Tale of the new Uberti 1861 Navy civilian

[brownie]

Greetings all,       

  As you all know, replica Colts from Italy have been hard to come by in recent years. I had been interested in a Uberti 1861 Navy for sometime. Last June Taylor’s website suddenly changed from “out of stock” to “in stock” for the 1861, and so time to place my order.

   On arrival, and after cleaning of enough preservative oil to top off the lawnmower, I was quite
pleased with the parts fit and finish as well as the lock work.  Timing seems right on and the bolt locks up the cylinder nice and tight at full cock. The only “fly in the bullet lube” was that the wedge would bottom out against its retaining screw. It was not a really sloppy fit, it’s just that I could move it with my thumb alone.  So back to Taylor’s it went.

   Their fix was to peen the front of the arbor slot in an attempt to upset the metal and narrow the slot. It sorta worked, but after 50 or so rounds its not really as tight as it should be. Taylor’s gets an “A” for effort and quick turn around time,….  and some knucklehead at Uberti gets an “F” Minus for not rejecting it during their Q.C. process.

  Anyway, I replaced the original nipples with a set of S.S. ones from Track of The Wolf and tested it with Hornady .375 R.B.’s , over 15 grains of FFFG and Cream of Wheat filler topped with a little Crisco.

  With nine cylinders of R.B.s through it, I was quite surprised and pleased with the accuracy.
It is more accurate than my two Second Gen. Colts and maybe even a bit better than my Uberti Remington.
So far the wedge has not changed position during shooting, and the barrel is not loose on the arbor. I hope to cure the wedge issue with proper lengthening of the arbor, or maybe just send the thing to Mr. Goon.

  The really interesting thing about shooting the gun was that it was shooting dead on the mark at my 20 yard range right out of the box with NO sight tinkering. The 1861 Navy has a blade style sight as opposed to the 1851’s “golden pimple”. Perhaps that is the difference ???

So,…I wonder if anyone else who might own a Uberti 1861 Navy finds that it shoots very close to the mark without sight adjustment ?

I also wonder what sight modifications other 1861 Navy owners have found beneficial to accurate shooting ? Does everyone enlarge the hammer notch a bit?

Thanks for any thoughts, suggestions or comments on the 1861 Navy that may be offered.

Brownie

[ShotgunDave]

Excellent review of your new pistol Brownie. As you have already figured out, it will need the arbor length addressed. If you like the gun now, you'll be absolutely amazed when it comes back from Goons.

Look forward t hearing how it turns out.

[Marshal Will]

Thanks for the write-up on your '61. I have often wondered how that sight would work with a .36. It's a bit low for a .44 but your experience verifies what I would expect. Congrats on the new purchase.

If you lengthen the arbor so the barrel fits the way it should, that wedge issue will probably get corrected. What I've seen is that the wedge needs to be shaved a bit after the arbor fit is done. Yours may not need much, if any, adjustment afterwards.

[bigted]

Gotta agree on overall f&f. Congrats on your civilian 61. Those stock buttons always bugged the crap outta me.

The only thing I did or had to do on my civilian 61 from Berti was the arbor length fix. I cut off the base of a 38 spcl or 357 mag case so I capture the entire primer pocket then begin thinning it on the cut side ... then when finished I put a small dab of super glue down in the arbor hole in the barrel and install my "BUTTON" so the writing on the case head is visible.

I can only guess the surprise from the person that gets and notices this after Im gone 😉

[Navy Six]

I bought a pair of new Uberti 61 Navies about three years ago and found they were also shooting close to point of aim at 15-20 yards. Mine were the "military" models with the shoulder stock screws in the frame. I would have preferred the civilian models, but the guns were very nicely finished, nice case colors and blue backstraps/trigger guards. Both guns were timed perfectly with zero hammer overtravel.

[Hawg]

Good writeup. Most navies do shoot pretty close to aim. You might try bumping the powder charge up to 25 grains and see how it does.

[brownie]

Thanks for all of your comments.
Yes, I'm thinking about sending it off to Goon's this fall.
If I do, I will provide a comparative analysis.   
Brownie

[Sooty Barrels]

Brownie, I have an 1860 army with shoulder stock screws in the frame and also don't like them. I read somewhere on this forum that there are some kind of replacement plugs for these. Hopefully somebody will have information and pictures of them. 

[45 Dragoon]

Nice!!  brownie,  you should enjoy that '61!! Thanks for mentioning me !! The guys here are awful nice to me and I appreciate them mentioning me as well ( thanks guys!!). Just keep an eye on the locking notches  .  .    you don't want the edge to start peening over!! Have fun and holler at me if ya need me!!

Mike