Cowboy shooting, who makes the best guns?

S

samdjr74

Inactive
Hi All,

I'm a big time revolver fan. Almost all of my hand guns are revolvers except for my 1911. With that being said I got my eye on two new guns for 2016, a 1851 Navy conversation and a New Army conversation. Now it seems that there are a few companies out there who make them like Uberti, Pietta and Taylor. My question is, which company makes the best and is there another company I should be looking at as well.

This won’t be my regular shooter, my Rugers take care of that, I just want something a little different to have fun with.

Thanks,
Sam
 
Taylor's is an importer, they don't make the guns. Uberti used to be considered better quality than Pietta, but Pietta's quality the last few years is far better than it used to be. Pietta tends to be a little less expensive than Uberti, but the quality is more or less comparable to Uberti's black powder revolvers.
 
The Ruger old army's look great but they all seem to be black powder and as DJ said, out of production for some time now.

I love the look of the black powder models but I don't want to deal with the mess or hassle of black powder. Call me lazy but I like my metallic cartridges.
 
The Ruger old army's look great but they all seem to be black powder.,.
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They all seem to be black powder because they were ALL made to be black powder guns!

Mechanically, the Old Army is essentially a Ruger Blackhawk, made as a cap & ball pistol. There are some styling differences, but that's essentially all.

A modern cap & ball revolver, with coil springs and adjustable sights, and offered in stainless steel for many years. It was the ultimate BP revolver for someone who wanted to shoot cap & ball.

I would recommend RUGERs to the OP, except he said he already has some. ;)

I'm afraid I don't know the Italian SA copies well, the only sound advice I can offer is AVOID Armi San Marcos!

Had one, given to me, copy of the S&W Schoefield. Good looking gun, but a total POS otherwise. Fired two cylinders standard .45 COlt, misfires and unlatching on each cylinder. I gave it back!

Good luck with your search!
 
Howdy

The ASM Schofields were junk. The Uberti Schofields and Russians are much better.

Frankly, if I wanted a single action cowboy gun I would buy a Ruger Vaquero. I have a few of them, the design is tougher and they will shoot forever without any tuning at all. These three are the older, full sized model, chambered for 45 Colt. This version is no longer made, it has been replaced by the slightly smaller New Vaquero. I have a couple of those chambered for 357 Mag. They too are very tough guns and will shoot forever with no tuning at all.

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This is an Uberti Cattleman. I used to have another, but it was a piece of junk and I got rid or it. This one is better, but it is not perfect. These guns will benefit from some tuning.

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This is my old brass framed 44 caliber 'Navy' that I bought when I was a kid in 1968. Stay away from brass framed Cap & Ball revolvers, what you have read is true. This one had its frame stretched by too many 30 grain loads. It is just a wall hanger now.

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Used to be that Ubertis were better fit and finished than Piettas. I have read that has changed, but I have not personally shot any. I bought a pair of these 1860 Armies a few years ago when they were on sale at Cabellas. I was not pleased with some of the finish details, should have paid a few more dollars for Ubertis.

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The stainless 1858 Remington Army at the top of this photo is an Uberti. The blued one at the bottom is an old EuroArms Remmie I bought in 1968. Both have been fitted with R&D conversion cylinders to shoot 45 Colt. The Uberti is nice, but it weighs about four ounces more than the old EuroArms Remmie. The EuroArms Remmie is closer in actual size to the originals.

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Very nice guns you got there Driftwood.

I love my Rugers, just wanted something old fashion looking I guess you might say. My first gun was (is as I still have it) a Ruger SA 22. And the last gun I bought is a Super Blackhawk Hunter which is just incredible.

But I like the look of the old army and navy guns
 
I have a Colt and a Cimarron/San Marco SAA. They are ideal for my approach to CAS.

I would recommend a Ruger New Vaquero or Uberti or Pietta SAA copy from whichever importer had the exact style you like.

Cartridge conversions are more trouble to manage, I don't think the Italians have quite figured them out yet.
 
"I have a Colt and a Cimarron/San Marco SAA. They are ideal for my approach to CAS.

I would recommend a Ruger New Vaquero or Uberti or Pietta SAA copy from whichever importer had the exact style you like.

Cartridge conversions are more trouble to manage, I don't think the Italians have quite figured them out yet. "

I'm trying to find a local shop who might have a Uberti in stock. It doesn't have to be the model I want, I just want to get a feel for it.
 
Jim, what do you mean about the conversions being trouble to deal with?

I worked on a customers RM '60 not too long ago and it is quite the shooter!! I wouldn't mind scooping up one myself.

Mike
www.goonsgunworks.com
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BTW, my Dragoons (with gated conversions) run better than most SAs. I know they wouldn't be as fast as far as handling but they maintain a high state of tune and are always a treat to shoot!
 
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The conversions I saw were pretty sad. But I have been out of CAS for a while. Maybe the conversions are better now.
Or maybe they are better after you have fixed them.
 
My Pieta custom conversions... in 38 Long Colt... fit & finish on the revolvers was 1st rate before I did my custom work...

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BTW... I use Rugers as my main match CAS guns, & save my Navies for special times... while good quality, I'm not kidding myself that they could handle the same round counts as a factory Ruger :)
 
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