Let's talk Navy

[LonesomePigeon]

"There is no more accurate shooter than the .36 1851 Navy."

Richard, please tell me more. Are you basing this on the three Pietta's you puchased recently? A super accurate 1851 is something I want. 

[ssb73q]

Hi Lonesome, see:
http://blackpowdersmoke.com/colt/index.php?topic=964.msg8210#msg8210

 

Regards,
Richard

[ssb73q]

Hi Kirk, if you are willing to wait, you should be able to buy a Pietta 1851 on sale from Cabelas, ~$170.

 

Regards,
Richard

[Captainkirk]

Hi Kirk, if you are willing to wait, you should be able to buy a Pietta 1851 on sale from Cabelas, ~$170.

 

Regards,
Richard

Of course. Keep me posted........

[LonesomePigeon]

Thanks ssb73q, that Pietta sounds like a great performing gun. I'm looking forward to hearing about the Uberti you are getting from Dixie. I recently got a Colt 2nd Gen 1851 that seems to not shoot as good as the Pietta you described but I am not sure if it's me or the gun. I'm thinking I should send it to Mike "Goon" before trying something else but the new Pietta's are very, very tempting.

[StrawHat]

While not a "fanboy" I do prefer the Uberti versions of C&B revolvers.  All Italian made revolves are "kitguns" in that they all need work to make them function to my liking.  Some need more work than others.  Uberti's have usually required a little less work to come to my standards.

Colt's made the Improved Belt Model in Navy Caliber and I would counsel you to look at that option.  Much better than the 1851.  Again, in my opinion.

As for the "Pietta tail", Colt's made the 1851 with a variety of grip shapes, at least one of which resembles that tail nicely.  It is really not as inaccurate as the internet has made it out to be.

Kevin

[Ringo]

As for the "Pietta tail", Colt's made the 1851 with a variety of grip shapes, at least one of which resembles that tail nicely.  It is really not as inaccurate as the internet has made it out to be.

100% agreed. From the top of my head, I seem to remember pictures in Swayze's "51 Navies" where grips have that kind of flare.

[Hawg]

Some do have a flare but I don't remember seeing any as pronounced as Pietta's. The grip design for the latest original 51's became the standard grip for the 73's.

[StrawHat]

Some do have a flare but I don't remember seeing any as pronounced as Pietta's. The grip design for the latest original 51's became the standard grip for the 73's.

Indeed, and since everything back then was cast and then hand finished, there is quite a bit of variation noticed among the Model P.  They are all true to a form but there is variation.

Kevin

[sourdough]

Some do have a flare but I don't remember seeing any as pronounced as Pietta's. The grip design for the latest original 51's became the standard grip for the 73's.

The grip design for the latest original 51's became the standard grip for the 73's.

That may be true, but you are digressing from the subject.

If you have, or can obtain, a copy of Nathan L. Swayze's " '51 Colt Navies" it might be an eye-opener. There are many styles of grip frame designs.

The folks that think that there is one true grip design for original 1851 Colt Navies are wrong. Period. The photos are proof.

So, to say that the Pietta "tail" design is not period design is false. It may not be "exactly" correct, but then Colt and the Confederate manufacturers weren't all that correct either.

[Captainkirk]

Since I started this thread, if I may....
My issue was not so much if the Pietta tail was correct, or close to it, but more an issue of taste. It feels and looks awkward in the extreme to me. If I was to purchase a new Pietta Navy with the extreme tail, I think I would have to make it go away for that reason more than any.
I realize that Colt hand-fitted most of the Navys and no two craftsmen are the same, so it is likely that several different profiles might appear. However, Pietta went overboard in the extreme in their rendition and I don't care for it.

[ssb73q]

Richard, I have one...a 1979 C.O.M. imported by Excam. While I've done a truckload of work to the action and brass already, there are still things about it that irk me; mediocre wood-to-metal fitment, rough finished steel under the bluing, no crowning on the muzzle, and a bolt that drags and leaves "ring around the collar" marks. I'm debating on tearing this one down and going for the throat or starting fresh; #2 sounds like a better option so that's the way my thoughts are leaning. If so, I would want to start with the best Navy I could. I will wait to hear your report on the Uberti for comparison....

Hi Kirk, the new Uberti 1851 arrived today. While the physical appearance is very good, there are internal problems. As expected, this new Uberti has the Uberti short arbor curse. There is also an issue with the bolt dropping late. The bolt drops just as the bolt slot is over the bolt. A correctly set up Colt has the bolt drop just at the beginning of the bolt slot ramp, not at the end. This is important to not have the cylinder overtravel correct cylinder lockup. Try fast draw, or fanning, and this revolver would fail. This an easy fix by shortening the bolt legs a little. The action of this revolver is rough and will require some stoning. I will take apart this revolver tomorrow and report back anything new of interest.

As expected, this new Uberti 1851 is a gunsmith's delight, but shouldn't be. The Piettas are well timed for early bolt drop and run correctly right out of the box.

Regards,
Richard

[Captainkirk]

Thanks for the heads-up, Richard. I was hoping you were going to tell me different, but alas....
Appears if I want an out-of-the-box (OOTB) shooter I will have to go Pietta. Let me know if there are any upcoming sales from Cabelas....

[Hawg]

Some do have a flare but I don't remember seeing any as pronounced as Pietta's. The grip design for the latest original 51's became the standard grip for the 73's.

The grip design for the latest original 51's became the standard grip for the 73's.

That may be true, but you are digressing from the subject.

If you have, or can obtain, a copy of Nathan L. Swayze's " '51 Colt Navies" it might be an eye-opener. There are many styles of grip frame designs.

I don't have it but I have seen and handled more than a few originals and I have seen tons of pics of originals. I believe I already said there were variations in the frames but I don't remember any as extreme as Pietta. There may have been but I'm sure if there were they were few in number and could probably be traced to one fitter.

[Captainkirk]

Since we are discussing Pietta Navys with the "tail", I thought I would post what I refer to as the "bell-bottom" Pietta tail, as found on my .44 'sheriff' brasser:


IMHO, this is just wrong in the extreme (although like some jeans, the pictures "make it's butt look bigger")