Pietta 1858 - 5.5" or 8" and why?

I have two 5.5 barreled guns a Pietta in blue and a Uberti in SS, also a Pietta in 8 inch there 5.5 just plain feel better in the hand, they balance very nice. But all shoot well.

I like the 5.5" myself. It carries better, it points better, and it shoots very well. Mine's a Pietta. I don't have an 8". My 7.5" ROA fits that bill just fine. The Remmy is sweet, though, light and handy.

I guess I have the best of both worlds with my 6 1/2 inch .

Well the Five and a half's are bit harder to find on the used market since the Eight's have been more common for a lot of years. If you ever try to sell it you might get a small premium on a 5.5 over and eight incher. Also if you ever find an awesome deal that you just cant refuse picking up, it will probably be an 8". Then you will have both.

I just bought both and I like them both. I haven't had time to shoot either. The 8" feels more substantial to me. If I had to choose ONE I'd probably go with the original length.

8 inch.

All of my guns are long. After shooting a 4 1/2lb Walker at 16 1/2 inches in length. Shooting that small 8 inch 1858 is nothing. As for balance its fine for me. However its up to you. if you are a shooter that has all 5 inch barrels or shorter then i give you an 1851 with a 7 1/2 inch barrel your going to think its the longest heaviest gun you ever shot. Probably would not let you shoot the WALKER. However if you are a shooter like me that shoots long Barrels then i wouldnt touch a 5inch barrel. Would probably feel really funny to me. So i ask you do you shoot long barrel or short barrel. I am sure you will find your answer.

No one can tell you the longer is better than the shorter or the shorter is better than the longer.
It all depends on what you shoot and how your shooting habits are. Only then will you be able to tell us which gun you shoot.

The 8 inch for authenticity, and the 5.5 inch for pure joy of carry, balance, pointability, and overall general feeling of happiness and contentment.

(I like the 5.5inch better)

I have both.

<5.5 in is best imho>

I bought the 5-1/2" while Cabelas had them for the cool deal price.
I've got several 7-1/2 to 8" in other models (fixed sight ROA, 1851 Navy, Richard Mason 1851) so I'm not partial to long versus short, but, If the '58 was available in a 5-1/2" stainless that is what I'd get next. Since Pietta only manufactures them in the long barrel, that is what I'm going to end up pairing the Remmy replica with. The ROA shares its stall with a 5-1/2" stainless fixed sight, so it's not like I'm convinced that they need to match or anything like that...
You might say that I'm more into the collecting of "differents" rather than assembling a fashion plate. Other than that, the short ones are easier to handle (and look better too) while the long ones get a better pattern on the target (consistantly). And if you are buying second hand, the long ones are all that you'll ever be able to find easily.

I have both "lengths" of Remington NMA; both are Piettas. The 8" (my first BP wheelgun) is crazy accurate, once I figured out to hold the front sight very low. The 5.5 inch Remmie not so much.... it's not anything like MOA, but more "1/2-minute-of-drunk-stoner-thug's-center-of-mass" at 15 yards; which should solve most any problem I could imagine getting myself into. This is with 30 grains of Pyrodex P under a Wonder Wad and .454 round ball.

But scrat is 100% on the money; it really depends on the weight and balance of what you're used to shooting. I was taught on -and do best with- a K-frame S&W with decent .357 Rem Mag loads. Model 19, Model 13 or the stainless counterparts; doesn't really matter as long as the action is tight and smooth. Wife calimed my last REALLY GOOOOOOD Mdl 13; so I went to carrying my 4" barrelled Model 629. It's big and it's heavy, and it can consume a lot of middle-of-the-road .44Mag rounds very quickly for a revolver.

But I'm starting to think that I'd rather carry the 5.5" Remmie.


And DON'T ANYBODY re-start the debate about using BP for a carry gun! If you like your weapon enough to be comfortable using it, and your can operate your weapon well enough, and you aren't in a "1 against 10" situation (WHO does that actually happen to?); a well-tuned 6 shot revolver of substantial caliber is more than you would really need in most cases.
Realistically, I'd much rather have the Mono-Gripped Model 13 and the two Comp III speedloaders stuffed with Hydra Shoks (or better yet, samples from my old and depleting stock of Winchester Black Talon) in a bad situation; but I wouldn't just roll up in a little ball if all I had was the shorty NMA. The 8 incher might throw me off a little......