"51 vs '62 Navy it's just balance...

Z

ZVP

New member
Having just bought a Piettia '62 .36 Police from Cabelas and from owning a '51 Uberti London Model, I now understand why the older model '51 sold so well and so long!
Balance, just plain balance.
The newer creeping mechanism and the surrounding barrel metal displaces weight more to the center of the revolver and I am sure that since the '62 even feels a little muzzle heavy, that the additional 3" of barrel on a full sized revolver made the gun feel even more muzzle heavy.
There really isn't any weight difference between the two models of the Navy, it's just where the most metal is. Necessarilly the creeping design needs the surrounding metal shroud.
Oldtimers familliar with the delicate barrel lightness of the '51 I am sure felt this difference and opted for what they were used to whenever they bought a new gun. Hence the long term popularity of the '51!
Personally, I like the "feel" of the mass centered, full sized frame and 6 shot cylinder of the Piettia design that Cabela's sells. It reminds me more of my Ruger Vaquero and the 5" bbl makes it swing simillarilly.
Frankilly, I like both designs of the Navy model and also the morphed Piettia as well. I can't really pick a favorite between the '51 and the '62 as each has it's own attributes.
I had long wondered about why buyers didn't accept the more modern creeping type rammer system and more gracefull and flowing lines of the later model but now it makes sense to me.
What do you other owners think?
ZVP
 
I've owned a number of '51 Navies and have loved everyone of them. I now have an Uberti '51 as well as a ASM '61 Navy and I like them equally. I appreciate each of them for what they are - different designs/models. I've never handled the pietta 62 police that you're talking about - which is in reality a chopped off '61 Navy - so I can't speak for that one. It is a nice looking revolver though. I have a ASM '62 Police - 5 shot - 36 which is a much smaller frame than what you have. I really wish that they would come out with a truer version of that as it is a neat little pistol. I can also see how Colt sold so many of the '51s - it's well balanced, comfortable to hold and a joy to shoot. I had a 60 Army at one time but for some reason, I got rid of it and have stuck with the Navy caliber - just enjoy the heck out of the 36s. I'm looking forward to hearing how your new 62 Police shoots and what you think of it. It ought to be a lot of fun! Good luck! :)
 
I've always thought that the '51 and '61 Navies with 7 1/5 inch barrels were the best balanced revolvers ever made. They are natural point shooters & are what I use for CAS. Navies with five inch barrels are a close second.
 
I did quite a bit of shooting with the Piettia Police and I really liked it! The gun is built using their regular Navy frame and has a Semi-Fluted 6 shot Cylinder (it looks real nice too!). The origonal Colt Police was considerably smaller being built on the small .31 frame and is a dandy belt and pocket gun! The Piettia interpretation is built from a commercial standpoint using the parts on hand and only necessitating minor machiening to make the model up. I think it was a smart marketing move and they should sell quite a few.
The shooting that I got in proved the gun to be a good shooter, reliable and balanced well. I was especially pleased on how well the frame handled the spent caps, channeling them to the right and right off the cones! No special effort or theatrics (like the gunfighters flip) were required to get the gun to function and move the old caps around and off.
With a light charge of 18g of powder, the balls needed a scoop of filler to bring them up to the forcing cone but with a 22g load and a Pistol Wad the balls set up just right. The 18 g load felt a little weak and the 22g load felt just right!
Cocking and trigger pull were about average for a new gun. Both were a little tight and the trigger felt a little gritty yet but both will wear-in. The sights were regulated high as usual and later I'll need to file the rear down and re-groove it.
The usual sharp heel was present on the grip and frame, offering a pointy edge to dig into the heel of the hand and the wood at the front of the grips needs a little rounding off but neither was all that uncomfortable during firing. I plan to round off the rear grip and run a sandpaper block across the front wood to bring the grip to my satisfaction and fit. I wish Piettia would do the work for us and stop selling the pointy rear grip! I can't see where that shape fits anyone?
Other than a few minor gripes, the revolver is great! size and power are well martched on this offering. The smooth recoil of the .36 makes this a perfect shooter and the ability to use full powder charges constantlly makes this a fine carry companion!
It was good to get back to the .36 caliber after a year's steady diet of the .44's. I forgot just how nice the .36 is to shoot! I think the .36 was really the high preformance round of it's day. Velocitys were pretty high giving it good penetration and a flat trajectory for accuracy's sake. recoil is nil and it's discharge note is loud but not unplesant.Speaking of accuracy, the .36 is no slouch in that department, giving tight groups at 20 to 30 yards and shooting cloverleafs at 21 ft! It's a good caliber.
Yep I didn't mind handing Cabela's just under two hundred bucks for THIS revolver at all!
ZVP
 
Got A Question

I Have the .36 cal 51 Colt pietta from Cabela's a while back. Sure would like to get a second model to go with it. Not real sure what to go with. Everything I own is .44 cal. till I ordered the 51 .36 would like a second .36 I like the 61 models but the 58 New Army Police is a nice size looking revolver. I looked at a 51 steel frame with a round barrel that kind of looked like a small walker. It's a Uberti. Kine of sorry I didn't buy that one. It was a little muzzle heavy but one cool looking colt. The one that Cabela's has is Pietta, and it's a brass frame. I wanted the steel frame. Have the 58 .44 in the 8" and 5.5" barrel. after shooting them for a while moved on two the .44 colt Army 8' and 5.5" barrels, now I love those two. The 51s I have is the brass frame .44 cal everybody makes fun of, don't matter to me I like it just fine. The other is the steel frame .36 cal. That pistol is the best. Like you said the balance is perfect. It's a firecracker alright. Whats a fellow to do. :confused:
 
WOW!!!

I have a wife running around the house. Buy them all is a wonderful idea. mykeal do you happen to have a spare room, or barn I can live in. I'm house broke. :D
 
You are correct, the Piettia is a "fantasy gun" in the sense that they used an exhisting .36 frame and then used components to develop a look-alike model.
I don't care about being historically correct but I do like THIS model!
Many of the guns today are the wrong caliber, size, etc. but they are good Black Powder shooters!
This is such a model, named after a famous Colt.
ZVP
 
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