ASM EMF Hartford Premier any good?

Rocksalt · August 24, 2012, 02:53:55 PM

Today I bought the above mentioned gun in .45 Colt with 4 3/4" barrel and two sets of grips NIB.
I'm reading conflicting reports on these. Some say they are very good quality, some say they are not.
I plan to pair it up with my Uberti El Patron to shoot CAS. It seems to be of equal quality and just as smooth as my El Patron.
What exactly did I buy today?

Thanks,
Rocksalt

Curley Cole · August 24, 2012, 03:27:16 PM

I have been a fan of EMF since the mid to late 70s, and that is just what the reports on the ASM's were.....conflicting. some were good some were excellent but a lot of them were bad. I guess it would depend on what day of the week they were made...so to speak.

I have 2 EMF Dakotas by Jager from very early 1980s, and are excellent.

You will find that parts are not usually interchangable (once again there is that word...usuallly...) but if you paid a good price, and they feel solid....not to worry.

we could use some pix...
curley

Pettifogger · August 24, 2012, 03:39:07 PM

I've had several and the ones that were nice were very nice. When you do get a bad one, they are very bad. If yours looks good, the parts fit well, and everything works it will probably last you a long time.

sack peterson · August 24, 2012, 03:48:28 PM

Yes, you do the google on ASM and that's about the gist of it. A mixed bag. Very spotty toward the end (2004).

I believe we are to understand the doggiest of the ASM's were channeled through vendors that were not very serious cowboy gun retailers (...KBI). So you'd think an EMF gun ought to be alright. And Hartford Premier was EMFs top of the line model for a time.
I've had three ASMs. Two EMFs, one good, one exceptional. And I had an AWA that was a dog. Something on it broke every time it was shot.

They are a true to Colt build. They are easily fixed with better parts if something goes bad. ASMs were generally finished quite nice.

Rocksalt · August 25, 2012, 09:36:20 PM

Interesting they stopped making them that long ago.
You know, I was a little suspicious when the clerk had to clean quite a bit of dust off the box.
Now I get the feeling that they held back their laughter 'til I was out the door. But maybe people were just spooked by the occasional bad report.
Still haven't fired it, but I've been handling it. It has a much better trigger pull than my El Patron.
She's solid and smooth. Nothing rattles or moves. It locks up properly even when rapidly cocked, which I read was a problem area with some of them.
I think I got lucky.

Thanks Guys,
Rocksalt

Coffinmaker · August 25, 2012, 10:32:19 PM

I've had the same experience Pettifogger has had. The ASM built guns from EMF I've worked on were fairly nice guns. Not real difficult to tune. ASM parts are no longer available but most ASM parts didn't fit ASM guns anyway. There are parts from "others" that work quite nicely with a little fitting if repairs are needed.
As long as your gun was "well bought" you probably did just fine.

Coffinmaker

Rocksalt · August 26, 2012, 06:59:58 AM

Quote from: Coffinmaker on August 25, 2012, 10:32:19 PM
As long as your gun was "well bought" you probably did just fine.

Oh, I'm sure I over paid. At what amount would you consider it "well bought"?

Rocksalt

sack peterson · August 26, 2012, 11:48:35 AM

Its basically New Old Stock right? I like $450 or so as the price paid local retail. I don't think that's absurd.

Bangor Dan · August 27, 2012, 07:55:47 PM

I bought an EMF Hartford "Frontier Six Shooter" off of Gunbroker two years ago.
I thought it was a Uberti, and when it arrived and was marked ASM I was a bit nervous for a while. Turns out it's quite a find! She's a nickeled, 5 1/2", 44-40 made in 1994 with a black powder frame....my favorite.
Had nice springs already inside.
Not sure, but seem to remember that the Dakota's are the one's to avoid.

Bangor Dan

sack peterson · August 27, 2012, 10:28:05 PM

Jager Dakotas are stout. Get inside one, you'll see stout trigger, stout hand, stout bolt. If they are to be avoided its for practicality sake. For CAS if you break a bolt or hand spring you'd be hard pressed to find parts. It's not quite "true to Colt" and they have been out of production for more than 20 years.

There's alot of context to understand about what ASM was building in the 90's. Notwithstanding some very nice guns from them, the reputation problem is real. They built the "New Dakota", which is not as nice as the Hartford.

Rocksalt · September 03, 2012, 06:10:34 AM

One thing that really stands out so far is the black Colt ripoff stocks. They fit my hand better than any grip has before.
If anyone has a set of these composite stocks just sitting there doing nothing,.....I'd be delighted to make an offer.

Thanks,
Rocksalt

sack peterson · September 03, 2012, 02:17:52 PM

I didn't recall that EMFs Hartford Premier had those black stocks, but it stands to reason. Armi San Marco and AWA ultimately got sued by Colt over that, those black stocks being part of a 'trade dress" infringement argument.

I do believe those stocks can be found at Numrich if you hunt around searching by "armi san marco."

Curley Cole · September 03, 2012, 04:25:11 PM

the top gun is a real Colt bottom gun is an all black/blue frame GW2 that Debbie gave me a good deal on. Bob "OleLone$um" Shaw had a pair of Colt grips and I got them and fitted for about $50.

You can find them at Dixie Gun Works too.

When you hold these in your hand and cycle them with closed eyes, you can not tell the difference...virtually identical. Bob Shaw said the GW was the closest to Colt made, just too bad Alchimesta got nervous about getting sued and removed some of the lettering...

curley