Captains1911 said:
I like the looks of the Uberti 1873 replica. How are they quality wise?
Both Uberti and Pietta make very nicely done replicas of the original Colt style guns. At one point Pietta was a little rougher and cheaply made. But at some point in the 90's they upped their game and most folks that like the Italian guns consider them to be as nicely made inside and out as Uberti guns. I've got examples of both and neither really has anything over the other.
A key point which Quanah raised above is that the original style "4 click" Colt action is a lot different from the modern Ruger action. When I was looking at single action guns I wanted something that copied the old original 1873's as closely as possible. So that put Ruger guns out of the running for me. My Pietta cartridge guns and Uberti black powder cap and ball guns have proven dead nutz reliable and a joy to handle and shoot over the 5 years I've had them.
Another key point to keep in mind is that the fixed sights on these guns means that you'll end up dressing down the front sight blade to suit a single bullet type and load power. If that won't suit your desires and you want to be able to shift from shooting accurately aimed .38Spl to full power .357Mag then you're pretty much stuck with the Ruger Blackhawk with the adjustable sights. Or the sole Uberti target model that has adjustable sights and looks much the same as the Blackhawk.
To my eyes the lumpy looking sights on the adjustable models take a lot of the visual value away. They are purposeful in their own way but they lack the smooth elegant look of the fixed sight models. YMMV on this of course. Beauty is most certainly in the eye of the beholder after all. But since you seem to be leaning towards the Uberti clone option it's good to point out the ammo limitation.
The sighting to ammo power even varies on how you hold the gun. There's a significant shift from shooting with the classic one handed hold vs a supportive two handed hold. So if you buy one of these guns first figure out what bullet weight and power factor you want and then how you want to hold the gun. Only with all that nailed down should you get the metal file out and carefully work down the height of the front blade to bring the point of impact up to your sighting picture.
And along the way don't be surprised if you find yourself grinning a lot at handling and shooting these guns. They are not the fastest things in the world to load and unload but with the correct method and a bit of practice they are no slouch either. The drills needed to master the manual of arms for a single action are just part of the fun.
Be sure to post back on what you get and how you like it.
