Black Powder Revolver Manufactures

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MrTuffPaws

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I've been considering getting into some black powder shooting with some revolvers. My eye has been settling on the 1858 Remington over and over again. An original piece is out of the question due to funding. A repo will be the way to go.

The trouble being that I don't know much about the quality of the various manufactures. The ones that I can find that I have access to are Traditions, Uberti, and Pietta. Any one to avoid?
 
revolvers

when i was in your position,i found the 1851 Confederate Navy by Pietta on Cabelas. It was the best priced and is solidly made. Very nice wood,tight cylinder,shiny brass/blue, and that was the least expensive model.
I think the 1858 Remington would be a better way to go,theyre a little stronger with the topstrap i think.
Whatever kind you get,
MAKE SURE YOU GET ONE WITH A STEEL FRAME instead of a brass frame. They are stronger and last longer and can handle heavier loads. They will cost a little more though. check Cabelas.com.i think now theyre giving away starter kits with new revolvers. Use .454 balls in the Pietta models. in bp revolvers,wads are to prevent chainfires from sparks getting in from the front,not for ballistic reasons. Id rather put a little lube seal over the ball than buy wads.saves money.
 
Chainfires are caused by hot gasses, not sparks.

And 'starter kits' are notoriously poor values.
 
the starter kit comes with the revolvers at the same price as just a revolver used to be at Cabelas online. Whether or not thats a poor value is up to the person buying the revolver i would think. "Hey buddy,its 179 at Cabelas with a starter kit, so go buy it at Basspro for 179 without one,because theyre notoriously bad values!"

And i beg to differ about the chainfires, there was a whole topic about it in a blackpowder forum being fire from the discharching cylinder/cap getting into another cylinder and causing it to fire. And accordingly,most chainfires happen at the nipple end. I guess as far as semantics goes,i should have said "fire" instead of "spark".

funny
 
Hi MrTuffPaws,

The 1858 Remington is a great choice. I have had one since 1982 and it still performs perfectly. It's an Armi San Paolo, which has been out of business for quite a few years now. And as realitycheck pointed out, the steel frames are stronger than the brass ones.

I think there are only three manufacturers of black powder revolvers: Uberti, Pietta and Armi San Marco. Quality control for all three manufacturers is spotty. But with a little effort, the QC/QA problems can be corrected. If it were me, I'd simply purchase the least expensive of the three in a steel frame. And who knows, you may get a perfect gun right out of the box, many people do. If you don’t, there’s plenty of help on this forum and others, so have no fear of getting a gun that’s a bit “off”.

Good luck,

Jason
 
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So currently only Uberti and Pietta are making reproduction revolvers. Just wishing here but wouldn't it be nice if Ruger and,or Colt got back into production? While I'm wishing maybe they could not only make expensive quality repros but would also offer an affordable line comparable to the Italians.
Dream on old man dream on.
 
If your looking for quality over price, I would consider a Pedersoli...

Otherwise, I like Pietta and definitely steel over brass.
 
The repro revolver makers in order of desirability:

Tier 1: Hege Army Match Maximum, Feinwerkbau History #2 (Rogers & Spencer), Baumkircher Remington

Tier 2: Pedersoli, Pietta Shooter's Model

Tier 3: Everything else.
 
Pancho said:
Whew! I just checked the cost of a Pedersoli Remington repro. $880! ON SALE!
Click to expand...
Yep...and the Pietta shooters model will be about $800 on sale. Both are worthy of consideration if you want a quality shooter.

As previously mentioned, the Hege and Feinwerkbau are first choice, but at $1700+ are non starters for most of us :(
 
If you can find a stianless in your price range buy it. They are the strongest and easyest to clean. Full steel are second chioce and brass frames are last.
 
I love my Signature Series Colt 1860 Army and its very accurate. Its the only one I shoot, I have two other Signature Series Colt's and a 2nd generation 'F' series 51 Navy that just sit in glass cases. For someone just getting into the black powder revolvers, I would get a Remington. They're a lot easier to get on POI and overall easier to deal with. The Colts are tricky and need a lot of patience and sometimes some good ole Kentucky windage, to shoot as good as the Remingtons.
But regardless of what you buy, the feeling you get when you start zeroing a black powder revolver and start blasting stuff cannot be described.

And some of these revolvers are sold on line at the auction sites, look there also for a good used one.

Good luck to you whatever you buy.
 
Ive only been shooting my C&B about 2 weeks and i already like the Remington clones over the Colt.

2 things that i like better, its easier to load with the cylinder in the gun then the colt and if you need to remove the cylinder its easier to get it out.

The front frame on the colt is a bit fat on mine and i have a hard time loading it. Also the wedge needs a hammer to pound it out mine fits so tight.
 
Ive only been shooting my C&B about 2 weeks and i already like the Remington clones over the Colt.
Click to expand...

I definitely think the Remington clones are easier to deal with. Some of my Colts have had problems with too soft mainsprings = soft strikes, plus one had a wedge that took tremendous effort to remove the first time.

But once you get them running... the first time my 1860 really ran properly it shot a smaller group than my 1858 and it has ever since. I think it's a balance/pointability thing - it's just easier to shoot.

So my advice is to enjoy the 1858 and know you got a great starter gun. But borrow a Colt sometime or just pick one up next time Cabelas has a great sale (day after Thanksgiving) and see for yourself. Just bring the 1858 to the range too in case the 1860 doesn't actually work so you'll have something to shoot...
 
MrTuffPaws if you are drawn to a Remington 1858 You should go for it, I was drawn to a Colt 1851 so I bought a Uberti but now I have 1851's made by a lot of different makers along with 1849's, 1860's,an 1862 a few 1873's etc. etc..
If it is your first BP revolver it may not be your last.
 
Thanks for all the input. Sounds like I can easily get buy with what I can find locally. Just waiting now to find a steel frame model. The only ones I have ran into here are brass framed. Just net to be pateint is all.
 
Are you sure you can't buy on-line? Bunch of good stuff on auctionarms and gunbroker (don't like gunbroker but they always do have a bunch of revolvers for sale nearly 8 pages).
 
After yesterdays range session with my Ruger Old Army I am beginning to wonder why I put up with the the other repros. Ten full cylinder loads, 60 shots
no hang ups no cylinder dragging just smooth hammer action, crisp trigger pull and a fully adjustable rear sight, just like the GP100.

Having said that I still like the Walker and 1860 Colt. Guess these things are like women, all are nice just some are nicer.
 
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