Dragoon vs. 1858 New Model Army

[rodwha]

I have a Pietta 1858 on the way. I'd have preferred an Uberti as I have read that they are slightly better than the Pietta's of newer make, don't have the writing all over them, and have a smaller, more accurate grip frame. But with Christmas there's the expense, and with Cabela's great prices, it's on the way. I'll likely get another one eventually along with a few extra cylinders, and that certainly pay for itself with the savings.

I don't like the writing all over my ROA either, but I generally don't notice it much, except while cleaning it. I would like to have it removed, and I may very well do so with this Pietta as I'll be taking it to a smith to have the chambers opened up to .450-.453". But first I need to see how well everything functions, such as the safety notches.

 

[Panzerschwein]

I feel you guys on Ruger's silly barrel warning. I still gladly take that versus Smith and Wesson's internal lock. That's why I own a Ruger GP-100 vs. a Smith 686 right now. Just got done shooting and cleaning my Ruger, what a fantastic revolver.

Getting back on the subject, I think I'll be purchasing an Uberti 1858 New Model Army in the future. X-mas time is trying on the wallet, as are other circumstances I'm embroiled in, but next check from Uncle Sam will put a Remington in my hands LOL, that rhymed!

 

[rodwha]

I'm curious if you are eyeing the short or long barreled version?

 

[EljaySL]

The trick is that when you take one out of the safe, shoot it a bunch of times to dirty it up so you can't see the writing so much. ;-)

 

[Panzerschwein]

Rodwha, I will be going with the long barreled 8" version, blued.

 

[YumaKid]

My eyesight must be getting worse and worse on a logrythmic scale. As I mentioned in another thread; I simply can't see all the rollmarks and stamps on the barrels of either of my (Pietta) Remington NMA's when acquiring a good sight picture! And it's blatantly obvious (to me, at least) that the position and grouping of holes in a paper target are more indicative of the quality and usefulness of a firearm -even a Pietta- than what you read when you look at the side of a barrel while you're obviously not looking for a good sight-picture down the top.

But, to each their own..... I'm not gonna paraphrase The Book of Keith, Jordan or Cooper, just to explain my reasoning for my beliefs in this forum; for I don't want A&E to "Phil Robertson" me!

(This post brought to you by ZiCam, NyQuil and Jack Daniel; and I hope to heck that I've killed this winter head-cold by the date representing Jesus' birth next week!)

 

[Panzerschwein]

YumaKid, Jack Daniels did bless the world with a great medicine.

 

[rockdc]

Thanks Clembert; now that I've seen it, that charcoal 1858 (but in 5 1/2") is the one (next one on my list, that is!)

I Do what I did...getcha a charcoal blue finished 1858 from Cimarron.

p.s. I like the finish and fit of the Uberti(s) better than the Pietta(s) I own.

rockdc

 

[tpelle]

I have several Colt clones as well as the Remington. While the Colt is an older design and possibly not ultimately as strong as the Remington, the Colt is plenty strong for its use.

An advantage to the Colt is that, with the easily-removable barrel, the Colt is much easier to clean. After shooting my Colt clones I just remove the barrel and cylinder and drop them in a pan of water. Then I wipe off the frame and go at any really dirty areas with a toothbrush soaked in the same pan of water. I then put a patch on a cleaning rod, and holding the barrel in my hand so that the muzzle is still immersed in the water, I run the patched rod up and down through the bore to "pump" water through the bore. I do the same thing to the cylinder after removing the nipples.

I find that the frame and lockwork doesn't get sufficiently dirty to warrant a detail-strip.

However the Remington, with its barrel fixed to the frame, requires one to remove the wooden grips and the action parts in order to immerse the frame in water to swab out the bore. That's a lot of extra work.

Another advantage to the Colt is that, if you get a "low order detonation" of the powder - perhaps the powder is fouled with oil or something - the ball can be pushed partially out of the cylinder and into the forcing cone. On a Colt it's not too big of a deal - you just pop the barrel off. On a Remington you'd have to put a rod down the bore and pound the ball back into the cylinder to clear the barrel.

I like 'em all (except for the brassers, JMHO), but I like the Colts more.

 

[rodwha]

An advantage I see with the Colt models is that various barrels can be bought and easily swapped for it's intended purpose. There are short barrels for pocket duty, standard barrels for handgun hunting, and carbine barrels if one were to want a short rifle with the stock attached (assuming you have a model that will accept it). I'm only aware of the carbine barrels available for the Pietta models though.

 

[avatarshots]

I'm a newbie and I got a Uberti Dragoon 1st model, and a Pietta 1873 Cattleman, which is the CB version. I like both. Took both to Burro Canyon last week and today and as soon as people heard the bark of the Dragoon, they were coming over to see what I was shooting
The 1873 was a nice conversation piece as well since this was never a historical BP shooter, but a cartridge shooter.
Both handled well to me. I was getting pretty good groups at 25 yards with the Dragoon shooting 1 handed. (40gr loads with ball)
The REAL surprise though was the handling of the 1873! Great shooter! Not a single cap caught in the cylinder and it was a pleasure to shoot with 30gr loads.