how to tell Pedersoli from Pietta on 1858 Remington New Army

Hello,

I have an 1858 Remington New Army clone in .44 for which I am considering buying a conversion cylinder to use 45LC. I bought the gun at a gun show 16+ years ago. The fellow I was with said it was a Pedersoli and that I should jump on it (I got it for $75), but the guy selling it had no idea what brand it was. I'm beginning to wonder if it's actually a Pietta rather than a Pedersoli. And I want to know for sure before I blow $250 - $275 on a conversion cylinder that doesn't fit. :killingpc

Can someone tell me (or better yet show me) the difference in proof marks between Pedersoli and Pietta? The revolver does have Italian proof marks, but since I believe both are produced in Italy that doesn't help much...

Thanks,

Carl

I never heard of pedersoli making New Armies or Colts. BvT

You can buy a Pedersoli 1858 Remington New Army here:

http://www.oldwestguns.ca/index.php?...cts&object=175

But I'll warn you, they're very expensive...

My revolver has 'Made in Italy' on the barrel, and the Italian Gardone proof as well as the Italian proof that has a star surrounded by 8 lands and grooves above the letters PN both appear several places on the frame and cylinder. It has an AE inside a box which indicates a 1979 manufacturing date.

However, the only proof mark I can find that looks like a 'house' proof is on the butt of the gun: a PR where the P and the R are overlapped, right next to the 3-digit serial #. This is not one of the standard Pedersoli or Pietta proof marks, nor is it a Uberti proof mark. As far as I can tell, it doesn't belong to Armi San Pablo, Palmetto, or Armi Sport for that matter. So either it is a non-standard proof, or someone removed the proof from the gun for some reason...

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Carl

Ha, this is one I may be able to help with.

Within a few thousandths for manufacturing tolerances:
The Pietta cylinder is 2.020 inches long.
The Uberti cylinder is almost exactly 2.000 inches long.

Measure the distance between the rear face of the barrel and the flat breech face.
Allow a couple thousandths for clearance.

I have never seen a conversion cylinder for a Pedersolli, but one of the two that are available may fit.

Well, halfslow, that's a pretty quick and simple solution! The cylinder measures 2.021" long. So I guess I can use cylinders made for Pietta revolvers.

This makes a lot of sense, actually. The main reason I'd been thinking this was a Pietta was because of how cheaply I acquired all those years ago. I didn't know back then how much a Pedersoli was worth. But clearly someone who spent $$$ on a BP revolver isn't going to sell it that cheap unless it was broken, and this gun was in great shape. So it makes sense that it's a cheaper Pietta instead of a more expensive Pedersoli.

Thanks a bunch, halfslow!

Carl

I bought a Brass framed Remington c&b and eveyone at the range told me it was a uberti Texas model. I recieved the registration papers yesterday and it says, Pietta sherrif's model (yeah, right, it's got an 8" barrel, maybe this sherrif liked to lay ambushes from a distance :) ).

I'll measure the cylinder and see what I come up with.

I've always turned up my nose at cap & balls guns, but bought this one cheap to try it out. I now have a pair of Ruger Old Armys in 5.5" Bbls coming as well as a 7.5" ROA with target sights.

I was going to sell off this old brass framed gun (it hasn't done much work, probably done more in the two months I've had it than in the previous 5 or so years), but I think I'll keep it to show the gun that was responsible for sending me further down the path of ruination :D.

4 Fingers,

Check out this website:

http://www.powderhombre.com/mbpproofmarks.pdf

It tells how to identify most black powder guns by the proof marks. Didn't work for me, but in my case the prior owner may have swapped the barrels and thus removed the proof mark identifying the manufacturer...

Carl

One other way to differentiate between Piettas and Ubertis, the cylinder bolt slot is wider on a Uberti than a Pietta. I can get an exact measurement, if you guys require it, but I do know that is another major difference between the two.

If you will notice, the backing plate for the Uberti and Pietta Cylinder conversions is identical; the only difference here is the cylinder.



lathesmith

Quote:

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Originally Posted by saigafan2008

4 Fingers,

Check out this website:

http://www.powderhombre.com/mbpproofmarks.pdf

It tells how to identify most black powder guns by the proof marks. Didn't work for me, but in my case the prior owner may have swapped the barrels and thus removed the proof mark identifying the manufacturer...

Carl

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Thanks for that, we are just about to go out, so I'll get the gun out of the safe tomorrow morning and check itout.