Help, precision of Remington style revolvers?

S

Swede68

New member
Hi guys!
I am an experienced shooter/collector of original/antique percussion revolvers.

Now however, I am contemplating purchasing a replica gun, since more guns is allways better than fewer guns!

I am however torn between buying a "match grade" pistol such as the Pietta Match with progressive rifling, larger chambers and so on, or getting a "standard" Pietta or Uberti and working on the smoothness of the mechanism myself (which I am fully capabel of).
It´s not the extra money for a "match" gun that is the problem, it is whether the extra money gives noticeably better precision in real life. Also, here (in Sweden) I can´t find a "match" grade Remmy replica in Stainless steel, which I would prefer.

Now please, I am aware of actual differences in fit, finish and rifling of the bore. I´m not looking for information on which details differ between a standard Pietta or Uberti and a "match" model.
Instead, what I am asking for is actual experience in how the revolvers perform on the range, that is how tightly they group under ideal circumstances. Prefferably from people with experience of both types, and it would be even better if accuracy had been tested from a rest.

I´ll gladly shell out twice the money for a revolver that groups 15-20% tighter or more, I just need some reassurance that the "match" guns are actually that much better than the "standard" models.

Best regards!
Anders Olsson
 
Personally I am more into the degree of how historically correct the pistol is, rather than "modern" features, even if the modern features improve the performance of the pistol. So my recommendation would be to purchase the "standard" version sans the target sites. But in the specific example you questioned, keep in mind that the progressive rifling is actually more true to the way the Remingtons were actually made.

From a practical perspective, though, you would have to practice for a long time before you would be able to shoot up to the potential of even the standard pistol.

Here, for example is my Pietta Remington New Model Army:

DSCN0550.jpg


And here is a picture of the results of the second cylinder-full of shots taken at 50 yards:

DSCN0543.jpg


These shots were taken using Hornady round balls over about 24 grains of Pyrodex-P, shot from a Keith hold. If you are not familiar, a Keith hold is with the shooter reclining on the ground, feet towards the target, leaning back on the support-side elbow, shooting side knee drawn up, and the shooting hand steadied against the side of the shooting-side knee and lower leg.

I have been shooting handguns of all types, and this Remington clone - no special sights or anything, will hold its own.
 
If you want a really razor accurate BP revolver there is the one made by Feinwerkbau here in Europe.

However I shoot an Uberti replica of the Remington, in .36 calibre and in the hand of competent shooters it does brilliantly...

K.
 
Thanks guys!

Tpelle, historical accuracy is not so much of an issue (remember, I shoot and compete with original/antique Remington and Colt percussion revolvers also, so I get the historical correctness there).

However, the particular Pietta "match" gun i am contemplating has the original fixed sights, and has to have fixed sights for the class I want to compete in. The guns in this class ("Mariette") needs to be historically correct replicas. The only externally visible deviations from original guns which are allowed in this class are (basically) the markings and the height of the frontsight.

Your 50 yards group looks great, if I eyeball it correctly it´s about 5 inches across, which meens that at 25 yards (which is the distance I will compete at) it would at the very worst keep the group at below 2,5 inches, possibly/probably even as small as 1,5 inches at 25 yards since the groups with round ball usually opens up a bit (the groups at 25 and 50 yards are not linear in how they open up).
That precision is more than adequate for the competetive shooting I will be able to do. I take it that your gun is a standard Pietta item, that is, no special treatment from the factory? If so, I do not need a "match" grade Pietta, I just need to look for a standard one which is good as far as function, lockup and timing is concerned. Again, thanks!

Kadima, the Feinwerkbau Rogers & Spencer replicas are great, but I have allways found the R&S revolvers too bulky and front-heavy.

Best part of this is that if I do not need to get a "match" grade Pietta revolver, then there are stainless Steel Uberti Remington Armys available, and I would really like a stainless gun if possible (and there seems to be no "match" grade stainless guns available here in Sweden).

Again, thank you gentlemen for your input!

Best regards!
Anders Olsson
 
Thank you, Anders, for the complement. I was extremely pleased with the group in the picture - I had no idea where the pistol would place it's hits, and not wanting to put any balls over the top of the target berm I aimed very low, using a sub-6:00 hold. When I didn't see any hits on the target, and as others were still shooting (so I couldn't walk out and examine the target), I asked the fellow at the next position if he could see any hits through his spotter scope. He replied that he thought there were some big holes centered and below the target. He offered to spot for me after I reloaded.

I shifted my aim to a center hold, and the next shot - the 6th one ever fired from that revolver - he said he saw a hit on the orange bulls-eye! I was quite happy.

If you are already an experienced pistol competitor, perhaps you should consider a model with upgraded sights if they are legal in your matches. You may be able to shoot up to the pistol's potential faster than could I. But, yes, I will confirm that my pistol is a completely stock Pietta New Model Army.
 
I would recommend surfing/searching the North-south Skirmish association website as they do a lot of precision pistol shooting with accurized replicas. Remingtons dominate and several gunsmiths are fairly famous for producing great guns for competition. See: www.n-ssa.org
 
Daniel (Dlon21), As you well know, I allready have several antique revolvers that perform just perfectly, the idea was to buy a replica for the "Mariette" class! So I won´t be buying your Remington, at least not this time! ;)

tpelle, well, that´s just it. The "Mariette" class does not allow modernized sights. You may raise the frontsight, but you may not change the profile of the sightpicture and you may not have adjustable sights (other than dovetail frontsight). There is a class called "Ruger" where adjustable sights are allowed, the guns in that particulas class does not even need to be a historical gun (which is why the class is named "Ruger" after the Ruger cap and ball revolver). But I want to compete in "Mariette", which meens no adjustable sights for me!

Hellgate, thanks for reminding me about the N-SSA website. I have been there before but forgot about it!

Best regards!
Anders Olsson
 
Swede68 said:
It´s not the extra money for a "match" gun that is the problem, it is whether the extra money gives noticeably better precision in real life. Also, here (in Sweden) I can´t find a "match" grade Remmy replica in Stainless steel, which I would prefer.
Click to expand...

I have two of the Pietta "shooters" model (match grade) and three standard, two with fixed sights and one target sight. Here in the states the match gun runs $600 and the others $200. I don't feel there is $400 in difference between the guns myself. If you ream the chambers on the standard guns and do a clean up on the action they well shoot very well. Not as consistent as the match gun but damn close.

I've never seen the match version in stainless.
 
Thanks madcratebuilder!
No, I haven´t seen the "match" version in stainless steel either. Taking that into consideration, and the fact that there does not seem to be a huge difference between how well the "standard" and "match" versions perform, I am leaning towards a standard version in stainless steel.
Nothing is decided yet, so if anyone has something further to add in either direction, it would be greatly aprecciated!

Best regards!
Anders Olsson
 
I have two of the Pietta "shooters" model (match grade) and three standard, two with fixed sights and one target sight. Here in the states the match gun runs $600 and the others $200. I don't feel there is $400 in difference between the guns myself. If you ream the chambers on the standard guns and do a clean up on the action they well shoot very well. Not as consistent as the match gun but damn close.
Click to expand...

I agree. I have owned three match grade Pietta Remingtons, the so called "Shooters" model, all were very accurate. I reamed the cylinders, cut the forcing cone to 11 degrees and had an action job done on a standard Pietta Remington and it shoots almost as well.
 
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