Pietta 1873 opinions.

[modified5]

Afternoon all.
After I went to my biweekly physical torture, er therapy for my shoulder surgery, I stopped by cabelas and perused the firearm sections to look for anything I may want to save my nickels for when I get to shoot again.
I keep coming back to the 1873 saa because they are just sweet and iconic firearms.
I have a 1891 built colt in my safe that doesn't belong to me, and even if it did I probably wouldn't shoot it a ton due to the fact that it is all original and k wouldn't want to really wear it out.
It is also in .45lc, a caliber that I don't have anything else in, so I would have to gear up for that.
Not that I'm opposed to that thought either.
I saw over there a Pietta 1873 in .44 mag with a 4.75 inch barrel that has piqued my interest.
It has a cch frame, walnut grips and a brass trigger guard.
I am heavily invested in .44 mag with a Ruger sbh, red hawk and a Rossi R92.
I would use it as a plinker\holster gun on the quad or a horse. I would load lighter cast loads in it. It would not be a hunting pistol per se. I have the others for that.
What is anyone's experience with these shooting cast, or just shooting them for that matter?
I know with no adjustable sights they won't be tack drivers, but who cares? Saa guns are just cool!

[2ndAmendmentNut]

I have a Cimarron Frontier in 357. The Frontier models are made by Pietta. The action is buttery smooth and the trigger pull pretty crisp with minimal over travel. The gun groups well from a rest at 25 yards. Only complaint is 158gr loads hit about 8" low. Not a big deal, as soon as I have the time I will file the front sight to bring POI up to POA.


I've never seen one in 44mag. Have they beefed up the frame and cylinder? If the dimensions are still Colt SAA sized I would be hesitant to use 44mag loads in it. A 44special would be pretty sweet, and allow you to use all of your 44mag components save for brass.

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[dverna]

Are you sure it was .44 Mag? I know the Colt SAA comes in .44 Spl

[modified5]

The tag said .44 mag.
It was a little bigger than the .357.
I wouldn't shoot heavy through it anyway.
If want to shoot the hammers, I would use the Rugers.

[holsterguy]

I've had two Great Western IIs. Won't buy another. Both have had terrible accuracy right out of the box. Did some checking, and the cylinder mouths are HUGE! For instance, the .45 colt has a .452 bore, and .460+ cylinder mouths. The 44-40 is just as bad.
Workin on replacing them with Uberti's.

[Beagle333]

Mine is .45 Colt and I do love it. I wish I had bought 3 or 4 of em at that sale.

[hylander]

I am in the process of buying a Pietta 1873 in .45 Colt.
Every thing is just about perfect on it.
Only thing that it may need done is have Doug Guy open up the cylinder mouths to .452 as they are under sized.
Every Pietta in .45 Colt that I have checked has undersized cylinders mouths, I have never seen one that if to large.

[bedbugbilly]

hylander - do ou know what the throats measure out to be and what the bore slugs at on those Piettas?

The Piettas I've seen - and as shown in the photos here - all seem to be pretty nice looking SAA with good fit and finish.

I looked at an older Pietta at the LGS - at least it appeared to be a Pietta and the LGS said it was - and I turned around and walked away - nothing like what is shown in the photos here so it may have been an older one - not sure when Pietta started making '73s? Again though, I do believe it was an older one. I have a Pietta '58 Remington "Navy" in 36 that is a few years old and it is a beautiful revolver - good fit and finish - accurate. Pietta has come a long way in their quality.

hylander - I ask on the measurements as I have a Uberti '73 Catt;e,am om 45 Colt - 7 1/2". It is a great quality gun nd an excellent shooter. I was concerned as to how the throats and bore relationship would be - but I never even slugged the fore not the throats. I use the traditional 255 gr. RNFP and my mold drops them at .454. I've shot them "as cast" as well as sized some .452 and both shoot very well out of it. The chambers seem to be quite generous in size.

Nice photos! Enough to make a person drool . . . nothing like a good SAA!

[2ndAmendmentNut]

I looked at an older Pietta at the LGS - at least it appeared to be a Pietta and the LGS said it was - and I turned around and walked away - nothing like what is shown in the photos

I believe Uberti and Pietta both make or at least used to make a bargain version of their SAAs. I saw a few at Cabelas once. The finish is matte or parkerized and looks terrible. The also retail for several hundred less than their standard models.


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[modified5]

The one I looked at cabelas had a nice cch frame, nice deep blueing, and a brass trigger guard that I would eventually trade out for a blued on if I get it.
All for $449. He said they go on sale often so watch the website.

[15meter]

The tag said .44 mag.
It was a little bigger than the .357.
I wouldn't shoot heavy through it anyway.
If want to shoot the hammers, I would use the Rugers.

Don't always trust the tag, I have been in a Gander Mountain looking at a Winchester semi-auto with the plunger at the front of the handguard to operate the action--a 351SL, the tag said 35 Remington. Pointed it out to the clerk, including having him get out one of their gun guide books and showing him, he put it back on the shelf with the wrong tag. At Cabela's in Dundee a week or to ago and saw the same thing. Didn't waste my time with that one.

[45 Dragoon]

Well, I was gonna post a pic of my Uberti made El Patron Competition but I'll have to shuffle some things around. Not that you would be able to see anything my post is about since it's about all internal. The copies of the '73 Mod. P made by Uberti and Pietta are nice and can be made to make a Colt blush!! Mine is a .45C/.45 acp convertible. Since it is a carry gun/home defender, I wanted it to be as reliable as possible so I updated the frame mounted handspring to my version as well as removing the combination bolt/trigger spring and installing coils instead. Using the Ruger 3 screw method, a torsion spring actuates the bolt and a trigger guard mounted coil and plunger replace the trigger return spring. The only flat left is the mainspring that has been relaxed to a "just under" 3 lb. hammer draw. It should last a while!!!
Oh, I guess you could see the plunger behind the trigger from the outside, . . . . but that's all!

Mike

[bob208]

I have two emf Dakotas one is a 5 1/2 .44-40 the other is a 7 1/2 .45colt. both made by asm. thee is a auction that has a American arms 7 1/2 .38-40 I am lusting after.


Question is American arms a well made pistol?

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Hi bob208, I also have some EMF Dakota revolvers, a 7 1/2" .45 L.C., a 5 1/2" .45 LC, and a 4 3/4" .44-40. I remember that they hit the market about the time that the Clint Eastwood spaghetti western movies started coming out, and I'm pretty certain that most of the 1873-type revolvers used in those movies were Dakotas, especially if they have a brass grip frame. Mine were all made by Armi Jager, but I do believe that Armi San Marco made them after Armi Jager went out of business. I've researched these companies a bit and Armi Jager was the first Italian company to make them. In my opinion neither company's revolvers were fitted quite as nicely as the Ubertis and Piettas we're seeing today, but for strength and durability I think that they are just as good. Mine were all purchased new, and were more accurate out of the box than the Ubertis and Pietta that I own. I remember passing on an American Arms .44 Mag.--wish I would have bought it.

[bob208]

nothing wrong with piettas. I have a few cap and ball piettas even have .36 Remington with the .38 spl. cyl.

I looked at the American arms today they are made by uberti. I am going to bid on it.
my Dakotas have the blued grip frame.

they have a jager that goes off sunday. it is .38-40 with a 4 3/4 barrel.

[Soundguy]

I have a uberti cattleman II 73 in 357 mag, love that gun!

[historicfirearms]

I too saw a saa clone 1873 in 44 mag yesterday at a large sporting goods store. It was very attractive and had an unfluted cylinder. They had it priced at $450 if I remember correctly. This was the one I saw. http://americanhandgunner.com/uberti-44-magnum/
https://www.uberti-usa.com/sites/def...?itok=fYFo_qqB
It looks like it comes in fixed sight and adjustable sight models.

[Tar Heel]

It is in fact a Pietta 1873 SAA in 44 Magnum. Having shot the 357 mag and torn hide off my trigger finger with it. I would hesitate to shoot 44 mag loads due to the trigger type and location and the gun simply does not have the beef for full house 44 mag loads. I would shoot 44 Special loads in it to save my trigger finger and to save the gun. It simply caused me to do a double take when I placed these guns in the counter. I went "a 44 Magnum??"

By the way, I am not overly impressed with the Pietta quality on their centerfire Colt clones. Here is the action on my 357 mag. I have yet to determine the cause of this hammer drag. It isn't the frame/hammer interface.

https://youtu.be/EX3bnQ0wCeY

[45 Dragoon]

The hammer cam is too high and isn't polished.
The bolt arm (left one) needs to be relieved (thinned) and the corner where it meets the bolt body needs to be rounded to spread tension. It will also extend its life immensely!

The key: the first click with the hammer returning from full cock is the hand indexing over the next ratchet tooth. The second (and last) click is the bolt arm resetting.
Since we here the first click, the hand seems to be riding fine. As for the second click, the bolt arm is much too strong and is what is holding the hammer back as in the video.

The fix is to reduce the hight of the cam to "just higher" than the bolt arm thickness and to thin the left arm to remove much of the tension so it will flex very easily.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~

Also, check the "reset cut" which is the heavy angled chamfer that allows the cam to push the arm over. (There may be interference with the two surfaces) it should be polished as well. -This could actually be all you need but this other stuff will help the life of your revolver-

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You may also want to re-contour/thin the bolt side of the combo spring as well. You only need about 3 lbs. there. Your parts will thank you!




Mike

[holsterguy]

My apologies to the OP. Double checked the cyl. throats on the 45. They are all around .454. I guess I didn't have the caliper zeroed good the first time. Sorry(open mouth insert foot).