New Pietta Replica - Captain Schaeffer's 1851 Navy Colt

[Coffinmaker]

THE'RE HERE  
The kindly guy in the big BROWN truck in the swell BROWN uniform brought me THREE packages today.  I were Gobsmacked!!!  Brownells sent me two absolutely marvelous new swiss pattern files, safe on both sides (Wonderful stuff).   RCBS sent me a New and Improved D-Kapper for my All Brass 12ga Die.  It is exactly the same as the one I had/have.  No "improved."  Although it is New and includes a couple of extra E clips and some spare primer punches.  Still has to go the the hardware store to find some collars and nylon washers to keep it together and working.

AND!!!   AND!!!   AND!!!  My BRANDY NEW CAPT. SCHAEFFER REPLICAS ARRIVED TODAY!!  YEEEEEEEEE  HAWWWWWWW.  And man o man they are NICE!!

I'm gonna pop over to our Gun Review Board and TELL ALL!!

PETTIFOGGER:  Nope.  And I'm pretty sure I'll leave these unmolested on the outside.  The engraving runs all the way to the muzzle.

Coffinmaker

[Pettifogger]

THE'RE HERE  
The kindly guy in the big BROWN truck in the swell BROWN uniform brought me THREE packages today.  I were Gobsmacked!!!  Brownells sent me two absolutely marvelous new swiss pattern files, safe on both sides (Wonderful stuff).   RCBS sent me a New and Improved D-Kapper for my All Brass 12ga Die.  It is exactly the same as the one I had/have.  No "improved."  Although it is New and includes a couple of extra E clips and some spare primer punches.  Still has to go the the hardware store to find some collars and nylon washers to keep it together and working.

AND!!!   AND!!!   AND!!!  My BRANDY NEW CAPT. SCHAEFFER REPLICAS ARRIVED TODAY!!  YEEEEEEEEE  HAWWWWWWW.  And man o man they are NICE!!

I'm gonna pop over to our Gun Review Board and TELL ALL!!

PETTIFOGGER:  Nope.  And I'm pretty sure I'll leave these unmolested on the outside.  The engraving runs all the way to the muzzle.

Coffinmaker

Safe on both sides?  At least you won't cut yourself. 

[Coffinmaker]

Wanna Bet 

[Major 2]

Mike's BBQ Bling

[Mogorilla]

Love the look of the original holster.  Is that cactus embroidery?

[Major 2]

I believe it could be...

[Major 2]

and mine

[Noz]

Them's some pretty guns but somebody cut their noses off?

[Coffinmaker]

Hi Noz.

Yep.  On the original, by Special Order Colt actually made the original gun that way.  Pietta copied the original although the Pietta barrel is
a smidgen longer than the Original Sample Example.  Barrel length on the Replica is 4inches.  They are really FUN to play with.

Coffinmaker

[Earl Brasse]

I had thought, per the GOTOW magazine article that these were stainless.

I called EMF & they are not stainless, but just "white steel".

They said the article unfortunately has caused some confusion.

Bummer, bummer! (have to be in 2's , right?)

Still very cool, but.....

back to thinking of Signature Series Colt marked barrels & hacksaws in the dead of night.

[Coffinmaker]

Hacksaws!!  Somebody mention HACKSAWS??  We like Hacksaws.  Hacksaws er FUN!!

[Professor Marvel]

Awwww

not stainless
4 inches

poot.

A Merry Christmas to All
and to All A Good Night!

yhs
prof marvel

[Earl Brasse]

Prof. Marvel, what, are they, 4 inches , they were listed as 3-1/2"?

Coffinmaker,  a fun childs' game updated....."see-SAW".   

Merry Christmas!

[Professor Marvel]

Prof. Marvel, what, are they, 4 inches , they were listed as 3-1/2"?

Yessir My Good Monsieur Brasse!

Merry Christmas!

And A Happy New Year!

yhs
prof marvel

[Earl Brasse]

Arrgh...

Yes, I see it's another case of "hocus-focus".

It looks like they increased the barrel from the original 3- 1/2" to 4" to make the loading lever easier to produce.

Looking at the GOTOW magazine article, the new gun in the photos appears to be 3-1/2"  as stated in the description, as the latch-cut is into the "boss" part of the lever.

The from the pics posted, the production guns shipped have a stub of the round part of the lever, requiring the extra 1/2".

This make me wonder if the guns in the article really were stainless & it wasn't a misprint, but another sacrifice for production?

Still....a real nice looking gun.

[Coffinmaker]

Well ..... Hi Earl!!  Happy Holidays to ya!!

It would seem, .. Yes .. Yes .. Yes .. Yes .. Hope that isn't too many Yesses.  I actually had to go back to the original sample example article as provided by/too/for GOTOW.  That was the article and Photo Set that started ALL the excitement.  At the time of the article, I rather doubted the gun would arrive as Stainless.  Thought it would be the same polished/heat treated Pietta used on their Marshal pistols.  It was/is.  Not stainless, Polished and heat treated simple steel.

I noticed the barrel length of the guns I received at 4 inches with a little short stubby round part of the loader.  Having built some (several) Snubbies on Navy pattern guns, it is considerable less expensive to cut/bore/install the latch and spring into that short stub rather than trying to fit it into boss at the knee.

Also, the latch retainer on the original Sample Example was cut in half and then soldered to the barrel.  The latch retainer on the reproduction in the article was the standard Pietta part, which means Pietta had to make a custom Loading Lever machined to be very short.  Not cheap.

SO ..... Hunpff ..... the BOTTOM LINE.  Yes there were some changes from concept to production.  The guns had to built to a "price point" and some of the really good intentions drove that price past the target ceiling.  We still get a really striking reproduction of a "One Off" Colt from the 1840/50 time period.  Normally a gun of this nature is only available from custom gun builders ..... Like ME.  I'd only have taken commission to build one or maybe two beyond my own pair, when I was still practicing the Gunsmithing Dark Arts.  An awful lot of work to make "that" gun.  I have built a few "similar" and they weren't cheap.  No way I'd attempt to build the 500 or so Pietta are building.  And ...... I really like mine even if the barrel is a 1/2 inch too long.  NO!!  I'm not going to cut it.  I like it just fine as is.

Coffinmaker

[Earl Brasse]

Happy New Year Coffinmaker,
And all the other powder burners here on the wire.

It's something all the extra savings/cost of the extra 1/2"

Yes, at the end of the day the final result is another cap pistol made it into production, & that's a good thing.

What's your opinion on the "heat treated simple steel" vs. the normal blue Pietta guns?

Does it made the gun itself more durable?

[Coffinmaker]

K Earl,

I always have to be careful to separate my personal opinions from my professional opinions.  My professional opinions are directly related to some years of experience in the shop.  So in this case, I can actually mix the two.  First the Caveat:

I felt the best made percussion guns on the market were/are the high polish Marshal series from Pietta.  The heat treating makes the guns tougher.  A lot tougher and not as susceptible to wear as "normal" guns.  When I call the guns "simple steel" I'm actually saying "not Stainless."  Hope I don't confuse.

The difference in manufacturing cost between the 4 inch guns and 3 1/2 inch guns to retain a articulated loading lever, whether it actually does anything or not is huge.  It would drive the actual retail up an additional $150.

The polished guns are, as anything else, susceptible to surface rust if not properly cleaned.  Overall, I have found the guns to be very durable.  Are they "more durable?"  I don't know.  I've only been shooting the hi polish guns for 4 - 5 years.  Not long enough to wear out anything yet.  To date, none of my Marshal series of guns (4 guns) plus the Schaeffers show any signs of wear.

And I whole heartedly agree.  The end result has been another Cap Gun has made it market.  Something a little different and unique.  That is a VERY good thing.  BOOMBA!!

Coffinmaker