Uberti or Pietta SAA Clone Quality, Durability and Authenticity?

[Virginia Gentleman]

Tell me why you prefer one over the other and what about them makes them better over the other? Shootability, durability, overall quality, casehardening, bluing or other finishes, smoothness in operation and authenticity comparion comments, please.

[Virginia Gentleman]

Anyone have an opinion?

[Abilene]

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.

[Coffinmaker]

I'd like to be cantankerous and do a great long dissertation, but I think Abilene covered it nicely.  Pietta and Uberti both did away with the traditional flat hand spring which eliminated 90 percent of the reliability issues.  Piettas require less work to be truly competitive therefore I consider them a better value for dollar.  Both are great guns.

Coffinmaker

[Gen Lew Wallace]

Thank you for sharing gentlemen.  It's always helpful to hear from the experience of others.

[Pettifogger]

I always get a chuckle out of "are the fake Italian Colt copies authentic?"  If you want "authentic" the only thing that is is a Colt.

[Shotgun Franklin]

I've owned and shot both company's SAA clones. Out of the box the Pietta is much smoother. The Uberti is a better copy of the original.
In my experience avoid the Remington 1875 clones like they are death. They are totally unreliable.

[Lefty Dude]

My Cimarron/Uberti SAA Artilliary model BP frame is one nice piece for the money. It is no Colt as I have several. For an out of the box piece it is of good quality. I changed the main spring to a lighter Wolff spiing and also replace the leaf trigger/bolt spring with a reduced leaf spring.
This piece is very accurate, the bore slugs .450" and the cylinder throats are .4505". I use this 45 for long range side matches. Sorry to say, it out shoots my Colts.

[Virginia Gentleman]

I don't think that authenticity compared to the original design is trivial as it shows how a SAA with out the pony can be as close or even closer to a first or second gen Colt than the current offering from the company that calls itself Colt.  Roll marks and sights etc distingush them from say Pietta who does not put on the patent dates so to me it looks less authentic.

[Coffinmaker]

I also chuckle whenever I hear "Your buying a piece of History" from the Coltistas.  Nope.  Just another new gun.  For 2013 we should eliminate "period correct" and "clone" from our vocabulary.  Change those words to profanity and just ban "em.

Coffinmaker

[Virginia Gentleman]

What?  Ban the terms or guns?  In any even, authentic as a reproduction would be more accurate and I agree, the 3rd gen Colt is nothing but a new gun with a heavily altered design with little in common with a 1st gen.

[Pettifogger]

What?  Ban the terms or guns?  In any even, authentic as a reproduction would be more accurate and I agree, the 3rd gen Colt is nothing but a new gun with a heavily altered design with little in common with a 1st gen.

[/color]

I'll have to challenge this statement.  There were numerous changes throughout the life of the 1st Gen Colts.  There were numerous changes throughout the life of the 2nd Gens and there have been changes throughout the life of the 3rd Gens.  If I took barrels, frames, hammers, hands, bolts, back straps and trigger guards and put them on a table are you saying you could tell them apart?  Without doing a Google search and based on your personal knowledge as of right now can you name the differences between a 3rd Gen and a 1st or 2nd Gen?  What changes have been made that constitute "a heavily altered design with little in common with a 1st gen?"  I would say that statement is as our great VP Joe Biden would say, Malarkey.  ANYTHING with a long production life has changes throughout its production life cycle.  There were over one million Winchester Model 97s made.  Do you think the ones made in 1897 are the same as those made in 1957 when production ceased?  I'll answer that for you.  No.  And no one will say that the last 97s made aren't true to the design of the first ones made.

[MJN77]

I'll have to challenge this statement.  There were numerous changes throughout the life of the 1st Gen Colts.  There were numerous changes throughout the life of the 2nd Gens and there have been changes throughout the life of the 3rd Gens.  If I took barrels, frames, hammers, hands, bolts, back straps and trigger guards and put them on a table are you saying you could tell them apart?  Without doing a Google search and based on your personal knowledge as of right now can you name the differences between a 3rd Gen and a 1st or 2nd Gen?  What changes have been made that constitute "a heavily altered design with little in common with a 1st gen?"  I would say that statement is as our great VP Joe Biden would say, Malarkey.  ANYTHING with a long production life has changes throughout its production life cycle.  There were over one million Winchester Model 97s made.  Do you think the ones made in 1897 are the same as those made in 1957 when production ceased?  I'll answer that for you.  No.  And no one will say that the last 97s made aren't true to the design of the first ones made.

So in your angry little tirade, did you just say that a new currently manufactured Colt isn't all that close to a 1st generation and only slightly closer to a 2nd generation? I ask because that kind of contradicts your earlier statement.....

If you want "authentic" the only thing that is is a Colt.

If they have changed from the 1st and 2nd generation designs, what are the currently made Colts authentic to? By your own comment, doesn't that mean that they are no more "authentic" (and possibly less so) to 1st and 2nd generation Colt SAAs than a Uberti copy of a 1st or 2nd gen?

[Pettifogger]

Wasn't angry and wasn't a tirade.  Simply asking what the poster seems to think constitutes a "heavily altered design with little in common to a 1st Gen?"  My statements don't contradict anything.  There are production changes in all mechanical devices.  The basic operation and design of the SAA has not changed since they were introduced in 1873.  You can't get anymore "authentic" than buying from the creator/maker.  If you want to ask whether an Italian clone is authentic you have to ask authentic to what era?  A 1936 Beetle has numerous changes from the last ones produced in the 1980s, yet there is no doubt they are a Beetle and the basic elements of the design are the same.  A lot of people keep harping on the "changes" in the 3rd gen without realizing there were NUMEROUS changes in the 1st and 2nd Gens as well.  Most of the people who express these concerns have no idea what changes were even made to the 3rd Gens.  To suggest that a 3rd Gen Colt somehow is not an "authentic" SAA Colt is just baloney.

[Lefty Dude]

In my humble opinion, a Colt is a Colt no matter the age. All others are wanna-bee's.

My third-gen Colts will out live my Uberti by many years. because of the superior steel , small parts and quality.

If you compare component for component part there is a very noticeable difference in quality.

[MJN77]

If you want to ask whether an Italian clone is authentic you have to ask authentic to what era?

Wouldn't the same go for Colts? A 3rd generation (with the changes made to 2nd and 3rd gens) wouldn't be "authentic" to a 1st gen. Nor would a 3rd be "authentic" to a 2nd. So how is a 3rd "authentic" to any other era than now? Yet, if an Italian copy is made with the same features as a 1st gen Colt, wouldn't that be a more "authentic" copy to a 1st gen than a 3rd gen Colt?

You can't get anymore "authentic" than buying from the creator/maker.

How do you figure that one? If the current product that is produced is different than the original product that they produced, the current product is not "authentic" to the original product. For instance, are modern made Levi 501 jeans "authentic" to the ones Levis made in the 1870s? By your logic, yes. They are still made by the original "creator/maker".

A lot of people keep harping on the "changes" in the 3rd gen without realizing there were NUMEROUS changes in the 1st and 2nd Gens as well.

What does that even mean? Changes made to the 1st gen line are still "authentic" to a 1st gen. Same for a 2nd. Changes to the 3rd gens still aren't "authentic" to a 1st or 2nd gen.

To suggest that a 3rd Gen Colt somehow is not an "authentic" SAA Colt is just baloney.

On the other hand, to suggest that a 3rd generation Colt is "authentic" to a 1st or 2nd generation Colt is also "baloney".

[MJN77]

In my humble opinion, a Colt is a Colt no matter the age.

And a Ford is a Ford and a Chevy is a Chevy. Is a new Ford Mustang, the same as a 1967 Ford Mustang? No. They are made by the same maker and have the same name, but they aren't the same car.

All others are wanna-bee's.

Careful with that statement on a forum where most of the posters dress up and pretend to be a cowboy.

My third-gen Colts will out live my Uberti by many years. because of the superior steel , small parts and quality.

I have a twenty year old Uberti .44 magnum that's eaten a couple thousand off the shelf .44 magnum loads with nary a hiccup.

If you prefer a Colt over a Uberti, fantastic. Buy as many as you can. But show a little respect and don't bash or insult other people's choices in guns with condescending crap like......

I always get a chuckle out of "are the fake Italian Colt copies authentic?"  If you want "authentic" the only thing that is is a Colt.

and...

In my humble opinion, a Colt is a Colt no matter the age. All others are wanna-bee's.

Not everyone can afford, or wants to pay another $700-$800 just for a cute little horsey and the word "COLT" to be stamped on their guns.
Of course, I can buy 3-4 Ubertis for the price of one Colt, and as far as accuracy, function and durability the Colt can't do anything that the Ubertis can't.

[Virginia Gentleman]

I also contend that 4130 and 4140 steel is the same the world over, so if one is made from them and so is the other, where is the superiority in materials?  Forged frames are forged frames from the same metal.  Fit and finish on the replicas can actually be better than the Colt from some manufacterers/importers.  Small parts on the single action design are frail by nature and it amazes me that they hold up as well as they do.

[petrinal]

Of course, I can buy 3-4 Ubertis for the price of one Colt, and as far as accuracy, function and durability the Colt can't do anything that the Ubertis can't.

my experience is the opposite with lead bullets...I really had a hard time getting accuracy at 25 meters with UBERTIs, mainly because of a very inadequate rifling for lead bullets, and crazy dimensions in chambers, that were not even perfectly round. The dimensions run, in the same cylinder, from 456 to 462". Colt´s  are very very uniform in that aspect,  however.

as a matter of fact, I had less accuracy problems with the underrated TAURUS GAUCHO, than with UBERTI. As far as I know, many of these problems have been corrected by UBERTI in their current production, so a modern Uberti is allways a better buy than and old one..

the Colts made my life a lot easier as a shooter...would shoot great with most loads. A more shallow rifling and chambers well drilled, uniform of around 456". Just using a larger bullet with shallow grooves and  hollow base, made the gun shoot superb.

Piettas are more nicely finished than UBERTI, but in some models, I have noted the steel is softer in the frame, very typical in Pietta, nicely made, but cheaper steel. It wont affect durability much.

[MJN77]

Of course, I can buy 3-4 Ubertis for the price of one Colt, and as far as accuracy, function and durability the Colt can't do anything that the Ubertis can't.

my experience is the opposite with lead bullets...I really had a hard time getting accuracy at 25 meters with UBERTIs, mainly because of a very inadequate rifling for lead bullets, and crazy dimensions in chambers, that were not even perfectly round. The dimensions run, in the same cylinder, from 456 to 462". Colt very very uniform.

as a matter of fact, I had less accuracy problems with the underrated TAURUS GAUCHO, than with UBERTI. As far as I know, many of these problems have been corrected by UBERTI.

the Colt made my life a lot easier as a shooter...would shoot great with most loads. A more shallow rifling and chambers well drilled, uniform of around 456". Just using a larger bullet with shallow grooves and  hollow base, made the gun shoot superb.

Piettas are more nicely finished than UBERTI, but in some models, I have noted the steel is softer in the frame, very typical in Pietta, nicely made, but cheaper steel. It wont affect durability much.

As I have stated elsewhere, I am a cattle farmer in (very) rural WV. I also own a dozen or so Uberti firearms, both rifle and revolver. I carry my Uberti revolvers and rifles on a daily basis. They are with me in every type of weather. They have been covered in rain, snow, sweat and mud. I use them as "working" guns, not as target shooting guns. I have needed them in more than a few situations over the last twenty years or so. They have never failed me in accuracy or function. I have shot wild dogs and coyotes. I have put down sick and injured cows. I have killed snakes and groundhogs. During season my guns have taken numerous turkey and deer. Some with my revolvers and some with my rifles. From ranges of few feet to several yards away. When I do my part, my Ubertis do theirs. Now I may not have as much experience shooting at paper as you, but in the real world situations these guns were originally designed for I'm confident in their reliability and accuracy. That confidence comes from my experiences.

P.S. I only use lead bullets, and most of the time they are sitting on a full charge of black powder.