My First Pietta!

[Abilene]

The Texas SASS state championship match was at the Texican Rangers 25th Anniversary Comancheria Days near Fredericksburg over Labor Day weekend.  Friday I was there early checking out the vendors before my afternoon start.  3-Fingered Dutchman and Dirty Sally had a table and I spotted this Cimarron Frontier in .357 with a very low price tag.  Looked new.  Well, Dutchman won it about 5 years ago at this match (always sponsored by Cimarron), shot 10 rounds through it, and put it away.  I couldn't resist, it was a steal.  Dutchman told me he knew I'd recognize it as a bargain.  It even came in the cool padded clamshell case with the Cimarron logo embossed on the outside.  They don't any more, just a regular cardboard box.

I had realized recently that I have a number of conversions in .38 spcl, but no single actions.  All my Colt and Cimarron (Uberti) SAA's are .44's and .45's.  So of course I "need" this, hehe.  Cosmetically it is about 98%.  Lockup and action are about perfect.  Light and smooth.  Trigger was a very crisp 4 lbs.  By pushing on the rear of the hammer while squeezing the trigger to dry fire a few times reduced it to a crisp 3 lbs.  First thing I did was replace the sorry Pietta base pin with the one Uberti spare I had.  Mucho superior!  Very easy to install.  I will grind or cut off the rear of it at some point to defeat the Italian 2-position safety.  The cylinder bushing was TIGHT!  I had to give it some sharp raps with a wooden mallet against a brass punch to get it to move forward.  After cleaning it up and oiling, the bushing will not fit back into the cylinder unless it is tapped back in with the mallet.  And it won't turn in the cylinder once it is in far enough.  The "skirt" of the head of the bushing is the culprit, I think, fitting too tightly in its recess in the cylinder face.  When I get a chance I'll address that.

Took it with me to a match Saturday.  I was shooting BP in '60 and '61 conversions, so I waited 'til after the match and found a painted but unshot target to test it on.  Put ten of my smokeless .38's through it (4.5 gr Unique, 125 gr bullet).  At 7-ish yards, about 2 inches low as expected and a couple inches left.  The second group of 5 I shot with a 2 handed hold fairly quickly, about 1 shot per second.  4 of the rounds were about the size of a 50 cent piece with the 5th shot about an inch away.  MO-CAS accuracy is okay!  I will probably try it in a match this coming weekend.  Expect I will pair it with my NRA Centennial .45, also 4 3/4", as it is an "orphan" without a pair and doesn't get shot much.  Or maybe my 44-40 BP frame Model P.  Have to check and see what ammo is loaded when I get home the day before the match!

The only thing I do not like about this gun is the humongous FRONTIER 357 MAGNUM on the side of the barrel.  This was on the earlier guns and is now much less obtrusive.  That has always been my main beef with the EMF GW-II's, the big barrel markings.  It also has proof marks on the side of the cylinder, which the Cimarron's Ubertis do not have (are not supposed to, but sometimes Uberti goofs and stamps them there like on my recent Cavalry).  But ya know, a single action always presents best from the right side anyway.   

[wildman1]

Looks like you got there before I did Abilene. I did not see it there.
Nice pistol.
wM1

[Abilene]

Wildman, did you shoot the match?

Update on the Frontier, I shot it at a Green Mountain Regulators match and it did fine.  I paired it with an older BP-frame Cimarron 44-40 and my circa-1997 .357 carbine.

Within the last year or so I bought a set of Colt rubber (plastic) grips from someone who had purchased a bunch of parts when Colt was clearing them out.  It was identified as a 2nd gen set.  I have one second gen (An NRA Centennial) and they came nowhere near to fitting.  Same with my 1st and 3rd gen Colts.  When I say nowhere near, I mean they could not be fitted to the gun because of proud metal here or there.  The gun it came closest to fitting was that 44-40 Model P, but I have Cimarron Eagle rubber grips on that one already.  Well, Piettas are said to be really close to 2nd Gen Colts and sure enough the new grips are a pretty good match.  The grip panel is just laying on the gripframe in the picture.  They could be fitted pretty well, a little proud metal behind the triggerguard but feels okay in the hand.  I don't know if I'll fit them to this gun or not, would need to drill a hole in the triggerguard for the locater pin, but it is a possibility.

[Professor Marvel]

OMG, My Good Abilene, you have scored big time!

I would say, put those Colt grips on the Pietta! They look far better than the wood, and I am a fan of wood!

Secondly, since you like to fiddle like me, you might just consider dismounting the barrel to turn off the offending letters,
and while it is off, cut it bak to 3 3/4!

Nothing like a 3 3/4" Single Action .357 

they just fit so comfortably in a crossdraw holster ...

yhs
prof marvel