Brand new Uberti 1861 observations

[Tomahawk674]

My 14 year old Uberti 1861 navy had a lot of wear and I just ordered a new one imported by Cimarron.

The main differences I can spot at a first glance:

The color case on the frame is darker, nicer and more defined than the old gun.
- The grip fitting is not as nice as my old gun; the wood is oversized and you can feel it all along the backstrap. The old gun was flush

Everything else seems the same, the arbor is still short and I'm currently sizing some washers to fix it before shooting it this weekend.

PS: I found that my old barrel had gained slop by the wedge slot stretching towards the bacl; it had been shot thousands of times but no heavy loads and no conicals.

 

[1KPerDay]

Thanks for the report. Sucks about the grip.

 

[Jackrabbit1957]

The old one can be resurrected, installing a wedge bearing will most likely fix that issue plus a guy might double check that arbor depth is where it should be.

 

[Tomahawk674]

I'm sure the old one can be resurrected, but I've already spent way too much time one it. I'm going to devote my time to getting the new one right.

I'm thinking about having the trigger guard and backstrap nickle plated so it looks like the silver plated on original civilian guns.

 

[AlexanderA]

The grip fitting is not as nice as my old gun; the wood is oversized and you can feel it all along the backstrap.

Better to be oversized than undersized. The oversized wood can be carefully trimmed and sanded to be flush with the metal. Then you would have to refinish the wood.

 

[ClemBert]

It's kind of a bummer to have to fit the grips on a brand new "Cimarron" as I expect a little bit better out of them. I know some folks say, they are all the same Uberti revolvers just put in different boxes but Cimarron has stated that their products are "upgraded" to their standards. Mostly the internal they are talking about but you'd think the QC would be better overall. The few Cimarron's that I have I would say they were VERY nicely finished out.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

Now I heard, and have no idea if it is true, that Cimarron only takes them out of the box, takes a look at them, and work the action a few times. Whereas some importers don't even look inside the box. I've "heard" of enough Cimarrons with problems that it "could" be true. I'm not sure if that's much of an upgrade.

 

[hawg]

It's kind of a bummer to have to fit the grips on a brand new "Cimarron" as I expect a little bit better out of them. I know some folks say, they are all the same Uberti revolvers just put in different boxes but Cimarron has stated that their products are "upgraded" to their standards. Mostly the internal they are talking about but you'd think the QC would be better overall. The few Cimarron's that I have I would say they were VERY nicely finished out.

The manufacturing process is the same between Cimarron and the run of the mill. Some say Cimarron has a rep there and cherry picks but if they do it's before the markings go on. Cimarrons have their name roll stamped on the barrels and the Italian markings are hidden. Or at least they used to be.

 

[CraigC]

The grips are sanded to the frame. The wood probably moved a little, they are usually perfectly fitted. If they are slightly proud, consider yourself lucky it's not a Ruger.

Cimarron doesn't do anything to them. That's a myth borne out of the 1980's. 40yrs ago they were paying $30 more per gun for better fit & finish. Today, they are all the same. I've got guns from every importer there is and the only way to tell a difference is to read the markings on the barrel.

 

[Jackrabbit1957]

And they still don't fix the short arbor problems.

 

[hawg]

And they still don't fix the short arbor problems.

Uberti doesn't see it as a problem.

 

[Jackrabbit1957]

That's a fact, they think it's for adjustment of the barrel to cylinder gap, meanwhile the pistol tries to wreck itself especially the big horse pistols.

 

[Appalachiannative]

Man this whole thing makes me glad I went with Pietta

 

[hawg]

Man this whole thing makes me glad I went with Pietta

It's really not a big deal to fix.

 

[ClemBert]

Much harder to remove the billboard on a Pietta.

 

[Jackrabbit1957]

The arbor fix is the easy part, the fun comes in from getting the rest of it running like it should.

 

[Tomahawk674]

Here’s an update on the gun:


I found the wedge to be extremely loose on this new gun. Only way to have it tight was to take the retaining screw out and drive the wedge completely through until it bottomed out. That was disappointing. I went ahead and JB welded some washers and ground it down to have the arbor bottom out and give me a tight cylinder hap. I had a new non-Uberiti wedge that I think is for actual colts and put that in the gun. It fits a lot better than what the gun came with. I also fitted a new hand because I like having the bolt drop at the same time as the hammer goes into full cock. The hand that came with the gun would let the hammer fully cock, then the cylinder would lock later. After all these tweaks it seems pretty nice. I

 

[hawg]

Here’s an update on the gun:


I found the wedge to be extremely loose on this new gun. Only way to have it tight was to take the retaining screw out and drive the wedge completely through until it bottomed out. That was disappointing. I went ahead and JB welded some washers and ground it down to have the arbor bottom out and give me a tight cylinder hap. I had a new non-Uberiti wedge that I think is for actual colts and put that in the gun. It fits a lot better than what the gun came with. I also fitted a new hand because I like having the bolt drop at the same time as the hammer goes into full cock. The hand that came with the gun would let the hammer fully cock, then the cylinder would lock later. After all these tweaks it seems pretty nice. I

Ideally the bolt should drop at least a full bolt width before the notch. Yours with the bolt dropping directly into the notch may work fine now but get a little wear on it and the bolt will peen the notch.

 

[Tomahawk674]

I did not make the bolt drop late. I am talking about the cylinder locking once the bolt has already dropped. With a short hand, the bolt drops, then the hammer goes into full cock, and you have to pull the hammer a little further back to give the cylinder that last degree of rotation that makes the cylinder lock.


I like having the cylinder lock at the same time the hammer engages the full cock position. So if I cock it in slow me I get 3 clicks:


- Half cock

- Bolt drops in the lead

- Hammer goes into full cock at the same time the cylinder locks up.

With the hand as it came, if you cocked it slowly, you could hear 4 clicks. You have to keep pulling the hammer back after the hammer is at full cock so you can finish rotating the cylinder and causing it to lock. Hope that made sense.

 

[hawg]

Gotcha. I thought you were saying the bolt didn't drop until the hammer went to full cock. Some people do set them up that way.

 

[Jackrabbit1957]

That's the way it should lock up. Bolt should be dropped before the hammer reaches full cock position. I set em up so the bolt drops at least the width of the bolt head before the locking notch. This helps prevent throw by as well. Everything should be locked up at full cock with no further travel to get it locked up. When I get it timed right I install an action stop to keep it from being over traveled and reduce the wear and tear on the internal pieces.