Considering a used Uberti Cattleman - any caveats?

[200Apples]

Gun is claimed to be very lightly used .357/.38 with just 100 rounds down the pipe. I am mostly up to speed with my own single actions so that I know what to look for as to exterior condition, but this won't tell me what I can't see. It appears to have a 5-1/2" barrel length. I have to drive an hour to inspect it firsthand.

Was there any particular run of the Taylor & Co Uberti Cattleman that was not up to snuff? This one is stunning with it's brass grip frame, color case hardened frame, blued barrel and walnut grips, at least in some low-resolution photographs...

Thank you in advance for any assistance.

 

[Jimster]

I think you’ll be very happy with it. They’re very well made.

 

[J-Bar]

Why is he selling it? If the revolver looks good and the action feels smooth otherwise, my main concern would be how close is point of impact to point of aim? It would be comforting to be able to shoot a few rounds through it before making the final decision, just to make sure it does not shoot around a corner.

Uberti recently designed a new safety mechanism in the firing pin; the firing pin will not go forward far enough to hit the primer unless the trigger is pulled. Kinda the same idea as Ruger's transfer bar but built into the firing pin and trigger. Supposedly allows carrying six shots instead of 5 safely. Some folks like the idea, others don't. I don't have first hand experience with the new design. That said, I have a pair of older 4 1/2" Cattlemen from Taylors, which uses the base pin as a safety rather than the new type of firing pin, that shoot very well; hope your prospective purchase does likewise.

Link to Uberti announcement on new firing pin:

https://www.uberti-usa.com/news/uberti-adds-retractable-firing-pin-to-1873-cattleman-revolvers

Link to discussion on the SASS Wire about it:

https://www.sassnet.com/forums/index.php?/topic/262861-cimarronuberti-cattleman-ii-revolvers/

 

[200Apples]

Thank you, Jimster and J-Bar.

Why is he selling it? If the revolver looks good and the action feels smooth otherwise, my main concern would be how close is point of impact to point of aim? It would be comforting to be able to shoot a few rounds through it before making the final decision, just to make sure it does not shoot around a corner.

I had been thinking the same thing. I am certainly going to ask why, but in a casual manner as I inspect the firearm.

Too, I had been aware of this new contraption within the hammer... here's hoping this one is an earlier model. While there's no doubt that transfer bar and other systems contribute to a more drop-safe gun, I would prefer a simpler machine for reasons of trigger pull and the fact that I load five. Thanks for your replies, sirs.

 

[BobWright]

Single Action revolvers are such simple machines, and have been around so long, that, if the price is attractive enough, buy it. There are few few problems that can't be easily fixed. And those would be so obvious to the prospective buyer as to turn it down after only the most casual inspections.

Bob Wright

 

[200Apples]

Thank you, Bob. I had hoped to hear from you.

Thanks again J-Bar for the SASS Wire link. As I had thought, it seems the trigger and the hammer can be replaced in order to eliminate the retractable firing pin if that's the case. I don't yet know with this particular example I'm interested in.

As soon as the seller (elsewhere) replies and can meet, I think we'll have a deal. I shall post pictures soon thereafter.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

I have owned two Uberti Cattlemen. One of them had a couple of problems. First off, the barrel was not screwed in properly, so the front sight leaned to one side. Eyeball it carefully to make sure the front sight is vertical. The second problem with that one was the trigger pull was terrible. Felt like dragging a rock across a washboard. Worst trigger I ever encountered.

Both of these problems are easy to spot, eyeball the front sight and make sure it is vertical. And carefully pull the trigger from full cock (without allowing the hammer to fall all the way) to see how the trigger is.

This particular revolver had the fancy robin's egg blue finish, which it turns out was not robust at all. Within a few weeks, my sweaty palm had worn away all the blue on the backstrap.

One other thing. There is no hardened bushing in the frame where the firing pin pokes through the recoil shield on an Ubert. Because of this, the hole can tend to crater, or it can tend to have a burr raised along its edges. This is caused as the firing pin rides through the hole over and over again and drags a little bit of steel through. Check out the hole closely. If you can feel it with your thumb there is a raised burr that might eventually cause problems with cartridge heads rotating past. Pretty simple to fix, but something to be aware of.

Other than that, just make sure it functions properly and the cylinder locks up correctly as the hammer goes to full cock, or slightly after full cock.

The other Uberti Cattleman I still have. Much better than the first. No serious problems.






By the way, just so you know, a brass trigger guard and backstrap look nice on a Colt replica, but Colt never made them that way. Unlike the C&B revolvers, which had brass trigger guards, the Single Action Army always had aj blued steel trigger guard and backstrap.

 

[Corpral_Agarn]

Don't do it.


You will love shooting it and end up buying a nice holster rig.


Then another revolver...

Then another...

Better leave that pandoras box closed

 

[CraigC]

My only problem is that they seem to multiply in the dark.

 

[Speedo66]

I don't know about Taylor's, but there is a Uberti model with a brass frame that was a less expensive model with a matte finish. If the photos are a little blurry they may be masking this.

The Uberti model is called the Hombre, the internals are the same on all models. Taylor supposedly smooths out some model's actions.

I've got a Cattleman in .357 and think it's a great gun.

 

[200Apples]

Thank you. It's a Cattleman, and with a blued barrel. I've personally seen the matte black versions and they didn't seem quite right...

Better leave that pandoras box closed

Too late for that!, I'm afraid.


Craig, they're doing that here, too... only with less alacrity...

 

[Fiv3r]

If it looks good and walks and talks the way you think it should, why not

One of my favorite guns is a .357 Great Western II in .357. I've a big ol' 9mm duty pistol for HD and a slim poly single stack stuffed in my waistband as I type. However, that chunky piece of Americana via Italy may be my favorite handgun in my collection. Walking in the woods or just having fun at the range, it works every time.

 

[200Apples]

Thanks, Fiv3r.

In other news, it'd be nice if I knew this seller knew he had my interest! Still waiting on their reply...

 

[rkammer]

Good advice so far. Just make sure that it locks up tight. If a lot of .357 has been shot through it, it might have loosened up over time. Also, check that the cylinder to barrel forcing cone has a very small air gap. I believe it should be less than .010 with the hammer in full cock and .005 to .007 is ideal.

 

[200Apples]

The seller of this Uberti has not responded in over one and one-half days to my query... Meanwhile, a .44 Special flat top New Model Blackhawk has appeared in my sights. This one is a 4-5/8" barreled, stainless, TALO exclusive. Being that .44 Special is my preferred cartridge, I went ahead and committed to it's purchase. I get to bring it home in 10 days (Callfornia).








We can let this thread idle for another month, as that is the earliest I might afford to purchase the .357 Uberti in question and that only if the seller ever reads his PMs (again, elsewhere).

Thanks again for the replies, your help and your sound advice.

 

[J-Bar]

I'm thinkin' you have made a good choice. That Ruger flattop is three times the gun that the Cattleman is, and I like Uberti revolvers!!

 

[200Apples]

Thanks J-Bar. This will be my seventh Ruger SA. Two are Single Sixes, the remainder are all chambered in .41 and .44. I had been wanting a single action .357 as a plinker -and- as a companion piece to my 1894CS357 which, after a couple of years of not running right, now seems to feed anything and everything after a carrier fix. And after I drifted it's sights back to center it shoots five shots touching. Very happy with it now. That Uberti or one like it will come home some time this year.

BUT - my first and foremost affliction is the .44 Special, thanks to Taffin and Pearce, with all kinds of additional credit to Keith and especially Skeeter... I already own two consecutively-numbered, blue 5-1/2" .44 Special New Model flat tops; I got them for the price I did because their finishes are compromised from humid storage, and years' worth. But I got them to shoot, and shoot well they do. This 4-5/8" stainless made my jaw hit the floor. Of the firearms I've acquired in the last 10 years, THIS seems like it's going to be the most agonizing 10-days wait... I can only imagine! what some guys go through after sending some good, raw material to one of the Top Five Living custom gunmakers and then having to wait for their masterpiece... Good Loawrd. Perhaps one day I may be able to go that route, but for now I appreciate the beauty of the strength of these Blackhawks and enjoy them right from the box.

 

[Saddlebag Preacher]

Using Uberti Single actions for several years in both historical reenacting and live fire, the main weakness will be a factory standard mainspring. I have gone through several and I would suggest to get a couple to have whenever one breaks or get a Wolf spring replacement. Now, this is going through hundreds of blanks and live rounds per year. I have had hand springs break also, so I've kept a spare or two of those also..

 

[Crunchy Frog]

The Uberti is fine but man, there's nothing quite like a Flattop .44 Special. I have the Bisley version in blue. Somewhere, Skeeter is raising a glass of Henry McKenna in salute to your purchase.

 

[The Evangelist Cowboy]

The seller of this Uberti has not responded in over one and one-half days to my query... Meanwhile, a .44 Special flat top New Model Blackhawk has appeared in my sights. This one is a 4-5/8" barreled, stainless, TALO exclusive. Being that .44 Special is my preferred cartridge, I went ahead and committed to it's purchase. I get to bring it home in 10 days (Callfornia).

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We can let this thread idle for another month, as that is the earliest I might afford to purchase the .357 Uberti in question and that only if the seller ever reads his PMs (again, elsewhere).

Thanks again for the replies, your help and your sound advice.

.44 Spl just has that something that the .357 doesn't. Wise choice friend may it serve you well.

 

[200Apples]

Somewhere, Skeeter is raising a glass of Henry McKenna in salute to your purchase.

I raise my glass in return! and with gratitude that men like him, men like Keith, and Taffin, et al; all of the early mid-century .44 Associates kept the .44 Special fire burning so that the embers of my sixgun spirit are kindled into this passion for these guns and this cartridge. Sincere thanks!

Which reminds me: Thanks too to Lipsey's Jason Cloessner, for his tireless efforts in seeing this project through. Without his influence on Ruger to produce a .44 Special when Ruger was creating a special run of 50th Anniversary .357 flat top Blackhawks, we would not have these guns. We'd have had to do what Skeeter did in the '70s, and what so many have had to do in the past: enlist the aid of many others to craft one-off Specials from .357 flat tops. And so on, and so forth. We are most fortunate.

 

[bannockburn]

200Apples

An excellent choice with the stainless Flattop Blackhawk in .44 Special. Should go well with your other two blued Flattops. I read a lot of Skeeter Skelton's articles and columns when he use to write for Shooting Times and I just had to get one of these new Rugers in .44 Special when they first came out. The 4 5/8" barrel gives the gun great balance and it handles really well.

 

[bannockburn]

200Apples

Awhile back at a local gun show I came across a used Uberti Cattleman in .44 Special that was mighty tempting but the gun itself was a little too worn for my tastes and for how much they wanted for it. What I did find was a new in the box Beretta Stampede in .45 Colt that I wanted to go with a like new Rossi Model 92 that I had also bought at the same gun show. Both guns have proven to be very well made and a perfect combination to go together at the range or on some backwoods hike.

 

[Speedo66]

Nice guns. Are the Stampedes made by Uberti? I've read that Beretta owns controlling interest in Uberti.

 

[200Apples]

Bannockburn, that's a great combo, there, and in .45 Colt? Fantastic! I recall your .44 Special flat top. Outstanding, sir!

Speedo, yes; that is true today regarding Beretta and Uberti. I've just come across that info while looking into an Intercontinental Arms Dakota I found yesterday, and have been looking into the guns' history.

I started this thread due to a keen, ongoing interest in acquiring an affordable .357 SAA clone, to serve as a plinker and a companion piece for my two .357 lever carbines... and had the lead on a local Uberti Cattleman. The seller of that Uberti exhibits, still, very poor communication skills but I simply told him I was moving on.
Imagine! my disappointment when another poster said, "As per our conversation, I'll take it.". Sure, I had already let it go... but, again, the seller neither confirmed nor denied a thing since he never replied to either of my two brief PM. Oh well. That's life.

So! I stopped by my local dealer yesterday to simply gawk at an expensive Freedom Arms I remember seeing there awhile back. Of course, that gun was gone, but in the single-action case there was this older Italian, and she had a little character. A 5-1/2" Intercontinental Arms Dakota, and in .357... priced for 50 less than what I had been willing to give for the Cattleman... and the Dakota, believe it or not, is a better gun save for the claimed metric threads... Here's hoping I don't lose or break a screw. The flat springs I may be able to acquire and/or modify if one is needed.

This Dakota with a four-digit serial may date from the early-to-mid 1960s, has no safety which is altogether fine with me since I load five, and I prefer my SAs to exhibit four clicks when drawing the hammer. Turns out the Dakota is the granddaddy of the Italian clones. The Piettas of today use the Dakota frame forging, or so the story goes.

Looks like I've found my spaghetti SA after all. Pics to come soon.