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. :smile:
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.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170307/dd4783bf3f6d8deaa679dd3a54e3bfc6.jpg

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.

http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt214/shutupandjump/1873/Pietta002_zps13c0af7f.jpg

http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt214/shutupandjump/1873/Pietta013_zps5771db27.jpg

http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt214/shutupandjump/1873/Pietta017_zps9f4cd6f8.jpg

[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/default/files/styles/firearm_180/public/originals/product-firearms/1873-callahan-target-revolver.png?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-

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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).

[modified5]

I would definitely not shoot full house loads through it. I would plan on shooting 200 grain rnfp lead at moderate speeds. More around .44 special velocities. I would use the rugers for full tilt boogie loads.

[Sigmanz]

I've been pretty impressed by the Pietta single action quality as of late. I don't know if it has anything to do with Cimmaron using them and Uberti or if Cimmaron helped raise their standards. But they make a pretty nice pistol these days. 44 mag though ? Not for me thanks.

[Walkingwolf]

I have the 44 mag Pietta, and I love it. It is very accurate, and for me comfortable to shoot. YES on occasion I shoot mag loads with it, it is modern steel probably stronger than the 2nd generation Colts that Skeeter hot rodded 44 special loads. I would not shoot it constantly with hot loads, but it can handle it occasionally.

Keep in mind while Rugers are beefy, they are made from cast. I like my Rugers, but a engineer I knew at a tool company told me they were not as tough as people thought they were. His business also built tranny shafts for top fuel drag racers, he knew a lot about steel.

If the Piettas are forged as opposed to cast, and heat treated correctly they should have no problem with occasional magnum loads. When in the woods it is only loaded with magnum loads, 300 grain hard cast at 1200fps.

[Tar Heel]

I sell these guns, among others, and the Pietta's keep getting returned - especially the BP revolvers. Three center-fire 1873's have been returned in the last year for total failure to fire. Their quality is not up to par folks. Sorry to report it but that is the truth. Here are the observations on my recent Pietta made in 2015? I think. Date stamp is CP.


Around 4 months ago, I bought a Pietta 1873 SAA in 357 Magnum at Store-X. The gun is very handsome and caught my eye when we first placed it in the counter. While not normally my type of gun, it kind of grew on me so I bought it. After all, the price was pretty good.


Knowing what I knew about Pietta black powder guns and their less than stellar quality, I figured that their center-fire revolvers would be of a different caliber. No pun intended. The gun however has lived up to the less than desirable quality one would not expect from a firearm, and were it not for my limited knowledge of gunsmithing, this gun would have completely failed by this time. I am not a gunsmith by any stretch but I do have some limited capacity in this area.


This gun exhibited a retarded hammer fall. As a result, I stoned the hammer and frame bearing surfaces thinking this would fix the issue. It did not. Included in here is a link to a pretty bad video showing the main problem, and then a link to a photo album showing the root cause of the problem. Take a few moments to dwell on each picture and look at the casting flaws, machining flaws, burrs, peening, and just the general lack of quality of the parts.


Following the two links is a list of defects I have discovered and corrected on this revolver alone. Bottom line is buy a Ruger or if you really want an Italian revolver, get an Uberti.


Video:
https://youtu.be/EX3bnQ0wCeY

(https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2FEX3bnQ0wCeY&h=ATNt-tgP_k6s4LcATZt94KMSjHDg-Q5tGuVkaceZlPEqAzANFgx6F-WdW35GShIVeyH3iegpxQ9-hB7ulbXXXpbKIXVen1V4a4xUsomcWRnC5kgrgKgLVF2mV0uin2 RqnnpOZBvGVYUfwgYmVA&enc=AZPbofZYyRIgerzvkqVq34W84libW0Tsf99XecSXwrcl7t xuNAnYP-NyboBwEmpuCbdyGu5nhAqr6hqyrtkGJ1JjM1ZmPlVc153wZTKM c91xCSb0htjAzZSZDxOUjm-KdNxqTnOa40NbydjujaU9BK1n1YlYUHdepQlm2uR3bFOXzc0Jg nx2IeG44ixkEQc7Yg1JxzHVQYfKPLO-SoSyTmaT&s=1)

Photos:
https://goo.gl/photos/rh4XcNmqncB4ig3QA

(https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fgoo.gl%2Fphotos%2Frh4XcNmqnc B4ig3QA&h=ATNgLOF40oeepvQsavxLhpiV2gB7KKRedFzp0eXux3Wb8zph 2XqheFahlGfF5jwAbSSOc1qPTbit9rUuKdEqSThl-U-z5jJI_rN8Uh5Qccvo87Q_mm3fe4ugz5D-8NkxrtQPS_073r9GjKB6Gw&enc=AZMuETYvPq6Pbv88VCga544MZhlrQgSbVvnaahbzNPb-AEAP0jMZWeCVVWwp4dIUPyfAL81IM5hQfnvbiLg_5ZuHu_Q7Ec yjSAseaawyeJmj5tA1gBkreZfZsuZl-GjimrawUkym4o20ZYZ-Gwyhyb05MI0qNHikztpoATgCot_Ij9tfiMd4qKUPoR3J1E4YRU 4ZqgH8wXg7SQvTy8wczF4h&s=1)List of defects:
The hammer binds and sticks 2/3 of the way through its range of travel when gently lowered. This alludes to binding at bearing surfaces or burrs on parts in close relationship to each other. The problem was in fact, a severely burred and improperly finished and tapered hammer cam which allowed the bolt leg (stirrup) to release and travel over it smoothly. Galling at this interface was evident and total parts failure is predicted. A complete failure of the bolt leg would have occurred in a short amount of time.


The forcing cone is non-existent. Most revolvers exhibit a 5° to 8° cone angle here but this revolver has a short abrupt entry to the barrel which also exhibits tooling marks. The lack of a proper forcing cone angle and proper throat (leade) results in degraded accuracy with most cartridges, especially those with lead bullets.


The outer circumference of the rear of the barrel (forcing cone area) has lipped knife-edge flanges left there. These are extremely sharp and did cut me when cleaning this area. The barrel was not properly buffed to remove this upturned and displaced metal after machining and before insertion into the frame.


The tip of the trigger is very sharp and will pinch and cut your trigger finger when shooting magnum cartridges. A blunter and smoother profile at the tip of the trigger would greatly assist and be much less painful when shooting the revolver.


The cylinder pin is rough and unfinished. It presents a less than optimal bearing surface for the cylinder axis hole.


The cylinder pin access hole is sharp and catches the cylinder pin when installing it. This makes getting the cylinder pin inserted very difficult.


The cylinder pin cross bolt is hard to operate due to unfinished and knife-edged surfaces causing binding when attempting to push it in releasing the cylinder pin for extraction or insertion.


The hammer is too narrow for the hammer slot and this coupled with an over diameter hammer screw hole allows canting of the hammer upon trigger release. These tolerances are too loose. You can actually see the hammer cant in the recess due to lateral pressure of the bolt leg upon release.


Firing pin strike is borderline effective. The firing pin is probably a few thousandths of an inch too short.


The hammer and trigger pivot pin holes are chamfered and too large. This allows wobble and grabbing of the bearing surfaces. Inside surfaces of the holes exhibit casting marks and it is clear these surfaces have received no attention, polishing, or finishing work at all.


Hammer, trigger, and bolt pivot pins are unfinished and unpolished causing excessive friction on these surfaces.


The cartridge case ejector rod housing has knife-edges which cut my fingers. These sharp edges also grab the ejector rod causing binding and jamming when attempting to eject empty cases from the cylinder.


The trigger guard is about .001” too wide where it meets the frame on the left-hand side of the gun presenting a knife-edge which cuts your hands. The trigger guard should be fitted a little bit better or have its edges rounded to prevent cutting of the shooters hand or fingers.

While this may seem like an extensive list of flaws, most are bearable by the average shooter. These guns also cost less than say, a Ruger Vaquero. You get what you pay for is an eloquent statement here but having said that, the guns should be built to last a tad bit longer with a little bit more quality. Jeez....buff the knife-edges off at least right?

[Tar Heel]

The hammer cam is too high and isn't polished.

Nailed it. With this one as bad as it is I wire brushed it to smooth it up. Look at the burr they left on this rascal! I swear - they peened the lower half of the cam to reduce it. I can see the peening marks beside the cam on the hammer. Look at the pictures in the link I made a few minutes ago. Good Lord.

https://goo.gl/photos/rh4XcNmqncB4ig3QA

[modified5]

Tar Heel, that looks like a blind, drug addicted high school drop out put that thing together.
Surely they can't all be that bad!?

[shoot-n-lead]

Tar Heel, that looks like a blind, drug addicted high school drop out put that thing together.
Surely they can't all be that bad!?

You are right...they are not nearly...all...like that.

Just a little searching the internet will let you know that there is not a lot of bad about them, out there. And, the more recent the review or comment about them, the better it is. I think they are a good value.

[45 Dragoon]

Thanks Tar Heel. I fool with those everyday! Folks will blame a ftf on the light mainspring they install from "whoever". The true culprit is the cam/ bolt arm interaction 90% of the time.
I send all belt and pocket revolvers out with a 4lb. hammer draw (cap guns) and Walkers/Dragoons leave with 3.5lb hammer draws (the hammers have enough mass to get away with it!!). The most important thing for reliable ignition is " clearing the path for the hammer"!!


You are also correct about the screws and screwpins being soft. All screws/screwpins are hardened, cleaned up (repaired if necessary) and fire blued. This gives the smooth, bearing type surface a "tuned" revolver should have.


You may check the hammer roll and see if it has enough exposure to keep contact with the mainspring. Piettas are bad about that and more times than not, I have to remove it, re-shape the bottom of the hammer (sometimes clean up the slot). Many times the roll is pinched and frozen. Fixing this will free up a lot of drag as well.


I guess the best part about these offerings from Italy is that it keeps me busy!! Lol!!


Mike

[hylander]

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!

Sorry for late reply,
I will try to check specs tomorrow when I get to work, Have not purchased the gun yet.
Only allowed to buy one handgun every 30 days here in Commiefornia :roll:
Fit and finish is great, trigger pull is smooth and light. Sights seem regulated correct.
When purchased I will give a complete review, but it will be next week before I can Dros it :(
I like to shoot 200gr. RNFP, lighter recoil and they shoot close to point of aim in my 1858 conversion.

[35 Whelen]

I would definitely not shoot full house loads through it. I would plan on shooting 200 grain rnfp lead at moderate speeds. More around .44 special velocities. I would use the rugers for full tilt boogie loads.

Why would you suggest not shooting .44 Magnum loads in a .44 Magnum revolver??? Are you aware of the proofing requirements for European firearms manufacturers?

35W

[shoot-n-lead]

Why would you suggest not shooting .44 Magnum loads in a .44 Magnum revolver??? Are you aware of the proofing requirements for European firearms manufacturers?

35W

I wondered about that, also.

[modified5]

Yes, I am aware of the European requirements for proofing a firearm.
i guess I wasn't really considering using this as a "serious" hunting firearm but more as a fun companion to my Rossi r92. I just shoot 200 rnfp through it.
I know a 200 gr rnfp will knock the snot out of a deer, even at spc velocities, I was just looking at it for a different purpose.

[Tar Heel]

Proofing values aside, the Colt SAA is not the right platform for the 44 Magnum. Your trigger finger and middle finger will let you know all about this comment when you shoot those full-house 44's in it. Know also that the Pietta SAA's are real nice looking on the outside. It's the inside that matters if you plan to shoot the darn thing. Hopefully, your gun will be a sweetie.

[Walkingwolf]

Proofing values aside, the Colt SAA is not the right platform for the 44 Magnum. Your trigger finger and middle finger will let you know all about this comment when you shoot those full-house 44's in it. Know also that the Pietta SAA's are real nice looking on the outside. It's the inside that matters if you plan to shoot the darn thing. Hopefully, your gun will be a sweetie.
Mine is, no issues what so ever.

[Green Frog]

Just a quick thought to add to the thread... Taylor & Co of Winchester,VA sells Uberti SAAs in a variety of configurations. About 2 years ago at their annual open house sale I bought one of their Smoke Wagon Deluxe editions in 45 Colt with a 4 1/2" barrel for Cowboy Fast Draw events. On this variant they do a complete refitting of all internals and replace all of the springs... AND IT SHOWS!! If you want an Italian SAA, you should definitely give them a look. They don't sell at bargain basement prices, but they aren't bargain basement guns. BTW, I'm not sure these guns are available in 44 Mag, but then again, do you really want to shoot 44 Mag in a Colt SAA clone?

Froggie

[opos]

Had (and shot a lot) a Pietta "Millennial" model SAA with the matte finish and the brass trigger guard...it was .453 and handled lead just fine..it was a nice shooter and I never worried about the loadings as long as I stayed within the posted mid range loads....it was accurate and never a problem...except one (minor one)...The cylinder pin had 2 notches cut in it...one was just to hold the cylinder in place and the other was sort of a mechanical locking safety..the pin "divots" that were cut into the pin were not like the groove many single actions have and unless you had the pin exactly lined up it was a pain to try and "wiggle it" into place when reinstalling the cylinder...one time of fussing with it and "lesson learned"...I understand there are replacement pins available that are a good deal and had I not traded mine off as part of a trade...I'd install one of those..

No real reason I got rid of it..just that I was into a "trade" and it was part of the deal.191004

[35 Whelen]

The Uberti base pins are pretty soft and after a few hundred heavy loads the groove gets peened and the pin becomes difficult to remove. The simple solution is to simply replace them with one out of a Ruger Blackhawk or New Vaquero. They're much harder and won't peen.

35W

[Tar Heel]

You are right...they are not nearly...all...like that.

Just a little searching the internet will let you know that there is not a lot of bad about them, out there. And, the more recent the review or comment about them, the better it is. I think they are a good value.

They are a good value. Know also that Pietta provided warranty service on this gun and replaced the hammer, bolt, and trigger. They also tuned the action. Their warranty service was exceptional and swift.

[modified5]

I went to Cabelas today since I had some time to kill.
In their library they have a beautiful Ruger vaquero in .44 mag for $499!
I hate being out of money!!! :D[smilie=b:

[Tar Heel]

Yup. NV, TX, CO, and the "Western" states have some real nice handguns in their Libraries. NC just shipped a real nice Ruger 3-screw BH in 45 Colt out to Idaho. You can really find some sweet deals in there. Sometimes it's just being at the right place at the right time.

[Tar Heel]

I have a repaired Pietta inbound and a broke Uberti outbound. The Uberti has metal inclusions in the barrel and a loading gate spring screw that can't keep its head on.

192333 192334 192335

[Tar Heel]

Got the Pietta 1873 back from EMF in California (they do Pietta Warranty service) and boy is it sweet now. The hammer, bolt, and trigger were replaced and the gun was timed. In a word - SMOOTH! Hats off to EMF for their PROMPT and excellent work on this Pietta revolver.

http://www.emf-company.com/

[hylander]

I bought a Taylors Smoke Wagon .45 Colt a couple months ago.
Had to send it back twice. B/C gap was excessive and barrel not clocked correct, seems fine now.
4 days ago I picked up a new Pietta 1873 Pistolero .45 Colt.
Everything seemed perfect, until I get to the range.
Go to load it up and I could feel roughness in one chamber as I loaded.
Unload it and looked inside, I see what looks like debri so run a patch through it.
Does not come out, I ran a brush through it, still does not come out.
I hold it up to the light and it is not debi I see it is pieces of metal missing :shock:
Must of been a void in the steel when machined. I took it back and got a refund.
No more Clones for me, I am done, except for Pietta BP revolvers which I love.
On to a Smith or Ruger.

[johnson1942]

i just took apart a new uberti cattleman from cimmeron. (sp). i was going to put the bottom spring in from wolf and it is a wire spring. guess what? cimmeron does go through their guns they get from uberti. the spring that was in it was a after market wolf spring. i was surprised. the forcing cone was done real well. how ever the cylinder needs to be worked on as all the holes going out of it are too tight and not even. not bad but not perfect. shot to point of aim at about 20 yards. going to shoot even better when im done with it. doug guy will do the cylinder for me. i thought it would have the navy grips on it but they are the army grips. with the 7 and 1/2 inch barrel it feels just right. this gun will get a lot of use.

[Four Fingers of Death]

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/default/files/styles/firearm_180/public/originals/product-firearms/1873-callahan-target-revolver.png?itok=fYFo_qqB
It looks like it comes in fixed sight and adjustable sight models.

Wow! Way cool handgun. I've never seen one of those, but I'll be asking around on Monday.

[Earlwb]

It is a little late to this thread, but yes they do make a .44 mag version. Interestingly it seems the 1873's are all full size and in 22LR, 38/357, 44 Mag and 45LC they all use the same size and frame for the guns. One holster fits all. The 44 magnum 1873 seems to be a Cabelas special made version just for them. The writing on the barrel tends to imply that. I would suggest using a pair of shooting gloves as the trigger guard tends to beat up on the finger behind it. It might be wise to go sparingly on the full house magnum loads though. I am not sure as to how long it could tolerate the full house magnum loads. Using .44 Special may be the way to go. Anyway, it is about the smallest .44 magnum revolver I know of out there. Oh yeah, my example feels quite good. I haven't found anything wrong with it so far either.

You know, it would be nice if someone made a larger rubber grip for the 1873 revolver. It feels small in my large size hands.

215588

215589

[35 Whelen]

Don't see the point in buying a .44 Magnum and not shooting Magnums through it, but it's your revolver.
Take a pair of calpiers and measure the outside diameter of the cylinder. A standard Uberti SA cylinder will measure about 1.665".

35W

[Earlwb]

Yeah I can agree, it doesn't make sense to not shoot 44 mags in a 44 mag revolver. I measured my Pietta 1873 example and I am getting around the same measurements at 1.665 inches. It varies a little depending on where one measures at.

I do remember some years ago where some magazine pundits were recommending using 38 special ammo more than 357 mag ammo in certain revolvers years ago. They felt shooting full house magnum loads would wear the guns out more soon. But that always had me wondering as to how true that was. Maybe with the old S&W K frames where shooting lots of magnum loads would cause the forcing cone to crack on some of them, etc.

[Walkingwolf]

Don't see the point in buying a .44 Magnum and not shooting Magnums through it, but it's your revolver.
Take a pair of calpiers and measure the outside diameter of the cylinder. A standard Uberti SA cylinder will measure about 1.665".

35W

You don't? There are many reason, one just to get some peoples undies in a bunch.

I have a 44 1873 and it is loaded with magnum brass, and very mild 300 grain loads, only 750fps. It is just a joy to shoot, too old for willy measuring on who can shoot the hottest load.

[Four Fingers of Death]

Good gun if you are an Elmer Keith fan.

[35 Whelen]

You don't? There are many reason, one just to get some peoples undies in a bunch.

I have a 44 1873 and it is loaded with magnum brass, and very mild 300 grain loads, only 750fps. It is just a joy to shoot, too old for willy measuring on who can shoot the hottest load.

No undie bunching here, just never understood why some buy a big ol' .44 Magnum and shoot .44 Special loads. But to each his own, lots of city folks buy the the big ol' F250 King Ranch 4x4 diesel Pickups and never leave the pavement or pull a trailer!

35W

[am44mag]

No undie bunching here, just never understood why some buy a big ol' .44 Magnum and shoot .44 Special loads. But to each his own, lots of city folks buy the the big ol' F250 King Ranch 4x4 diesel Pickups and never leave the pavement or pull a trailer!

35W

In the case of SAAs, it's usually cheaper/easier to find a 44 mag than a 44 special. I see that as a very valid reason and is why I'm looking into one of these Piettas. Plus, a 44 mag case full of holy black can be a lot of fun, but I'm sure as heck not shooting it through my 629.

[Four Fingers of Death]

No undie bunching here, just never understood why some buy a big ol' .44 Magnum and shoot .44 Special loads.

35W

A lot of us are rather fond of the 44Special, but 44Special handguns are pretty thin on the ground.

[Walkingwolf]

A lot of us are rather fomd of the 44Special, but 44Special handguns are pretty thin on the ground.

That is why I ended up with a Pietta 1873 in 44 mag. It was available, and affordable, plus Ruger did not have at that time a 44 Vaquero. I do use 44 cases in it, but they are very mild loaded, loads that would be 44 special non plus P. I do keep some hot loads around, but don't shoot them on a regular basis.

[Dale53]

Earlwb;
Regarding your single action grips. A few years ago, I bought two Ruger Flattop .44 Specials. They were everything I could have hoped for. I am a bit of a heretic, because I have Pachmayr grips on most of my handguns (both single and double action). I discovered that Pachmayr had no dedicated grips for my .44 Special Flattops. However, through further investigation I learned that Pachmayr grips for the Colt SAA would work. They don’t fit perfectly, but quite close.

The problem is, they too, are discontinued. I found several new pairs online at various places through Ebay, etc.

That’s something you might want to check out.

Ruger .44 Special Flattop with Pachmaryr grips:

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj80/Dale53/DalesPistolsRevolvers4Selects-0388.jpg (http://s269.photobucket.com/user/Dale53/media/DalesPistolsRevolvers4Selects-0388.jpg.html)

Just a thought or two...
Dale53

[donkee]

I have two Pietta SAAs. Both have been good so far. The newest one I picked up maybe 8 months ago just broke the transfer bar. $30 plus shipping for a new one. the only dry firing is if I fire on the empty chamber when shooting it, I only load 5 to get myself in the habit for CAS when I start. I think it has about 500 rounds through it. I am still more than happy with the purchase. They shoot smokeless and BP loads and keeping them on a 6" plate at 25 yards is effortless, never shot to see how tight the groups are, they are toys for hammering plates.

That said my next purchase is going to be a Cimmaron 1872 open top navy in 44 Spl. Should be a riot and pretty much assured a 2nd one will be on the way shortly after I shoot the first one......

[Soundguy]

I'm on a 357 kick right now , I've got a uberti saa in 357, love it. Something about loading a revolver thru a gate and manual extraction that I love.

[Earlwb]

Earlwb;
Regarding your single action grips. A few years ago, I bought two Ruger Flattop .44 Specials. They were everything I could have hoped for. I am a bit of a heretic, because I have Pachmayr grips on most of my handguns (both single and double action). I discovered that Pachmayr had no dedicated grips for my .44 Special Flattops. However, through further investigation I learned that Pachmayr grips for the Colt SAA would work. They don’t fit perfectly, but quite close.

The problem is, they too, are discontinued. I found several new pairs online at various places through Ebay, etc.

That’s something you might want to check out.

Ruger .44 Special Flattop with Pachmaryr grips:

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj80/Dale53/DalesPistolsRevolvers4Selects-0388.jpg (http://s269.photobucket.com/user/Dale53/media/DalesPistolsRevolvers4Selects-0388.jpg.html)

Just a thought or two...
Dale53

Yeah I have been looking but so far they show only pearl grips or some variation of the wood or plastic types of grips. I will look and see if the PAchmayr grips pop up anyplace. I was thinking of something more like I have on my S&W revolvers. I know some might see it as a sacrilege, but I am not out trying to do cowboy shooting contests or re-enactments.

215803

[Earlwb]

I just remembered, Dirty Harry in the movie Magnum Force said he used light .44 special ammunition in his Model 29. He wasn't using 44 mag ammunition.

ref https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/mythbuster-dirty-harry-did-not-carry-44-magnum.146131/

I found the video clip for when he says it. Now it is a movie, so everything is movie magic, etc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs8AqzN9Ga4

[am44mag]

I just remembered, Dirty Harry in the movie Magnum Force said he used light .44 special ammunition in his Model 29. He wasn't using 44 mag ammunition.

ref https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/mythbuster-dirty-harry-did-not-carry-44-magnum.146131/

I found the video clip for when he says it. Now it is a movie, so everything is movie magic, etc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs8AqzN9Ga4

That irritates me to no end...

[Four Fingers of Death]

The 44Mag loads would have been too much nose and blast for the speakers on the movie set probably.

I remember reading that in the first movie, they actually used a 41Mag as S&W weren't producing 44Mags at that time and the movie needed to go ahead, so a 41Mag it was (PS, Don't tell the 41M guys, they are like Vegans and we will never hear the end of it, haha.

[Earlwb]

I read about that same thing in that they used a 41 Mag on the movie set. But the director and producer both denied it vigorously. Now they like fired blanks all the time. The gun noises are all added in later in the mixing room. I tend to get a kick out of them making all the other guns sound sort of wimpy in comparison to the .44 Mag. You know the pow, pow, pow and then the BOOM, BOOM.... etc. LOL.

Besides in real life firing .357's or .44 mag's inside and outside would have likely blown out everyone's eardrums. In real life does anyone have time to pause and insert ear plugs before they engage in a gunfight?

ref https://www.nrablog.com/articles/2017/5/history-in-a-handgun-dirty-harrys-44-magnum-smith-and-wesson/

[Four Fingers of Death]

I read about that same thing in that they used a 41 Mag on the movie set. But the director and producer both denied it vigorously. Now they like fired blanks all the time. The gun noises are all added in later in the mixing room. I tend to get a kick out of them making all the other guns sound sort of wimpy in comparison to the .44 Mag. You know the pow, pow, pow and then the BOOM, BOOM.... etc. LOL.

Besides in real life firing .357's or .44 mag's inside and outside would have likely blown out everyone's eardrums. In real life does anyone have time to pause and insert ear plugs before they engage in a gunfight?

ref https://www.nrablog.com/articles/2017/5/history-in-a-handgun-dirty-harrys-44-magnum-smith-and-wesson/

What was that Brit movie? Sting I think it was with the big Russian putting earplugs in and his potential victims wondering what he was doing, haha.