Thinking of getting a 1858

[red rick]

Local, I can get a Uberti for $324.

Cabela's has the Pietta for $230 + shipping.

Midway has the conversion cylinders for $268 + shipping for either.

Local, Taylor's Uberti conversion model for $533. It has the dovetail cut in the frame for loading.

I am leaning toward getting the BP Uberti and getting the conversion cylinder, but that Taylor's sure looks good and I would probably shoot more 45 than BP.

Which way would you go?

 

[junkman_01]

I'd get a Colt 1860!

 

[splattergun]

I guess the Uberti is considered a step above Pietta in quality, but a lot of folks are plenty happy with their Piettas. I sure am

Conversion cylinder is not even on my radar. I like front-stuffin' my front-stuffers. For $268 I could get 3 spare cylinders and still have money left over for plenty of powder and possibles. I can also swap and shoot a spare cylinder faster than most people can clear the wheel and reload 6 cartridges. But, to each his own! Have fun with whichever you prefer!

My best advise is, if you choose the Pietta, to watch for the FREQUENT sales that Cabela's has on it. THey also have frequent shipping deals and if you can catch them at the same time, it's like Christmas.

 

[gunnysmith]

I got the Pietta from Cabelas for $189.99.
Some stoning in the channel for the pawl and a touch up on the sear and hammer, cleaning the sharp edges off the cylinder stop bolt, makes it smooth.
Extra cylinders were cheap also so I biught 2 extras.
My Uberti 1861 Navy is a little too tight

 

[Jaymo]

I have 2 of the Piettas and love them.
That said, I wouldn't exactly throw rocks at an Uberti. They're nice.
I bought a couple of extra cylinders for my Piettas, so I can reload faster.
I don't think I'm going to get a conversion cylinder, just yet.

 

[Tinpan58]

As you can tell from my screen name I like 1858s, that is what got me interested in bp, I went overboard with piettas and cabelas prices, extra cylinders spare parts ect. But I now have a uberti revolving carbine which I am sure shares some of the same specs as their pistols, the uberti has a slightly lighter frame the barrel a slightly smaller outside diameter, the internal parts seam to me anyway to be a little peter quality, also the tolerances of gun seam to be a little tighter far as the cylinder fit and cylinder pin, I can shoot the uberti a lot longer before I have to remove the cylinder and wipe the pin down, like 5 or 6 cylinders full compared to 3 with the piettas, also the uberti has a dovetail front sight which is very nice if you need to adjust windage, my .36 pietta shot a little to the right so I had to do a little file work on the top strap to fix it. So I love my piettas, but a uberti 1858 is on my list, but am taped out for now. By the way that revolving carbine is awesome we were out at the desert a couple weeks ago shooting potatoes hanging on strings at 50 yards it was windy and I was out shooting every one and they were using modern rifles. Good luck with your decision.

 

[Armored farmer]

I bought a Cabela's Pietta '58 with a 5 1/2" barrel. I can't seem to get my fill of shooting it. My .357's, and .45's have been collecting dust since I got the '58.

 

[mic214]

The Pietta New Army's from Cabela's are great, but be careful......they are very addicting!

 

[Deltaboy1984]

Nice I need one now!

 

[scrat]

I have two of them. Both piettas both with conversion cylinders with loading gates. 1858 are really cool to shoot. Only draw back on them is the small arbor shaft. You need to clean it once in a while and keep it lightly lubed. as the cylinder will bind when it gets fouled up. Shooting 45 colt through them is fun as heck. I considered getting one of those ubertis that are already set up for 45 colt. However once i found out you cant shoot cap and ball only 45 colt then i thought nope not for me. So went out bought an 1858 cap and ball and converted it. Now i can still change out cylinders and shoot cap and ball as well as 45 colt

 

[junkman_01]

I do the same thing with my 1860 Colt types.

 

[red rick]

I went into a local gun store today to look at the Uberti. It's a very small store ( about 1000 SQF ). There were 3 people working inside and 1 had just walked outside to smoke as I pulled up. I was the only customer in there.

I walked up to the handgun counter, where 1 employee was sitting. He asked if he could help me and I told him that I wanted to look at a 1858 Uberti. He said that they kept them up at the front counter. So I walked over there and not a soul would wait on me.

After a few mins. standing at the counter I walked out. How's that for customer service?

 

[arcticap]

At the local Cabela's, customers need to take a ticket with a number and then wait their turn in order to handle the handguns. Sometimes a customer will start gabbing with one of the sales clerks and will monopolize his time while all of the other folks who are waiting get impatient, especially when closing time is approaching.
But that's just at the main gun counter. They don't use the ticket system in the Gun Library where it's usually not as busy, and the sales clerks there are also in charge of the used rifle racks. It's a lot easier to get their time & attention.
I think that within reason, a customer should speak up if they really want to examine an item, especially if a clerk seems to be mostly just gabbing socially with another customer. Even if it's just to let him know that you're waiting.
In one local gun shop where they can become pretty busy, sometimes the clerk will just hand over a pistol and then walk away to deal with another customer. Meanwhile, I don't want to walk away and just leave the gun on the counter unattended, or get stuck babysitting with the gun until the clerk remembers to come back, so I'll go and hand the gun over to any employee behind the counter and tell them that I didn't want to just leave it laying there.
Every shop and every clerk marches to a different drummer, and some will naturally be more attentive than others.

 

[red rick]

I was the only customer in there with 3 workers inside doing nothing and another outside smoking. I guess I just expect better. Thats why I have gone to buying most of my guns online lately. it's really not about the price, it's more about customer service and availability.

 

[Gatofeo]

I have three 1858s, a .44 and two .36s. One of the .36s was made in 1973 by Uberti with modern, adjustable target sights. Trouble is, it's not very accurate because the rifling is so shallow.
Anyway, DO NOT buy an 1858 with a brass frame. Cabela's and others sell them at low prices, but get a steel-framed Remington. The brass-framed abominations don't stand up well to full-load use.
Frankly, nearly all brass-framed revolvers I have seen in 40+ years of shooting cap and ball revolvers lack fit and finishing. They sell cheap because they're made on the cheap.
Anyway ... get a steel-framed Remington.
The highest quality cap and balls I've seen in the past few years are those marketed by Cimmaron. I'm told that Cimmaron hand-selects Uberti guns for high quality, then polishes and slicks them up a bit.
I ordered a Cimmaron 1861 Colt last fall from Buffalo Arms, and its fit and finish are wonderful. Locks up tight and there's not one trace of tooling marks on it. The wood grips look like they grew into the steel, so well mated are they.
Cost me a little over $300, which I consider a bargain.
Buffalo Arms seems to have the best prices on Cimmaron-marketed Ubertis. Might be worth a look.

 

[red rick]

I checked Buffalo Arms, good prices but he is out of stock on almost everything. I had a Midway promo code for $30, so I ordered a Uberti 1858 Army today. Now comes all the accessories.

 

[Glen]

Brass Framed 1858

I have a brass framed 1858 by Pietta and a steel framed 1858 by Uberti and I like them both. I would not load the brass frame gun up, but I use 28 grains of Pyrodex in it and it is still powerful enough and produces a lot of smoke (the Crisco might help with that) and I have had no excess wear with that load.
The neat thing about the brass gun is that it is my beater gun and I don't fret over it so much because it is cheaper. If I get a spot of rust on it, I'm not freaking out. I don't abuse it, but I can take it with me camping without concern like I would have with a more expensive gun. As a result, I end up shooting it more than the Uberti.
Just my two cents.

 

[spaniel]

I've had a Pietta from Cabelas for ~12 years, it has always shot accurately with conicals though the pain of cleaning it kept me from shooting it often. I just got the Taylor conversion cylinder yesterday...boy what a hoot!

I would advise getting the target model. It's really nice to be able to sight it in.

 

[NineMilePete]

I just received my Cimarron 1858 New Model Navy from Buffalo Arms for $292. What a beauty.
They indicated "ample stock" available for this model.