Most Reliable Current Rem 1858 Army?

[Gray Fox]

Back in the days of cheap gas and primers, my wife and I used to shoot a lot of CAS, often driving 250 miles round trip a couple times a month (I'm a SASS life member with a 4 digit badge number). Midway through that period I shot C&B revolver with a pair of tuned Rem 1858 Armys. Sadly, I sold them.

I'm looking down a possibly dark future road, and would like to get another pair of non-serial-numbered revolvers. What's your opinion about who makes the most reliable ones now, especially in stainless? I still have my .451 ball and 200 grain conical Lee molds and my paper cartridge makings. Also, since I'm on this thought train, do any of you have experience with the 1858-based revolving carbines? All input will be appreciated.

[oldhickory]

As far as reliability goes, I think they're all pretty much the same...It's how long they'll last and stay tuned and reliable! The steel used on a good many of the import revolvers leaves something to be desired in the hardness dept. a lot of times. The softer the steel, the cheaper the tooling and the longer it will last...Good for the manufacturer!...Bad for the consumer if they're going to use them a lot!

My suggestion would be to contact a gunsmith involved with tuning the guns for your sport and see what he thinks. I've mostly had Uberti's and had little problems with them...Then again, I never shot them much, they were just once in a while fun guns for me. I did have an Armi San Marco 1851 Navy Colt in the 70s, (steel frame) and shot it quite a bit, sold it to a guy who shot it a lot and the thing ended up so loose it rattled when shook and the barrel waved back and forth!

[missionary5155]

Good morning
Oldhickory hit it right... Buy quality and it wont fall apart.
Figure how much time/money you are going to spend to get that action "purring".... How often do you want to have to do/pay that sum ?
The avaerage cowboy shot his revolver / rifle maybe 20 rounds a year. We do that in just 5 minutes.
Mike now in Illinois

[Nobade]

If you want durability, look to Ruger. I doubt there is any C&B revolver even close to what the Old Army can take.

[oldhickory]

If you want durability, look to Ruger. I doubt there is any C&B revolver even close to what the Old Army can take.


I agree whole heartedly with Nobade! The Ruger Old Army is a fantastic and strong gun! They no longer make them, so you'll have to search for one, but well worth the time and money, (if your sport will allow them, I don't know anything about cowboy shooting rules).

[Hardcast416taylor]

I bought my 1st 1858 Rem. clone back in 1969. It was made by Uberti and imported and sold by Lyman. A few years back I bought a conversion cylinder for it to shoot .45 Colt cartridges instead of C&B loading. Not much faster to reload than before but still is sound and not falling apart like some"other cheap" makes. I don`t hotrod my loads by keeping them around .45 acp vel. I shoot 250 gr. RCBS mould boolits cast 30 to 1 alloy lubed with SPG and using Red Dot powder loads I developed for my pistol to shoot close to point of aim at 50 ft. :castmine: Robert

[Gray Fox]

Thanks for the input, folks, I think I will try one of the Uberti 58s and see how it goes. My last two were Pietas, but I had to send two back before I got decent shooters.

[JIMinPHX]

The only 58 I ever messed with was a Pietta. It was flawless right out of the box. The other C&B that I played with was a 51 Pietta. That one needed a lot of work around the nipples & the hammer. I think that the Piettas are hit & miss. Some are sweet. Some are a bit off. I probably don't need to tell you to stay with steel frames if you plan to shoot it a lot.

[Baron von Trollwhack]

Try to buy your pistol in person so you can examine it closely. I have seen the dealer's buddy in the shop with 6 new pistols out and cherry picking. Take a flashllight. Cock and look down the barrel. Is every cylinder hole absolutely in line?, on the REmingtons, take a 3/16 truly straight rod and lay it in the topstrap sight channel touching the front sight. Is it already angling off? Find a good pistol guy to help you. Many of the Pietta's are excellent , most target shooters are not using full house loads, so brass frame designs (Leech & Rigdon) are good if the things above check out. BvT

[Bull Schmitt]

You may find some useful info here:

http://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index.php?board=55.0

or

www.scorrs.org

[Hang Fire]

I had a Pieta M 58 from years ago, and it was a PITA. But after reading of and seeing their latest, decided to get one about a year ago. It was/is a fantastic pistol for the price, I finally broke down and got a Kirst conversion cylinder with the loading gate and did the drum sanding thingy on the recoil shield, works like a champ and very accurate with a 255 grain soft cast. I put off getting the CC, until the wife got a Taurus Judge and started loading .45 LC for it, so thought what the heck, go for it.