H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619

I guess this is as good a time as any to mention that the box my pistol came in is not the original. For one thing the box clearly says the pistol inside is a 7-1/2" barrel. Mine is 5-1/2. But all of this has led me to be more curious about the specifics of my pistol. Oh how I wish USFA, if it had to die, had sent its records to Cody, or SOMEONE who could use them to share information with us. Alas, it seems it is not to be.

When they first came out a long time ago, I really wanted a Colt Officer's Model. You know, the "compact" 1911 with a 3.5" barrel and grip that is a bit shorter and that uses therefore shorter magazines, holding one less round than a "full size" 1911, but is still a .45, giving you some good punch in a (large) pocket pistol. Well, I finally obtained one after decades of wanting one. I really like it. Mostly. I assume for reasons relating to its smaller size, it doesn't take down exactly the same way as a 1911. No matter, I got it apart with only a minor problem; I had to chase the recoil spring across the room after it popped free of the frame. But then I tried to put it back together. This was... a challenge. Suffice it to say that it is not an easy task. With the recoil spring under tension, it does not want to go back together. EVERYTHING must be aligned PERFECTLY, or it's a no go. I had to find a Youtube video to see if there was some kind of a trick to it. There is, sort of. Make sure you align everything perfectly. By the time I got the pistol back together last night before going to bed, my fingertips were all sore, and in fact, they still are. Don't get me wrong, I am still glad I have this pistol, and yes, it will fit in my pocket, but man, Colt didn't think parts of the design through very well. The video I watched pointed out that there is an after market spring and guide that makes this all much easier, and I just might obtain it. After I put on an ambidextrous safety and an arched mainspring housing. (But not one with a lanyard loop, they don't exist.)

I had always been a Winchester guy, partly because I shoot rifles left handed. That is one of the reasons I will not even consider a Post 83 Winchester. The angle eject just ruined the gun for me. And then they made it worse with the crossbolt safety. The tang safety is "better" than the crossbolt, but it's still wrong. What was wrong with the half cock notch on the hammer? In case you can't tell, I loathe post 83 Winchester 94's. But, I do have a very nice pre-83 in my collection. It's a Sears Ted Williams Model 100, but it's really nice. A run of the mill 94 of the era, but these Sears guns had a feature that I think was better than the one actually branded as Winchesters; the front sight. The front sight on the Sears model is a traditional blade front sight, not the hooded, ramped one that Winchester was so enamored with at the time that I personally find very ugly. Now, there are exceptions, there are pre-83 Winchesters with the traditional front sight, and I'd not hesitate to get another one if I found one in a configuration I wanted. I also have a pre-64 Winchester is .32 Winchester Special. (This cartridge is so similar to the .30-30 that you wonder why it was ever made.) Anyway, this gun is very nice, and is clearly of better quality than the post-64 but still pre-83 models. If I really wanted another 94 in .30-30, I'd more than likely look for one of these with a 24" octagon barrel, as both of my other 94's are saddle ring carbines with round barrels. Oh, I also have a pre-83 94 in .44 Magnum. It's a lot better than its reputation. All of that being said, I recently acquired a Sears JC Higgins Model 45 (AKA the Marin 336C) in .30-30. It has no stupid safeties. I have to admit that the action is much smoother than even my pre-64 94. I have not fired it yet, but I will eventually. I might have to admit that it's the better gun, but if I had to choose between the Winchester and the Marlin, well, I'd still go with the Winchester, for personal preferences reasons. So when it comes to getting a .30-30, Marlin vs Winchester is very much a "what do you prefer" type decision. If you wanna go for quality, go with a pre-64 Winchester or a pre-safety Marlin 336. If wanna go for price, a pre-83 Winchester is probably the best way to go. A pre-safety Marlin in an alternative, but they tend to be more expensive on the used market for whatever reason. Would not touch a new production one of either.

Rooster, you are correct that they will never be a Colt. I can remember when USFA was still around how lotsa people chimed in about how it was silly to buy a copy of the Colt when a real Colt cost the same price, no matter how well made the copy was. It'll never hold its value was a common refrain. Well, for whatever reason, reality didn't work out that way. USFA pistols can now sell for MORE than a contemporary Colt. We may agree that is this strange, but it is how things have developed. I think it's an excellent example of supply and demand. USFA is gone, and there ain't never gonna be no more, so the supply is fixed. But demand is still high. It is inevitable that their prices inflate. To be honest, given what I have seen these pistols actually selling for, I think I got a very good deal on both of them. And of course, when I become a famous person, their value will only go way up more.

Yes, the USFA serial number starts with CC. CC2xx Is there a significance to that?

For some unknown reason, I have recently become interested in single barrel shotguns. Part of the reason may be that they seem to be rather inexpensive compared to other things, but also they just seem to be intriguing to me. Now, yes, there are a lot of different things that fall into this category. I have a Greener built on the Martini action, and a Remington Rolling Block, but what I am really starting to be curious about are the break open shotguns that work the same way as a side by side, but with only one barrel. There are many vintage guns that fit this category out there, and they all seem to have unique variations on the concept. Over the years there were everything from simple entry level guns to really fancy things, and everywhere in between. And many of them can be had for really short money, but that does not mean that they were cheaply made. So far I have obtained a Hopkins and Allen that I found on the "junk pile" at a local shop that I got for 50 bucks. I bought it cuz it looked like it was all there. I scrubbed off some light surface rust with Hoppes #9, and sure enough, the gun is fully functional. I shot a match with it, and had a lot of fun. More recently I got a Webley Model 100 for $150 I have not fired this one yet, but I will do so soon. It seems to be an "entry level" gun when compared to some of their more well known high grade stuff, but I like it. Sadly the records for the Webley shotguns are "a mess" according to the folks who have them, so I was unable to letter it. Now, yesterday, I found a Winchester 37 for $125 that I did not buy because I am temporarily short on funds, but I very well may be getting one of these in the near future. Clearly a simple gun, but well made. In fact the shop also had a Stevens, a Savage, and a Hopkins and Allen like mine, all for less than $150 each. 12 and 16 gauge, so who knows what I'll get next? Anyway, I don't know what it is, but something about this type of gun is starting to appeal to me. Time will tell if I get anything more, but these guns sure are interesting to look at.

Dutch, I will not dispute anything you said, but I will add the "proviso" that they are a part of the USFA story. Yes, they are Uberti pistols, and as such should be priced as Uberti pistols, but *perhaps* one can say that they can command a *small* premium for the USFA connection. When I bought my USPFA pistol, it was sold as a Uberti, and priced as one. When I got it home and saw the USPFA wording on top, I was pleasantly surprised. When I mentioned it to the gun shop owner I bought it from, he basically said that I lucked out on it, implying that if he had realized what it was, he would have charged more for it. How MUCH more, I did not ask. I suppose you can look at the USPFA Uberti pistols as being a "rare for Uberti" variant that can go for a little more, but they should not be commanding the same premium as a "real" USFA.

This is by far the most "complex" thing he has done for me. Other work has been more run of the mill work like fixing the timing on things, action jobs, "regular" repair work of the type you expect on old guns like ours, and the like. He also converted a .32 Rimfire Rolling Block to .32 S&W for me. He's even done some wood work for me, such as the pistol grip stock on my 86 Mare's Leg, and recreating a front stock for my Rolling Block pistol, and the fitting of a full shoulder stock onto my Mann device. He really can do a lot of general gunsmith work. I've never used him for any "restoration" work, but considering how good of a job he has done for me on all this other stuff, I may consider it. I have a 94 Marlin that I've talked about here on the Wire that had it's finish scrubbed off by a previous owner. I am toying with the idea of having him refinish the gun instead of going to Turnbull, IF I decide to have it done. I guess the highest praise I can give him is that he seems to be every bit as competent at fixing things as Happy Trails was before he retired.

Ditto on the spacer stick. It really helps. And, oh yeah, keep it IN your rifle when not in use or you will lose it. As far as the sling swivels go, I don't even notice them. I did get a replica sling for it, but the front hook, is just that, a hook through the eye on the barrel. Tends to fall out. So, I took the sling off.

Earlier this year, I acquired a Uberti-USPFA for $615. Today I acquired a USFA for $1400. Take that for what it's worth. Having the box and stuff probably adds a little value, but how much, I could not say. On the one hand, the early USPFA are rarer as they were not made for very long. But on the other, they are Uberti pistols.

I sent Sergey permission to post and sent the before and after pics to him.

This is unfortunate, but not a surprise. Wish it WAS a surprise. GUNS magazine will always be special to me, it's how I learned about Cowboy Action Shooting. In the late 80's/early 90's, while on a family vacation, I saw a copy of the latest issue on the magazine rack in the rest stop (Remember those?) and it had a picture of a Winchester 71 on the cover. So, I bought it. Inside there was an article about (what I remember as) "End of the Trail" shooting. I found it intriguing. Wish I still had that issue.

Thanks. I am quite pleased with the work.

Eyesa, try again! You responded before I could fix the mistake!

Now, I wonder what this could be... Looks like some kind of a box. I wonder what's inside of it. Well, call me surprised! Here's something I never expected to find at a gun store in Massachusetts! So, now, you must be wondering about the title of this post. Well, as some of you may remember, a few weeks ago, I found an Uberti/USPFA revolver at a (different) local gun store. Also something I never expected to find. To refresh the memory, here is the USPFA pistol. And for comparison, here is the USFA pistol. Neither pistol is in pristine condition, with the USPFA being slightly worse for ware, but they both still work just fine. But now, how about some direct comparison of the differences between these two revolvers? Here they are side by side. Here's a shot of the first, and most obvious difference at a glance. (Aside from what the grips are made of.) The USPFA has a crescent ejector, and the USFA has a full moon one. That may just be that they are different models. But now, let's look at some of the more significant differences. Tops of the barrels. Bottoms of the barrels. Well, the USPFA one is clearly labeled Uberti, but the USFA is not. The backs of the hammers are also different. The USFPA has that thing in the hammer that the USFA, like real Colt, does not. Here they are with hammers cocked, so you can see the thing and the lack thereof. Also, the firing pin is different. And finally, the hole in the frame of the USPFA for the thing, and its lack on the USFA one. So, I guess this demonstrates how the early USPFA pistols were in fact made from Uberti parts, and the later USFA's were not. But what about quality? Well, when I look at the fit and finish, the USFA does seem to be better. It compares very favorably to a contemporary 3rd Generation Colt I have. I can see why the USFA had such a good reputation. And the action, the action is fantastic. It just feels right, again comparable to the Colts (1st, 2nd and 3rd) in my collection very favorably, and in a way that none of my Uberti pistols do. That being said, the USPFA Uberti does seem to be a little better than the run of the mill Uberties I own. $1400 and change, by the way. (Include tax, CC fee) My eyes widened when I found it online. I immediately called the store and said I'd be down to look at it, and probably buy it. To all my fellow pards in New England, the store is Bay State Surplus Firearms in Plymouth, Mass. A small shop with a good mix of new and used firearms, and more than a few Cowboy type guns. Prices were reasonable too. Check it out. https://www.baystatesurplus.com/ Found the website at random when I was trying to look up some of the details of the laws in Massachusetts about C&R guns.

Well, Colorado, it seems you were right. Behold! The "kaboomed" pistol is no longer kaboomed! It has been repaired, and test fired by the gunsmith who repaired it, so it is again fully functional. (Interesting side effect, I now have a "matched pair" of these.) Anyway, the cylinder is a Kirst Second Generation one. I rather annoyingly could not find a Colt cylinder pin, so this one got a Uberti pin, which fit right in. Anyway, Sergey at Rustblue Gunsmithing was able to repair this gun, and I must sing his praises. I really thought it was damaged beyond repair. Never have I been so happy to be so wrong. He was able to straighten the frame, and do the minor fitting of the cylinder and timing adjustments to get it all to work. He's done more than a little work for me over the years, and this is probably one of the most impressive things he has done. He's located on Natick, Massachusettsm and I think he does impressive work. I promised him I would sing his praises here on the Wire, and plug his website, so here goes... https://rustbluing.com/ Now, I have done so. Especially for all of us here in New England, he is worth knowing about.

Here's the latest.... Looking more like a rifle, sort of. I think the front sight will probably be something mounted on a scope ring that can clamp on and off. Just have to find one that fits. First time I shouldered it like this, I found myself thinking, "This is wicked cool!" Gonna be a nice plinker in .30 Carbine when it's done. And then, I'll start thinking about finding one in .30-'06 and putting a 1903A4 scope on it. Maybe. Time will tell.

I find the term "Native American" used to refer to American Indians offensive. I was born in Detroit, I am a native American! And I'm not joking.

Oh, you thought I meant the *other* meaning of madam. That was not my intention! And I've got some ocean front property in Arizona for sale real cheap.

Online order...

Assuming it was not a "too young to be a ma'am" thing, maybe she objects to contractions. "Oh, sorry about that madam."

Limit 2. Only size available.

Ah, I did not know of this one. Rather nifty looking. And yes, this would also be a C&R pistol.

Looky what the UPS man brought me today! I am most pleased. Got it from Midsouth after someone posted on the Wire that they had some. Nice to see it available again. I just hope they made enough to keep it on the shelves so that it's not all gone again soon.

Neither. It's an Uberti. The only Colt commemorative Buntline I know of is the Ned Buntline one. It is 2nd Generation, and a New Frontier model for some unknown reason. But it is C&R.