Mac,
Welcome to te forum.
Traditions firearms are now made by Pietta as you surmised. In fact, for all I know, Traditions may always have been Pietta when it comes to revolvers. When people here speak about Pietta and are speaking of a revolver they bought from Cabelas or Bass, they mean to say Traditions in most cases.
It is my experience that Bass Proshop is way out of line on their BP revolver prices and maybe on all BP firearms. I buy only powder and caps from BPS and that is because I don't buy enough at a time to make bulk purchase from a distibutor cost effective given the hazmat charges.
If you are concerned about these kinds of things, you might want to use the gift certificate for something that has a more competitive price and then go buy your BP revolver outright from Cabelas, Midway or some other discount distributor. You will save probably fifty to seventy bucks depending upon which one you buy.
As far as Traditions quality, I just bought an 1858 Remington in Steel frame with a six and a half in barrel, .36 caliber. It is a real sweet pistol. Fit and finish are great. Operation is very smooth. Makes a nice bang when you shoot it. It really is good quality. I can't find anything wrong with it.
If you are going to go to the store to buy, make sure you select the best one from their stock. The saleman will p _ _ s and moan when you ask him to get several examples out, but when you show him the faults you find in the pistols, he will have no alternative but to agree with you.
A poster here name "Cajun" has a list of ten points he looks at on a new pistol in a store. Hopefully he will read your question and share those points. he is a very discriminating buyer and the prudent mariner should pay attention to what he says.
Just in case he does not, here are some of the things others on the forum have mentioned about BP revolvers and not just those from Traditions/Pietta:
On a Remington, hold the pistol in the firing postion, sight down the barrel as though you were aiming and make sure the front sight lines up properly. In some revolvers the barrel is not turned in properly and the sights do not line up. It is easily noticable.
Check the fit of the trigger guard to the frame.
Look at the loading lever latch which is on the bottom of the barrel. Make sure it is not bent forward.
On Colt pistols, with the barrel wedge in place and snug, the barrel gap should be not more than the thickness of a credit card. (Gap between the front of the cylinder and the breach of the barrel)
It would be nice to buy a pistol on which the barrel wedge can be removed with just the force you can apply with your finger. It is tight but it can be done. Most are tighter than this, but it is nice to be able to get the wedge out without having to resort to a wooden or plastic tool.
On all pistols, if the salesperson will permit you to turn the pistol, you should take him up on it. Make sure the bolt is fully retracted at half cock. Make sure the line-up is right and tight at full cock. I know you know this because you have already said you are very familiar with cartridge weapons. But when you buy a cartridge pistol, you don't even think of these things. On a BP pistol you must.
You will get answers from other folks on the forum. Some of them may dispute my words and in those cases, you are probably well advised to pay attention to them. About half the people here shoot ten times as much as I do and they are very savvy guys. Not knowing what I am talking about never stopped me from talking.
Good luck and again, welcome to the forum and the way of life.
