WTB 2nd Gen or Uberti Walker Colt

[rmartin6821]

Looking for a Uberti Walker Colt or maybe a 2nd Gen one if I can afford it.

[Fingers McGee]

Check Gunbroker. There are always a few Walkers listed for sale there.

Here are some:

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=273385306
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=272692184
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=272969392
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=272251151
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=273055408

[Beagle333]

Cabelas has it on sale for $399
This is the one I've had for 21 years. Can't say they're all this good, but mine has never had any problems after a few hundred balls through it.
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Uberti-Model-1847-Walker-44-Caliber-Revolver/740067.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3Fform_state%3DsearchForm%26N%3D0%26fsch%3Dtrue%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Dwalker%26x%3D0%26y%3D0%26WTz_l%3DHeader%253BSearch-All%2BProducts&Ntt=walker&WTz_l=Header%3BSearch-All+Products

[rmartin6821]

Thanks for the responses. I have been eyeballing the Cabelas site, but also looking around for a used one. May go ahead a pull the trigger on a new one, though.

[rodent.22]

My experience was the used ones run right up with the new ones, the Walker is so imposing a weapon that I think the used prices reflect that. one shot a lot and nicked a little will go for $300-$350.:eek:I've seen a couple go cheaper, but seldom.

[Beagle333]

I have never dealt with these folks, but saw this ad while looking around for other stuff.

http://www.ssfirearms.com/proddetail.asp?prod=RFT500A

[Fingers McGee]

S&S is a good bunch of folks to deal with. Have bought a few things from them with no problems.

[rodent.22]

Beagle they may not actually have them on hand. I know Cabelas has had them posted as backordered for months. I was in Lehi, Utah on vacation last year and bought their well-handled display model for $349.00. One HUGE benefit for buying Cabelas is their return policy, one of the few places a firearm is actually stood behind by the seller.

[Beagle333]

Beagle they may not actually have them on hand. One HUGE benefit for buying Cabelas is their return policy, one of the few places a firearm is actually stood behind by the seller.

I don't know anything about them. I just saw the ad.

I'm with you about Cabela's though. I had to return a London Navy this week. It arrived with the triggerguard misaligned with the frame. I didn't know if it was poor machining or bumped in shipping, and I was going to try to straighten it up, but the screws were cross threaded, so I sent it back. I don't want to have to work on one right out of the box.

[Willie Sutton]

"It arrived with the triggerguard misaligned with the frame."

This is why my rule is "Never Buy Pietta Anything", including "Traditions" etc. Stick to Uberti imported by Taylor's or Stoeger. Stay away from Cimarron for your BP Pistols... I experienced a TERRIBLE customer service episode there and am still waiting for a nearly $1000 refund.

MOST of the stuff sold by Cabelas is Pietta. VERY LITTLE of it is Uberti. And what they list from Uberti is usually out of stock. There's a shortage of Uberti black powder revolvers available right now. Production cannot keep up with demand. On the other hand, there are tons of Piettas... because by comparison they are crap.

Beware the "Colt Second Generation Walker" now being sold on Gunbroker from Annapolis MD. It's an estate gun being sold by someone who does not know that "Colt Second Generation" and "Italian Copy of Colt" are two different things. I recieved some detailed pics and it's likely a ASM repro, not a Colt.

Uberti's are available on Gunbroker if you can wait a week... they pop up almost daily. Prices vary. Just grabbed a Uberti Remington 1851 this AM with the antique finish from there, at $225, which is about $200 off retail, so if you know what you are looking for you can do OK.



Willie

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[Hawg]

Pietta's are not crap. I've had quite a few of them over the years, most from Cabella's. I personally never had to send one back.

[Beagle333]

This was the first one I ever had to send back. The first 4 Piettas I got from Cabelas were great. They are really good about exchanging them. I'm not going to start knocking Piettas based on one experience.

[Hawg]

Back to the original question, I think Hardy has a second gen for sale.

[rmartin6821]

Thank everyone for the advice and links to various locations. Decided to purchase new from Cabelas. I have had excellent experiences with them and know they will back their products. Looking forward to owning my first black powder revolver.

[Beagle333]

And welcome to the forum. Check back with us often and discuss your new Walker, and post pics!

[Willie Sutton]

I second the above... Welcome! You're among friends!


Let me temper my Pietta bias comment as well... for a few dollars more than a Pietta, you can get a classier pistol that does not have garish "Made in Italy" and all other sorts of markings on the sides of the barrel. To me... that's a deal breaker. For others... well, maybe not. You pays yer dime and you gets yer ride and as long as you're happy, you are happy. Uberti's do seem to always be "just" a little nicer than Piettas, at "just" a few bucks more. No offense intended, and if they revised their barrel marking scheme I might actually consider them.

You'll love your Walker. They are a hoot to shoot.


Willie

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[radom]

Me I will deal with the markings on the things vs the Uberti issues such as the arbors being too short. Prety dont make a better working gun.

[Hawg]

I wish Pietta would move their markings too but Uberti to me isn't worth the extra bucks. Close to 100 isn't what I call a few.

[Willie Sutton]

Hmmm: Show me a $100 difference in advertised price between a Uberti "x" and a Pietta "x" from mainstream sellers please?


Bearing in mind that there is no such thing as a "Brass framed 1860 Army" other than Italian copies", let's stick with steel frame 1860 Army copies as a comparison:

We all know that Cabelas is pretty much a price leader in all of this stuff... try this: They sell Pietta 1860 Army Frame revolvers for $240

S$S sells Uberti (imported by Taylor's) Steel Frame 1860 Army Revolvers for $280.

Uhh... <sigh>... that's $40 more for the Uberti. That's a no-brainer decision for me to make to not have markings on the gun that shout out "replica".


Do not confuse anything with a brass frame with any of the steel frame stuff. You will see both brass and steel frame "versions" of the same pistol being offered at different prices, sometimes by the same vendor. NOTE that there were NO brass frame "1860 Army" revolvers manufactured by Colt. This is purely a Farb-Fantasy Gun, but... to compare prices:



Midway: Pietta Brass frame "1860 Army Farb-Fantasy": $259

Midway: Pietta Steel frame 1860 Army: $299


So... if you compare BRASS Pietta and STEEL Uberti it's $80... and it's not a fair comparison.


You can find "Traditions" marked Pietta BRASS FRAME 1860 Army Farb-Fantasy revolvers for about $220.. and you can find Uberti steel frame 1860 Army's from Cimarron for over $400 if you REALLY try. But you are comparing apples and applesauce... for any actual one-on-one comparison there is no $100 difference in what a sensible shopper will pay for the same description of an item between Uberti and Pietta.


To me, I'd gladly pay $100 for no markings, as I hate Farb-Anything and truthfully I'm not terribly price sensitive, but... I don't see that as the average difference in price.

I've never had a bad experience with any of the modern (IE: not 1960's) Uberti's and I've owned (and own) a big-box-o-them. I've opened up Piettas and looked at the internals and.... uhh.... <sigh>... well, it's the difference between Colt and H&R. Both work. Different corporate view of "quality". There is a reason for any price difference.



Sensible shopping really closes the price gap between the manufacturers.


Willie


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[Hawg]

Well to me most of the brass framers don't exist including all the .44's. Some of the .36's do have some historical connections. Usually Cabela's has a sale on and if they don't you can wait awhile and get Pietta's for 179.00 and free shipping. To me that's a no brainer.

[Willie Sutton]

"you can wait awhile and get Pietta's for 179.00"


Not to doubt, but: I'd sure appreciate a note next time you find steel frame 1860 Army copies made by *anyone* for $179.00

You might be right, but in my gut I 'spect it'll be a long while before I get a note... :rolleyes:



I'd still pay more (and always do) to not have those stupid markings. Why can't Pietta figure this out?




Willie

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[mykeal]

I'd still pay more (and always do) to not have those stupid markings. Why can't Pietta figure this out?

Willie - I think you're missing something here. Pietta has figured it out, and they don't care. And they keep selling them, hand over fist, frequently selling out. That should tell you that you're in the minority.

There's a whole lotta people out there who understand perfectly well that they aren't buying an authentic Colt black powder pistol, so the lettering on the barrel isn't an issue; they'd rather spend less money. They know they aren't going to fool anyone into thinking that they're shooting an authentic Colt so why get all worked up about a few letters stamped on the barrel? And apparently there's enough of them that Pietta manages to stay in business, in fact, more than just staying in business.

Seems to me they've got it figured out; it's someone else that hasn't.

[Hawg]

I bought a 51 Navy for 179.00 a few months ago. The 60 was the same price, both steel frames. http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=473033&highlight=179+0

[Willie Sutton]

Cool...

For that, I'd buy the 1851 with the octagonal barrel, de-blue it, and use a flat file to take off the markings and then antique it. be a good defarb and cheap enough to experiment with.

Willie

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[Willie Sutton]

"Seems to me they've got it figured out; it's someone else that hasn't"


No need to offend, I pay my money to the vendors that offer me what I want.

Uberti has about $7K of my cash and Pietta has zero... and that's what makes a horse race.

Have any idea how many people pay good money to have markings removed from replicas? It makes a difference to people who do historical reinactments.. and they pay for accuracy. Uberti has their market sewn up. Pietta could obtain the market with a simple change of location of their stamps.



Willie

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[mykeal]

I did not intend to offend. I apologize; I can see where those words could be offensive and I'm sorry I wrote them that way.

Yes, you, and I, and reenactors, and some others will pay more for 'more authentic' (but still not completely authentic) items. But Pietta isn't in that business - for god's sake, they make .44 cal brass framed 1851 Colt pattern revolvers! And they sell like hotcakes. What does that tell you? They're making the money - face it, they've got it figured out.

[Willie Sutton]

Lots of Timex watches are sold too... but not to me. I wear a Rolex that I bought in 1978 and have worn since. You pays yer money and you gets what you get. The fact that brass framed farb-fantasy pistols sell like hotcakes says more about bad taste on the consumers end than anything else. Folks will buy just about any crap that's put in front of them, I guess. Some folks anyhow... but not all.

Back to my example though: The difference between Timex and Rolex cannot be changed, but the difference between Pietta and Uberti could be mostly changed by ONE simple change: Stop marking the sides of the barrels and move the stamps to under the loading levers. Take a quick management cappachino meeting at the factory, tell Guseppi to stamp 'em elsewhere, and a week later when the next big-container-o-pistols arrived on our fair shores their market would be larger. How larger? Dunno... 5%? 1%? If I were in business I'd try to capture ANY extra market share. Maybe they don't care and are busy enough.

I peel the dealer sticker off of my cars too... I just hate to advertise. And I don't buy Rugers either: Who needs a paragraph of legal warnings on a pistol? Mebbe it's just me, dunno... no clue. I like simple and elegent, and those markings aren't.


Best wishes, and all's well.


Willie

.

[arcticap]

I'll add that we live in a very commercialized world where private manufacturers take pride in their products. Some are more than happy to advertise their corporate name and logo. I'm sure that most folks have watched NASCAR racing and have seen all of the logos on the cars. These are part of popular culture and illustrate the role of corporations in our society.
I think that it's great how Beretta/Uberti chooses to design and manufacture their guns and where they place their logo. However, every gun design and manufacturer has it's strong and weak points. People vote with their wallet. That's how the democracy of capitalism works, and there's a silent majority that in part vote for the more affordable guns because that's what they choose to buy. That way they can own more guns for less money in the long run.
Neither brand choice or logo placement is better in absolute terms, they're just simply different from each other.
Most people have their own set of priorities.
One last thing that I will mention is that this all goes back to the day of Colt himself. He was known as a showman, he boasted his products, and also built the blue onion dome on his factory that was topped with the Rampant Colt that became famous. And his name and address was stamped right on the top of the barrel and not hidden on the bottom of it.

http://www.damonmills.com/Items%20for%20Sale%20Pages/US%201st%20Mdl%20Colt%20Dragoon%203400/Colt%20US%201st%20Mdl%20Dragoon%203400%20Address%202.jpg

So it seems that stamping a name on a barrel is very original and everyone chooses to do it differently. It's important to some but not to everyone. And everyone votes with their wallet when they select which gun to buy. Even if that gun is a Ruger, there's plenty of Bill Ruger's pride and family name built into it that no one can take away from him or the Ruger owner.
If I founded that company and designed that gun, then hey, I would want my name on it too. And so did Sam Colt. :)

[Willie Sutton]

<please activate "Humor Mode ON" for the balance of this post. >


If you are easy to offend, or weigh 300+ pounds and stand at the Cabelas counter drooling over brass framed "not a copy of anything" revolvers that you can't really afford, you might want to skip elsewhere. You've been warned.>


That was a public service announcement from Willie, who stands firmly with tounge in cheek.
Now on to the good stuff:


Funny: If it were a Colt, I'd be happy to have Col S. Colt's name on the top... :p

Cheap Italian Copies.... well.... they are always going to be lesser. They would be *classier* if they were not stamped "Cheap Italian Copy, Black Powder Only" on the side where even a casual photograph at the reinactment shows it's a farb.

Admit it: They would look better, wouldn't they? Come on! Admit it: It's OK..... really. Say it: "They would look better without those markings". Yes!! You did it! Congratulations!! There, that was not so bad, was it? Don't you feel better now? Now let's all hold hands and sing....

They would look better, and we all know it. And it would cost Pietta zero.


Now:

What would be the downside to Pietta placing those markings under the loading lever? Let's think it thru:

Do you think any of the Camo-Cabelas-Crowd standing cheek to jowl at the gun counter would go "Uhh... wow... it's nice but I'm NOT going to buy it because I WANT that *prestigous* brand "Pietta, Made in Italy" stamped out for all of my fellow yahoos to see?

Or maybe "Wow... I'm such a moron that I REALLY want it to say BLACK POWDER ONLY in HUGE letters on the side of the thing so I don't forget not to use bullseye when I load it?"



No, there's no downside, only upside. They are not going to lose the yahoo-buyer. They might gain the more sophisticated buyer. That's a win-win.



Then again... there are plenty of yahoos standing cheek to jowl at Cabelas who will buy just about anything... and the cheeks and jowls get larger every year, and they stand closer and closer... Ahh... the very thought of unwashed yahoos makes me want to mail order from S$S, where I get a Uberti for about the same price... ;)



<Please revert to "Humor Mode NORMAL" now>


Smile, and enjoy.



Willie


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[maillemaker]

Have any idea how many people pay good money to have markings removed from replicas? It makes a difference to people who do historical reinactments.. and they pay for accuracy. Uberti has their market sewn up. Pietta could obtain the market with a simple change of location of their stamps.

My advice would be to contact Pietta.

This is the route some of us did with Pedersoli recently with their acquisition of the Euroarms line of BP longarms, and it has made a difference. Rather than continue the perpetuation of the 4th generation P1853 that the Parker Hales were based off of, Pedersoli is re-tooling the arm to (more) correctly follow the 3rd generation P53s that were actually common during the Civil War. All it took were some persistent, friendly emails.

Steve

[Hardy]

I have in my shop a 150 anniversary 3rd gen colt Walker which was a tad more valuable than the other 3rd Walkers.It comes-w/walker flask-colt cap tin-small sack of balls and a generic case If interested contact me at [email protected]. This gun is unfired but does have a very slight turn line. It does not say BP only and has all the colt stampings and NY address. Kit is 820 + shipping and handling

[radom]

Well with the new guns I would tend to think of a Uberti as the Timex but at Rolex price. So what they have ugly stampings that beats the heck out of 100 more bucks for a arbor that is too short or timing issues. As far as I care they can stamp abdul the tent maker in them and it still beats paying more for having to shim a arbor.

But do I know I married a red neck farm gal..she is a bit rough on the edges but after 30 years and the shine is wore off it still works.