Return or Keep - Which Would You Do ?

[LeMat1856]

.
. may 12 / 21:50

i picked 'er up today and said, "i just can't do it..." everytime i touch this thing i just feel like it is exactly what i've been looking for.. so here's the plan: i give dixie/pietta one more chance, and if that one is junk, it's over.

CoyoteJoe - "..a LeMat throwing contest." right now, i'd win - hands down ! !

smokin .50 - "used his LeMat, cleaned it and made it a wall-hanger! It hasn't seen daylight since!..." cringe... :shake: $725 down the drain..

madcratebuilder - "You can plink with 30-35 gr loads and get a woodie shooting 40+gr loads." :rotf: gawd, you crack me up everytime.. so, you hardly ever use yours ? at least you know what you're *not* missing.


PaulTheWall - actually there never was another mfg. of these.. navy arms, cherry, cabela, and dixie all import from pietta.. rumor was that some retailers would only accept a+ (navy arms) while others took whatever they got.. last navy arms, NIB, i saw was on auction for $700 - opening...!

now i see why nobody posts about how great their lemat is... live and learn. :idunno:

~d~

 

[Rock Island]

I have been lucky with my LeMat and Starr DA so far, I have had them since 2000-2001 or so with no problems. I don't shoot them all that much as I prefer the lighter Colt 1860, or '51, both Uberti, I have put maybe 400 rounds all told through them. They are interesting display pieces but I never liked the feel of the piece or the weight ( LeMat) The Starr is OK, but I never seem to be able to point shoot with it very well, and have only the one cylinder for reloads while I have three each for the Colts. By and large my Pietta revolvers have given me no trouble, none ( I have 7) had any issues out of the box and all are reasonably accurate, they are not up to the level of fit and finish found in my Uberti's, but they are OK for the price. You can't go wrong with the Uberti 1860 Army or the Rogers & Spencer, the Uberti Walker is one of the best fitted, and finished reproduction revolvers I have ever seen. I have one in the Uberti presentation case with all the tools, but it gets tiring holding that 4 1/2 pounds up all day at the range.

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

.
. may 12 / 21:50

i picked 'er up today and said, "i just can't do it..." everytime i touch this thing i just feel like it is exactly what i've been looking for.. so here's the plan: i give dixie/pietta one more chance, and if that one is junk, it's over.

CoyoteJoe - "..a LeMat throwing contest." right now, i'd win - hands down ! !

smokin .50 - "used his LeMat, cleaned it and made it a wall-hanger! It hasn't seen daylight since!..." cringe... :shake: $725 down the drain..

madcratebuilder - "You can plink with 30-35 gr loads and get a woodie shooting 40+gr loads." :rotf: gawd, you crack me up everytime.. so, you hardly ever use yours ? at least you know what you're *not* missing.


PaulTheWall - actually there never was another mfg. of these.. navy arms, cherry, cabela, and dixie all import from pietta.. rumor was that some retailers would only accept a+ (navy arms) while others took whatever they got.. last navy arms, NIB, i saw was on auction for $700 - opening...!

now i see why nobody posts about how great their lemat is... live and learn. :idunno:

~d~

Good luck! I hope that you don't get yourself frustrated and quit the hobby over this! It's nice weather, so what will you be shooting while this situation hopefully gets remedied. You have something else that burns powder, right?

 

[madcratebuilder]

It would be great if Uberti or say a Ruger, made a LeMat that wouldn't fall apart after 100 rounds or so.

Or is this just wishful thinking?

It's the general design of the revolver, not the manufacturer. The pivoting nose of the hammer and the thin loading lever are both rather light weight. The lever that locks the barrel assembly to the frame on the army model is a problem on some, navy model uses a screw, much better IMHO.

If it wasn't for Pietta we would not have the Starr DA and SA, the Le Mat, Dance bros. and other oddities of the time period. These were not the most robust revolvers when made back then. Modern steels have helped but the manufacturer is still limited by the original design.

Today's cap and ball shooter well shoot his or hers revolvers 10X more than they did back in the day.

That's some nice wood on that R&S Rock Island, good looking gun.

 

[CoyoteJoe]

I agree that the design is problematic. It is my understanding that many of the originals suffered the same problems and were not considered to be reliable revolvers. With that said, I have no doubt that a revolver made with best steel, precisely machined and properly heat treated would be a vast improvement. I have owned several Pietta Colt style revolvers which have worked great for years because they have not all of the very delicate parts involved in the LeMat design.

 

[LeMat1856]

.
. may 14 / 12:10p


rock island - that really is an impressive collection..! oddly, the weight of the Lemat is one of the things i like about it (though i realize that it's a pound lighter than a monster walker).. feels like i could just point it at the target and it would still be there after i go for coffee...

smokin .50 - yes, fortunately i've picked up a few other pieces that are usable, but there's nothing like the real thing.. i'll just have to learn to spread my range time between them all rather than just bang away for hours on only one.. it could be worse....

CoyoteJoe -

It is my understanding that many of the originals suffered the same problems and were not considered to be reliable revolvers.

that's actually an understatement.. back in '56, Lemats were made in france but the quality was so bad many were sent to britain for better re-fit and finish.. also, believe it or not, only 2500-3000 were produced and not all of those made it through the yankee blockade.. in addition, most were given to big name generals who probably never shot them more than a few times.. after looking at some surviving originals, even i'd be afraid to fire 'em.. they were really poorly made from the git go...

fortunately, mine will still fire on all 10 charges, it's just no longer "100%" which is ok until i attempt to sell it.

~d~