Remington 1858 Question

[Desert Scorpion]

Hi, I was considering buying a Remington 1858 replica from either Cabelas or Dixie Gun Works. Which company makes a better one? Uberti? or Pietta?. I noticed there price is significantly different, as the Uberti is $260.00 and Pietta is $160.00 which one is better quality.

 

[mec]

My experiences with Pietta are confined to one that is about 25 or 30 years old. It is accurate but had to be worked on to get it to function. tollerance were too close causing functional problems. My Uberti is completely functional from the box and just as accurate. some poster here who know what they are talking about consider the Piettas better than the Ubertis.

 

[husker67]

Cabela's Pietta

I own an 1858 Remington replica, Pietta, purchased originally from Cabela's--within the last two years....is excellent in every way....finish and function...at 15 yds. it groups as well as my Glock 17 or government 1911 --I'm (needless to say) very happy with it....certainly would have my recommendation, but have never owned a Uberti...

 

[Old Fuff]

Both Italian makers make a basic gun, which they sell to various importers. In addition some importers pay extra for additional hand fitting of the internal lockwork, and this is reflected in their retail price. Over the years both have improved, and Uberti in particular has the advantage of being part of Beretta, who has poured money into new tooling.

In my opinion, Pietta makes the most "faithful to the original" Remington New Army, where Uberti's Colt's are better. I recently disassembled a Remington clone from EMF and was pleased at what was clearly additional polishing of some of the innards. In the "little things that matter" it's ahead of Cabelas' offering, but you pay for the difference.

If I purchased a gun from Cabelas I would expect I'd need to do some work the get it functioning they way I wanted. I'd frankly rather do my own work then pay others too do it. I suspect a lot of black powder revolver shooters feel that way.

 

[Yankee John]

I have purchased (3) Remington's from Cabela's in the last 2 years; A Pietta with 8" barrel, a Pietta with 5 1/2" barrel, and an Uberti Revolving Carbine. The fit, finish, and operation on ALL of them was perfect out-of-the-box!

The belief that Piettas are inferior to Uberti may have been true in the past, but definately is NOT true now.

If you do have the misfortune of getting one that isn't right, Cabela's customer service is excellent!

John

 

[Desert Scorpion]

Thanks, I didnt know that some importers paid extra for extra hand fitting. Would like to get one like that. I have had a Pietta before but it was a navy civilian 44cal 1851. Was poorly made as the barrel was crooked to the left a lot to the left. I returned it and got money back A OK! I noticed Dixiegunworks is $50.00 dollars for even for the same gun the cabelas offers. Any one care to explain that may work there or know why the pricing is so diffrent in that company, do they overlook each gun that comes in and fix any problems they might see. Cant figure it out

 

[Old Fuff]

The differences, if there are any, may not be noticed unless the revolver is completely disassembled and carefully inspected. On example, which happened a number of years ago, involved a person who came to me with an 1851 Navy clone and bragged about how much less his gun cost vs. one I had. It took awhile, but I finely pointed out that the hole for the front sight went all of the way into the bore...

That sort of thing is far less likely to happen today. As a rule of thumb, those importers that are actively involved with shooting cap & ball revolvers, (meaning to offer a full line of accessories), or with organizations like the NSSA or SASS are more likely to offer the better "shooting" grade of revolvers.

I don't mean to knock Cabelas, because they do in fact offer a decent product at a fair price - and then stand behind it. What I am saying is that it has been my experience that some offer a similar, but better product. But in doing this they charge more. Ya' can't fairly compare apples to oranges.

 

[Ray P]

Had one of each (Pietta & Uberti), and both worked well.

The blue 1858 by Uberti was purchased new from Sarco back in the early 80's. It was a very consistent shooter. After a year, the cylinder hand spring broke. When I replaced the hand, I polished all the internal contacting surfaces; and function was even smoother than before.

My S.S. 1858 by Pietta was purchased used from KTP. Fit & finish was excellent, wear was negligible. The Post had it priced as a chrome-plated brass-framed pistol It also shoots very well, and is a bit easier to clean.

 

[sundance44s]

Sundance44s

Be sure and ask who the maker is before ya buy /// the Euro Arms remmie is a smaller frame ..if you have big hands the trigger guard will be too close to the back of your grip hand fingers ...mine rubs the skin off the back of one of my fingers from the recoil . I think Dixie is selling this one now . The Pietta has the largest frame and it fits my big hands just right . The Uberti is somewhere inbetween and it doesn`t rub but i think the Pietta feels better in my hand .

 

[Desert Scorpion]

I am going to go with pietta's from cabelas. Cabelas works great with returns if it is wrong I will return it for the same one till I get lucky or I will buy the problem part for it. I have to say I have now sent back to diffrent 1851 navy's from pietta back to cabelas. :banghead: :banghead: There is only so much I can take:banghead: Maybe I just was not lucky but the guns were crooked ones cylinder would not come of the cylinder guide rod. And one's barrel slanted of to the left so bad it was not fixable. But I will trust pietta a third time by getting a diffrent model the good old 1858

 

[Plink]

A few years back Pietta's quality was a bit under Uberti. Apparently they've increased quality control in recent years and make a good gun now. I still prefer Uberti just because of bad experiences with Pietta. Also the Piettas have factory markings all over the barrel, while Uberti hides them under the lever. For the slight difference in price, I think I'd still go with Uberti, but that's just me. I have an Uberti 1858 that has been a sweet shooter right out of the box and am in the market for one of their stainless target models. Good luck and enjoy whichever you decide on!

 

[mec]

The companies that distribute both are very responsive to customer needs. some time back though, I attempted to gain some information direct to Pietta and received erronious information from one of the Pietta family. This was in regard to the availability of spare LeMat parts. I also attempted to contact them about customer service and they declined to answer. They were offering a list of approved gunsmiths on their web site but did not respond to my request for it. I got the impression that the Pietta company was not particularly well informed about their own products.

this Uberti functioned perfectly from the box and like Plink said, is free of the barrel literature that appears on piettas.

 

[dwave]

I have a Pietta 1851 Navy and it works perfect. I have fired well over 1,500 rounds with it and it's still working great. I have had to replace the Trigger and Cylinder stop spring (just yesterday I replaced that) and the hand spring. I have really enjoyed this pistol.