Uberti Quality?

[BlackHillsBob]

now you have opened up a can of worms also. your going to be attacked by a EXPERT who says to every one who has posted that, that that is a lie. however the rest of us thank you, 1848 uberti colt is very well made and very accurate.it was carried by some like you said,

 

[ZUG]

I have both Ubertis & Piettas purchased from the 70's through 2016 and I find the Ubertis are finished better and their actions are smoother right out of the box. With that said since Pietta updated their machinery their guns have improved. I still think their overall finish is not as nice as Uberti but their actions are smoother than they were. I still prefer the Uberti to the Pietta.
A side note: Dixie Gun Works is not what they use to be and in my opinion they no longer care about their customers only their money! I buy from other suppliers that do respect their customers - nuff said!

 

[hanshi]

I have little experience with the Colt percussion revolvers but have owned a Remington 1858 and a Rogers & Spencer, both top drawer, accurate and well made. Aiming, of course, with these top strap guns is accomplished using the groove on the top strap.

I'm not familiar with the differences between Uberti and Pieta. I always thought that the notch in the hammer was THE rear sight. If I understand your post, the notch should only need a bit of "cleaning up", etc. If I'm off base, then I stand corrected.

 

[WRustyLane]

I have an 1860 Army by Pietta before they employed the CNC machine in about 2004. I got my Pietta back in the mid to late 1980's. The fit and finish on my 1860 Pietta is superb. I think I had ordered it from Cabelas. I'll try to post a picture of it if I can. I stripped off the case hardened finish and left it in the bare metal which has developed a nice patina on it. I also thinned the trigger spring (it is made with the trigger spring on the left and the bolt spring on the right) to reduce the trigger pull. I think I thinned it a little too much 'cause now it has a hair trigger. I also took it apart and cut the center portion out of the hammer spring to lessen the pull on the hammer. I just used my dremel tool with a cut off wheel to take out the center part. Even though I lessened the hammer pull, it will still pop a cap but is much more comfortable to draw back the hammer. I learned to do this when I ordered a Wolff spring set for my unmentionable cartridge gun with a 3 screw frame. There is a little secret in disassembling the pistol that I have learned. Before taking out the 2 screws just below the hammer there is a screw that resides on the underside of the butt of the pistol. You must loosen this screw before you take out the 2 screws below the hammer. This takes the tension off of the 2 screws below the hammer. After removing all 3 screws the grips will come off with the back strap. There you can access the hammer spring. You'll notice the removal of the center of the hammer spring. Reassembly is in the reverse order. You start the 2 screws below the hammer but don't run them home. Next start the screw into the underside of the butt. Now you can run the 2 screws below the hammer home. Then run the underside butt screw home. I learned this by watching someone who knew cap 'n ball pistols on You tube. They have a lot of videos on "how to" do stuff. Hope this helps. Pietta now rivals Uberti in workmanship.

 

[Bad Karma]

Send it back. Uberti does produce very high quality revolvers and you’re unlikely, even accounting for devils luck, to get another Friday night build... Pietta has upped their game and is a very good choice as well but side by side comparison shows that Uberti is much more faithful to the original guns.

 

[Bad Karma]

I have an 1860 Army by Pietta before they employed the CNC machine in about 2004. I got my Pietta back in the mid to late 1980's. The fit and finish on my 1860 Pietta is superb. I think I had ordered it from Cabelas. I'll try to post a picture of it if I can. I stripped off the case hardened finish and left it in the bare metal which has developed a nice patina on it. I also thinned the trigger spring (it is made with the trigger spring on the left and the bolt spring on the right) to reduce the trigger pull. I think I thinned it a little too much 'cause now it has a hair trigger. I also took it apart and cut the center portion out of the hammer spring to lessen the pull on the hammer. I just used my dremel tool with a cut off wheel to take out the center part. Even though I lessened the hammer pull, it will still pop a cap but is much more comfortable to draw back the hammer. I learned to do this when I ordered a Wolff spring set for my unmentionable cartridge gun with a 3 screw frame. There is a little secret in disassembling the pistol that I have learned. Before taking out the 2 screws just below the hammer there is a screw that resides on the underside of the butt of the pistol. You must loosen this screw before you take out the 2 screws below the hammer. This takes the tension off of the 2 screws below the hammer. After removing all 3 screws the grips will come off with the back strap. There you can access the hammer spring. You'll notice the removal of the center of the hammer spring. Reassembly is in the reverse order. You start the 2 screws below the hammer but don't run them home. Next start the screw into the underside of the butt. Now you can run the 2 screws below the hammer home. Then run the underside butt screw home. I learned this by watching someone who knew cap 'n ball pistols on You tube. They have a lot of videos on "how to" do stuff. Hope this helps. Pietta now rivals Uberti in workmanship.
View attachment 9519 View attachment 9521 View attachment 9520

That’s the best looking Pietta I’ve seen to date. Nice.

 

[sawyer04]

I purchased a stainless steel 1858 Remington Uberti in 1979. It has Uberti Gardina written on top of barrel. It shoots well, but the cylinder axle is slightly off center. With a little dressing it is comfortable and rotates freely. I am saying .0014 thousandths. The newer stainless steel Remington and blued Remington from Pietta, purchased in the last two years are perfect fit. The grip dressing used some work.
Speaking of Dixie Gun Works, I have two ancient Palmino pistols That were purchased in 1971. They have performed well, and have required some smithing through the years. I have yet to have a complaint about Dixie, except maybe the prices which may be what previous poster was referring too.
I have no preference over any name brand, they can all be made to shoot which is half the fun for me.

 

[DevilsLuck]

Send it back. Uberti does produce very high quality revolvers and you’re unlikely, even accounting for devils luck, to get another Friday night build... Pietta has upped their game and is a very good choice as well but side by side comparison shows that Uberti is much more faithful to the original guns.

It’s in route to them as we speak. I look forward to the replacement.

 

[Rat]

It does seem like Dixie (and the makers) is/are shipping some sub-par pistols lately. I wonder why they would not inspect them before shipping?

These issues, with all the makers, seem to be very hit-n-miss. Spending a few extra bucks to go through Taylor's is probably one's best bet, or buy from a store that carries them so one could inspect them.

I've mentioned this before, but I have a Uberti Remington Navy which is a "ringer". It was brought over by Uberti's daughter when she was the U.S. sales rep., many years ago, and she gave it to a friend of mine, who sold it to me 20 years later for like $200.00. !!! The fit, finish, and quality of this pistol is really top notch. No joke. I mean, like, REALLY nice. I also have a more recently purchased unmentionable cartridge Colt copy, from their custom shop, (not an official "custom shop") which I'm pretty sure is equal to or superior to an original Colt. So, Uberti is certainly capable of producing outstanding pistols, just puzzling that so many of the Italian guns that are lemons get shipped, and then that the distributors then sell them. ???

 

[nhmoose]

Most distributors don't even open the boxes They just scan the UPC bar and put into stock and ship.

 

[DevilsLuck]

Most distributors don't even open the boxes They just scan the UPC bar and put into stock and ship.

Probably. Besides in house QC should have caught this in my opinion. I could be wrong but... I imagine it was missed before being sent for case hardening. After case hardening, and final assembly, at the very least...

 

[nhmoose]

DL glad it went back! Bet the next one will be right unless the vendor is stupid or bought a bunch of seconds hoping to pass them off to the unaware, but at this point it is on the vendor to FIX.

 

[DevilsLuck]

DL glad it went back! Bet the next one will be right unless the vendor is stupid.

I just hope it goes all the way back to Italy. Hate to think someone else might end up with it here as a “new” gun. Not sure what the protocol is on such matters...

 

[Bad Karma]

I just hope it goes all the way back to Italy. Hate to think someone else might end up with it here as a “new” gun. Not sure what the protocol is on such matters...

They might just send it somewhere to be fit with a new hammer. The easiest and cheapest way to address it probably.

 

[DevilsLuck]

They might just send it somewhere to be fit with a new hammer. The easiest and cheapest way to address it probably.

Wouldn’t a part like a hammer be stamped to match the gun it originally came with? Each part on my “mystery 1860, has “21” stamped on it.

 

[Bad Karma]

Wouldn’t a part like a hammer be stamped to match the gun it originally came with? Each part on my “mystery 1860, has “21” stamped on it.

Could be but the hand, bolt, and hammer are commonly replaced on single action pistols. In instances of extreme wear or neglect it could be the only way to bring the pistol back into service.

 

[SDSmlf]

Could be but the hand, bolt, and hammer are commonly replaced on single action pistols. In instances of extreme wear or neglect it could be the only way to bring the pistol back into service.

Hammer replacement is pretty common on these guns. Unless there were additional issues, that it what I would expect a service center to do and return the gun.

When I was shooting SASS with cap and ball, ‘repair kits’ were available from the manufacturers that included a new hammer (don’t remember specifically if Uberti had them, but still have a couple of Pietta repair kits). In reality my spare parts ‘kit’ was a spare pistol ready to go. Whether Uberti or Pietta, neither would go no more than a couple hundred rounds before something would go wrong. Wouldn’t call this a quality problem, but rather the price point setting material and design constraints. Rugers, as ugly as they were, went multiple thousands of shots before TLC was required, weren’t economically viable, even a their premium price - once Bill passed away, the Ruger Old Army was done. I don’t believe Ruger currently supports it at all.

 

[TFoley]

Wouldn’t a part like a hammer be stamped to match the gun it originally came with? Each part on my “mystery 1860, has “21” stamped on it.

I thought that I'd already explained that that is an assembler's number - to keep all the bits of the same gun together as they go through the assembly process. I tend not to make things up, y'see.

 

[arcticap]

Uberti is owned by Beretta.
I have heard of them sending free replacement parts to folks who have a problem with a new gun and are willing to fix it themselves.
But I'm not sure what kind of warranty repairs they still routinely offer.
I know a guy who bought a lemon of a new Uberti Paterson revolver years ago.
He sent it to Beretta Service twice to have it fixed, but the 2nd time they told him that they wouldn't even try to fix it because it was already a discontinued model.
So they sent him a free model of his choice which ended up being a dragoon that he was very pleased with.

But for those buying other than a Remington, I often recommend buying a Traditions Pietta Colt revolver because they come with a 1 year Traditions warranty.
And Old South Firearms often has prices that can rival Cabela's [which BTW adds state sales taxes, including on the shipping charge for some states].
I don't know of any other company besides Traditions that offers a 1 year written warranty that includes free parts & labor for revolver repairs.
If there's another company that I'm not aware of that does then please let me know.

 

[DevilsLuck]

I thought that I'd already explained that that is an assembler's number - to keep all the bits of the same gun together as they go through the assembly process. I tend not to make things up, y'see.

I believed you. That’s why I asked. If they replace that part; when the gun gets sold; it won’t be all original. So cannot be sold as “new”... Can it?