The old debate Colt style -vs- Remington style?

Z

ZVP

New member
A neverending, unsolvable dilemma!
The past couple weeks I have been pounding my brain for a solution and I just can't find one!
I just got a Piettia "standard" model .36 caliber revolver and it's a jewel The balance, grip fit and general shootabilitys are all there! I did a few little mods to it for reliability's sake and one for comfort. I rounded the rear frame and grip to eliminate the sharp edge and to keep it from digging into the hand which also prevented changing your hand hold during shooting.
I also rounded the right inside edge of the frame to prevent spent caps and fragments from being shucked into the hammer groove and building up under the hammer, preventing the hammer to hit the cap properly. I smoothed the right "Cap Groove" channel to be sure there were no snags to throw fragments into the action.
With all the Seasonal "Honey-Do's" I haven't had a chance to see if I took enough off? Can't wait to try it out!
All the handling familiarizes you with the gun and raises questions with others. Namely the big Remington Sheriff's way the frame fills the hand, just behind the hammer! The wider grip shape also fits the hand better than the Colt Model, A 5 1/2" barreled 44 I've had about 2 years.
I love that thing!
Besides the obvious caliber differences each has a huge following of satisfied owners who swear by each! I especially like the Remingtons hold! After my simple frame/grip panel mods the Navy now fits well too! I have moddedall my Piettia products frames. Without some sort of "Jig" it's all eyeballing work.
Each revolver sits different in the hand with the Colt copy settling way farther into your handhold. This helps lower recoil andshortens recovery time shot to shot.
The Remmie sits high but due to it's heavier weight, sits very nice also. Thanks to the properties of BP Substitutes, recoil is low and the big Remington is well mannered. Even with a Conversion cylinder shooting Scofield loads, the '58 is very pleasant to shoot! Thank goodness my Uberti London Navy needs NO sich mods!
Which one is best?
Ha! The Piettia is built on a full sized frame and balances really well. The shortened barrel brought the swing into a super manageable level! It draws fast points even more instinctively than a stock Navy Model and sure dosen't seem to be any less powerfull,
The shortened Remington 5 1/2" BBL) likewise turned the handling on the big guy!Pointability feels just like my 4 1/2" Vaquero which feels just like the short barreled Peacemaker!
What I did just made picking one of em apart from the other is impossible! They're both too good at what they do!
You must pick the '58 for raw horsepower with it's huge cylinder capacity and such a wide variety of Bullet Moulds and Bullets available in ..451" You can build up some truely nasty loadings with the right bullets!
The .Navy 36 has several different Conicals but the choice is only around 3 types. I prefer round balls in both for their ease in loading.
The smoking ballistics of the .36 place it in aclassification above it's actual bore size! Penetration, flat trajectory and good inherent velocities made it a preformer. Look at it's career successes proven in battle and civillian too!
I'm glad to have both so I don't have to choose.
Both chopped revolvers feel better to me than their longer Origonals) I prefer the shorter tubes except for loosing the long sight radus of the long barreled revolvers!
Considering their age, I honestly can't see where either is out of date in the handling arena! The propulsion system is old, slow and fragile but the guns sure aren't Given a full cylinder properly loaded, Cylinder, you'd be in the same class as a modern revolver. Yes I know D/a vs S/A... another hopeless debate!
I can't pick one, both are so good, well proved out and made of top grade materials today.
I guess it's up to Brand Loyalty?
I'm glad BP is so (relatively) inexpensive that you can own both and enjoy each one's dtrong points.
'm glad also that Piettia has better Q/C these days and also held pricing reasonable. so we can own em!
I GOTTA get my "Honey-Do's"done!
ZVP
 
for me I much prefer the Colt look. If you want fast changing cylinder, Remmy wins. I prefer to take my time and enjoy the experience.
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I own a Remington 1858 that will most likely spend the rest of its days with its conversion cylinder installed....and I have to say Colt. The Remington sits way too far forward in my hand, has an atrocious trigger, and fouls easily due to the lack of cylinder frame clearance. I keep it for variety, and because it's a nice early styled sass shooter. But give me a colt every time.:)
 
You seem to be asking two questions, Colt Vs. Rem and Uberti vs. Pietta.

I own 5 BP revolvers. 4 are Pietta, one is Uberti. The Uberti is the most accurate shooter. However, this is not a good sample size. But the fact is, I have not been able to get as good a consistent group from the Piettas as the Ubertis. When it's competition time, I reach for the Uberti Colt Walker.

As to the design of the Colt vs. the Remington.

From an engineering perspective, the Remington is a more advanced firearm. This is probably to be expected. The Colt design dates to the late 1840s, while the Remington design is a decade later.

The Remington is less prone to cap jams than the Colt.

The Remington requires only one screw to remove the grips for dunk cleaning, whereas the Colt requires 3 screws and removal of the mainspring and grip frame to achieve the same.

The Remington cylinder can be easily removed in seconds without disassembling the gun, unlike the Colt. If nothing else, it makes cleaning easier.

Because the frame is solid on the Remington, the cylinder gap is more mechanically consistent than with the Colt, which can vary depending on debris or if the arbor is a hair too short.

Most people seem to like the sleeker aesthetic of the Colts over the Remingtons.

Steve
 
MIKE... I'm the opposite... I like the Colt's looks better, but like strength & engineering of the Remington... that said... all my conversions to date are on Colt style revolvers, & I don't often shoot actual black powder, so the Remy sees little use...
 
I'm with Mike on the Remington preference. I've had several Colt style open top handguns, but I just never seem to keep them around long.
 
I love the elegance of the Colts, but I'll acknowledge that the Remington is by far the stronger design. If it came to a choice, I'd have to say "why not both?" :D
 
Personally, I prefer Mary Ann, Chevrolet, Corona, and Colt's.

Ginger, fords, and remingtons. don't care about beer.

David
 
Well, I like a Remington and love shooting it. But there is something about that 1860 Colt look. The thing is just sexy, points naturally for me, and even though as heavy as any, its well balanced me thinks. But I'm one of those guys, if it goes bang I like it. As for my beer, Sam Adams Boston Lager, or a nice tall boy filled with Killians Irish Red. As far as the Pietta vs. Uberti thing? Well I'm still fairly green when it comes to this stuff, but Of the ones I've owned a Pietta seems to be just as well put together as a Uberti. And the Pietta's don't have trouble killing the evil cans, milk jugs, steel, crows, clay pigeons, melons, soda bottles, etc :D
 
I started out with the Remington style. Easy to understand and work on.

Purchased a Pietta '60 Colt Army later on just for a little diversity.

It's been open-tops being bought ever since.


Ellie-Mae, Dodge, Labatt Blue,....... Colt.
 
IMHO it's like Colt vs S&W, neither is better, each has its own feel. My favorite cap and ball revolver is the Colt Dragoon, I like the heft and balance.
Sam Colt and his heirs and successors seem to have been better salesman than their competitors-cf how the M1875 Remington didn't sell that well.
 
SIGSHR,
Glad to see someone else around here has some sense!!!! Lol (kinda partial to Dragoons myself!!).

BTW, Rampant by the New Belgium Brewing Co. is a smooth brew, not to mention its 8.5 % !! Wooo hooo !!

Mike
www.goonsgunworks.com
 
Firing a Colt Dragoon with full power loads is like firing an S&W M-28 with 38 Specials.
I would also like to see more research on how "they" did it "back then." How much do we really know of pistol shooting 150 years ago? John A. Huff of the 5th Michigan shot Jeb Stuart at Yellow Tavern, Wild Bill Hickock fired off his cap and ball revolvers and reloaded them every morning, but they were probably the Jim Cirillo and Charlie Askins of their day. When I did CW reenacting people were always puzzled to see the officers carrying their revolvers and their right side and drawing and firing them with their left hands, the explanation was that was always how they did it, their sword was considered their primary weapon. Likewise I would like to see documented cases of individuals carrying loaded Colt cylinders for a quick reload.
 
Likewise I would like to see documented cases of individuals carrying loaded Colt cylinders for a quick reload.
Click to expand...

With the possible exception of Patersons and custom cased sets, you won't - for Colts or Remingtons. Any references to doing so are reminiscences long after the fact. Checks of procurement documents will show no evidence of multiple cylinder buys.
 
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