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Rifleman1776 · August 20, 2010, 08:32 AM

The main gist of this thread is quality.
The Spanish and Italian factories will build to any level of quality, or lack thereof, a buyer wants. Some very fine revolvers have come from all the well-known factories.
OTOH, you can get 'stuff' quickly, and shoddily, shoved through the assembly line. In the heyday growth years of muzzle loading enthusiasm (apx. 1970-1985) there were importers who bought the rough finished items and slickered them up for resale here.
I recall, when I had my shop, I was offered import deals. (keep in mind, this was about 1975) One, I recall, was an offer for a gross of Remington Armys in .44 cal, brass frame. The price, including shipping and import fees, broken down gave me a price of $4.00 each. You read that right, only FOUR DOLLARS per revolver. Consider how much manufacturing TLC could go into a gun for that. Probably was only about $1.00 each when they left the factory.
These were heavily imported (not by me) and resold at retail for prices ranging from $49.95 to over $150.00.

August 20, 2010, 08:32 AM	#22
Rifleman1776 Senior Member Join Date: April 25, 2010 Location: Arkansas Posts: 3,309	The main gist of this thread is quality. The Spanish and Italian factories will build to any level of quality, or lack thereof, a buyer wants. Some very fine revolvers have come from all the well-known factories. OTOH, you can get 'stuff' quickly, and shoddily, shoved through the assembly line. In the heyday growth years of muzzle loading enthusiasm (apx. 1970-1985) there were importers who bought the rough finished items and slickered them up for resale here. I recall, when I had my shop, I was offered import deals. (keep in mind, this was about 1975) One, I recall, was an offer for a gross of Remington Armys in .44 cal, brass frame. The price, including shipping and import fees, broken down gave me a price of $4.00 each. You read that right, only FOUR DOLLARS per revolver. Consider how much manufacturing TLC could go into a gun for that. Probably was only about $1.00 each when they left the factory. These were heavily imported (not by me) and resold at retail for prices ranging from $49.95 to over $150.00.