. So, a very limited selection of Pietta/Uberti of relatively recent manufacture.

I'd say that they were all about equal in appearance (fit and finish).

The Pietta Spiller and Burr came from Midway USA and the barrel was over-clocked on the frame and as a result the front sight was canted to the right. I unthreaded the barrel a couple of degrees and that was fixed.

My Uberti NMA that is currently with Charlie Hahn for accurizing had a loose loading lever latch in the barrel dovetail.

The Uberti Walker shot very far to the right so that I had to file the front sight post to a bizzare triangle shape to get it to shoot to point of aim.

My recent-manufacture Pietta guns are among my best shooting guns, and I shoot the NMA (2019) in N-SSA competition. The 1851 Navy (2018) is the only reproduction BP revolver I have shot that shoots to point of aim at 25 yards.

Recent-manufacture Pietta NMAs now come with dovetailed, tall, front sight posts out-of-the-box.

I would own either brand, but I am super impressed with my last two Pietta additions.

Not a revolver, but I have a 2015 Pietta Smith Carbine that came with a broken off drill bit in the receiver where the fire channel was drilled from the cleanout screw.

Here was a brass-framed Pietta 1851 Navy in .44 and you can see the cylinder was not timed well with the barrel:

 

[Uncle Miltie]

Uberti revolvers as purchased from Cimarron and Taylor's are a bit more expensive but generally have better fit and finish than those available elsewhere.
The best 1858 pattern revolvers currently available for target work are made by Pedersoli.

 

[maillemaker]

Uberti revolvers as purchased from Cimarron and Taylor's are a bit more expensive but generally have better fit and finish than those available elsewhere.
The best 1858 pattern revolvers currently available for target work are made by Pedersoli.

I am coming to believe that there are quality differences between certain retailers of these imported arms. I suspect some are paying for higher quality pieces while others are going for the bargain levels.

The video of the Pietta brass-framed 1851 "Navy" in .44 I showed above came from a starter blister back out of Walmart.

 

[springfield art]

I own perhaps 10 or so reproduction percussion revolvers. About half Ubert, half Pietta, and a couple of Euroarms.

Uberti Remington NMA (out for accurizing)
Uberti Remington NMA Stainless BP -2001
Uberti Walker CL - 2013
Uberti 1860 Army BS - 2002
Pietta 1851 Navy CT - 2018
Pietta Remington NMA CU - 2019
Pietta Spiller & Burr CS - 2017
Pietta 1860 Army CL - 2013
Euroarms Remington Navy XX7 - 1977
Euroarms Rogers and Spencer BS -2002

As you can see, half of them are less than 10 years old. All but one are 20 or less. So, a very limited selection of Pietta/Uberti of relatively recent manufacture.

I'd say that they were all about equal in appearance (fit and finish).

The Pietta Spiller and Burr came from Midway USA and the barrel was over-clocked on the frame and as a result the front sight was canted to the right. I unthreaded the barrel a couple of degrees and that was fixed.

My Uberti NMA that is currently with Charlie Hahn for accurizing had a loose loading lever latch in the barrel dovetail.

The Uberti Walker shot very far to the right so that I had to file the front sight post to a bizzare triangle shape to get it to shoot to point of aim.

My recent-manufacture Pietta guns are among my best shooting guns, and I shoot the NMA (2019) in N-SSA competition. The 1851 Navy (2018) is the only reproduction BP revolver I have shot that shoots to point of aim at 25 yards.

Recent-manufacture Pietta NMAs now come with dovetailed, tall, front sight posts out-of-the-box.

I would own either brand, but I am super impressed with my last two Pietta additions.

Not a revolver, but I have a 2015 Pietta Smith Carbine that came with a broken off drill bit in the receiver where the fire channel was drilled from the cleanout screw.

Here was a brass-framed Pietta 1851 Navy in .44 and you can see the cylinder was not timed well with the barrel:

I read that the repro Smith carbines had an incorrect bore size; that the later ones were corrected so they would shoot OK. I have no experience with them but the N-NSA guys shoot the originals and repros, I bet they have all the info needed. Just something I recall seeing about them.

 

[springfield art]

I am coming to believe that there are quality differences between certain retailers of these imported arms. I suspect some are paying for higher quality pieces while others are going for the bargain levels.

The video of the Pietta brass-framed 1851 "Navy" in .44 I showed above came from a starter blister back out of Walmart.

True! The Cimmaron guy contracts for certain specs; if you pay the premium, the factory will make however you want. That's why the retail of more, of course.

 

[maillemaker]

I read that the repro Smith carbines had an incorrect bore size; that the later ones were corrected so they would shoot OK. I have no experience with them but the N-NSA guys shoot the originals and repros, I bet they have all the info needed. Just something I recall seeing about them.

Yes, there was a problem with some earlier Pietta Smiths with barrel problems.

 

[springfield art]

I've had both brands and find it's Half of One, Six A Dozen of Another! All fun!

 

[TrophyGuy]

A well known retailer/distributor of BP repro guns here in Texas told me under his breath that all the Italian brands are small cottage industries cross sourcing parts and services from even smaller shops, much like Italian bicycle components (Campagnolo). You may get an excellent example or less often a clunker, and of course the lauded Colt signature series guns were all sourced from the same cottage industry. The good news is that they're all pretty good today. My 45 year old 3rd Dragoon by EMF fits together like an Edsel, but has given me many fun hours tinkering and shoots fine. Buy what you like and enjoy. It's a privilege to buy these pieces by mail w/o government interference.

 

[Snake Pleskin]

there is no parts swapping and uberti is much better quality imo

I think many years ago that was true, but the Pietta products I have seen recently(last 10 yrs etc) are every bit as good as the Uberti, IMHO

 

[NorthFork]

A well known retailer/distributor of BP repro guns here in Texas told me under his breath that all the Italian brands are small cottage industries cross sourcing parts and services from even smaller shops, much like Italian bicycle components (Campagnolo). You may get an excellent example or less often a clunker, and of course the lauded Colt signature series guns were all sourced from the same cottage industry. The good news is that they're all pretty good today. My 45 year old 3rd Dragoon by EMF fits together like an Edsel, but has given me many fun hours tinkering and shoots fine. Buy what you like and enjoy. It's a privilege to buy these pieces by mail w/o government interference.

Not so with Pietta. See this video-

 

[oncewas]

I think it depends on which model of revolver you are looking to purchase more than which manufacturer. If you were looking to purchase an 1851 Navy I would recommend Uberti even with the short arbor issue because of the grip. The Uberti has a just much nicer feel to it. And if you were going with a 1861 Navy once again Uberti because of barrel length. It should be 7.5 inches but Pietta makes theirs 8.5in. But other than that I really like Pietta's revolvers. I have three Pietta's an 1851 Navy, 1858 NMA Remington and a 1860 Army. I also have an Uberti 1851 London Navy that I corrected the short arbor on. I love them all. The 1851 London and the 1861 Army I like how they feel in my had the best, but all four are very nice. If you are anal and insist that your revolver isn't accurate if there is safety information in view on the barrel then you may want to hold out for an Uberti but it isn't something that bothers me.

 

[Snake Pleskin]

Pietta makes a fine revolver. My 1858 Rem Sheriff, is as good as any you can get IMHO

 

[mushka]

I live in the USA and have both makes of revolvers and they are both good. You Live in Hungary and are having trouble procuring either. Get the first one available to you, and you will probably be very happy with it.

 

[Cubreac]

Mike Beliveau (Duelist1954 on YouTube) goes into great detail on the different makes. If you aren’t subscribed to his channel you’re missing out.
Given the relatively reasonable price of all these guns it’s probably safe to assume they will need some tuning. I noticed that the finish and over all quality of the Uberti single action cartridge pistols at a local gun shop was better than the cap and ball pistols I’ve seen. I’d be willing to pay a little bit more for better fit and finish.

 

[NorthFork]

@piperdally

Hopefully Mike can work through his current difficulties with youtube. They just yanked two more videos and have threatened to perma-ban him!

 

[Willy]

I've owned a Navy Arms Remington NMA made by Pietta for over 40 years. Best shooting revolver I've ever had which is why I still have it. Looks like 10 miles of rough road and I had to replace the cylinder about 20 years ago due to some boneheadedness.

 

[jonathan butcher]

I think many years ago that was true, but the Pietta products I have seen recently(last 10 yrs etc) are every bit as good as the Uberti, IMHO

I agree. I put them on equal par and would gladly own/ shoot either.