Uberti Service Life

[oldwolf]

What do you guys think the life is of a well maintained Uberti open top is?

5000 shots...More? Less?

Are the BP models made of the same steel quality as the conversions?

Thanks.

 

[David Teague]

I have a 1861 Uberti Navy that has thousands of rounds though it.

I have had to fit a few new hands over the years due to hand spring failure and the barrel wiggles a bit on the frame...

but that doesn't effect the accuracy one bit. This pistol shoots like a laser.

Cheers,

David

 

[oldwolf]

Is the wiggle side to side or vertical?

Where does the wiggle seem to originate?

 

[David Teague]

Left to right when you put pressure on the barrel.

If you hold the pistol out and shake it, it will "rattle" a bit.

The wear seems to be at the arbor guide hole and the 2 smaller pin holes in the frame.

But, once again, when held correctly, it will chew the 10x out of the target at 10 yard.

Still shoots point of aim, still shoot's like a dream.

Cheers,

David

PS I do have the 1871 conversion model(off the 1860 Army)in 45 Colt and it has over a 1000 rounds of black powder hand loads through it and it's still tight as a drum.

 

[oldwolf]

I asked Texas Jack's (Cimarron) the same question. What do you Engineers have to say about their response?

I would think a minimum of 10,000 rounds with the black powder guns if maintained. But, we don't have any stats for the BP guns. Some of the Cimarron sponsored shooters have 30 and 40,000 rounds fired through their cartridge guns with only springs replaced. The metals used are 8620 steel for the frame and 9640 for barrels and cylinders. I know that the 9640 was developed specifically for the Open Top and conversion pistols to be strong enough for modern ammo, but is now standard in all Cimarrons.

 

[Zonie]

The claim for 10,000 rounds doesn't seem to be excessive when he excludes the springs from the parts.

The only real parts that get any wear on them is the trigger (sear end), the hammer notches, the cylinder locking bolt, the cylinder rotating hand, the cylinder ratchet at the rear and the loading lever.

The 8620 steel is a carburizing grade alloy steel.
Fully heat treated it has a tensile strength of 167,000-188,000 PSI depending on the tempering temperature.
The frame gets very little wear on it but the area where the cylinder arbor screws into it can be subjected to some fairly high stresses.
I think a Cap & Ball pistols stresses in this area are low enough that almost any steel will be fine.

I don't have any data on 9640 steel so I cannot comment on it except to say it is an alloy steel.

As I mentioned, the springs are the main trouble spot with cap & ball pistols.
The hand spring closely followed by the flat trigger/bolt spring are the biggest culprits.

 

[oldwolf]

It doesn’t make sense to me why a BP revolver would have a smaller total round count than a centerfire revolver, especially when built on the same frame and mostly having the same parts.

 

[Stophel]

It's good to know what they are made of.

I have an Uberti Dragoon (still haven't shot it yet). It IS actually case hardened. The frame is rock hard. I don't know how deep it might be, though.

 

[oldwolf]

I also asked what made a Cimarron a Cimarron:

They are assembled in Italy to Cimarron standards. Cimarrons are double-polished before they are blued, the internals are hardened, they have a 1 year warranty(Uberti is 90 days), and wood-to-metal fit is generally a little better. Cimarron basically pays for extra finishing work not normally done to the standard models.

 

[PRM]

I have a Uberti Pocket Police that was purchased in the late 70s. A few years later 80s) I picked up a Colt 2nd Generation 1862 Pocket Police, a Colt 2nd Generation 1862 Pocket Navy, and a Colt 2nd Generation 1851 Navy. All of these guns have had an unrecorded number of rounds shot through them (in the thousands) and with the exception of an occasional spring all of these have been exceptional performers. They are as tight and functional today as when I purchased them and each have been ear-marked for a grandson.

You can still find the 2nd Generation Colts and Signature Series Colt BPs on Gun Broker and Guns America. They are higher in cost than the clones ($550 - $650 range). Just a personal preference, but I have never regretted saving a little longer and then paying the extra cost to have the Colt. Each of mine have been outfitted with elephant ivory handles, which again was worth the wait and cost. I look at the cost as a lifetime investment and over the years cost becomes negligible.

You will enjoy the shooting whatever you buy.

 

[madcratebuilder]

Good advise PRM, the 2nd and 3rd gens are very nice shooters. I really like this Baby Dragoon I picked up second hand for $300. A little more than the imports but well worth it. I liked it enough to dress it up.

 

[oldwolf]

I think the Colt's were built from Uberti components, or so I heard. Colt would fit and finish the Uberti components in the USA. Can anyone confirm this supposition?

 

[Norinco]

Uberti castings, everything else done by hand by Colt technicians.

 

[Robert an saa fan]

For an excellent two page overview see linked article on Colt 2nd Generation cap and ball revolvers by Dennis Adler:
http://www.gunsandammo.com/content/cap--ball-resurrection

Dennis Adler wrote extensively on them for Blue Book publications.

Also, Dennis Russell from Georgia is an expert on them and has a publication about them titled:

Percussion Colt Revolvers - The Second Generation

 

[oldwolf]

Thanks for the link...very informative.

Uberti didn't have a hand int eh Colt's at all it seems.

The Imperato family is quite active in the firearm business, they run the Henry Repeating Rifle Company and manufacture a line of very well received lever action rimfire rifles.

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

MC, where did you get those grips on the Baby Dragoon? They're beautiful. Are they a composite?

 

[nilo52]

I Have A 3rd Mod. Dragoon. I Have Shot It at Least 800 Times and Have Yet To See Any Wear Other Than "Polishing" Of Cylinder Cam Surfaces. I Usually Shoot 40 Grains W/A .454 RB Projectile. Other Than Pre-Mature Loading Lever Release It Shoots Fine. Mine Is Case Hardened With A Blued Barrel.