Pietta or Uberti revolver?

The Piettas at Cabelas are the BEST DEAL out there!

Your concerns and circumstances mirror that of mine, sir. So I took the plunge and bought the Pietta 1858 Remington about a month or so ago from Cabelas, and in a word, I'm delighted. I bought an extra cylinder and a loading press as well, both of which were money well spent. The workmanship on the revolver is first class, from finish to grip fitment to function. I couldn't be more pleased, and plan to get another, this time a Spiller and Burr, when I earn enough points with the wife.

Before firing, I proactively removed the nipples ("cones," I believe they were called back in the day) and gave them a coat of anti-seize, in addition to cleaning the gun. One of them wasn't screwed in all the way, so I'd advise you to have a look at that before firing the gun. The hammer should not hit the cones, from what I understand.

Good luck with your new revolver; you are in for a real treat!

Uberti may have a slight edge on fit and finish but both Pietta and Uberti have been offering a quality product for the past eight to ten years. Both factories have newer cnc equipment but sadly the same old quality control folks who drink a quart (or more) of vino at lunch.

Piettas. I've sold all of my Ubertis.

I have both Pietta and Uberti. The Uberti's action feels and sounds somewhat crisper than the Pietta. They both are accurate, reliable, and well made.
I had a bid in place on Gunbroker for a SS, fixed sight, ivory grip, 5 1/2" Ruger Old Army with a .45colt conversion cylinder. My bid was $880.00, and was outbid at the last moment. I was quite disappointed that I didn't get the gun. Two days later, I ordered a 5 1/2" Remington from Cabelas.

(You never know what is good for you)

I am sooooo glad I didn't win that bid.....I couldn't be happier with my new Pietta. I am certain that I would not have any more enjoyment out of the ROA.(at 1/4 the $$)

If the concern is money then the deals at Cabelas are unbeatable. The Pietta quality is very good. I wouldn't mind if the finish were a little bit better but for the price good enough. If I didn't have a care in the world about money and only had the choice of Pietta or Uberti I'd go for the Uberti everytime. The ROAs are in a class of their own. The fit/finish and the quality of the clockworks of an ROA make a Pietta or Uberti seem like a toy.

Remember what they say: "Italian BP revolver clones make gunsmiths of all of us".

Remember what they say: "Italian BP revolver clones make gunsmiths of all of us".

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Who says that?

junkman_01 said:

Who says that?

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I actually agree with Clembert on this Junkman.

If you have enough of them or shoot them a lot then it is actually true. You probably do it yourself and have gotten so used to it you don't really consider it gunsmithing anymore.

Oh, and I agree with you about the Piettas at Cabelas. $199 for a '51, '60 or a Remington pattern pistol is nothing to "sniff at." I wish people would spend the extra $49 and get a steel framed pistol from Cabelas, they will be happier in the long run, and never have to make apology for having a brass framed pistol.

I tend to prefer Ubertis for the finish and grip shape on the Colt's pattern pistols, but Piettas will get the job done. The Pietta actually has a more faithful Remington grip and grip screw location.

Regards,
Mako

As you can see, the consensus is pretty much that when it all shakes out, either will give you years of enjoyment.

It doesn't matter who makes it, there are going to be those times when you just can't get one that wasn't made on Friday afternoon. To combat that little problem, the best thing that you CAN do is buy from Cabela's. Their return policy is beyond compare in my book.

+1 with ClemBert's statement. If you don't know how to completely strip a Colt's Pattern revolver down to the frame now, you will shortly. Samuel Colt designed these things with the intent that they might have to be taken apart by somebody other than a gunsmith. I wish the makers of modern guns would have kept that in mind.

makos_goods said:

I actually agree with Clembert on this Junkman.

If you have enough of them or shoot them a lot then it is actually true. You probably do it yourself and have gotten so used to it you don't really consider it gunsmithing anymore.

Oh, and I agree with you about the Piettas at Cabelas. $199 for a '51, '60 or a Remington pattern pistol is nothing to "sniff at." I wish people would spend the extra $49 and get a steel framed pistol from Cabelas, they will be happier in the long run, and never have to make apology for having a brass framed pistol.

I tend to prefer Ubertis for the finish and grip shape on the Colt's pattern pistols, but Piettas will get the job done. The Pietta actually has a more faithful Remington grip and grip screw location.

Regards,
Mako

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I didn't say it wasn't true, I just wanted to know WHO says that.

ClemBert said:

Remember what they say: "Italian BP revolver clones make gunsmiths of all of us".

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Who says it? THEY

Noz said:

Piettas. I've sold all of my Ubertis.

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Ubertis. I've sold all my Piettas.

But Noz and I agree on most other things.

I prefer the old 1960s/70s Ubertis, from Navy Arms and Lyman, to the new Ubertis. I have purchased several new ones and have sold them all.

I prefer the old 1960s/70s Ubertis, from Navy Arms and Lyman, to the new Ubertis. I have purchased several new ones and have sold them all.

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I also like the old Ubertis imported by Lyman and Navy Arms. You get Uberti quality at bargain prices. For my purposes, used is fine. My revs are for shooting, not posing in a display box while in pristine condition. After all, how many of us are not going to polish the internals and take care of any minor issues whether the gun be new or used?

The newer Uberti Remingtons do have forged frames verses Pietta having cast frames.
That factor alone may be reason enough for some folks to prefer them.

Ubertis. I'm with J-Bar on this one.

The FedEx folks just delivered a Traditions Pietta 1860 to me, the antiqued model, so let me point out the atrocious QC method at Pietta. Good thing I learned a few gunsmithing tricks from you folks on these forums.

Pic 1: See the teeth on the frame? What's the deal with that?



Pic 2: Damage to the cylinder stops. Luckily, I saw this before cocking the gun.



Pic 3: Unmodified bolt, undoubtedly thicker than cylinder stops.



Pic 4: Lousy finish on the loading lever.

That's too bad. I hope that you send it back.
Just because Traditions has it on sale doesn't mean that they should be able to sell it as first quality.
Rhetorical question maybe but how can you trust getting a better replacement from them even if you did want another one? That level of quality shouldn't sit right with anybody.
Don't hesitate to call Traditions to talk with someone personally about it.
Please let us know how it ends up getting resolved.

OUCH!! Any I snivel about the lousy quality control of Uberti cartridge guns? My last three Uberti's looked nice, even if the DIDN'T work.

Personally hongrn, I'd box that baby back up and make a phone call. Doing a little clean up is one thing, but I don't think I'd want to try to fix that frame given what they charge for a supposedly finished gun.

I'm sending it back, but you're right about the replacement potentially not being any better than this one. As somebody said, it's like a box of chocolates.

The newer Uberti Remingtons do have forged frames verses Pietta having cast frames.

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I have owned two of the forged frame Remingtons. The lines are very crisp. And the actions are smooth. That's the good news. The bad news is, each gun had a hammer that wiggled noticeably in the slot and was misaligned, so that it struck one side of the slot and chewed up the steel there. I know that not all of them are like this, but it turned me off to them.

Very few have complained about the same problem with their new Pietta 1858's.
I had an older used one that did that, but I wouldn't be happy about buying a new one that battered the frame that way.

Typical Pietta. This has been my observation on the Colt open tops. I haven't seen a lot of them but I've seen a few. Crap shoot. How this crap get beyond quality control is beyond me. May as well have been made in China when you see those problems.

I think the Pietta 1858s are, in general, are an exception to most of the quality complaints. I still don't see the Pietta finishes as having the same fineness as the Uberti revolvers. Specifically, I'm talking about the coarseness of exterior metal surfaces.

There must be quite a few Americans that readily accept the poor quality control otherwise I just don't see how Pietta or even Uberti would continue to let the lemons out the door.

I posted these pics in another thread concerning an Pietta made 1858 shorty I bought a year ago. I sent it back and got a nice replacement. It was a shame to see that problem with the lug on that first one as the rest of the revolver was flawless.







It's still hard to go wrong with a Cabelas sold Pietta revolver. If there's a problem with it the shipping is picked up by Cabelas both directions. Nothing really to lose but a little time.