Uberti or Pietta SAA Clone Quality, Durability and Authenticity?

[llanerosolitario]

about 15 years ago, I got my hands on a third gen Colt SAA planning to do an article on it for the Cowboy Chronicle.,  The fit and finish of the stocks was TERRIBLE!, oversized as if not sanded down.  The case blue was washed out, and the cylinder dog drug a line on the cylinder.  Then I got A Hartford Premier.  It was gorgeous, and still less than the Colt.  I personally owned a 1900 vintage 1st Gen in 38WCF, and it was better than the third gen...

Was it a new gun  supplied from the  Colt custom shop? Or was it a second hand gun probably manipulated?

[Ben Beam]

The biggest advantage of the clones might be that they allow people like me to participate in Cowboy Shooting. I could never justify spending the money I would need to on a Colt (not saying they're overpriced, just that I'm not in a position to do so). If it wasn't for these clones, my suspicion is that CAS/SASS never would have really taken hold.

[Baltimore Ed]

I understand the need for quality and durability which is why I invested in Rugers way back when I started playing this game. I can honestly say that other than upgrading the grips with checkered buffalo horn and a couple of coils cut off the mainsprings my .45 Rugers are stock. Authenticity is something else though. We all choose how 'authentic ' we want to be. From Civil War reenactors who pull their machine sewed shirts apart so they can hand stich them back together to cowboys with crotch holsters holding tricked out .32s and mouse fart loads in their short stroke rifles. A reproduction is just that and only that no matter who makes it. Modern metallurgy should be superior to 100 year old metallurgy but the gunmakers skill has gone downhill for the most part. It's all about the bottom line. We need to be true to ourselves and see things as they are. Most of us shoot repro Colt and Winchester firearms, some of us shoot original Colt and Winchester, most shoot a combination of both. We are all trying to experience this part of our country's past. Enjoy the sport, enjoy the firearms but mostly enjoy the people. The stories you tell are about the guys and gals you've shot with not how authentic somebody's gun was.

[nativeshootist]

I dont own any of Cimarrons ubertis or piettas, but im curious to know if uberti and pietta have the flat spring/hand that are in the BP revolvers or are they like in my uberti horseman where its a screw and spring in the frame to help move the hand. Could someone help me out here?

[Major 2]

I purchased this Uberti in early '17' - 32/20 , replace the Grips with Black Walnut , noted it has the coil spring & screw in the frame.
This SS Uberti in 45 is a 2014 and has the coil spring & screw.

[Abilene]

I dont own any of Cimarrons ubertis or piettas, but im curious to know if uberti and pietta have the flat spring/hand that are in the BP revolvers or are they like in my uberti horseman where its a screw and spring in the frame to help move the hand. Could someone help me out here?

The Pietta SAA's and Uberti SAA's for a long time now, do have coil hand springs.  Ubertis have a setscrew behind the spring, Piettas do not.  The various conversions, opentops, and percussion guns have old-style flat handsprings.

Edit: some years ago I saw a brand new '71 Opentop out of the box that had a hole drilled for a coil handspring (though it did not have one).  Which led me to believe Uberti was going to start putting coils in those guns.  But to my knowledge they never did.

[RRio]

I will repeat what I posted in another topic:

"Cimarron does sell both Uberti and Pietta SAA's and I have handled quite a few of each.  If authenticity is important to you then Uberti all the way, for a number of small and large differences I won't go into.  If authenticity is not and you just want something for either competition or general shooting, then either is a nice six shooter.  Pietta generally feels much smoother out of the box.  Lighter springs for sure.  Feels like more polish inside as well.  Pietta has squared front and rear sights versus tapered front and v-notch rear of the standard Uberti Model P.  There are other Model P's like the Evil Roys and stainless guns that do have squared sights.  Uberti has the polyurethane finish on the grips.  I've seen the Pietta the same way but I think oiled grip is the standard now.  The Uberti's could use lighter springs, and for some folks that is all they need.  Both brands tend to be timed pretty well out of the box.  I think both brands can hold up well for CAS use.  Serious competitors would want to get an action job with either, though the Pietta might need less work.   I like the Ubertis better for the authentiicity issues. "

Now, having said that, I think that the Uberti Cattleman from some importers other than Cimarron might still have the "safety hammer" with hammer-block linkage in the hammer.  I don't care too much for the looks of that.  Regarding finish, I think the blued cylinders and barrels on the current Piettas are slightly more polished than Uberti.  The case colors on the Pietta tend to be brighter than the average Uberti Cattleman, although the case colors Uberti puts on the Cimarron Model P's looks about the same as the Pietta to me.

After acquiring my first ever Pietta , and owning several Ubertis, I am in total agreement with Abilene on every point he made. The frame contours are better on the Ubertis, but the action on the Piettas are killer. The only thing I had to do on the Pistolero was polish the moving parts and that did not take that much. The Pistolero will past the "10 foot test", though.

[Abilene]

One more point of data regarding initial build quality.  All the Italian guns can have the occasional issue, and this is just another one of those.  A friend bought a Cimarron Pietta stainless frontier .45 (I think) about a month ago, and shot one match with it.  He said it was over-rotating a lot.  I think he changed the trigger/bolt spring.  So this weekend at the Texas state SASS championship match his son was with him and was shooting it (his son's 3rd match and 2nd match for this gun).  After a few stages he got 5 clicks, set it down, finished the stage.  At the unloading table we're all looking at the base pin to see if it was pushed all the way in, when I noticed the firing pin retainer pin had backed out to the right and was hitting the frame and preventing the hammer from falling.  Oops!  State match not the best place for that sort of thing to happen.

[Oregon Bill]

Well, I guess after all these years in this thread, the Ubertis and Piettas are still a good bet -- with an occasional issue.

[Coffinmaker]

  OB   

Absolutely (Stolen Famous Movie Line).

Stay Safe

[Dirty Dick]

Converting my four Uberti open tops to coil hand springs. Two of them were over-rotating brand new, installed new Pietta bolts to solve the problem, bot with lots of advice from Coffinmaker. Thank you sir.

[The original bad bob]

Here is my 2 cents

I have a few real Colt saa's Made in the 1870's and 1880's.. I have more Italian Colt saa replicas.. I really like the ASM Hartford model which unfortunately is no longer being made....I also have a few Ubertis and IMO these are superior to pietta because of Ubertis attention to detail and authenticity... my collecting interest is limited to only black powder framed Colt saa's and the same in the Italian clones.
My choice of an Italian Colt clone would be ASM Hartford model, Uberti, pietta in that order.

My specific favorite shooter Italian replicas are : ASM US cavalry model , Uberti pinched frame early Colt saa replica with German silver (brass) front sight and a older made in 1990's Uberti cimarron with a 4-3/4" barrel that I conceal carry... some vintage cimarron Ubertis are better than others.. for example the old cimarron I have has a heavy beveled black powder style cylinder and has the deeper cast hammer checkering va. The newest cimarron hammer checkering which appears to be laser cut which I don't care for at all... looks cheap IMO.. Cimarron does do a very good job with other details like simulation italic barrel markings, authentic caliber markings on trigger guard and serial numbers on all parts emulating the real Colts

It is also my experience that the modern Italian guns are made to closer tolerances and more often shoot to the point of aim than the antique Colts I have owned.

I feel a sense of responsibility owning the Colts ... the responsibility is that it survived in very good condition for over 130 years and I would be really upset if I were the one to damage the pistol by having it fall out of a holster or somehow damage it by carrying it in the field or blow it up by firing it with a hot smokeless round . I don't have this sense of responsibility with the Italian replicas... I don't really care if I drop it in the dirt, carry it in the Desert, or if it were to fall out of my holster and land on a rock and be dented or dinged.

For collecting, Colt wins hands down.. for stress free shooting, tinkering on and carrying in the field.. The Italians win

[Virginia Gentleman]

Excellent post!

[Coffinmaker]

I have some observations.  Strictly from a mechanics view.  I don't, and never have collected anything.  I also have absolutely no obbesence to Colt.  For what you get, way way overpriced and just as needy as any Replicant.  At the price point, that's ludicrous.

Uberti display the more accurate roll marking if that actually mean's anything.  Took them years to catch up to the coil spring and plunger for the hand and then with infinite wisdom they screwed the. Pooch with that stupid firing pin.  They have always taken a bunch of work to be user friendly.

Pietta has had a better "out of the box" replica since introducing the GW 2.  Just needed a little tweaking.

I place USFA and Standard in the same category as Colt.  Way way overpriced and quite needy. 

You pays your money and takes your chances

Play Safe Out There

[Virginia Gentleman]

USFAs were worth it before they got too expensive which helped drive them out of business.  I mean, 4130 and 4140 steel etc are a universal standard in international industry yet the Italian guns are still looked down upon by so many Colt followers.  LOL!  COLT FOLLOWER.....