Thoughts on the '60 Pietta

[Lefty Dude]

Pietta and a lot of other manufacturers have gone to CNC machinery the past couple of years and the quality seems to have noticeably improved.  The last two Piettas I got (picked them up at EOT this year) were pretty darn nice and tuned up for competition easily.

I love your Pimp/bling 60's. When ya gonna shoot them in a Match ?

Lefty

[Driftwood Johnson]

Pettifogger

CNC equipment has been around for a long time now. It is nothing new in the firearms industry. And it is not the end all and be all as far as quality is concerned. The real problem is when feed rates are set too fast, really no different than back in the hand crank days. If the cutter is forced too fast through the metal, rough finishes and burrs happen, which is exactly what I was talking about with the pair of Pietta 1860s that I bought a few years ago. Unfortunately, most of the Italian gun makers run their machinery too fast, in order to get the highest production possible. This in turn keeps costs low. If on the other hand, they were to slow the feedrates down to get a fine finish, they would produce less parts per hour and per day, which would drive the cost of the parts, and the entire gun up. You pays your money, you takes your choice.

I know you have been inside of plenty of guns over the years, and I'm sure you have seen your share of rough finished interior parts, so I know you know what I am talking about.

[Pettifogger]

Sure CNC has been around for years.  But, it is new to a lot of manufacturers.  The pair in the picture are very nice on the inside.  Many of the worse guns on the interior that I have worked on are the 2nd Gen Colts.  They made them to look pretty and sit in a box.  If you want to shoot them in competition a lot of them were pretty rough on the inside.  I consider all C&Bs to be basically deluxe do-it-yourself kits.  Before I ever fire them I take them apart and make sure everything is working right.  I pulled a coiled up burr out of the inside of a Uberti London that was almost two inches long when it was uncoiled.  I have four of the Londons and they are about as pretty a gun as you will find, but they all required considerable work to make them competition ready.  I am still amazed that Uberti and Pietta can produce C&Bs for the price they sell for and, as noted above, that covers the profit of the makers, shipping, profit for the distributors and profit for the sellers.  Pretty amazing.

[hellgate]

" I consider all C&Bs to be basically deluxe do-it-yourself kits."
AMEN, Brother!!