JACK STEELE
Member
Mykeal;
Thank you for the response it was very helpful and i apologize for the late response for i was away.
Thank you for the response it was very helpful and i apologize for the late response for i was away.
Pietta or Uberti
- Thread starter BP Hunter
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K.A.T.
Member
I just bought a new Pietta 1860 Army, here is what happened after about 100 rounds. The first thing that I noticed was the bolt head hitting on the edge of the cylinder notch and knocking it in. I had to shorten the leg on the bolt to make it hit earlier so it would be off the edge of the notch. I think this is common with all makes. The next thing I noticed was the bolt is really denting the cylinder, I guess the spring is a little strong, or they just use soft metal.
I did find alot of burrs on the inside parts that had to be removed, and the trigger pull had alot of creep. After some polishing it did smooth up.
The bad thing was the gap between the barrel and cylinder opened up to .011, it was not that loose out of the box. It took some work with a file, and fitting a new wedge after the file work was done to close the gap back up.
The grips had a dark finish on them, so I had to refinish them to lighten them up some.
The screw in the loading lever could not be tight or it would almost lock the lever up and not let it work. So it took some work to loosen it up.
It does shoot good and groups well, but that is alot of work for a new pistol. I have one Uberti 1858 in Stainless Steel, no problems with it. I have two 2nd gen. and one 3rd gen. Colts, no problems there.
Would I buy another Pietta, no way. I would put my money on a Colt if I could spend the extra, if not, buy the Uberti. I know my comparison of my Pietta and my Uberti is probally not a fair one, because my Uberti is Stainless, but that is the only one I have. I did not have to remove any burrs inside of the Colts or the Uberti. No problems with them.
I heard talk that Pietta has improved their Quality in the last couple of years, this one is dated 2007, they need to do alot more. Sorry Pietta fans if I've pi*#ed you off, that is not my intention, just reporting what I found so this guy can make the right decision.
I did find alot of burrs on the inside parts that had to be removed, and the trigger pull had alot of creep. After some polishing it did smooth up.
The bad thing was the gap between the barrel and cylinder opened up to .011, it was not that loose out of the box. It took some work with a file, and fitting a new wedge after the file work was done to close the gap back up.
The grips had a dark finish on them, so I had to refinish them to lighten them up some.
The screw in the loading lever could not be tight or it would almost lock the lever up and not let it work. So it took some work to loosen it up.
It does shoot good and groups well, but that is alot of work for a new pistol. I have one Uberti 1858 in Stainless Steel, no problems with it. I have two 2nd gen. and one 3rd gen. Colts, no problems there.
Would I buy another Pietta, no way. I would put my money on a Colt if I could spend the extra, if not, buy the Uberti. I know my comparison of my Pietta and my Uberti is probally not a fair one, because my Uberti is Stainless, but that is the only one I have. I did not have to remove any burrs inside of the Colts or the Uberti. No problems with them.
I heard talk that Pietta has improved their Quality in the last couple of years, this one is dated 2007, they need to do alot more. Sorry Pietta fans if I've pi*#ed you off, that is not my intention, just reporting what I found so this guy can make the right decision.
hags
Member
I know this is a little dated, but I'd thought I would sound off.
I sell a number of SAA and have been looking for one for myself.
I've seen a good number of Cimarrons, Navy Arms, and Charles Daly (Pietta).
I have to say as of late I have not been impressed with the Cimarrons, specifically the Model P. The fit and finish, well not bad, is bettered by the CD. I've sent a couple back due to excessive cylinder gap. I'm talking about
.007-.008", and while Cimarron says that's in spec. the CDs are usually around .002-.004. I cannot imagine shooting .357 Mag. ammo in the .008" gap.
I prefer the dark Walnut found on the CDs and even the "CD" that's engraved on the wood is tastefully done. Fit and finish is first rate, I know, I know, even though they say Charles Daly on the barrels they are well done.
The base pin to frame and base pin to cylinder fit on the CDs is actually tight. No slop at all, the same can't always be said for the other two brands.
Just my .02 cents.
I sell a number of SAA and have been looking for one for myself.
I've seen a good number of Cimarrons, Navy Arms, and Charles Daly (Pietta).
I have to say as of late I have not been impressed with the Cimarrons, specifically the Model P. The fit and finish, well not bad, is bettered by the CD. I've sent a couple back due to excessive cylinder gap. I'm talking about
.007-.008", and while Cimarron says that's in spec. the CDs are usually around .002-.004. I cannot imagine shooting .357 Mag. ammo in the .008" gap.
I prefer the dark Walnut found on the CDs and even the "CD" that's engraved on the wood is tastefully done. Fit and finish is first rate, I know, I know, even though they say Charles Daly on the barrels they are well done.
The base pin to frame and base pin to cylinder fit on the CDs is actually tight. No slop at all, the same can't always be said for the other two brands.
Just my .02 cents.
scrat
Member
i agree with armed bear on Cimaron arms. Now apples to apples a new out of the box uberti is probably pretty darn close with a pietta. Problem is you dont know how old the item your buying is. Lets say you go to XYZ gunshop. ask for an 1851 pietta and 1851 uberti. out of the box the uberti just smokes the pietta. Now look at the production dates if you have a chart. box dates help. you may be looking at a pietta from 1999 and an uberti from 2007. Not a fair match. If you look at a pietta from the past year to an ubert they are probably pretty close. Now that does not compare to cimaron. Cimaron takes the ubertis and pretty much redoes the whole gun. They pick the best of the litter then refit finish and refine the gun. Some they even do more detail work, plating engraving. You get some really fine guns from them. You will pay top dollar. I have a cimaron WALKER. that gun is really nice. However comparing a pietta and uberti they both shoot well and handle very good. We read everyweek how someone gets a bad gun out of the box from xyz gunshop. they had to return it 4 times and pretty much pissed everyone off at the gunshop. This is not the shooters fault its the retailer. why. Because they fail to get rid of the bad guns. hate to say it. that shooter could have and should have put a red X on the box on a corner or somethin. Because someone else is going to buy the same gun. The retailer i guarantee has not sent back the gun and has no intentions. if anything the will knock off 50 bucks or so to get rid of it. So someone else will have to deal with the problem. just like buying a car 20 years ago or more. Straight from the dealer you could get a really good one. Or sometimes pick up a lemon. unfortuneatley this is what we have to deal with today.
sundance44s
Member
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2006
- Messages
- 1,473
Pietta`s quality seems to have improved alot on the outside fit and finish ...but it`s still the same blind man fitting the innards ...Bought a new Pietta 1858 2 months ago ..looks great on the out side ..inside ..one word ( rough )
Sagetown
Member
K.A.T. :I know the feeling of getting a lemon. Anymore, I get gun shy buying a new gun of any type, brand, or make. However; I've just purchased an 1860 EMF (PIETTA). Put maybe 50 rounds through it so far. Hopefully EMF tweaks theirs up before shipping, because this is a good one so far.
Sage
hags
Member
That has not been my experience at all. I don't know when your 1858 was manufactured but anything I've received has been 2005 and later. Like I said, the Pietta made SAA are as good if not better than most other brands.
As a retailer I have sent guns back for bad fit and finish
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