ASM?

M

mike in nc

Inactive
I am looking at possibly purchasing a "ASM 1847 Walker Colt .44" on another site, not sure what ASM is, is that the manufacturer, and are they reliable?
Thanks
 
ASM

I believe it stands for Armi San Marco from what i have read some say it a little less quality than uberti and pietta just from what i read.
Hey mike if your in morganton i am in asheville and spend a little time in mrganton. I have been known to coat floors at the teves plant off of exit 100.
Good luck Monty
 
ASM = Armi San Marco. Depends on who you talk to as to what they think of 'em. I've seen some excellent guns by them and then I've seen some that left a lot to be desired - but, on the by the same token, I've seen and handled some Uberti and Pietta that I could say the same about. I own two ASM - an 1862 Colt Pocket Police and an 1861 Colt Navy - both are great pistols - high quality, fantastic fit and finish and good shooters. The only thing I've heard on the negative side is that the internal parts can sometimes be softer than other brands - but - I'd still buy another one if I ran across a model I wanted at a price I was willing to pay and the quality was good. I think Doc Hoy has one or two as well and you might pm him and see what he has to say. I think he's worked on them and can probably be a better source of info on the internal parts, etc. I think the availabilty of parts is also and issue but I've heard that Deer Creek has some parts for ASM. I'm sure that there are others on here that have experience with ASM as well. Good luck and safe shooting! :)
 
Monty is correct. Armi San Marco is no longer in business (they were bought out and had their equipment turned to making cartridge guns). They made decent quality black powder guns which were generally considered to be less fine in terms of fit and finish than Uberti. They were also considered to have used 'soft' metal parts for several years.

My experience with ASM guns agrees with the fit and finish consensus opinion. I have not, however, personally run across an ASM gun with poorly hardened parts. I currently own one ASM gun, a Colt Walker manufactured in 1997. It suffers from a poor groove/chamber diameter problem, and the parts finishing (color case hardening, bluing and wood finish) is average but not poor. It is an average shooter in terms of accuracy, probably due to the groove/chamber issue.
 
robhof

I've got an ASM Wells Fargo that I got cheap, but it had a bad cylinder fit, found a new cylinder from VTI and after a little fitting it shoots fine and still cost less than the ones on the current auction sites. I even played with the original cylinder after fitting the new one and now both work, so I get 10 shots between reloads. The fit and finish is as good as any used Pietta that I've handled and it shoots fine.
 
Yup!

I have several pistols from ASM and the only complaint is against an 1858 Remington in Brass which has a poorly fitted trigger guard. Shoots well. Functions well.

I have two of those Remingtons, one in brass and one in Steel. They have the same feature that most complain about on just about every 1858 out there. The trigger seems to have been contoured for a five year old child.

I just bought a Walker from Denster and that pistol is really sweet!

I rehabbed an 1863 imported by CVA and made in the ASM factory. The quality of those pistols is pretty well accepted.

I had a verbal conversation with BPREVOLVER one day and he believes that ASMs are under-rated, a sentiment which I believe Mykeal agrees with (Don't let me put with wrong words in your mouth, Mykeal.)

I have an 1860 Colt .44 (with a brass frame) which I have never shot. Fit and finish, easily matches Pietta/Traditions. Line up and lock up are solid. My main quarrel with this pistol is that it suffers from the lack of attention to the contour line on the barrel which I have whined and complained about previously. This is not an ASM thing, it is peculiar to most replica 1860/61s without regard to the maker. Most of mine are that way, even one of the actual Colts. The only screw on this pistol that has ever been touched by a screwdriver is the wedge screw. I bought this thing used and I think it may never have been shot. It sure is a pretty pistol. I would sell this thing for about a hundred and a half delivered if anyone in interested. (No box...No papers...turned..and maybe shot).
 
Hmmm. Underrated? Well, perhaps. My own opinion is that they are IN GENERAL (dangerous words, those) good to very good, but not fine or excellent, products. I've come across good and bad examples, which of course also applies to Pietta, Uberti and even Colt's Manufacturing Company, Inc. To the extent that there's a popular bias against ASM guns that alleges poor quality, then yes, I'd say they are underrated. However, I'm not really sure that the popular opinion is all that bad. Lots of people like them.

There are brands of bp guns that I will not lift a finger to investigate for purchase. ASM is not one of those.
 
I'll go along with Doc & Mykeal. The earlier ones are much better than the later (after 1990 or so) ones IMHO. I have a 1985 stainless 1860 Army that I bought used that is still a very sweet pistol. I also have a 3rd model Dragoon from 1977 that needed some work to get shooting right. I got it well used and it had a pretty hard life before I got it though.
 
Say What?!

You don't need another "gun"?!

First of all, reference my tongue in cheek diatribe of some months ago about refering to pistols as guns. (Hint: I did about 26 years inthe Navy) :D

Second....I am having difficulty in getting my arms around the concept of not needing another one.

Don't mean to hijack the thread. This post is intended as humor.
 
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