Clt 1860 Pet Peave

Articap said, in part: "If Colt were still in the cap & ball making business today, who knows whether they would have similarly changed their own pattern at all?"

Well, they were in the 1970s. Colt reintroduced several of their famous C&B revolvers. There has always been controversy over those new made oldies. Some say they were made from original patterns here in the U.S. Others say they were made in Italy or Spain. I dunno.
I had a gun shop at that time and ordered and sold several. One, a Navy, I kept for myself I sold recently.
They were well made and had slight differences built in deliberately to distinguish them from originals.
 
The main gist of this thread is quality.
The Spanish and Italian factories will build to any level of quality, or lack thereof, a buyer wants. Some very fine revolvers have come from all the well-known factories.
OTOH, you can get 'stuff' quickly, and shoddily, shoved through the assembly line. In the heyday growth years of muzzle loading enthusiasm (apx. 1970-1985) there were importers who bought the rough finished items and slickered them up for resale here.
I recall, when I had my shop, I was offered import deals. (keep in mind, this was about 1975) One, I recall, was an offer for a gross of Remington Armys in .44 cal, brass frame. The price, including shipping and import fees, broken down gave me a price of $4.00 each. You read that right, only FOUR DOLLARS per revolver. Consider how much manufacturing TLC could go into a gun for that. Probably was only about $1.00 each when they left the factory.
These were heavily imported (not by me) and resold at retail for prices ranging from $49.95 to over $150.00.
 
Good Info, 76 plus a question

When I started in the mid Seventies, I owned only the pistols and rifles I build from kits except for one 1851 Colt Navy pattern with a 12 inch barrel. The marketer called it a "Ballister." Purchase of that revolver was a big mistake.

Back to the point, I never knew who manufactured the kits I bought. Some time ago I remembered EMF as an importer but I can not swear to it. I bought exclusively through Shotgun News. I assumed that all kits in the price range to which I restricted myself were made by essentially the same folks and essentially to the same standards. When I got the kits, my observation confirmed my belief in every case.

I remember that an 1851 Navy in .44 brass was 49.95 and the same pistol in steel (They actually called it stainless steel but I think that was a stretch.) was 54.95. The 1858 Remingtons were a little higher and the 1860 colts were just a little higher yet.

A friend bought an 1858 steel frame which he had the frame, cylinder, and barrel, nickel plated. Other parts were either case hardened or brass. It was a sweet looking pistol when he got it together.

My question is...Do you recall who was active in making these kits at that time?
 
Hi doc,off course I have great intrest in the napoleonic wars ,visit waterloo once or twice a year ,just to dream away when I stand high on the lions statue
the sight over the batlefield is just stunning,every year they relive the batlle with actors and cannons fired, ,I also visited solferino in Italy where there is a church that is filled up to the sealing with the victims off the battlefield at austerlitz,the skulls bear wounds you can't immagine,if I go to waterloo again and you want an image of something let me know,

I believe the second generation bl,bwpr guns where actually colt made

and the most elegant an beautifull gun ever designed is in my opinion the
round barrel navy colt
 
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Check out this site if you have not already

http://www.1960nma.org/

Supposedly a pistol which exceeds the quality of second and third gen Colts and is truer to the original design than the modern Colt marketted pistols.

I don't have an opinion except to say that the one I have, SN952, is of very good quality.
 
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