Comments On A Traditions Pietta 1851 Navy

[expat_alaska]

I purchased a Traditions Pietta 1851 Navy .36 a few weeks ago from a purveyor (who I will not name) because it came NIB in a Traditions box. The price was what I considered fair at $220 for what I thought was going to be a "best-of-the-lot" Pietta gun. I guess the purveyor could have substituted a standard Pietta gun in a Traditions box, but I don't know that.

When I received it, it had great case colors on the steel frame, and the timing was good. The wood was plain standard Pietta quarter-sawn walnut with little finish and the standard Pietta lousy wood-to-frame finish. That is Pietta. The right side of the barrel has 3 vertical scratches about 2" from the muzzle that happened before the bluing. The brass backstrap is nothing to write home about with a few blems, and the wood has a nick on the right side, and has a scratch on the same side.

Honestly, the standard run-of-the-mill Pietta I bought from Cabela's in 2016 for $170 on sale is a better gun.

If I would buy another Traditions gun I would have to see all pics first before I would put forth more money for something that Traditions touts as a better gun.



The Traditions gun is on the bottom, the Cabela's Pietta is on top.

I am not going to take the Traditions gun apart just for comparison sake. I have only rotated the cylinder once and have not even put caps on the nipples to clear them of oil.

I hope you folks that have bought Traditions guns have had better luck.

Regards,

Jim

 

[Jackrabbit1957]

Hey Jim, I have had several guns by Traditions come across my bench. Those were long guns, if their pistols are as poorly done as those long guns then I'm not surprised. One of the rifles had a lock on it that I simply couldn't make work. Turns out to be poor geometry, it was a rocklock. Frizzen to cock angles were wrong. Customer put an L and R lock on it to make it work.

 

[arcticap]

AFAIK, the only different aspect about Pietta revolvers sold by Traditions is the fact that they have a 1 year warranty.
I've never heard that they sell any Piettas that are of higher quality unless they offer a model that has a specific feature that's
an upgrade from what another importer may offer.
Even their scratch & dent "specials" revolvers are said to include the 1 year Traditions warranty.

Their muzzle loading rifles have a limited lifetime warranty with proof of purchase.

That's Cimmaron that is said to have better than standard issue guns that are made to better spec's..--->>> https://www.cimarron-firearms.com/about-us

 

[expat_alaska]

I am glad that what I said has not been taken as an affront. I just don't see the attraction for the price. I have no idea about Traditions long guns and will take your words about it.

A one year warranty, to me, does not amount to much. I am a good kitchen gunsmith and have modified many Pietta 1851 Navy type pistols over the years to suit my needs, and they are all much nicer than the Traditions pistol.

I believe I do a much better job than Traditions.

Enough from me.

Regards,

Jim

 

[Stormson]

Whats the date code EA? From what Ive seen Traditions only "upgrade" is the name... That I THINK they got the "Josie Wales" finish a bit earlier then Piatta themselves brought out the antique looking finish themselves.... Could be wrong about that, I just saw theirs a little sooner.

Pietta SERIOUSLY upped their game after 2015.. as most here know.. But I wouldnt bet that Tradtions is above selling new old stock. If they DID get rid of the older stuff, then they had to sell it to SOMEBODY. You didnt say who the "purveyor" or where they sold from? There is a LOT of that going on at the auction sites... Hell even SOME idiots trying to get MORE for the NOS then you can buy the newer (better) straight from the more reputable dealers...

 

[4v50 Gary]

Jackrabbit - please go on with the poor geometry of the Traditions. We hated their Trapper pistol that we had to assemble. That it was garbage was exactly why it was selected as a project for first semester students.

 

[CraigC]

Pietta SERIOUSLY upped their game after 2015.. as most here know.. But I wouldnt bet that Tradtions is above selling new old stock.

Pietta upped their game a few years before 2015. I seriously doubt Traditions still has guns in their warehouse that are several years old but a dealer might.

What do you mean "above" selling old stock? Just because a manufacturer improves their product they're supposed to throw the old stock away?

That's Cimmaron that is said to have better than standard issue guns that are made to better spec's..--->>> https://www.cimarron-firearms.com/about-us

That was 30yrs ago and as far as I know, it only applied to Uberti's. By Mike Harvey's own words on this very forum, he started working with Uberti in the early `80's and paid $30 extra per unit for better guns. These days, all the importers receive the same basic guns. It wasn't until Pietta drastically improved their product that Cimarron started importing them.

 

[Jackrabbit1957]

Jackrabbit - please go on with the poor geometry of the Traditions. We hated their Trapper pistol that we had to assemble. That it was garbage was exactly why it was selected as a project for first semester students.

The relationship between the frizzen and cock pivot points was off by just enough that it shattered flints with little to no sparks produced. The first thing I checked was for a soft face on the frizzen and it was plenty hard as in a file would not touch it. The pivot hole in the lock plate for the tumbler was drilled to close to the pan if I remember correctly. I worked on that lock for a full week before deciding it wasn't worth messing with.

 

[frontiergander]

Pietta makes and sells them. Traditions simply just has them packaged in their own box. Pietta does all the work what you see.

I have 3 of their flintlocks ( traditions ) and what I found to cause flints to shatter is their super heavy duty frizzen spring. Weaken it with a c clamp, lube it and they spark awesome.

As usual, don't expect custom made gun quality for the price you pay. A little extra wood isn't a bad thing, especially if you are so picky about wood in the first place. It gives you something to work with should you ever want to refinish the handles.

I heard how awesome Uberti was and after buying a .44 Walker, found out what total bs that statement was.

Do folks go through every brand new car they buy and nit pick about what they feel is wrong with it, but doesnt hurt its function in the long run?

French Amber 1/2"x5/8" flint on my traditions mountain rifle after I adjusted the frizzen spring pressure.

 

[expat_alaska]

Whats the date code EA? From what Ive seen Traditions only "upgrade" is the name... That I THINK they got the "Josie Wales" finish a bit earlier then Piatta themselves brought out the antique looking finish themselves.... Could be wrong about that, I just saw theirs a little sooner.

Pietta SERIOUSLY upped their game after 2015.. as most here know.. But I wouldnt bet that Tradtions is above selling new old stock. If they DID get rid of the older stuff, then they had to sell it to SOMEBODY. You didnt say who the "purveyor" or where they sold from? There is a LOT of that going on at the auction sites... Hell even SOME idiots trying to get MORE for the NOS then you can buy the newer (better) straight from the more reputable dealers...

The date code EA won't show up until the end of the century at best. My Traditions Pietta 1851 .36 has a date code of CS. If Traditions was selling NOS you would see Pietta 1851 Navy .36 pistols with the "tail" grips from 2014 or previous dates. I won't divulge the purveyor because they are reputable and just selling the Traditions pistols. They are a retailer and not an auction house and have a good rep. They are just selling a Pietta gun in a Traditions box and there are no Traditions markings on the gun, just the box. I have a plain Pietta 1851 Navy .36 and could put it into a Traditions box and no one would know the difference and charge more bucks for it.

Pietta upped their game a few years before 2015. I seriously doubt Traditions still has guns in their warehouse that are several years old but a dealer might.

What do you mean "above" selling old stock? Just because a manufacturer improves their product they're supposed to throw the old stock away?

It wasn't until Pietta drastically improved their product that Cimarron started importing them.

Pietta started doing CNC machining ~ 2000. If you are talking about drastically improving their product, that happened then. If you don't like the "tail" grip style that was discontinued in 2015 with the more "acceptable" grip style, that is your preference. I prefer the "tail" grip style as it fits my hand very well. If anyone has a NOS Pietta 1851 Navy pistol from 2014 or prior I want one. If it has a squareback TG that is better. They are almost impossible to find these days. This one was done in 2015.

 

[Stormson]

LoL, sorry, when I asked "Whats the date code EA" I was just quick abbreviating Expat Alaska.

Yeah I know about the CNC and that made a HUGE difference, and the tail went in 2015, but from what Ive seen Taylors (but still Pietta) the fit and finish from then is MUCH better as well... My 2015 remington was from gunbroker and my 2016 colt from Taylors.. Both outstanding except for the proud remington grips thats Ive pretty much come to think of a Pietta trademark. And the billboard of course LoL. But the actual "put together" of them both was excellent.

I dont know man.. CS would be after 2015 right? Anyway you can try to send it back and try another one? Could have just been a one off goof up at QC?

 

[Jackrabbit1957]

Hey Frontiergander, glad you had success with your Traditions flinters, the lock I mentioned definitely was off on the geometry. The frizzen spring was not particularly stout. I had ruled it out fairly early on in my troubleshooting. My customer had another identical rifle that I was able to compare the two locks, after a few measurements and head scratching the problem was seen for what it was. My overall impression of the entire rifle was not good. I haven't even looked at one since, hopefully their quality has improved.

 

[LonesomePigeon]

This is the first time I've ever heard Traditions are supposed to be better than regular Pietta's. I do have a Traditions Trapper .50cal single shot percussion pistol. I got it at a rendevous, used for $50. Pitted barrel but it's darn accurate. Funny thing is you have to put the wedge in oriented a certain way. If you put it in upside down or from the other side it loses accuracy. But it's so accurate that right after I bought it two other guys in our club bought new ones, even though they already had more expensive guns.

 

[drobs]

I believe this idea that Traditions' Piettas are better than Cabela's Pietta goes back to another thread.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...-and-buy-1851-36s.839079/page-3#post-10888972

well I called old south firearms today and talked about the quality of the traditions/pietta 51' navy's and he assured me that these are way better made pistols than the run of the mill you get from cabelas and even lee told me that he has one of the tradition 51 navys it has over 6k rounds thru it and the original springs were still going and so he told me these were the very best made revolvers you can get! so well see when it gets here plus guys I took my 3/8ths hole punch and made up a whole bunch of wads and soaked them in my homemade bore butter so I am ready when this new revolver gets here!!

I think we're finding out that the guns are the same. Traditions just has a different box cover.

I'm thankful that neither company puts their names on the gun.

 

[arcticap]

I believe this idea that Traditions' Piettas are better than Cabela's Pietta goes back to another thread.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...-and-buy-1851-36s.839079/page-3#post-10888972


I think we're finding out that the guns are the same. Traditions just has a different box cover.

I'm thankful that neither company puts their names on the gun.

While it's possible that some importers receive preferential treatment from Pietta, that would mean that their quality controllers are in cahoots
with those who do the packing when they decide which box to put each gun into.

It may just be that a huge importer like Cabela's is shipped such a high volume of guns that they either simply receive more defective ones by statistical chance, or that
Pietta intentionally slips them more of the defects because they pay much less per unit, and the 2 companies could have an ongoing deal that addresses it.

The secondary importers could be inspecting their shipments more closely, and repairing them prior to sale even if they're sold through alternate channels.

Pietta is gonna' do what they gotta' do.