looking for advice

[captainbarred]

Hey all,

 

Looking for a little advice from those in the experts

 

Several years back i bought a Uberti used for about $299.

 

The thing has had more problems than all my other guns combined!

 

To top it off, its a Italian import and the older model so Beretta will not touch it.

 

Needs cylander work, replacement internals(which i can't find), replacement firing pin, and the screw hole that holds the ejector assembly in place on the barrel is stripped....

 

 

So the question is should I try and find a smith to send it to and have it looked over and get an estimate on restoration or should I just sell it for parts if its worth anything(or shelf it) and buy a new gun?

 

 

If a new gun, which one? Uberti has put a bad taste in my mouth, but I still love their offerings such as the chisolm. The New Vaquero is beautiful as well though. And I am hearing a few people say the Great Western is a great gun.

 

So on the Uberti, sell, repair, or shelf? new gun? which gun?

 

 

 

 

 

The full rundown on what has been done to the Uberti:

 

purchased used for about $300 about 4 years ago.

 

Took it to the range and shot it. Fired ok, decent accuracy. but the cylinder was worn so pulling the hammer back fast it would under-rotate and fall on the back of the casing and miss the primer.

 

When firing the ejector assembly fell off, the screw hole is stripped. I put it back in place with loc tight, it eventually shot off again.

 

The firing pin was loose(not as in floating but as in, hanging half out...).

 

So I bought a replacement and swapped it out.

 

now the gun will not fire at all. Hammer draps, everything looks good, dimple on the primer, no boom.

 

wait to ensure no hang fire, then pop round in lever gun, boom. hmm...

 

decide to completely tear down the gun and check all internals, find the hand snapped clean i half. great.... probably was all along.

 

Cant find an old style replacement so I get a new one(which is wider) and grind it down, it installs fine and the cylinder locks better, also replace the foot I think its called, the part sticking up under the cylinder to lock it in place, and replace the arm or axle that the cylinder rotates on.

 

Dry firing with the cylinder out the firing pin comes through the hole just fine and seems to be doing more than a good enough job to set off the primer.

 

re-assemble, back to the range, still no boom, yet a decent dimple on the primer.

 

 

 

and yes..... I have no hair left

[Marauder SASS #13056]

You could check with some gunsmiths, but I would think it would cost more that it would be worth to fix.

 

Great Westerns are good, but the Ruger is probably the best buy for quality, strength, and price.

 

You may be able to get a good deal on a used Vaquero.

[Colorado Coffinmaker]

Your first real problem began with the purchase. Let the Buyer be wary. Form what you describe, the gun was abused by the previous owner and then dumped on you. Uberti built guns will last as long as anything else on the market with decent care and when not abused. You have invested in some parts you probably did not need and without a basic understanding of the Single Action, just spinning your wheels. It isn't Uberti's fault.

 

You've now gotten to the point of diminishing returns. Those of us who work on these guns on a regular basis don't do it for free. From your description, you may have one of the older "small cam" guns for which there are very few parts. A complete rebuild would require all new lock work

parts to bring the gun up to todays standard. Add labor and you may as well buy a new gun.

 

Ruger, Uberti, Pietta all build nice guns. Some require a little work to be user friendly for the game we play. If you don't under the Single Action, don't stick your fingers in it. Take it to a good SA tuner who understands the working of the SA. Most all in your local CAS crowd can recommend someone for you. Depending on where you live, you may even be able to have it done FTF.

 

Coffinmaker

[Jack Houston # 35508]

RUGER !!!!!!!!

[captainbarred]

Thanks for the input.

 

I bought the Uberti from the local gun shop, it was my first revolver of any kind so I honestly knew nothing about what to look for. The guy at the gun store was looking to make a sale so it was all "oh yeah, great gun, perfect condition, etc...."

 

Call me picky but I really want a blued 4 1/2(or 5/8s if you want to get technical) model in .45 LC. so used is hard to find in the exact specs I want.

 

 

Coffin, I do understand how the SA guns work. Ive worked on a huge selection of guns. parts replacement is nothing. I wont touch a gun till I fully understand how it operates, but once I have it sorted out I dive right in. C96 broomhandles to AR15s to shottys and lever guns to surplus guns of WW2. Ive done work on dozens of different guns. I am not scared to do work on it.

 

Fitting is one thing, but if an excess of polishing is required I prefer a gunsmith. problem is there are no good ones locally. I had one guy tell me to bring it in but he said he'd never worked on them before and I'd be out the cost of work irregardless of whether he could fix it.

[McKenzie River Drifter, #74138]

IMHO The NEW model Vaqueros are slick enouth out of the box to be as good as most of the others with an action job. By far the ruger is the most dependable. 45 Colt caliber can be had in the 4 5/8 barrel lenght in either blue or stainless. There are some really good buys on the web on used old model Vaqueros. They can be made very slick with an action job. If you have small hands, the old model will be very compfortable with gunfighter grips. I would suggest go to a local match and handle some pistolas and see which feels best to you.

 

Just the view from my rocking horse.

 

McKenzie

[Tom Bullweed]

You cannot have a gun that just works. It has to work all of the time: in the winter and summer, on dry days and wet, with great ammo and less-than-great ammo.

 

I have Rugers, first-gen Colts and Colt copies. Vaqueros are tanks that work all day long. They are heavy, but they work. SAA's and copies are much more delicate. They are easier to tune and feel great in my hands. I feel like I need a backup when I shoot the SAA's at a match; I do not feel that way when I shoot the Rugers.

 

You choices with your SAA are to sell it, to invest in it or to simply keep it until you run across someone who has parts. If you decide to sell it now, count your loss as an investment to not repeat this first buy and be glad that you did not have a pair. I do not suggest a hard investment of putting a large sum into a gun that you have doubts about. In time you might find a smith who has parts left over from a tuning job where someone upgraded their SAA to coil springs or ruined a gun with a hot load, rust or by firing a round down an obstructed barrel. It does happen.

 

If you think that you have had an issue with this revolver, just ask a group of SASS shooters about their experience with lever guns.

[captainbarred]

thanks again for all the replies. I think I am going to cut the losses with the Uberti, shelf it, and pick up a new or used Vaquero, likely new just so I intimately know its history.