Uberti replica Dance Revolver "Scrap Gun"

[drjldavis]

I am currently finishing up my research of the Uberti replica Dance revolvers that were produced.  A couple of "scrap guns" have surfaced over the last couple of years.  I am interested in determining just how many Uberti surplus parts were used or sold off to other manufacturers that were used in assembling production replica revolvers.  Enough, of what I am calling "Scrap Guns", have surfaced recently to warrant mention in our book.  I would be interested in purchasing one of the scrap Dance revolvers for closer examination as well as any other revolver that seems to have surplus parts from commemorative issues.

[Howdy Doody]

I never studied up on the subject and would like to learn. Wasn't the Dance Bros a knock off of Colts 51s and made in Texas very crudely with possibly all brass frames and shoddy workmanship? Aren't they super rare to find. I did not know they were even making replicas  of them. How did the replicas differ from a replica 51?
Maybe Uberti themselves could share a little light on this.

[Flint]

Uberti's Dance was a 36, I believe, but most of the originals were larger Dragoon copies, 44's.  Dance Bros. were made in Texas for the Confederacy.  They are distinguished by the lack of a recoil shield, the frame sides are flat behind the cylinder.

http://www.civilwar.si.edu/weapons_dance.html

http://www.texasguntrade.com/texasrevolvers.htm

Dance by Pietta:

http://www.marstar.ca/gf-pietta/Pietta-1862-Confederate.shtm

[Fingers McGee]

I got this off another website:

"Basically, the Dance was a combination of the 1848 Colt Dragoon .44 and the 1851 Colt Navy .36, popular revolvers in Texas at the outbreak of the Civil War. The Dance revolver has been described as a Colt Dragoon on a Colt Navy frame. Flat-framed, the revolver was constructed of iron, with a brass trigger guard and back strap and walnut grips. Unlike the Colts, however, most Dance models had no recoil shields. Produced in .44 and .36 caliber, the weapons were single-action, six shot. The .44 Dance usually had an 8-inch barrel and weighed 3 pounds, 6 ounces. Some .44 models had iron back straps, due to the shortage of brass and other raw materials in Texas during the war. The .36-caliber model had a 7 1/2-inch barrel and weighed 2 pounds, 8 ounces. Prototypes were produced by June 1862. The Dances originally thought they could turn out 50 revolvers a week, but they soon realized that figure was not realistic. Eleven revolvers were sent to the San Antonio Arsenal in October 1862. The Houston Tri Weekly Telegraph lauded the Dance revolver as "superior to Colt's best" in it's September 5, 1862 edition. Even after it was antiquated, the Dance still got around."

The frames of the 36s were about the same size as Colt's '51 Navy.  The frames of the .44s were larger than the '51s but smaller than a Colt Dragoon.  Not all Dance revolvers lacked a recoail sheild.

FM

[The Elderly Kid]

I've seen exactly 2 Dance revolvers, both in a Civil War museum in Newmarket, VA. This was in the early '80s and I suppose they might have been counterfeits but this was long before the Uberti replicas. There's a well-known photograph of Geronimo holding a Dance, but it is likely a photographer's prop. It was taken late in Geronimo's life when he was a prisoner at Fort Sill and he's wearing a feather bonnet that is definitely not Apache.

[drjldavis]

This last weekend I attended the annual "Cowboy's Days"  at the J .M. Davis Gun Museum in Claremore, OK.  An older gentleman had an original .44cal. Dance revolver.  Contrary to some beliefs, the original Dance Brothers revolvers were of very good quality, each being literally hand made.  The complete history of the Dance Brothers revolvers can be found in Gary Wiggins' book, "Dance Brothers".  This book is out of print but can still be found on the internet.  Prices are getting high.  I have a few brand new copies that I can sell for the original published price, including shipping, for $49.00

I am enclosing my previous posting concerning the replica Dance revolvers.  This may clear up some of the misinformation about the replicas.

Many of those who share on the various forums may have seen the postings of my requests for information about various replicas that have been produced.  One of these has been the Confederate replica of the Dance Brother's revolver which was originally made in Texas.  After 15yrs of research into the replica revolvers that have been manufactured since the early 1950's, I have finally been able to put together production numbers for all replica Dance revolvers that have been manufactured.

It turns out that the Pietta .36cal. revolvers that were marked DANCE FIREARMS CO. - ANGLETON, TEXAS are the fewest in number at only 35 guns.  These start with serial # C00001 and continue through #  C00047.  There were an additional 4 guns produced that are marked DANCE FIREARMS CO. - ANGLETON, TEXAS in .44cal. with rebated cylinders, # C00048-C00051.  The .44cal. revolvers were prototypes of a possible .44cal. series.  These were produced in 1996.

Pietta continued shipments of the .36cal. Dance revolver that are only marked F.LLIPIETTA –MADE IN ITALY on right side of the barrel.  This was at about the same time that they discontinued the marking of any revolvers with anything other than their own name. These terminated with serial # C00127.  All production of the Pietta Dance revolver in .36cal. discontinued with serial # C00127.  This is a total production of only 75 revolvers.  The only revolvers left are only available from Tony Gajewsky.  These now sell for over $1000. I acquired one of these Pietta Dance revolvers off the internet recently.  It is like new condition with serial # C00096. This is the only resale I have ever seen.  These were also produced in 1996.

Pietta resumed production of the .44cal. with 7 1/2" barrels and REBATED CYLINDERS with serial # C00128.  This production was modified to the current STRAIGHT CYLINDERS and 8" barrel at around serial # C00233. There were only 105 Dance revolvers in .44cal. made with rebated cylinders.

The Dance in Adler's book is the current .44cal. available from Dixie and Traditions, which are made by Pietta. He does not even mention the original Uberti or Pietta .36cal.

Uberti made 50 Dance Commemoratives with only 44 being accepted by Tony.  They all have an AR prefix on the serial number starting with AR001 and have a Certificate of Authenticity with each gun.  After the Commemoratives the "Shooter Model" was introduced starting with serial #  0001.  These revolver had plane cylinders and are marked SMLS INC – ANGLETON – TEXAS.  These were all sold the first year they were introduced in 1985.

Both the Uberti and Pietta replica Dance revolvers have square back trigger guards.  This was done intentionally as a deterrent to counterfeiters which seemed to be a fear of collectors of original revolvers.

There was a Uberti Dance revolver recently auctioned on Gun Broker.  It sold for around $325 which was a correct price since it was what I categorize as a "Scrap Gun" in our book.  A "Scrap Gun" is a gun that is assembled from parts left over from special edition guns and commemoratives that a manufacturer produced.  Armi San Marco produced many of these.  Uberti also used left over or seconds parts to assemble the Dance recently sold on Gun Broker.  These guns have a very limited interest to the collector.  They are oddities but have little monetary value.

[drjldavis]

Thanks to this Forum I have just been able to purchase an original, not "scrap", Uberti Dance Replica on  Gun Broker.  It was not listed in the right place so there were no bids on it.  The Pathfinder put me in touch with this find.  There were 50 of these manufactured by Uberti.  This is only the second one I have ever seen for sale in twenty years.  The first was a set, #3 & 4,  which RPRCA was able to purchase around 14yrs. ago.