Who says you can't get a good deal anymore?

[madcratebuilder]

I concur, double strike FAP, The RG Pioneer Arms is a new name for my list.

hawg, that photo cleared up a mystery revolver for me. I have a 1979 Navy Arms 1858 in nickle with what appears to be a triple strike FAP in the same location.
This 1858 is a very smooth revolver and has a small grip frame.

[Hawg]

I mistakenly called mine a police, it's the Navy model. It has a small frame and the action is very nice and tight.

[Fingers McGee]

Mailman delivered the Hickok Model today. Looks really good. No marks on the cylinder, no nipple marks on the hammer face, wedge came out with just slightest tap with butt of screwdriver, went back in finger tight. Arbor bottoms out in barrel, action is smooth, timing is good and lockup is tight. Bolt screw was noticeably loose, head stood proud of the frame. Took about a full turn to tighten, trigger and hammer screws were barely loose. Grip frame screws were all tight. Slight blemish in grip wiped off with a little cleaner.

Here are a couple more pictures of it.

[denster]

Darn you fingers! Now I want one and I don't need another 51 Navy.

[Fingers McGee]

[denster]

Double darn you Fingers! Checked GB and AA nothing so I went to Cabelas. They have them on sale for $249ea. Now I'm out $500, had to have two, please don't post anything neat and desireable for at least the next couple of weeks

[Fingers McGee]

please don't post anything neat and desireable for at least the next couple of weeks

I'll try; but, it won't be easy. Something is bound to come up.

[denster]

Got my two Hickock 1851 Navys today on the great brown truck of joy.
Wouldn't have bought them if Fingers hadn't posted pics.
I am really pleased. Exterior finish is flawless and would make you throw rocks at Uberti. No kidding. Timing is spot on with both guns. Haven't had time to tear one down yet but will give a full report when I do. These are a cut way above what I expect from Pietta, way way above. The regular retail is $369 but Cabela had them on sale for $249 and that is a steal.

[Fingers McGee]

Good for ya Denster. Be sure to give us a complete report when you test drive them.

I'd take mine out; but it's been to blamed hot here lately to spend any time at the range. Heat index hovers in the 100 to 110 range daily right now.

[denster]

Well I took both guns apart today and I continue to be amazed. I'll list what I found in sequence.

1) Wedges came out with a light tap and the spring end is properly beveled in both directions so the wedge goes in and out nicely. Both wedges were perfectly fit. Arbor wedge slot end is properly tapered.
2) Arbor length is right on the money on both guns.
3) B/C gap is .005 on one and .004 on the other.
4) The hammer just kisses the nipple at rest.
5) All of the nipples came out with no problems.
6) On dissasembly all screws came out easily.
7) Bolt fits cylinder slots with a clearance of just at .001.
8) Trigger pulls are smooth but a little long as expected one is 4lb the other 3.6lb.
9)All internals are smooth I couldn't find anything to improve.
10) No burrs present anywhere on the frame.
11) Case colors are more Colt like than anything I have seen from the Italians.
12) Engraving, while I'm sure it is done by machine or laser, is excellent.
13) On the blued surfaces the polish is to a higher degreee than usual and the blue is deeper and richer.
14) Forcing cone is well cut and smooth.

The only detractions I could find on either gun, and this is really picking nits, is I found some very faint polish marks on the barrel of one gun and the faux ivory grips stand very slightly proud of the frame on both guns. However they are otherwise well fitted with no gaps.

Bad news is that the sale is over and Cabela's has them back at $349.

If these are examples of the quality that Pietta intends to produce going forward then Uberti is going to have to get on the ball or run and hide.

Hope for some free time this week to see if they shoot as good as they look.

[Fingers McGee]

While I haven't pulled mine down yet, the evaluation of your pair mirrors my evaluation of the one I got. I just wish Pietta would get the grip shape right. They did it for the GWII revolvers, why can't they do it for the Navies?

FM

[mykeal]

How about the performance factors: chamber diameters vs groove diameter and bore/chamber alignment, for instance? Getting the cosmetics right is a great start, however. Very good news on the whole.

[denster]

Mykeal

Here is the additional info you asked for:

Chamber/bore alignment: No misalignment visible on any chamber on either gun.

Chamber dia: .368/.368
Bore Dia land to land: .362/.3625
Groove dia: .372/.372
Arbor dia: .432/.432
Cylinder Arbor dia .435/.4352

Photo does not depict true case colors due to flash.

[mykeal]

Thank you.

I understand from The High Road thread that the chamber/bore alignments are very good to excellent.

[denster]

More good news on Pietta. I was preping the revolvers to go shooting later this week. I took the nipples out to put never sieze on them and noticed they looked a bit different. The cones were nice and smooth with no tiny ridges that I'm used to with Pietta and the flash hole looked smaller. Surprise surprise! A "10 CCI cap was a perfect fit and the flash holes measured .029 not the usual .032. I think Tressos are .028 so that is pretty good. Looks like Pietta learned more than one lesson.

[Noz]

I picked up an 1860 Army with the Sheriff barrel length (5.5). Previous owner say 50 rounds fired. Certainly no more than that. Excellent condition and $30 less than new. It came with a Ted Cash snail capper, Ted Cash powder funnel, Colt style flask, hard wood loading stand and 5 lbs of FFg.

Yes there are bargains to be found.

By the way, shorty shoots very nicely!

[Hardcase]

Doggone it, Denster, I was going to buy one of those next week when I got my $100 Cabela's gift card from my credit card points, but since the sale is over, I guess I'll have to set my sights on something else

[denster]

Give it a couple of weeks Hardcase and they will run a sale again.

[Hardcase]

Patience isn't one of my virtues, but I'll hold out for as long as I can!

[Hardcase]

Resurrecting this thread - the revolvers are on sale at Cabela's, so I stopped by my local store, where my new best friend Dennis said that one was in stock. Except that it seems to be hiding out somewhere in the back room.

He's going to look for it tomorrow and give me a call. Hopefully I'll be at the range tomorrow afternoon - it's supposed to be beautiful weather, with a high of only 73 degrees - a nice break from 104 yesterday!

[denster]

Good luck Hardcase hope they find it for you. If you have some time while you are at Cabela's could you check out some of the other Piettas with the CF (2010) proof codes and see if they show major improvements.
I just got in my third Hickok and it is as nice as the first two I also got in a 1861 Navy but it had the 2009 proofs and while it shows some of the improvements the wedge was really hard to get out and I'm going to have to fit it and there were some minor burs on the frame edges not the same quality as the Hickoks. It was on sale and I can make it nice but if I had paid full price I'd have sent it back.

[Hardcase]

Well, I haven't heard from my buddy Dennis, so I have a bad feeling...

I'll swing by tomorrow and see what's up. If nothing else, I'll just have them order one for me. Since I've got that "spend a gazillion bucks, get a gift card" promo, I don't want to mail order it.

I noticed yesterday that they had some fresh C&B guns in the glass case, so I'll take a close look and see if they look as spiffy as they're supposed to.