Customized, stainless, Pietta 1858 Remington

Bill Akins · January 17, 2011, 01:51 AM

I just picked up this little .44 caliber stainless, 1858 Pietta Remy gem pictured at the bottom here about a week ago. I looked at both Uberti and Pietta stainless 1858 Remy versions. At first glance the Pietta and Uberti 5.5 inch barrel, stainless Remys look identical. But in my looking at both the Pietta and Uberti stainless 1858 Remys, I've found a few differences between the two that might be of interest to some here that may be unaware of those differences.

The Pietta Remy has a slightly longer cylinder so it will hold a tad more powder than the Uberti Remy. Also, this means that a conversion cylinder for a Pietta Remy is too long and will not fit into an Uberti Remy. You can fit an Uberti Remy conversion cylinder into a Pietta Remy, but you shouldn't. Because that makes the barrel to cylinder gap much too wide. Also some times the cylinder pin is different so they sometimes won't fit anyway. But I have heard some people saying the Uberti conversion cylinder WOULD fit into the Pietta. But don't do it. So if someone has both the Uberti and the Pietta, and they want conversion cylinders, they will have to buy two separate conversion cylinders that are specially made to fit each manufacturer's brand.

Other differences are, that on the Pietta Remy, the loading lever latch located on the underside of the barrel, is just lightly silver soldered in place in a hole and on some occasions I've read about, has become loose and fallen out. Also on the Pietta, the front sight is also silver soldered in place in a hole. But in the Uberti, both the loading lever latch and the front sight are DOVETAIL secured to the underside and top of the barrel. Which is MUCH more secure.

Also I have heard many people claim that the Pietta grips are just a little larger than the Uberti's and feel better for those who have large hands.

Some people claim the Uberti Remy has a little better fit and finish than the Pietta Remy. Then others claim they are about equal. I think it just depends on how that specific individual revolver happened to be constructed at the factory. Some people have claimed to get lemon Pietta's, and some swear by their Piettas. It depends on the individual revolver. But I have never heard anyone say they got a lemon Uberti Remy. So "Caveat emptor" and if you can, it is best to inspect the revolver carefully before you buy it.

I have a Pietta, fluted cylinder, nickel and gold plated, .44 cal, 1860 army colt clone. Exactly like the one pictured here.

I shoot it and love it. To go with my 1860, I had wanted to get a faux ivory handled, stainless ruger old army in the 5 & 1/2 barrel with the vaquero style fixed sights, but they have gotten crazy on the prices at auctions since Ruger discontinued them. I just saw one go for over $700.00 Sure they are the best in black powder revolvers with coil springs throughout, but you can get a real nice either adjustable sight or fixed sight, stainless Remy for $175.00 at auction if you look. Then if you want a shorter barrel, it is not hard to cut the barrel and loading lever down.

I did it once totally by hand with nothing but a drill, hacksaw, files and sandpaper way back in the late 1970's to a brass framed .44 cal, 1851 repro. I re-cut the dovetail for the loading lever latch on the bottom of the shorter barrel and used the old latch from the piece of barrel I cut off. Also filed a new slot into the front of the now shorter loading lever to accept the spring loaded latch catch and also drilled a hole for the retaining pin. Then I made a new front sight and dovetailed it into the top of the barrel. Came out great. So if you don't want to spend the inflated prices for the 5.5 barrel, stainless, vaquero style sights, Ruger old army,....there are much less expensive alternatives.

So instead of getting the ROA, I did some horse trading and got this unusual Pietta, stainless,1858 Remy with its original stainless blk pwder cylinder and also a R&D stainless conversion cylinder.

I have looked all over the net and no one makes one like mine that has an adjustable rear sight, in line with barrel dovetail ramp front sight, crowned barrel, 5 & 5/8ths barrel, (yes 5 & 5/8ths) and with a loading lever rib that goes all the way to the end of the loading lever. I simply could not find another one anywhere that looked like mine.

So after much researching and looking, I can only deduce that someone did a very good custom job of cutting down the loading lever and milling another slot on the now shortened loading lever end for the spring loaded catch to go, and shortened and crowned the barrel on what was formally a stainless, adjustable sight, target model. Then they did an excellent job of crowning the barrel, milling a dovetail slot on top of the barrel and in line with the barrel and then installed a stainless ramp front sight. Not sure why they made the barrel 5 & 5/8ths instead of 5.5 inches, but there it is.

The timing is perfect and the bolt drops into the cylinder slots precisely when it should. No "ringing" of the cylinder nor peening of the cylinder slot edges here. I haven't shot it yet with black powder or with .45 long colt cowboy loads in the conversion cylinder, but plan to real soon. If it shoots as well as my Pietta 1860 army, (as I expect it will) I will be very pleased with this custom Pietta 1858 Remy. To match the Remy's grips to my Pietta 1860 colt, I plan to put faux ivory (PVC polymer) grips on it too from Buffalo arms who sells them for $30.00, best deal on them on the net here.....http://www.buffaloarms.com/browse.cfm/4,8613.html

Here's a few pics of my custom, stainless, Pietta .44 cal blk pwder or 45 long colt cartridge, 1858 Remy.

madcratebuilder · January 17, 2011, 07:44 AM

Quote:

The Pietta Remy has a slightly longer cylinder so it will hold a tad more powder than the Uberti Remy.

About .040 give or take.

Quote:

Other differences are, that on the Pietta Remy, the loading lever latch located on the underside of the barrel, is just lightly silver soldered in place in a hole and on some occasions I've read about, has become loose and fallen out.

Three out of four of my Pietta Remingtons are dovetailed.

The older Pietta's don't have as nice of fit and finish as the newer models. Both Uberti and Pietta have upgraded their fit and finish and are manufacturing some really nice revolvers.

Claddagh · January 17, 2011, 11:57 AM

FWIW, I've seen stainless "Target" model Remington replicas which were equipped with adjustable sights, but all of them had the standard 8" barrel. IMHO, it's very likely that someone started with one of these and customized it. Looks to be very nicely done, btw. Really like the grips. Are they horn?

orangello · January 17, 2011, 04:15 PM

I have never desired a nickel-plated firearm until now. That is an absolutely beautiful revolver!

5282jt · January 17, 2011, 06:08 PM

ENVY!!!!!! I WANT ONE TOO!

Bill Akins · January 18, 2011, 01:02 AM

Here's a comparison between the stainlless 1858 Pietta that does not dovetail the loading lever catch stud under the barrel, vs the stainless 1858 Uberti dovetailed one. Uberti on the left and Pietta on the right.

I know some earlier Uberti stainless ones back in the 70's were not dovetailed. But today they are while Pietta's are not. Here's an interesting article from the firing line that covers some of this from back in Aug 2010....
http://thefiringline.com/forums/show....php?p=4197694

The grips on my stainless Pietta Remy are not horn, but are dark wood. They are perfectly fitted. But I'm going to replace them with the faux ivory polymer grips that have the brass insert and I'll use my own stainless bolt. Should dress it up real nice. Saw one fellow online who wanted to trade his faux ivory grips for a set of wood ones. Would have been a perfect trade but he never e mailed me back.

January 17, 2011, 01:51 AM	#1
Bill Akins Senior Member Join Date: August 28, 2007 Location: Hudson, Florida Posts: 1,135	Customized, stainless, Pietta 1858 Remington I just picked up this little .44 caliber stainless, 1858 Pietta Remy gem pictured at the bottom here about a week ago. I looked at both Uberti and Pietta stainless 1858 Remy versions. At first glance the Pietta and Uberti 5.5 inch barrel, stainless Remys look identical. But in my looking at both the Pietta and Uberti stainless 1858 Remys, I've found a few differences between the two that might be of interest to some here that may be unaware of those differences. The Pietta Remy has a slightly longer cylinder so it will hold a tad more powder than the Uberti Remy. Also, this means that a conversion cylinder for a Pietta Remy is too long and will not fit into an Uberti Remy. You can fit an Uberti Remy conversion cylinder into a Pietta Remy, but you shouldn't. Because that makes the barrel to cylinder gap much too wide. Also some times the cylinder pin is different so they sometimes won't fit anyway. But I have heard some people saying the Uberti conversion cylinder WOULD fit into the Pietta. But don't do it. So if someone has both the Uberti and the Pietta, and they want conversion cylinders, they will have to buy two separate conversion cylinders that are specially made to fit each manufacturer's brand. Other differences are, that on the Pietta Remy, the loading lever latch located on the underside of the barrel, is just lightly silver soldered in place in a hole and on some occasions I've read about, has become loose and fallen out. Also on the Pietta, the front sight is also silver soldered in place in a hole. But in the Uberti, both the loading lever latch and the front sight are DOVETAIL secured to the underside and top of the barrel. Which is MUCH more secure. Also I have heard many people claim that the Pietta grips are just a little larger than the Uberti's and feel better for those who have large hands. Some people claim the Uberti Remy has a little better fit and finish than the Pietta Remy. Then others claim they are about equal. I think it just depends on how that specific individual revolver happened to be constructed at the factory. Some people have claimed to get lemon Pietta's, and some swear by their Piettas. It depends on the individual revolver. But I have never heard anyone say they got a lemon Uberti Remy. So "Caveat emptor" and if you can, it is best to inspect the revolver carefully before you buy it. I have a Pietta, fluted cylinder, nickel and gold plated, .44 cal, 1860 army colt clone. Exactly like the one pictured here. I shoot it and love it. To go with my 1860, I had wanted to get a faux ivory handled, stainless ruger old army in the 5 & 1/2 barrel with the vaquero style fixed sights, but they have gotten crazy on the prices at auctions since Ruger discontinued them. I just saw one go for over $700.00 Sure they are the best in black powder revolvers with coil springs throughout, but you can get a real nice either adjustable sight or fixed sight, stainless Remy for $175.00 at auction if you look. Then if you want a shorter barrel, it is not hard to cut the barrel and loading lever down. I did it once totally by hand with nothing but a drill, hacksaw, files and sandpaper way back in the late 1970's to a brass framed .44 cal, 1851 repro. I re-cut the dovetail for the loading lever latch on the bottom of the shorter barrel and used the old latch from the piece of barrel I cut off. Also filed a new slot into the front of the now shorter loading lever to accept the spring loaded latch catch and also drilled a hole for the retaining pin. Then I made a new front sight and dovetailed it into the top of the barrel. Came out great. So if you don't want to spend the inflated prices for the 5.5 barrel, stainless, vaquero style sights, Ruger old army,....there are much less expensive alternatives. So instead of getting the ROA, I did some horse trading and got this unusual Pietta, stainless,1858 Remy with its original stainless blk pwder cylinder and also a R&D stainless conversion cylinder. I have looked all over the net and no one makes one like mine that has an adjustable rear sight, in line with barrel dovetail ramp front sight, crowned barrel, 5 & 5/8ths barrel, (yes 5 & 5/8ths) and with a loading lever rib that goes all the way to the end of the loading lever. I simply could not find another one anywhere that looked like mine. So after much researching and looking, I can only deduce that someone did a very good custom job of cutting down the loading lever and milling another slot on the now shortened loading lever end for the spring loaded catch to go, and shortened and crowned the barrel on what was formally a stainless, adjustable sight, target model. Then they did an excellent job of crowning the barrel, milling a dovetail slot on top of the barrel and in line with the barrel and then installed a stainless ramp front sight. Not sure why they made the barrel 5 & 5/8ths instead of 5.5 inches, but there it is. The timing is perfect and the bolt drops into the cylinder slots precisely when it should. No "ringing" of the cylinder nor peening of the cylinder slot edges here. I haven't shot it yet with black powder or with .45 long colt cowboy loads in the conversion cylinder, but plan to real soon. If it shoots as well as my Pietta 1860 army, (as I expect it will) I will be very pleased with this custom Pietta 1858 Remy. To match the Remy's grips to my Pietta 1860 colt, I plan to put faux ivory (PVC polymer) grips on it too from Buffalo arms who sells them for $30.00, best deal on them on the net here.....http://www.buffaloarms.com/browse.cfm/4,8613.html Here's a few pics of my custom, stainless, Pietta .44 cal blk pwder or 45 long colt cartridge, 1858 Remy. Last edited by Bill Akins; January 17, 2011 at 02:59 AM.

January 17, 2011, 06:08 PM	#5
5282jt Member Join Date: November 8, 2010 Posts: 43	Well, I have to say, I feel ENVY!!!!!! I WANT ONE TOO!

January 17, 2011, 11:57 AM	#3
Claddagh Senior Member Join Date: February 6, 2009 Location: Central Indiana Posts: 313	FWIW, I've seen stainless "Target" model Remington replicas which were equipped with adjustable sights, but all of them had the standard 8" barrel. IMHO, it's very likely that someone started with one of these and customized it. Looks to be very nicely done, btw. Really like the grips. Are they horn?

January 17, 2011, 04:15 PM	#4
orangello Senior Member Join Date: February 25, 2009 Posts: 566	I have never desired a nickel-plated firearm until now. That is an absolutely beautiful revolver!

January 18, 2011, 01:02 AM	#6
Bill Akins Senior Member Join Date: August 28, 2007 Location: Hudson, Florida Posts: 1,135	Here's a comparison between the stainlless 1858 Pietta that does not dovetail the loading lever catch stud under the barrel, vs the stainless 1858 Uberti dovetailed one. Uberti on the left and Pietta on the right. I know some earlier Uberti stainless ones back in the 70's were not dovetailed. But today they are while Pietta's are not. Here's an interesting article from the firing line that covers some of this from back in Aug 2010.... http://thefiringline.com/forums/show....php?p=4197694 The grips on my stainless Pietta Remy are not horn, but are dark wood. They are perfectly fitted. But I'm going to replace them with the faux ivory polymer grips that have the brass insert and I'll use my own stainless bolt. Should dress it up real nice. Saw one fellow online who wanted to trade his faux ivory grips for a set of wood ones. Would have been a perfect trade but he never e mailed me back.