The Aldo Uberti Iron Frame Henry

[badlands]

In 1992 I was hired by Disney to be the armorer, train the Annie Oakleys and ride shotgun on the Deadwood Stage for the Buffalo Bills Wild West Show at  Euro Disney in Paris.  We got all of our guns from Uberti through a firearm supplier in Paris.  During our month of cold openings we went through a lot of different type blanks, being a dinner show in the round, we could not have any kind of debris coming out of the firearms.   I finally had to can the crimped brass, after our vet removed a couple of crimps out of an ulcer on a horses neck.  I finally went with plastic and our supplier recomended reducers in the barrels.  So I started shipping one gun a week back to uberti for the installation of the reducers.  I started getting the rifles back, most were 66 saddle carbines, for Annie Oakley,  one or so a week.  Our supplier would deliver them, with a different employee every time, we had just started doing shows after opening and an older gentleman showed up with a rifle.  I was in the process of slicking one up for the girls and had it apart on the bench.  The gentleman asked me what I was doing and I told him I was slicking up the guns for Annie Oakley because they were a little "CLUNKY" when I got them.  We talked and he told me what he had for me while I was assembling the 66 and when it was back together I showed him how the stoning and adjusting the springs helped.  He handled it and agreed.  I put out my hand and introduced myself as the armorer and told him my name.  We shook hands and he said my name is "Aldo Uberti".  I had just told Aldo Uberti his guns were clunky!!!  We became good friends during the year I was there and during one of our visits he asked me what rifle I liked the best.  I told him I sure liked the iron frame henrys and he offered to build me one, I told him all the real iron frames had three didget serial numbers and he told me "no problem".  Back then my dad was a FFL dealer and he said he would send it to Val Forgett at Navy Arms since my dad and Val were business friends.  When I got home, the Henry was waiting on me, Dad said she's a nice one read the invoice.  The invoice read "HERE'S ONE YOU WILL FIND NOT CLUNKY, NO BALANCE DUE".  It's a nice one, smooth as silk, 3XX serial and as accurate as I can shoot.  It's stamped "AU" under the right sideplate. 

[Tuolumne Lawman]

Great story!  Thanks for sharing.

[Baltimore Ed]

Enjoyed the story very much. Nice rifle too.

[Coal Creek Griff]

That is a cool story and a lifetime memory! Thanks!

CC Griff

[Abilene]

Yes, very cool!

[Jake C]

That is a cool story, and a beautiful rifle. Thank you for sharing it with us!

[Coffinmaker]

WOW.  Just plain WOW.

Coffinmaker

[Scattered Thumbs]

Great story. Thank you for sharing.

[Blackjack Charlie]

That is an awesome story on a beautiful rifle

[dusty texian]

Very Cool story and rifle .,,,DT

[Major 2]

Fascinating.... We are kindred spirits ....   

Your Rifle is a Gem....thanks for sharing

[Scattered Thumbs]

Well, I got a similar story.

Back in 2006 I participated in my first international  M.L.A.I.C. event as a member of the Portuguese team. It was the World Championship in Bordeaux, France.

My results were only average, but a team mate(also his first international event) managed to be World Champion in Mariette (replica cap & ball revolvers). We were watching one of the long distance rifle events, when I was approached by a mustachioed gray hair gentleman, wearing a Pedersoly Tshirt, who, noticing my credentials as a Portuguese shooter wanted to know some data about the World Champion(he had equaled the World record) gun, loads, lube and ball used in the event. I called out to my team mate and the gentleman made his questions to him, and got his answers. My friend noticing his Tshirt asked him "are you from Pedersoli?" He looked back at him, thumped his chest and said "I am Pedersoli" we later found out we had been speaking to Pier Angelo Pedersoli .  

[Blackpowder Burn]

Those are the events that you remember forever and make life worth living.............

[Fingers McGee]

WOW.  Just plain WOW.

Coffinmaker

+1

Fingers (Show Me MO smoke) McGee

[Baltimore Ed]

Since we're kinda talking about famous people that we've met I'll tell my stoy. In my misspent youth , after I dropped out of college,I got involved with a girl from the left coast and thought that I wanted to be with her. On out coast to coast trip we broke up. She went to California but I stayed in Seattle for the summer. Could not find any decent work so I decided to return to NC where I'd started from. On the way east I made sure that I went through Union City Tennessee where Dixie Gun Works was located. I wanted to buy parts for my second muzzleloader. As I looked through the store I met an older gentleman who turned out to be Turner Kirkland. A real nice guy. If you had a Dixie Gun Works Catalog you knew who he was. IMO he was to muzzleloading what Uberti is to CAS. The rifle I built was a .58 cal Hawken 1 1/8 in across the flats. It eventually evolved into an underhammer which killed a lot of deer. All in all that was a fun summer.

[Major 2]

The nature of my profession ( Film Production , Live stage , Corp Industrials over 40 years ) the list of folks I met is staggering.

That's why I mention to Badlands "the kindred spirit "

What is funny,  is a few people that stand out (that were note worthy) and I HAD no clue who they were, when we were introduced.

[Abilene]

I have met a few big names, mostly when they came by the Cimarron booth to talk to Mike. 

But none of them ever sent me a gun. 

[Coffinmaker]

Abilene,

How truly inconsiderate.

Coffinmaker

[Cliff Fendley]

Great story

[Tuolumne Lawman]

In about 1999, the first time I was a staff writer for the Cowboy Chronicle, Mauro Pedretti contacted me about doing an article on his 45-120 Sharps.  He sent me one, and I worked up a flyer for them with BP, Pyrodex, and 3031 loads for it.  The article was published, the flyer included with their 45-120s, and we communicated for about a year.  When I referred to him as "Singore Pedretti," he said, "Oh no, that's my dad.  I'm just Mauro!"  He gifted me the 45-120 I did the article on.  

That was the only occasion in almost 20 years of writing evaluations for the Chronicle that I got a free gun. Most went back and on to other authors, or I bought (or arranged another dealer to buy), at dealer.