navy arms??

[Zathras]

Since I caught the bug for BP and saa cowboy guns..I recently acquired a birds head 4 inch 45lc..I noticed on the barrel it says "navy arms made in italy"..this gun apparently has seen a fair amount of action..its pretty well worn..but I have no issue with it, as I paid 200.00 for it , and it seems to shoot real nice...the grips were for ****, and someone used filler and then put some garbage "gesso" type crap on it..I stripped em down, and spray painted em black...ok..my question is ..is this a Uberti?? and navy arms was the importer?? if so...how old could it be??..thanks

[Fingers McGee]

Navy Arms was the importer. Could be a Uberti, could be a Pietta or ASM too. You need to look for makers mark & date code. Here's the decoding key.

https://store.bluebookinc.com/Info/PDF/POWDER/MBPProofmarks.pdf

[Hawg]

Depending on age it could be Pietta or ASM. Kinda doubt it's Uberti.

[Hardy]

I bought them back in late 70's along with kits. They are only good for collectors and the people that originally bought them and kept em The springs are stiff. the CVA rems are more in demand --but they don't bring what 1,2,3 gen colts will:)

WBH

[Hawg]

They are only good for collectors

New one on me and when did CVA get to be better? CVA was/is an importer. Their guns came from Pietta, ASM and Spain

[Hardy]

Hawg, I guess they are old, but CVA might still make them I think, because I saw a display in a gun shop w one derringer/ a brass open top and a rem that appeared new production. I didn't ask about them. I don't know if that display had been there for years but I do know the prices were hefty. You would have been bitin mad at the prices. Over 300 for each. But 99.9 % of them THAT I see are old. Collectors like old -that are out of production. They are for collectors that don't want to invest alot.
WBH

[Hawg]

Hawg, I guess they are old, but CVA might still make them I think,

CVA never "made" them. CVA never made anything. They were and are an importer. They no longer handle anything but inline rifles and they are made in Spain. The revolvers they imported were made by Pietta, ASM and Jukar in Spain. They're no more collectible than any other Italian repro and the Spanish ones aren't worth having. The last gun show I went to had a NIB CVA brass frame 51 navy for 100 bucks. It was still there when I left. I inquired about it but he wasn't coming down on the price.

[Hardy]

OK CVA didn't make them. I bought 6 over last 2 years--and sold them to guys that luv collecting bp's. Didn't sell them for much--didn't buy them from much---but a working /good looking gun for 100 is a below whowsale price. We get 200 for them. HEY you'll be lucky to get more than 200 for a CVA I mean it!

WBH

ps--If you are not buying colts--buy uberti. Be careful of the midnight 199 specials fom Cabella. By from traditions. remember when you were a kid and you want to sell your lionel set--the Lionel box is worth as much as the train.. Keep your Pietta/ Taditions/ and uberti boxes pristine.

Just a note for collectors-not shooters

[mykeal]

Be careful of the midnight 199 specials fom Cabella.
Why? Be specific.

[Hawg]

I guess he thinks Traditions gets better guns than Cabela's but they're the same guns just Traditions puts their name on them too.

[madcratebuilder]

Depending on age it could be Pietta or ASM. Kinda doubt it's Uberti.

I have no idea what the total numbers are of the different manufacturers that Navy Arms used but half of my Navy Arms(Colts) are from Uberti and the rest(Remington) from Pietta. It's a small sample of six random revolvers picked up over the years.

[Hawg]

I'm no expert MCB but I think navy used Uberti early on and then went to Pietta and ASM prolly cuz they were cheaper. I've even seen a few Palmettos with Navy markings.

[Hardy]

Ok most of you know of some transition of why Pietta is producing a better product now. I can't answer that question without jumping in a pond of alligators. There are three boxes I know of that hold these guns--- 1) Pietta--usually has a Patterson pic. 2nd) is a Traditions with a red and black box w/ Buffalo hunter--the 3rd is a cabella box.

I guess while riding out of Dodge---some tools are sharper than others---um, I guess I'll change the subjest to chefs. They always cut that last slice of beef before they sharpen
WBH;)

[Hawg]

So you're saying Traditions and Cabella's shouldn't use their own boxes? Or that Traditions box makes their guns worth more? The guns are the same Hardy, whether they come from Traditions, Cabella's or straight from Pietta. It doesn't matter what kind of box they come in.

[Hardy]

I might have to beg to differ on this. There is OR WAS a difference. Maybe no more since the guns are better. I guess the last cut from the butcher's knife was the one that went to Cabellas. Especially the $190 specials -HA- deals are what you want---we all do---think about how much it cost to manu a gun -then have it distributed and you can buy it retail for 199. That's scary to anyone that appreciates fine firearms -- and holds them in hand with explosives ready to shoot! Quality has its place.

I'm not a sharpshooter/ anal anylizer/ gunsmith/ but I do know what is good when it comes to C/B revolvers by experience.

[Hawg]

I've had several guns from Cabela's. Haven't had any issues with any of them, cosmetic or otherwise. Could some of them benefit from a little smoothing of the action? Yes but I'm sure the same is true of the ones from Traditions also. In fact the smoothest C&B I've ever owned came straight out of a Cabela's box.

[mykeal]

I say again:

Be careful of the midnight 199 specials fom Cabella.
Why? Be specific.

If you're going to cast aspersions, please at least provide your evidence. Cute little homilies like "the last cut from the butcher's knife" don't answer the question. Please tell us why you made the offhand comment or stop the rumor mongering.

[Hawg]

I just remembered, Traditions used to sell CVA revolvers. Does coming in a Traditions box make a Spanish made CVA worth more than a Pietta In a Cabella's box?

[Hardy]

Ok-- I can not be specific on this. All I know is that Pietta makes guns. Great ones. I order from Ellett bros and Taylors. They do not come in Cabella box---because they order Pietta to sell to retailers etc but Taylors do retail to you and their Piettas will be more. Cabella sells retail and they buy in bulk. Buying in bulk sacrifices quality some of the times. Maybe the butcher knife wasn't a good anology for you but it is for some. You get what you pay for---and yes I have bought some from Cabella that are great--but not all. Hey--thats my experience on buying and selling these things. There are only a handfull of us --lets try to understand instead of arguing amongs us.

WBH

[kwhi43]

I know for a fact that a dealer in this area commited to 30 a month and his
cost is 77.00 each. This is for 1860 armys and 1851 navies. Quite a markup.
He let me buy one for 125.00 NIB These are Piettes.

[Hawg]

You should see the markup on jewelry. :eek:

[Hardy]

I guess (fom talking to others that sell these guns) the butcher knife anology meant that you can't cut good w/ a dull knife. And if a dealer can get them for 70+ dollars -what did it cost Pietta? I am saying that all Pietta guns are not the same-especially the low end ones for less than $200.00. You should see the 1851 navy that was offered by Taylors w/spare cylinder that came in Pietta box. Sold in 2 days. But-I do buy the 199 rems from Cabella and conversion cylinder from Taylors. Some of those Rems have to be sent back. If you notice, the higher end Piettas from Cabella are not cheap. The LeMat is 899. By the way, I sold one to a customer(not from Cabella) that came in gray box w/foam lining--beautiful. I think he might be joining this thread so please welcolm him. His questions are -how do you guys load the shotgun--- does the blast burn and or butcher the main barrel which protrudes further ---and can you shoot the shotgun before shooting out the 44 rounds safely. So, this CVA and Piettas discuss were just my opinions shared by some others in the biz. But good info on anything about the Lemat will be most appreciated:)

WBH