Pietta vs. Uberti (58 Remy)

[Panzerschwein]

Which company makes the best iteration of the 1858 Remington New Model Army .44 Caliber black powder percussion revolver?

I hear the Ubertis are forged frame and closer to the original in size, but the Pietta is less expensive.

Thoughts?

 

[Gaucho Gringo]

I have 2 Pietta 1858 Remington New Model Army .44 . Both work great. However it is my .36 Euroarms 1858 Remington New Model Navy that is the cat's meow. It is on a smaller frame as the originals, unlike the Pietta and Uberti .36's which have the .44 frame. Holding it is more like a Colt 1851 as apposed to the larger framed .44's. And it;s 5 1\2" barrel length is nice. Also have a conversion cylinder for it and it is my favorite BP gun.

 

[Got_Lead?]

In my opinion the Ubertis are head and shoulders better, and well worth any extra money. Buying quality only hurts once.

 

[Armored farmer]

I have both Pietta and Uberti 58s.
The Uberti has the better action.
They are both good guns. Fit and finish are equally good.
I really like my sheriff' s model Pietta better.....but the full length loading lever is easier to load. FYI.

 

[Crawdad1]

I would go with Uberti. Love that forged frame and most importantly the adjustable front sight on all their models. You would have to move up to Pietta's 'Target' model to get adjustable sights.

http://www.dixiegunworks.com/product_info.php?cPath=701_709_712&products_id=3512

http://www.taylorsfirearms.com/hand...backstrap-brass-trigger-guard-model-107a.html

I've had one of those 'Target' models and those sights are terrible. To get the sights that Uberti gives you in all their models, you would have to buy Pietta's 'Shooters' model. A lot more expensive.

http://www.dixiegunworks.com/product_info.php?cPath=701_709_712&products_id=4098

 

[Panzerschwein]

I don't want adjustasights.

This is a 19th century Victorian Era gun and I want it to look and feel like it, not a modern fantasy piece decked out.

Does it come with a Picadilly rail, too?

 

[IlikeSA]

I am happy with my Pietta Remmy clone, but if I could do it again, I'd get the shorter 5.5 inch barrel. The 7.5 inch barrel is awkward for carry. Regarding quality, I broke the mainspring after cocking it less than 5 times. Maybe a fluke, hasn't happened since.

 

[swathdiver]

In 2007 Uberti went to a forged frame and refined the dimensions to match more exactly the originals. Their cylinders perfectly exchange with original guns and they weigh the same.

The Pietta's have come a long way in quality and make an excellent iteration, larger now for bigger hands and more comfortable for those who prefer such.

I have had 1980s and early 1990s Pietta 1858s with much slimmer grips seemingly optimized for smaller hands.

The Ubertis like .457s while the Piettas like .454s currently. Since late 2012, Pietta tightened the twist for shooting conicals. My memory escapes me at the moment with regards to Uberti on this.

 

[Panzerschwein]

Yuck, the Ubertis take the hard to find and pricier .457 balls?

Hoping they'd take .454s....

 

[Crawdad1]

I don't want adjustasights.

This is a 19th century Victorian Era gun and I want it to look and feel like it, not a modern fantasy piece decked out.

Does it come with a Picadilly rail, too?

What!!!!! Look at one of Wild Bill Hickok's 51 Navy Colts and you'll see a dovetailed front sight. Yea, even back then, imagine that.

 

[Panzerschwein]

What!!!!! Look at one of Wild Bill Hickok's 51 Navy Colts and you'll see a dovetailed front sight. Yea, even back then, imagine that.

Dovetailed is one thing. I thought you meant full blown adjustable sights like nowadays. I'm in it for the history and want to avoid that kind of thing.

So all Ubertis have dovetailed front sights and the Piettas do not? Seems like sight adjustment would be much easier on the Uberti...

 

[Crawdad1]

Exactly!!! On all Uberti Remingtons you get the adjustable front sight. Those are N/SSA approved also so you are good to go as far as historical accuracy is concerned. Plus you can really dial in that monster you're thinking of buying.

Go for it.

For you to be both historically accurate and have adjustable sights you have to go up to Pietta's 'Shooters' model which is substantially more expensive then the Uberti Remington according to the N/SSA Small Arms Committee as of 1/1/2016.

 

[Panzerschwein]

Very cool. I am leaning towards the Uberti, and they are on sale at Dixie for $310... very tempting.

Truth be told I was originally set on the Pietta Dance Bros. but it seems that is a poor copy as far as historical details are concerned. Also I have never tried a Remington, only the Colt style. I hear the Remingtons jam less and seems to make for a better field revolver.

 

[Crawdad1]

Remingtons are beasts. They dominate.

 

[Armored farmer]

I like my Remingtons.
Probably the most enjoyable revolvers that I have.

The colt guys love their Colts too.

I' gonna have to get an 1860 to see for myself.

 

[45 Dragoon]

Remies are nice guns but I have probably 1 for every 10-15 open tops through the shop. The biggest problem with them is the flat springs, especially the hand spring. Open tops can (and are) upgraded to coil springs which are pretty much a lifetime fix. Wire springs break and don't feel like the original setup, coils return the "snappy/crispness" of the flats along with the "lifetime of the revolver" aspect.
You don't see many Remies in SASS competition because of this (mostly the hand spring prob.).

I know Remies "dominate" slow fire competition (along with other top strap revolvers) but I think it's more of a "that's what everyone uses" kind of thing. A properly setup open top can be as accurate as any match gun. Definitely more than the person pulling the trigger!! Lol!!

Don't get me wrong though, the Remington platform is a solid foundation for a very substantial revolver! In fact, I would say a "coil" sprung Remie would be the next best thing to a ROA (more so a "little brother" of the ROA) !! It would be lighter/easier to handle than a ROA but basically have the life of the ROA! Just something to think about . . . .
Btw, I figured that out, I can convert the Remie to coils . . . Go little brother !!!!!!! Lol!!

Mike

 

[CraigC]

It's a blackpowder revolver, a forged frame gains you nothing.

In my opinion the Ubertis are head and shoulders better, and well worth any extra money. Buying quality only hurts once.

Ten years ago, I would've agreed. Today, not so much.

 

[LonesomePigeon]

I think the main differences are:

Geometry - Uberti's look a little bit more like the originals. Pietta's grips are a little fatter and the backstrap is a little bit more bowed at the top. Pietta's topstrap of the frame is a little more bulky and extrends farther forward.

Sights: Uberti's have a dovetailed front sight, Pietta's don't.

Parts: Replacement parts are usually cheaper for Pietta's.

 

[Panzerschwein]

Very cool, gang.

So the Uberti was made to be closer to the original? Interesting to be sure. I'm having a tough time deciding even still. The prices on the Pietta are tempting...

 

[rodwha]

I was all for the Uberti model until Cabella's had their Christmas sale coupled with a free starter kit.

But the Pietta doesn't load conicals. I like them most and had to modify the loading window.

I have smaller hands and the grip was a little large, as well as having panels that didn't fit well. And quite frankly I don't like the color they used so I sanded mine and restained them.

I can't say that an Uberti is any better but the sharp edges on the hand and bolt were really eating the cylinder so I softened the edges.

The hammer nose didn't fit into the safety slots properly so I had to reshape the hammer.

My gun shoots to the left a few inches at 15 yds. I'm contemplating having it dovetailed to fix this.

I've read how the Pietta models will sometimes lose the front sight or the loading lever catch. I'd dovetail the latch while I was at it.

With a .452" groove the .446" chambers are quite undersized. Mine has been reamed to .449" and chamfered. I cast my projectiles so a .457" ball costs the same for the most part. But then I mostly use conicals now.

Despite all of these issues it shoots rather well. I've never worked on a firearm so this actually gave me a little bit experience and confidence for minor tweaking. Not so much that I'd do the dovetail work, bob the grip, or shorten the barrel to about 4-4.5" (my preferred revolver length for a field sidearm).

The few original Remingtons (NMA) I have seen had a dovetailed sight.

 

[Ephraim Kibbey]

If you are seeking originality, note that Pietta (like ASM) has always used the NMA frame with cutout exposing several of the barrel threads where it meets the chamber mouth while older Euroarms / Armi San Paolo and maybe older Lyman / Uberti Remingtons were in the Beals style with almost no barrel threads visible. Current Ubertis have the NMA frame. None have the Beals rammer.
Original Beals:

Discontinued? Euroarms:

Discontinued Lyman (Uberti???):

Original NMA:

Current Pietta:

Current Uberti:

Your choice!!! (Or better yet one of each)

 

[jmar]

If I recall correctly the NMA never came with the sight current Ubertis have, early ones came with silver cone sights then they went to non-adjustable pressed sights like the Piettas. If a Uberti was antiqued to look like an original you could tell at first glance its fake because of the fantasy sights. That being said the Pietta I got had some quality control issues so next time I'll probably buy a Uberti and make a replica cone sight.

 

[Crawdad1]

I think you're right Jmar about that front sight but I'm speculating that so many original Remingons were altered with a dovetailed front sight that the N/SSA accepts them. There has to be something in historical facts as to why their small arms committee accepts them for N/SSA shoots.

From their Small Arms Committee Bylaws,

"In this, and all other documents and publications of the North-South Skirmish Association, Inc., the terms “approval” and “approved”, when applied by the NSSA or its representatives, mean that the item to which the term is applied has been determined to meet the dimensional, configurational, functional, and historical criteria of the N-SSA, Inc. It does not in any way imply or guarantee the safety or the integrity of any firearm, barrel, or process."

 

[Panzerschwein]

The NSSA has "approved" many questionably historically accurate guns into their repetoir.

I do NOT consider them some kind of authority in historical authenticity.

Seems there really is no right answer hear. Both makes have their problems and their pros/cons...

 

[bannockburn]

Ephraim Kibbey

Thanks for the photos of the various Remington New Model Armys! Thinking about getting another one to go with my Pietta .36 cal. New Model Navy.