Chiappa Firearms (any history or reviews?)

[Franco]

I currently have a Marlin 1895 Cowboy in 45-70. Love the gun but it's just too long and heavy for heavy wooded areas around PA. I'm considering getting another Marlin but with an 18.5" barrel in 45-70 but I ran across some very nice looking other carbines made by Chiappa. The problem is that I know absolutely nothing about the gun, their quality, comparisons (quality, accuracy, customer support) with Marlin. Anyone have any knowledge? Thanks.

 

[wally]

I'm so unhappy with my Chiappa 1911-22 and their customer service it'd be a real tough sell to get me to buy anything from them ever again.

Everybody lets bad guns slip out, but when then make you pay to send it back (typically $50-60 for a handgun ) and then they fail to fix it, I don't see how things could be worse. I had to pay to send back my EAA whose slide had cracked, which really PO'd me, but at least they did quickly fix it.

 

[DPris]

I've had four of their long guns here.
The first was the Legacy Sports import Bounty Hunter Mare's Leg, which is still here. Very nicely done.

The second was a Legacy 16-inch '92 large loop carbine, not quite as nicely finished, but still well built.

The third was a Legacy '87 lever-action shotgun, extremely nice.

The fourth is still waiting for me to get to it, here in the office, a very nice .45-70 '86 levergun.

The Chiappa/Armi Sport group in Italy builds these in a modern plant and uses good materials. Some minor engineering changes are done from the originals. I've emailed back & forth with them and get the sense that they're serious (despite the little .22) about putting out a good product.

The US Chiappa group I've only dealt with briefly, and not regarding any customer service issues. Can't speak to that, but the quality of the Italian long guns has generally impressed me.

They're also imported by Cimarron and Taylors, among others.

Denis

 

[Franco]

Thanks for the info. I would think that for the price (significantly higher than Marlin) that you would get something significantly better than Marlin. If not, then I'll stick with a tried and true Marlin 1895 or similar.

 

[onnie]

Chippa no more for me!

Ive been trying to talk to someone from Chiappa for 2 weeks and can not get a hold of a single person, bought a 1911-22 on the 31st of Jan and 30 minutes later it proved to be defective with the round jamming in the chamber. The gun shop was nice enough to send it back for me, with hassles from Chiappa. So far they are claiming I damaged the pistol by dry firing it, I shot it 4 times each time it jammed.

 

[DPris]

Keep in mind that Chiappa Italy is not the same company as Chiappa USA.
Denis

 

[Franco]

Thanks all. I decided to just get another Marlin (1895XLR in 45-70). The barrel is a little shorter than my cowboy version and it's just a little more maneuverable in the woods. Accurate as heck too. Thanks for the info.

 

[wally]

Keep in mind that Chiappa Italy is not the same company as Chiappa USA.

Yeah, but Chiappa USA is who you have to deal with in the USA. Just like Tanfoglio is not EAA but EAA is who you have to deal with if you buy one.

 

[DPris]

Wally,
My comments were made to address the original questions about product quality, and dealt with that since I have personal experience with several samples.
As I mentioned, the two companies (Chiappa Italy & Chiappa US) are different organizations.

Just pointing out that both companies should not be condemned if there may be problems with CS in the US.
Denis