Pietta 1858 Problem

[gunboat57]

I finally bought a Traditions Pietta Remington .44 Army replica today. I had a chance to look it over in the store and check for function. What I didn't notice until I got it home was that the barrel isn't screwed in all the way. What I mean is the flats on the barrel are not parallel with the flat sides of the frame. Because the barrel is twisted the front sight is about .047 to the right instead of on center. That means my POI is going to be about four and a half inches left at 25 yards unless I correct it.

Suggestions? I haven't fired it yet so I could just go get my money back. Should I remove and refit the barrel myself? I'm guessing it's in pretty tight. Call Traditions and have them tell me that some barrel misalignment is normal?

 

[Duncaninfrance]

I would say take it back. General 'fitting and tuning' is one thing but if the barrel is not right then that's a replacement problem in my book. If there is any need to re-align then let them do it or you will find that there is no comeback at all.
This weapon is 'Not fit for purpose'

 

[sundance44s]

I`d take it back , because its a new gun ...If you try and tighten it your self and it binds against the cylinder , then more problems to fix , and they probally won`t take it back if there is a scratch on it where you tightened it .

 

[O.S.O.K.]

yep

return it and you may consider a Pietta (if it's not a pietta) from Cabelas.

Not sure who makes Tradition's 58's...

ETA - oops, I don't think I was reading very closely.... my Pietta from Cabelas is good with no problems that I can see.

 

[Bad Flynch]

I had a friend that bought a Pietta 1858 and, after some time at home, he discovered the barrel was screwed on crooked. He wrote the importer, asking if they would fix it, and they would not.

I will not buy a Pietta for any reason because of that.

 

[mykeal]

Traditions imports Pietta revolvers

Traditions imports Pietta c&b revolvers. However, they are the retail seller, and the gun is clearly not fit for purpose. Traditions has a good reputation for quality and will very likely take it back and offer you another in it's place. I'd take it. And inspect it thoroughly.

 

[armedandsafe]

My experience with Traditions is that they don't ask many questions. As one of the customer service fellows said to me, they intend to stay in business.

Pops

 

[gunboat57]

I took my new Traditions Pietta Remington .44 Army back to the dealer (Gander Mountain) today. They had another one in the case which I looked over for a possible swap. The barrel on that one was twisted too. The guy behind the counter suggested that maybe they were supposed to be that way. Yeah. Also, the rammer lever wouldn't latch in the stowed position. So I just got a full refund, no hassle, and left.

I guess I learned that I need to be even more careful to examine before buying. I thought I had been pretty thorough but I never would've thought that an octagonal barrel wouldn't be turned up square.

They had a Traditions Pietta 1860 Colt Army there too. It looked pretty nice except that with the hammer fully cocked the cutouts for the nipples were offset from the center probably .040 inch. But the nipples were centered. That's just plain sloppy. I guess I'm a little disappointed.

I'll keep looking cause I really want to get back into cap n ball shooting. How are the Uberti Colts and Remingtons? Are they better quality or is it kinda hit and miss?

 

[DixieTexian]

I got my Pietta 1858 from Gander Mountain and it doesn't have any problems. Maybe they just got a bad batch.

 

[mec]

" I'll keep looking cause I really want to get back into cap n ball shooting. How are the Uberti Colts and Remingtons? Are they better quality or is it kinda hit and miss?"

Not too unusual to find turkies among them. Uberti had a head start in quality control and it seems like Pietta has improved greatly in the last couple of years. The people at these factories are not shooters or gun people. It takes a lot of encouragement from stateside distributors like Texas Jack/Cimarron to get them to deliver a good shooting product. Fortunately, most of the distributors have a very liberal return/replace policy and most of the problems that don't include misalignment of major structures can be corrected at home. I have a bunch of Ubertis and have not had to return any of them. Minor smoothing and modification for good function is all they have needed.

 

[Jim K]

In the last several years, I have examined (not purchased) probably 50 or 60 Pietta revolvers; every one had some problem or problems, some easily fixable, others not. I would not buy one.

I think it possible that they are turning the barrel to achieve windage zero, as Colt used to do.

Jim

 

[Hobie]

Already done...

 

[dstorm1911]

last month I bought a 1860 colt from Calellas while on the road didn't realize untill I got home that the thing is plain junk, everything LOOKED fine but once I got home and test fired it it started developing problems ASAP in the form of timing issues, the cyl. was tight but after 125 rnds its not any longer... pure cr@p, I recently picked up an 1858 Pietta at a Sportsmans warehouse after all the rav reviews about the pietta and I've been kinda wanting to semi retire my 30 year old Lyman (Uberti made version not the Euroarms) 1858 well the pietta 1858 I discovered after getting home has the base pin hole under the barrel off center from the one in the recoil plate by .030" they made it work by champhering the base pin, it also has a timing issue......... you can't return any firearms Smokeless or BP to sportsmans for any reason, big sign as ya walk in etc...

I simply will NOT ever buy another Pietta piece of cr@p regardless of price or "new inovations" like progressive rifling etc... UBERTI is your absolute only choice when it comes to C&B revolvers that 30+ year old lyman has had over 20k balls fired through it with some fairly hot loads and its still tight and dead on accurate my two new Pietta C&Bs........ junk even my old (1971) Euroarms 1858 is ten miles ahead of these Pietta when it comes to quality, and its rougher than my Lyman/Uberti but it always shoots and is in time.......

 

[Ed Gallop]

I bought a Pietta 1860 Colt from Cabellas and when I received it in the mail it not only had scratches around the pin it was very heavily soaked in oil, so much that the stock was blackened and two toned. It also looked like it had been fired with residue in the hammer slot. I complained and they sent another overnight, even before the UPS picked up the first one. It was as perfect as could be expected.

They will try to pass off bad stuff but they were very cooperative. They have slid down on my list of possible sources of not only firearms but fly fishing as well. Had a similar problem with a bad rod they sent several years ago but were bery nice about the speedy return. Ed.

 

[Joe the Redneck]

OK, I own the same gun (plus a 64) from Cabelas.

Quality on these things ain't that great, but remeber, they are cheap. You don't have too much invested in it.

Also, it may not be as big a problem as it appears. The sight on these weaons are, well, a happy bit of wishfull thinking thinking. Remember, these we designed to be used on horseback. Ride up, shoot the enemy, ride off. Very much a "point shooting" type of affair.

Also, many older guns with fixed sights shoot no where near point of aim. I have some H&As and Iver Johnsons that give new meaning to the words "Kentucky Windage."

So I think you can still enjoy your pistol. Learn where it shoots. Consider it a "training piece." If you enjoy the BP experience, maybe get something a little nicer.

Best Wishes
Joe

 

[mec]

Up until a couple of years ago, the sort of problems described above were the expectation with Pietta revolvers. Until VTI came along, domestic availabity of replacement parts was unreliable if present at all and the companies response to back-orders from American distributors was lackadaisical at best. Recently, many owners have expressed greater satisfaction with them. The company claims to have installed cnc machinery and it did seem that quality improved. We have had good experience with a couple of LeMats, a remington pocket model and a smith carbine and were gaining the impression that things had really turned around. One continuing reason to prefer Uberti revolvers was the penchant of the FilliPietta FAP company to stamp their name and proof markings on every available surface.

The FAP Pietta company was reluctant to answer questions and when a representative did hold forth about specific products, parts availability, etc, his answers were generally not consistent with reality and seemed to indicate that he didn't really know much about the operation of his business.

By comparison, the problems we have experienced with Ubertis have been relatively minor and correctable at home.

 

[Cincinnati Slim]

Make sure you inspect or can return it !

This Pietta vs.Uberti thing just goes on and on...

You need to do two or more of the following when buying an Italian gun.

(1) Carefully inspect the fit, finish and function of the thing.

(2) Make sure there is a liberal return/repair policy regarding BP firearms.

(3) Be prepaired to pay a little more to get it from a reliable distributor.

I have had really good luck with Taylor's. Some folks really like Cimarron.

Despite modern CNC machine tools by design, there is a lot of hand fitting involved in making these archaic firearms. Too many variables to ever be totally consistent without running prices through the roof !

Slim

 

[glen walker]

don't get mad

I'm a new member; about 15 minutes old, but I'm certainly not new to Uberti or Pietta. Readers, please do not get upset if I sound like I think I know a lot. I do know a lot. I have shot Pietta's 1858 New Models for years, (and I mean a lot) and I have never had one moment's worth of trouble with them. Granted, although I own a stainless steel version also, I have never fired it, and it is real tight. However, I'm sure it would loosen up a bit after a few heavily powdered .451's were cycled through it. The blued Target Model was smooth as silk right out of the box. I own one 'case hardened' model, and it shoot's just fine, but for some reason, the 'laser checkered' grips sting my hands. But it sure is a nice looking '58....The only Ubert's I could speak for is the Walker and my very personal favorite of all guns everywhere; the Colt 1849 Pocket .31 with the four inch barrel. I'vd only fired the Walker maybe 200 times in my whole life, but it worked just fine. God alone know's how many .323's have gone down the barrel of that .31...Although I know many of you will laugh at me, and scorn me, I will tell you now: That Colt 1849 Pocket .31 is the best squirrel and rabbit gun a person could ever own. All you have to do is to learn the gun, and learn how to hit with it, and keep it clean.....I am very glad that I found this site. A warm hello to all of you, and may God bless...Glen..

 

[Steve499]

Howdy, Glen, and welcome! I won't get mad unless you tell me Palmetto makes a better product than Pietta, Uberti or Euroarms.

Steve

 

[mec]

the point that steve is trying to make ( and making quite effectively) is that Palmetto sucks big green Iguana *expletive deleted*

Dixie Gunworks is a fine outfit and pretty necessary to the black powder shooter. I don't know why but the persist in putting ther name on some Palmetto products. Like the dixie Walker/Kit. At least they warn us that it is made by Palmetto. They also let stand a number of reviews of Palmetto products. It is possible to find positive reviews of Palmetto prouducts but they generally end with " ' N sumday I am gonna take it out 'n shoot i!"

Most reviews of Palmetto products consign them to the lowest epicycle of perdition where they are issued a shovel and instructed to dig.

 

[glen walker]

Message to Steve

Hello, Steve. Just wanted to thank you for making me feel welcome and at ease on the site. No, I would never tell you that!!...Steve, let me ask you something, please. Have you ever used any of those 'pistol wads'? I have wondered about them off and on for several years. I have always used Crisco like most everone else, and have never actually been around someone who uses them. Dixie Gun Works and Cabela's assure me that they work just fine, and I'm reasonably sure they probably do, but I can't get these visions of a chain fire out of my mind. Plus I guess it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks. I probably won't ever try them. Aside from maybe looking better, in a way, I was wondering if they perhaps made a better gas seal....Well, good to hear from you. Have yourself a good day...Glen

 

[Steve499]

Yep, I've used felt wads, both store bought and home made. Other than experimenting in a 45/70 right now, I've pretty much given them up. In my revolvers, I've been loading a lube pill between the powder and ball which seems to work better for me than the wads. If I'm going to leave one loaded for any great length of time I put a card wad over the powder. That's probably not strictly necessary but it makes me feel better. For years and years, I slathered Crisco, lard, goose grease/beeswax and about every other combination of lube on top of the ball. It was the way I was told you had to do the thing, you know? I read on here about the pill over the powder method and much prefer it.

The gas seal should be enhanced with a wad, one would think, but I was actually getting poorer groups with wads when I tested them against the pills. It wasn't exactly a double blind study though, so your results may vary.

Steve

 

[mec]

The Possibles Shop has rigid, lubricated felt wads from Eastern Maine Shooter's supply that will keep a revolver barrel clean for extensive firing. They work much better than wonder wads which are too fluffy. they are equivalent to the wads produced by the defunct bigiron barrel works

Balls loaded directly over the powder will shoot good groups but only if you clean the barrel after each cylinder full.

 

[glen walker]

wads and more wads.

I might order a few and try them. I'vd alway been the same way. I used grease because that's what I was taught. I started squirrel hunting with an old .32 that belonged to Grandpaw when I turned 12 years old. Of course that was years before they invented Crisco. (I guess it was. I know my mother used regular lard all the time in the kitchen, because she would portion me out some now and then; some to rub into my leather shoes and some for that rifle.) Dad never did mess with it much, I don't reckon. He used an old sawed off single shot 12 guage shotgun. There wasn't any deer or such in that part of the country when I was growing up, but I did my dead level best to keep the small game population under control. It alway's ended up cleaned and in my momma's kitchen. My uncle gave me my first 1858 when I was almost 15. I have no idea where he got it. It wasn't new by a long shot, but it was a good shooter. I didn't get to shoot it much, because there wasn't anything around there that required that heavy load, plus it used a lot of powder, plus I had to make my own balls.(with my Uncle's help)....Awww, Steve and Mec and all of you! Those were good days....I might, maybe, possibly, try a few of those cards. My .31 stay's loaded all the time....I am so glad I found this site. It give's me a chance to kind of vent to people with common likes. I do have some stories I could tell, if I ever had the chance to sit still long enough to tell them. Like about that time years ago when I was 16 years old, and I was coon hunting with Daddy's old dog, an old coal oil lantern, and that 1858. The dog treed. I remember that real good, because that was the night I shined that ol' coon's eyes with that lantern, (he was way up there) pulled the trigger on that .44 and had a chain fire, dropped the lantern, oil ran out, caught all the dry leaves and all on fire, and believe you me; it was real exciting around there for about an hour!..Ya'll have a good one...Glen

 

[Riot Earp]

I gave up on Pietta after receiving a poor gun from Cabelas and after reading a great many horror stories. The consensus is that they've improved, but they just aren't turning out a consistently good product; some good guns get out, but it seems an equal number of bad ones do as well. A common complaint is that their internal parts are soft. Uberti isn't perfect either, but their quality is generally better. I just ordered a Euroarms Rogers & Spencer from Dixie (due to arrive tomorrow) because I heard they were good guns, better than Piettas and equal to Ubertis. I hope I didn't make a mistake.