What does "Stoeger Imported" signifies?

A

Amati

New member
While looking for a Single Action revolver I was offered a used "Stoeger Imported" .357/.38 with a 5.5" barrel, checkered grips and "Premium Finish" as per the owner. No box and no papers.
What is the difference to the current new Uberti/Cimarron products and does it warrant a price as high, or higher, as a new stainless Ruger Blackhawk?
Thanks.
 
What it says.

Stoeger is an importer, not a manufacturer.

Thus the gun could be a gem, or an also ran. A number of companies specialize in importing guns to the USA. Stoeger, Charles Daly, plus companies like Interarms, etc. There are a lot of them.

Sometimes the importer name could be an indication of quality. Up until recent years the Charles Daly name meant a high quality gun. Not so much today.

Good hi resolution pictures and a little digging on the web may reveal who the actual manufacturer was. That can be very useful knowledge when the time comes to buy parts or accessories.

In quite a few cases the guns are "orphans" no parts, no service.
 
Thanks Ricklin. If looks are an indication of quality then this gun is right up there, the grip alone is way above what I've seen on the average reproductions and the action is also a lot smoother.
The possible scarcity of parts could be an issue though.
 
Indeed!

There have been some excellent top drawer guns that only bear the name of their importer.
I keep a close eye out for some of these "orphans" to include department store brands.
My JC Higgins (Sears) model 50 is the finest rifle I own.

The older Charles Daly guns can be amazing. The name has lost it's luster in recent years since KBI bought the grand old name. My hope is that people take a pass on the older guns due to the not so hot reputation that KBI has given that name. I can dream anyway.....

For black powder guns it's a merry mad mix of quality. The good part is the guns are generally cheap, comparatively.
 
Stoeger is owned by Benelli which is owned by Beretta which also owns Uberti.
I take this as a clue that a single action "imported by Stoeger" was made by Uberti.

The Charles Daly name has been on foreign guns for a long time. Schoeverling, Daly, and Gales imported the "Prussian Dalys" from Lindner and Sauer. The name was revived for a line of Japanese guns made by Miroku, some not so different from Browning Citori. After that, things went downhill.
 
Stoeger is also the importer of Brazilian made 'Coach guns', et al.
"...does it warrant a price as high..." No. The guy selling it is doing a sales job. It's a Uberti made clone. Worth about $400.
"...All roads lead to Beretta..." Only for pistols.
 
I had a Uberti Cattleman imported by Stoeger. Take the ejector rod housing off and it probably has the makers name or at least a logo under it. Mine was a decent enough gun but the (fake) color case hardening was almost non existent, just a few faint pastel splotches. The frame looked white until you got close to it. It also had a very strong hammer spring.
 
Howdy

Stoeger has been around for a long, long time.

When I was a kid they were located in New Jersey, and prior to that they were the largest gun store in New York City. Yes, it was a long time ago.

Today Stoeger is a wholly owned subsidiary of Benelli, which is owned by Beretta. Stoeger is one of the importers of Uberti revolvers. Uberti is also owned by Beretta.

There is no perceivable quality difference between any of the Uberti firearms, no matter who the importer is.

Difficult to compare any Uberti revolver to a Ruger, quality wise because the internal mechanisms of each are completely different.
 
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