No offense meant.

[Oregonjohn]

Hello all. Just gettin' into old west guns after going through the French and Indian War reenacting, and doing an ongoing accumulation of milsurp rifles.

I know that this is a Uberti forum so I don't mean ill. I am just wondering the difference between a Uberti BP revolver and a Pietta BP revolver. I have a few Pedersoli muzzleloaders and they seem to have a little better finish than some of the other mass producers but both shoot about the same.

Is is a matter of the degree of fit and finish, or are the materials vastly different? Is there a matter of strength or originality or method of manufacture?

I have fired both Pietta and Uberti '51 Navies and can't recall any difference in reliablity or smoothness or looks.

Just wondering.

I thank you very much.
John in Oregon

[Oregonjohn]

Hey all. Ok, the reason I ask is that I am in the market for a '60 Army. Uberti has 'em for about $270.00 whereas Cabela's has a Pietta '60 Army for $164.99. Is there nearly a hundred bucks worth of difference in the 2 revolvers? Would appreciate a heads up on this issue.
Thanks.
John in Oregon

[Gunsmith]

I have had both, and to me the Uberti is worth the difference. I have heard the newer Pietas have improved in quality, but the newer Ubertis I have purchased have also gotten even better than they used to be.

[Oregonjohn]

Hey Gunsmith...thanks for the info.
Now, anyone....who has the best current price for the Uberti '60 Army?
Thanks.
John in Oregon

[tucker301]

http://www.auctionarms.com/search/displayitem.cfm?itemnum=6671055

http://www.gunsamerica.com/guns/976579472.htm

http://gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=31991962

http://www.google.com/froogle?q=uberti+army&scoring=p

[Oregonjohn]

Hey Gunsmith and Tucker301. Thanks for your help. I had never heard of froogal...nice place to know about. Just betcha that I end up with a Uberti...one each of their '60 Army and '61 Navy....nice stuff.
Thanks
John in Oregon

[smokin_gun]

Well I'll tell ya what... I just recieved a 1858New Army from Cabelas a Pietta. That was two days ago. Hammer wouldn't catch everytime. Trigger had a bad delay when at full cocked. About 12 hours to figure out and fix it. Bad gouge on Bolt cam pin on hammer, burrs ect. PLUS blems on exterior.So after acomplete refurbish I'd say it's pretty good now for $159.99. But next time I buy a Pietta I will try EMF and there Hartford Series. $189.90 for the 1860. Now My Uberti 1873BP Cap& Ball was perfect flawless. I got it new unfired from a gunshop for a steel. I would gladly pay more idf I had the cash to do so for a Uberti anyday. As a matter of fact unless I do get a Pietta from EMF that is at least 50% better than the one I got from Cabelas I ain't touchin it and it's going back. Then I will order a Uberti from Dixie Gun Works, I have never got a bad one form them. You asked and this is the turth and the differance. They both usually shoot great, but it depends on if you =wanna tune one or not for $100 differance.

[smokin_gun]

I for got to mention the Old San Marcos BP's. They were as good as Uberti at one time mid to late 60's thru 79. Even though they are out of business... if someone has a 1858 or anything in .44 of that time frame contact me I wll gladly trade for tis New Pietta. I've been doing BP over 20 years and would like to have a San Marcos back.

[mec]

I had stayed away from all the BP revolvers for a long time because of the brittle action parts and general low grade quality of them. Regardless of manufacture, It seemed hard to get a revolver good and dirty before the trigger /bolt spring crumbled or one of the other parts gave up.

The Ubertis made during the past two or three years are so much better that there is no comparison to earlier ones. You can get good quality spare parts from VTI or Cimarron Arms and if one is out of a part the other will usually have it. My Ubertis have held up well with parts breakage the exception rather than the rule. In fact, I've had one hand spring break since I got intense about this type of shooting and, unlike the situation in previous years, I was actually able to get a spare hand assembly and fix it. The above concerns actually keep parts for all the revolvers currently sold. At one time, there was no way to keep a Dragoon or a pocket model working since non of the vendors bothered to keep parts.

The current revolvers are very accurate:
http://www.gunpix.com/gallery/Muzzleloaders_and_Blackpowder/61navy25.jpg
http://www.gunpix.com/gallery/Muzzleloaders_and_Blackpowder/451bench.jpg

The most irritating thing I've found with the current Uberti production is the tendency of the loading lever catch to walk out of the dove tail and the locator pins in the lower/front of the frame to fall out. Have to stake them in a bit better:

I asked Uberti USA if they really have a service department and they said that they do service guns actually imported by Uberti USA. They refered me to Cabela's for earlier Ubertis which was a stroke job since Cabela's has no idea what parts they might have hidden away in the basement.

With Pietta, there is no after sale service by the manufacturer. The Pietta Company looses interest in the revolvers as soon as they are shipped to some mass-market retailer. VTI Gunparts has been successful in keeping a supply of parts for them and Taylors has some parts too.

http://www.gunpix.com/gallery/Muzzleloaders_and_Blackpowder/1860army25duelistsml.jpg