Traditions Revolvers

[jimn]

I'm considering one of the offerings from Bass Pro. They sell traditilns Black powder revolvers. Does anybody have anything good or bad to say about them. I currently use CVA 44 cal Revolvers and haven't had any problems unless I use black powder. Its just time for a new one. Jim

 

[beezee13]

Hi Jim N. I can't comment on Bass Pro , but Cabela's 1858 new army rem. is Great . the c/b is dead accurate and I have a conversion cylinder made by R&D which shoots .45 long colt and it's like having two guns for the price of one , but not really the cylinder by R&D was $ 240.00 .
Lot's of fun and easy to change cylinders .
Good shooting ,
Big Z.

 

[CoyoteJoe]

Many folks think that all the Italian imports are the same, that some suppliers just charge more, but after owning and shooting a good many, I disagree. You can get a gem or a lemon with any brand, but overall, I don't think Traditions brand is up to the standards of Cimarron, Navy Arms, or Uberti. That is not to say you will not be perfectly happy with Traditions, just that, on average, they are not so slick and nice as those mentioned.

 

[JIMinPHX]

I have fooled with two Traditions cap & ball revolvers. They were both actually made by Pietta. They were both brand new when I fooled with them.

The Rem 1858 was a beautiful piece right out of the box. It was well fit & it shot well. Accuracy was excellent. Ragged one hole groups at 10-yards were not uncommon with stiff powder charges.

The Colt 1851 Navy was not so good. It was poorly fit. Several parts rubbed badly. The caps didn’t fit on the nipples well at all. I had gotten past these problems with some craftsmanship & effort, but it still shot very high. I think that I would have needed to make a new front sight for it if I wanted it to shoot to point of aim.

If I were going to buy one today, I would give it a thorough once-over before buying it. I would not be shy about going to several stores to find the one that seemed to be fit up the best. If I were buying it to shoot often, I would stay with the 1858 design. I find that design to be far superior from an engineering perspective. If you are buying it for aesthetics or other purposes, they can all be made to work if they are set up & fit properly.

 

[jimn]

Thanks it looks like its the luck of the draw whether you get a good one or a bad one. Bass Pro store is a lot closer than Cabela's. I'd rather not order mail order. If Traditions is made by Pietta then its a tossup between Uberti and Pietta. I wonder which one made the Carcano??