USFA Special Order Blues

[Deadeye Don]

Right now the gun is non-existent.  All we have heard is empty promises from USFA.  We shall see if they actually put these into production in a reasonable amount of time.  It is now July and they still arent appearing on the website. 

[Harley Starr]

I wouldn't get too excited about what they will or won't do until they actually produce these guns. I've ordered guns before they were in production in the past. The actual fact is always different than the promises. They probably don't have a good handle on exactly what they will be doing anyway so the best advice I can give is wait until they're in production. Then talk to USFA when they know the full scope of their production capabilities. You could be pleasantly surprised. Maybe not, but at least you won't spend a lot of time in a stressed state before then. For that matter, you may change your mind on what details you actually will want and all that concern would have been for nothing.

I feel like I owe you guys an apology. When I learned that Remington gave USFA the green light on producing their old sixguns, I felt like a kid on Christmas morning probably as some of you felt. I mean the prospect of an American-made Remington Model 1875 just couldn't be beat. Now your's truly here(as usual) tends to get carried away by news like that. The sales rep I talked to that day left me with a sick feeling in my gut and I just wanted to curse USFA's solid reputation but I couldn't bring myself to do that. Only recently I took it upon myself to study the USFA website and I found a couple of items of interest. Namely the Armory Blue finish that I couldn't stand. After seeing it on various items such as the Custom Shop Gun, a semi automatic pistol, and the Pre-War, that got the old gears spinning in my head. So I'm just going to let it be armory blue and hopefully they will still offer little details such as a nickel-plated triggerguard or maybe even silver-plated triggerguard like the one offered on their 1858 maybe.  Marshal Will Wingam, you were right about me changing my mind. As for that frontsight however, I still hate it, and I still want to change it.

Sixgun Kilrain sends his regrets

[Deadeye Don]

Sixgun,   It is your money and you should never feel bad about being particular on what you spend it on.

[Advertising]

[Harley Starr]

Sixgun,   It is your money and you should never feel bad about being particular on what you spend it on.

Thanks Deadeye.

[Marshal Will Wingam]

Sixgun,   It is your money and you should never feel bad about being particular on what you spend it on.

Deadeye has it right, there.

I also would like to see a blade front sight. I currently shoot Ubertis with the post sight. That front sight is questionable at best but you do get used to it. I'm hoping to see something nicer on the USFA.

[Harley Starr]

Apart from finishes and front sights, I've been doing alot of thinking here lately about custom grips for my Remingtons. Right now it's a tie between buffalo horn or ebony. Not only that, but I want sterling silver inlays that look like the flaming torch on the Statue of Liberty. A while back I was on Youtube and I saw a video of a Colt SAA with the gold crucifix inlays as seen in 3:10 to Yuma. This man had these grips custom made for him by Outlaw Grips. I'm seriously considering this company as they do their own Silversmith work. Any thoughts or suggestions?

[Marshal Will Wingam]

Will Ghormley, the maker who made the leather for Russel Crowe in the movie, 3:10 to Yuma, offers the crucifixes as well as the leather to match. If you are interested, he does make custom metal work for his stuff and could be open to making the inlays for you. I don't know if he'd set them in grips, but you could always have someone else do that if you had them. He also has some great custom buckles he's created from an original design. Here's a link to the page of his site where he shows those items.

http://www.willghormley-maker.com/310toYuma.html

[Harley Starr]

Will Ghormley has quite a few treasures. The Frank James Rig is of considerable interest to me. However I did some more searching and found a more interesting company called Gunfighter928. They do custom inlay work on the grips. You choose one of their designs or you design it and they will make it. Check out gunfighter928.com, they have alot to offer.

[Four Eyed Floyd]

Will Ghormley has quite a few treasures. The Frank James Rig is of considerable interest to me. However I did some more searching and found a more interesting company called Gunfighter928. They do custom inlay work on the grips. You choose one of their designs or you design it and they will make it. Check out gunfighter928.com, they have alot to offer.

Here are your grips. 
http://www.westernandwildlifewonders.com/shop/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=451

[Harley Starr]

What is the deal with getting a good, authentic reproduction of a 1875 Remington? I'm starting to think I've jinxed the whole process by unwittingly choosing the 1875 as my all-time favorite hand gun. I've loved them since I was a kid, when I first started studying the guns and gear of the Civil War and the Old West. Now, thirty five years later, I'm still trying to get an exact replica of the old '75. Other outfits make picture-perfect replicas of first generation Colts. Is there some magic voodoo incantation that I need to start chanting to get the gun gods to smile upon us? I'll not even launch into the story of my on-going 4.5 year battle with Hartford Armory to get either my guns or my $2000 back.

I have a pair of older Uberti's that have the pinched-post front sight. In fact, one of them was made in the early-mid '70's for the Replica Arms Co. It has the more-authentic solid frame and front clasp for the cylinder pin, and the most incredible (yet un-authentic) tiger striped case colors on the frame and backstrap that I've ever seen on any firearm. The other one is an early 90's Navy Arms. I am currently doing a few things to make them look even more like originals, like stripping the glossy coating off the grips, sanding them down thinner, and giving them a dark oiled finish. I'm going to replace the brass trigger guards with blued steel ones, as soon as VTI gets some in stock. I've moved the serial numbers onto the backstraps and installed lanyard rings originally made for the Pietta LeMat revolver. I'm even contemplating getting the cylinders bevelled. I've blued the "white" sides of the hammers. The only thing I can't seem to bring myself to do is erase those gorgeous case colors on the frame of the older one. I guess I'll leave those alone.

And after all of the modifications, I will have two more-authentic-looking facsimiles of an original 1875, but not exact clones or reproductions. I hope that USFA does make good on their plans to make an 1875 clone, and that (IMO) simple requests like choices of front sight style, or lanyard rings, or type of finish will be accomodated without too much fanfare (if any). I'll certainly be in line for one, hopefully with my refund from Hartford Armory in hand to pay for it.

Well Hellwood, those first two sentences alone say it all. Every SCORRS member chose to stand out from the rest of the crowd by following their hearts and minds on a weapon that history gave the short end of the stick to. I'm sure that once upon a time, when everyone of us first laid eyes on this gun we went, "Well it looks like a Colt, BUT!"
I mean there was something so wrong about it that it looked and felt so right. In some ways it's alot like that beautiful woman that we could never have. Okay that last one was a little bit strange. The Model 1875 was in my opinion, THE FIRST COLT KNOCKOFF, only it was done with style, and even in its own time it had a following. I guess one could say that Frank & Jesse James may have SCORRS badges on right now.

[Willie Dixon]

I'm sure Frank James would have proudly worn the SCORRS badge...
anyways,
any news on these coming out? I've read somewhere late 2009 now... forget where, went google crazy when I heard these might be coming.  that's a dream come true.  USFA makes the best guns, and to have it be made here, in the USA not Italy, nuff said.

worst case, at least Hartford Armory is making them, better to enjoy what we have.

[Harley Starr]

I'm sure Frank James would have proudly worn the SCORRS badge...
anyways,
any news on these coming out? I've read somewhere late 2009 now... forget where, went google crazy when I heard these might be coming.  that's a dream come true.  USFA makes the best guns, and to have it be made here, in the USA not Italy, nuff said.

worst case, at least Hartford Armory is making them, better to enjoy what we have.

Hartford Armory's take on the 1875 is of considerable interest to me due to the fact that they could fire .45 Colt+P hunting loads. According to John Taffin, the 1875 grip frame was more managable with heavy recoil from the +P loads than the Colt-like Ruger XR3 grip frame on the Blackhawk. Imagine that! Unfortunately, Hartford Armory halted production back in 2005. I'd buy them in a heartbeat.
As for the USFA Remington, Gary Granger informed me that it will be a 2009 release. He'll post the highly sought after information once the green light is given. Until that time I feel that we need to exercise alittle Faith and Patience in our fellow Americans who are laboring to make this dream a reality. As I stated earlier, I will not be tempted to buy a Uberti copy. To me this gun doesn't even deserve to share the same pistol case with an original, not even a 3rd Generation Colt SAA. The original Remington 1875 had a unique hammer design, while the Uberti looks just aweful. That hammer block safety of their's is about as practical as some of the gun laws in this country. No offense intended if you own a Uberti Outlaw. And Willie Dixon I agree with you, Frank James would have worn the SCORRS badge with great reverence.

[Steel Horse Bailey]

6 Gun wrote:

"That hammer block safety of their's is about as practical as some of the gun laws in this country."



I hear ya ... just don't ferget: it was BECAUSE of the stoopid US importation laws that Uberti had to cobble up SOME sort of stoopid design change to meet stoopid US Regs.  That DON'T have to be done by US manufacturers.

 

[Willie Dixon]

Yeah, I have to agree.  I can't wait, but I'm willing to... as I know it'll be amazing and well worth it.  I'm even putting enough faith in it to get a first production run, before all the kinks are out.  I just trust USFA that much.  Their SAA is amazing, and I actually like their 1911 more than the Colt.  Of which I was shocked, but before all the modifications done to mine, yeah, I'd have to go with USFA.  (Huge 1911 buff btw)

that being said, I think it'll be worth it, and the price...
until then, just picking up some 58 kits from Dixie, gonna fix em up myself.  That way, even though they were manufactured there, at least they were made in the USA.  Being built by me is just an additional perk!

But for something like the venerated and loved 75, yeah, I'll wait for the USFA model.

[Harley Starr]

Yeah, I have to agree.  I can't wait, but I'm willing to... as I know it'll be amazing and well worth it.  I'm even putting enough faith in it to get a first production run, before all the kinks are out.  I just trust USFA that much.  Their SAA is amazing, and I actually like their 1911 more than the Colt.  Of which I was shocked, but before all the modifications done to mine, yeah, I'd have to go with USFA.  (Huge 1911 buff btw)

that being said, I think it'll be worth it, and the price...
until then, just picking up some 58 kits from Dixie, gonna fix em up myself.  That way, even though they were manufactured there, at least they were made in the USA.  Being built by me is just an additional perk!

But for something like the venerated and loved 75, yeah, I'll wait for the USFA model.

That's the spirit Willie!

[Willie Dixon]

hey, I figure it's a nice "compromise"... and there really is only one way to learn gunsmithing at home, by doing it.  I'll get all the books I can and jump right in.  That and Lee's Gunsmithing is like 10 minutes from my house, 5 without traffic!