Spiller and Burr opinions?

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Panzerschwein

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Hello everyone :)

Black powder revolver season is right around the corner, and I'm looking to add a new one to my collection. I already have a Cimarron 1851 Navy that I love, but one revolver has recently caught my eye.

That would be the Pietta made Spiller and Burr:

3dd553ff0b756d21ef5cbe07ae2e491b.jpg

If you aren't familiar with the history of this revolver, these were Confederate made guns that originally were to be made at about 15,000 pieces, but only 1200 or so ever got out the door. They apparently had a tough time making them due to shortage of materials and skilled labor. I have a book all about the gun coming in the mail, even if I don't end up buying one it should make for good reading.

The gun is a brass frame design, but supposedly is pretty strong and being a .36 also, they seem to hold up well. I really like the looks of them but haven't been able to find much feedback. Does anyone out there own one of these Pietta replicas? If so, how does it shoot? I am itching for one but don't want to buy it unless they are good guns.

Thanks guys!
 
Have you seen the video Mike Beliveau made on it?

I also really like it, though I've been hesitant to buy a brass framed gun. But I've been told they'll hold up just as well as a steel framed gun would as it only holds about 20 grns of powder with a ball.
 
I don't own an S&B, but I have inspected it closely. I think the frame of the S&B is pretty beefy as compared to the 1858 Brasser and given that it is .36, I "speculate" fun shooting could be accomplished all day long with 20 gr powder loads without the cylinder hammering the recoil shield and damaging the frame.
 
Have you seen the video Mike Beliveau made on it?

I also really like it, though I've been hesitant to buy a brass framed gun. But I've been told they'll hold up just as well as a steel framed gun would as it only holds about 20 grns of powder with a ball.
Yes I've seen it, looks good!

I was just wanting to see how others felt about it first before I took the plunge.
 
I have one that I bought back in the 1990s. It is a Pietta and was made before the company put the safety notches on the cylinder edge like the Remington model. That's OK; IIRC some of the original S&Bs also lacked the notches.
The S&B is itself a copy of the Whitney Navy revolver, a .36 cal. that was made out of iron (IIRC) and the frame in fron of the cylinder does not come so close to the front of the cylinder, leaving the rear of the barrel exposed. When the S&B was made they beefed up the frame there to make up for the lack of strength the brass had.
Palmetto makes a copy of the Whitney Navy, which is a nice revolver, except that Palmetto is (was?) not exactly a top-notch maker. The grip wood looks like it had the measles and the over-all workmanship, while safe and workable, is not as nice as Pietta or Uberti. Dixie Gun Works sold them .... don't even know if they're still made though.
Not really worth the $$$ if you want to know.
But I think the Pietta S&B is a nice gun for a good price.
 
I have a Pietta, made a couple of years ago. It was kind of a giant pain to get - Cabelas had it on sale and I had one on backorder for over a year with nobody else having them in stock either. Finally Dixie got them in and I ordered one from them and cancelled the Cabelas order. Good thing too since Cabelas deleted the item entirely a couple of weeks later. I don't think I've seen them anywhere other than Dixie since then.

Anyway, I like it. It's easy to use with a cylinder removal system where you just kind of turn this knob a half turn and pull. It does seem very robust. I run it with 17gr 777 powder and it's accurate BUT it does hit quite high at closer distances, even by cap and ball standards. Not a big deal.

It's also a very pretty gun, for what that's worth. I'm not generally a huge fan of the brass gun but this one works.
 
The S&B is modeled after the 2nd Model Whitney revolver. Palmetto made replicas are a good representation of the originals and are of good quality. I've had a few Palmetto made replicas in the past - and have two Whitneys now - and found them to be as good as replicas by other makers at the same time.


Whitney0378801_zps50e271b6.jpg
 
I love my S&B. It shoots very well and I've never had a problem with it. Those who insist on trying to shoot conicals may have a problem, since there just isn't much room under the ram. With the RBs it was designed to shoot it's a tack driver(well ok maybe a large nail)
 
I like to make my conicals the length of or shorter than a ball. I wonder how it would work if I went that route, though it would still be taller than a ball sitting in the chamber as a ball will fit nearly half way before it rests whereas a conical will only sit maybe 0.05" inside unless the first driving band is designed to 0.001" under chamber diameter.

I'm thinking 85-100 grns with an OAL of no more than 0.350" with a wide meplat (.275-.315").
 
Thanks guys, the ol' tax return should be showing up anytime now. When I get it, I think I'll pounce on the Spiller & Burr. :cool:
 
Palmetto may have also made Spiller & Burr replicas; mine has no manufacturer's mark on the frame, but the cylinder is clearly marked with the Palmetto logo. The barrel is marked Richland Arms and both it and the grip frame are stamped with the number 46; on the other hand, the cylinder has the number 0137 in front of the Palmetto logo, so the cylinder (and thus the Palmetto mark) may have nothing to do with the gun itself. The cylinder does have the Italian proof marks, while the barrel has "Made in Italy" and "Cal.36 Black Powder Only" but no proof marks.
0115.jpg
Oh, yes - it's a very nice, well made gun, not at all what one would expect from Palmetto's reputation.
 
45 Dragoon, do you buy chance "do your thing" on Spiller and Burrs? If so don't be surprised if one gets headed your way soon. :)
 
The S&B is modeled after the 2nd Model Whitney revolver. Palmetto made replicas are a good representation of the originals and are of good quality. I've had a few Palmetto made replicas in the past - and have two Whitneys now - and found them to be as good as replicas by other makers at the same time.


Whitney0378801_zps50e271b6.jpg

Fingers, is THAT your Palmetto Whitney??
That has much nicer grips than mine!!
Did you strip the bluing -- or is it stainless steel? Mine is blued.
Actually the quality of my gun is not terrible .... just not as nice as most of my Pietta & Ubertis. But as I said the wood has the pox.
 
I'm curious how people who own several makes would compare the S&B to say a '51 or '62 Colt, or a Remington navy caliber.

If you could have just one .36 cal revolver which would you choose and why?
 
Hmm. In .36 I have a 1851, Paterson, an 1862 Pocket Police, and the Spiller & Burr. Never really saw the point of a .36 Remington.

I think it's a matter of personal preference. The Colts have that sleek look and some people feel like their balance is superior. I think the balance on the S&B is fine and I like the removable aspect of the cylinder. Never had any issues with cap jams and the like. It's probably the .36 I shoot the most... but I like all of them.
 
Hello everyone :)

Black powder revolver season is right around the corner, and I'm looking to add a new one to my collection. I already have a Cimarron 1851 Navy that I love, but one revolver has recently caught my eye.

That would be the Pietta made Spiller and Burr:

3dd553ff0b756d21ef5cbe07ae2e491b.jpg

If you aren't familiar with the history of this revolver, these were Confederate made guns that originally were to be made at about 15,000 pieces, but only 1200 or so ever got out the door. They apparently had a tough time making them due to shortage of materials and skilled labor. I have a book all about the gun coming in the mail, even if I don't end up buying one it should make for good reading.

The gun is a brass frame design, but supposedly is pretty strong and being a .36 also, they seem to hold up well. I really like the looks of them but haven't been able to find much feedback. Does anyone out there own one of these Pietta replicas? If so, how does it shoot? I am itching for one but don't want to buy it unless they are good guns.

Thanks guys!
nice looking gun.... :)
 
If you want one I'd just get it. There have been long periods (all of 2013) where you couldn't buy a new one anywhere.
 
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