1860 Army

westfi1 · April 22, 2005, 07:43 AM

I want to buy a replica 1860 Army cap and ball revolver. Who makes the best one; Colt blackpowder, Uberti, EMF, Pietta, Armi San Marco, Cimarron, etc......? Any advice or experiences would be much appreciated. Thanks very much in advance for responding.

mec · April 22, 2005, 06:48 PM

The short answer on this is Uberti. Armi San Marco died under the weight of its own indifference to quality and is gone for ever. EMF is said to distribute Pietta- made revolvers. Colt Black Powder has been gone for a few years. Cimarron distributes Uberti revolvers. In the past, they have said that their guns are higher quality than the general run but I believe they have backed away from this since Uberti and Beretta came under the same ownership. I do know they are one of two reliable sources of spare parts for the Ubertis- the other being VTI gunparts. The last couple of years of Uberti USA production/distribution has been the highest quality I've ever seen.

Some shooters who have them say that Pietta quality has improved in the past few years.

100W_Warlock · April 23, 2005, 10:02 PM

These are really the only two manufacturers.

Uberti makes what some consider the higher quality gun.

Pietta has higher volume since they have more distributors. (namely, Cabelas)

I have a Pietta 1851 Navy and just took it out of the display case today and give it a good run through.

The 1860s are very well built from both manufacturers.

Here is another forum that has lots of good info and advice:
http://www.voy.com/60048/
(read the Percussion Revolvers Primer http://www.angelfire.com/ny5/shenandoah/Choy.html )

April 22, 2005, 07:43 AM	#1
westfi1 Member Join Date: April 22, 2005 Posts: 32	1860 Army I want to buy a replica 1860 Army cap and ball revolver. Who makes the best one; Colt blackpowder, Uberti, EMF, Pietta, Armi San Marco, Cimarron, etc......? Any advice or experiences would be much appreciated. Thanks very much in advance for responding.

April 23, 2005, 10:02 PM	#3
100W_Warlock Senior Member Join Date: May 23, 2004 Posts: 267	Uberti or Pietta These are really the only two manufacturers. Uberti makes what some consider the higher quality gun. Pietta has higher volume since they have more distributors. (namely, Cabelas) I have a Pietta 1851 Navy and just took it out of the display case today and give it a good run through. The 1860s are very well built from both manufacturers. Here is another forum that has lots of good info and advice: http://www.voy.com/60048/ (read the Percussion Revolvers Primer http://www.angelfire.com/ny5/shenandoah/Choy.html )

April 22, 2005, 06:48 PM	#2
mec Junior member Join Date: December 6, 2001 Posts: 1,536	The short answer on this is Uberti. Armi San Marco died under the weight of its own indifference to quality and is gone for ever. EMF is said to distribute Pietta- made revolvers. Colt Black Powder has been gone for a few years. Cimarron distributes Uberti revolvers. In the past, they have said that their guns are higher quality than the general run but I believe they have backed away from this since Uberti and Beretta came under the same ownership. I do know they are one of two reliable sources of spare parts for the Ubertis- the other being VTI gunparts. The last couple of years of Uberti USA production/distribution has been the highest quality I've ever seen. Some shooters who have them say that Pietta quality has improved in the past few years.