Ephraim Kibbey
Member
As mainly a collector now (just getting rid of the tinnitus crickets from years of shooting,) I prefer the Armi San Marcos.
They have a wider selection of models to collect, many with several variations.
They were advertised as being the closest reproductions to the originals with both internal and external parts interchanging in 1st Gens.
Perhaps that is why they are as tough to work on as the 2nd Gens. though Mike did not mention if originals are equally complicated.
Aside from the Uberti Nemis Gallery Cased pocket, they were the only Italian manufacturer to boldly sell factory Colt reproductions with correct original barrel addresses and cylinder markings (long and disputed story) hiding the "Black Powder Only" discreetly under the loading lever.
They, unlike Uberti and Pietta, are gone so there will never be any more ASM's made, a prime consideration in collecting.
Unlike 2nd Gens., their prices remain reasonable, or at least they did until limited imports and hefty stimulus checks inflated repro prices.
If buying to shoot, there is a wide range of quality control by ASM out there.
At the bottom are the Connecticut Valley Arms imports and at the top are the Early and Modern Firearms Hartford imports.
Just as Cimarron and Taylors currently require higher specs on their imports of Pietta and Uberti, so did EMF of the ASM's they bought.
As for soft internals, I do not think that any of the Italian manufacturers in the 1960's and 1970's could have imagined the serious use of their products that modern competitors put their reproductions through.
However the model P 1873 clones that ASM made in the late 1980's and early 1990's for Cimarron and EMF's Hartford versions seem to have held up well even in competition and the America Western Arms Co. that bought ASM's tooling to make their Peacekeeper and Longhorn models created reproductions that are still highly sought after.
They have a wider selection of models to collect, many with several variations.
They were advertised as being the closest reproductions to the originals with both internal and external parts interchanging in 1st Gens.
Perhaps that is why they are as tough to work on as the 2nd Gens. though Mike did not mention if originals are equally complicated.
Aside from the Uberti Nemis Gallery Cased pocket, they were the only Italian manufacturer to boldly sell factory Colt reproductions with correct original barrel addresses and cylinder markings (long and disputed story) hiding the "Black Powder Only" discreetly under the loading lever.
They, unlike Uberti and Pietta, are gone so there will never be any more ASM's made, a prime consideration in collecting.
Unlike 2nd Gens., their prices remain reasonable, or at least they did until limited imports and hefty stimulus checks inflated repro prices.
If buying to shoot, there is a wide range of quality control by ASM out there.
At the bottom are the Connecticut Valley Arms imports and at the top are the Early and Modern Firearms Hartford imports.
Just as Cimarron and Taylors currently require higher specs on their imports of Pietta and Uberti, so did EMF of the ASM's they bought.
As for soft internals, I do not think that any of the Italian manufacturers in the 1960's and 1970's could have imagined the serious use of their products that modern competitors put their reproductions through.
However the model P 1873 clones that ASM made in the late 1980's and early 1990's for Cimarron and EMF's Hartford versions seem to have held up well even in competition and the America Western Arms Co. that bought ASM's tooling to make their Peacekeeper and Longhorn models created reproductions that are still highly sought after.
