1860 Army Full Fluted Mystery Solved!

[mike116]

My fluted 1860 made in 1969 by Uberti and imported by Replica Arms has a serial # with an "A" prefix.   It has a cap groove too.

[ShotgunDave]

My fluted 1860 made in 1969 by Uberti and imported by Replica Arms has a serial # with an "A" prefix.   It has a cap groove too.

That's interesting. Maybe this one I got is an earlier one too. It's going to be fun solving all these mysteries when the gun finally arrives!

[ShotgunDave]

This is from the same seller I got the Army from.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/803435676

I'm beginning to think he thinks all Italian replicas are made by Pietta.

[Hawg]

That one is Uberti as well. Pietta never even made a Walker.

[ShotgunDave]

That one is Uberti as well. Pietta never even made a Walker.

Exactly Hawg.

The seller mentioned in the description of my gun, that he got all the guns he was selling from an estate. So I'm sure he doesn't really know guns. Or at least BP replica guns. He probably did a cursory internet search after acquiring the guns, and found one picture of a Pietta and assumed they are all made by them. But that's just a guess.

[ShotgunDave]

Afternoon Fellas. The day has finally come to solve the mystery. The pistol arrived in the mail a short while ago, and now we know the maker for certain. Drum roll please............................................................


Uberti!



And the correct DOM is 1970



And it's a Replica Arms gun.




So without further adieu, here it is in all it's fluted glory.








It has a few handling marks on it, but I'm pretty positive it's never been fired. There are some subtle differences between it and my newer gun. It's a CF DOM gun , so it's 2010. I'm going to really go over them later today and document the differences. Here's a couple pictures of the stable mates together for comparison.






So it's a fun day here at the Shotgun Dave homestead! I'll post up my findings later today after I go over each gun.

[Captainkirk]

Say, that's a real beaut, Dave!

[ShotgunDave]

Say, that's a real beaut, Dave!

Yes Sir, thanks Capt!!

Right now, I'm pretty enamored with it.

[ssb73q]

Hi Dave, that's a real beauty, thanks for posting the photos. All that's left is to do the short arbor mod and go shooting. I look forward to your shooting report. 

Regards,
Richard

[Hawg]

Say, that's a real beaut, Dave!

Agreed!

[ShotgunDave]

Thanks Fellas! Definitely looks better than the cruddy pictures on GB.

It's amazing to me, that these guns are 30 years apart. You can see all the refinements that Uberti has made over the years. They are definitely paying closer attention to the little details now, compared to 30 years ago. Here's just one example.



Look at the difference in the grips. Both the wood and the frame. The wood on the older gun isn't quite as refined as the new one. The definition is missing. Not to mention it's got a "chunky" look and feel to it. Plus, there's a decided kick up at the tail. It feels different in the hand. Then look at the trigger guard. Specifically the plate where it meets the frame. See the difference? The newer gun has a nice bevel around the parameter, like an original Colt. The older gun is just milled off square. They're little things, but they make the difference.

More findings to come.

[drobs]

Nice score.


I've gotten some real good deals on gunbroker.
Most recent deal was a $200 Uberti El Patron Competition.

[ShotgunDave]

Nice score.


I've gotten some real good deals on gunbroker.
Most recent deal was a $200 Uberti El Patron Competition.

Thank you Sir.

And you're right, you got a helluva deal on that one!

[ShotgunDave]

Okay Fellas, I've done something here that really brought this gun to life. The grip on it is very ho-hum. The wood isn't the right shape, it feels really chunky in the hand, not to mention it's just plain not very pretty. I felt the fluted gun deserved more.

So I swapped the TG/BS and wood between my two guns. There was a small amount of fitting required, but totally worth the trouble to my eye. This gun is just absolutely gorgeous now!






I'm not usually a fan of reddish wood, but it suits this gun I think.

While I had it apart, I cleaned up the innards. The trigger on this gun was atrocious. Super gritty and at least a 20LB pull. Now it's really smooth and lets off about 5lbs. Much better. The arbor is actually not too bad. With the wedge pounded in, the cylinder clearance is .002". That is kinda tight, but I'm hoping it will settle in after a few rounds. If not, I'll dress the arbor and fix it.

Hoping to get it out and shoot it tomorrow.

[sourdough]

Absolutely beautiful, Dave!

I love the rearward cant on the bottom of the gripframe.

Superb!

.002" is quite acceptable for the barrel/cylinder clearance. Even Sam Colt advised to firmly seat the wedge in place with his originals.

Many regards,

Jim