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Uberti Quality?


Doc Marks

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Short version: I had a new short rifle whose hammer spring broke when new and uberti cs seemed lacking to me.  Just bought a pair of walker clones and the new one I bought from midway has deep, scaly rust in several chambers.  Outside is fine.  Inside is thick red rust.  Is this common for uberti?  What should I expect from their CS on the blackpowder side?  Similar to their regular/beretta Benelli group?

If you like long posts below just goes into more detail.

 

I have a couple uberti centerfire guns (model p’s, 73 rifles) but I tend to prefer Pietta and only buy Ubertis that Pietta doesn’t make a similar model these days.

 

I had what I thought was poor customer service on one of my 73 “short rifles”.  The main (hammer) spring broke sometime between the time I bought it and when I went to shoot it a few weeks later (gun worked fine when I took delivery but hammer spring was broken when I pulled it out of the box to take to the range).  I hadn’t modified anything or had anything modified.  I went to the gun shop, function checked it, did the paperwork, took it him and it sat in the original box for a few weeks.  
 

Anyway so I email uberti and they won’t swap my broken spring for a new one.  $1600 rifle and they want me to ship it back for a $14 part I can replace myself.  I wasn’t willing to part with the rifle and they weren’t willing to send me a new spring (even if I sent them the broken one first).  The whole rifle HAD to be returned to them.  Which I don’t like but maybe it’s their policy or whatever but the fella I talked to really did not care that I had a problem at all and I didn’t feel like they cared about me as a customer (one of the reasons I don’t care for uberti now).  


just bought a new walker and it has thick red scaly rust in 3 chambers.  Even if I boil it and convert it I suspect there will be a nominal diameter variance and will have to go even larger on projectiles.  Not real happy to find in a new gun.  

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Uberti has been pretty much the standard for SAA clones for many years. Unless you have Rugers, you mostly have Ubertis. I have several, and except for a couple tight chambers on a first run Cimarron Lightning, I've got no complaints. 

I don't know how their current quality control is, maybe the Zombie Apocalypse had an impact on that, too.  

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I find that Pietta makes a better C&B and a better SAA currently than does Uberti.   Closer to original designs.  Better attention to oiling up guns before putting them on a boat to come to USA.   Uberti should warranty-service that rusted cylinder on the Walker and replace it.    Be aware if you are buying from Uberti USA or from a distributor (Taylors, Cimarron, etc).    Warranty service needs to go through the distributor if that is where you/your gun store got the gun.   Only recently has Uberti even had an official presence in the US, and I was not aware they had any ability other than shipping it back to the homeland for doing warranty service themselves. 

 

If you ARE going to buy Uberti, I would recommend making sure it goes through Taylors, as their warranty service seems better than the rest.  In your case, since you bought from Midway, contact them first.  See what they will do for you!

 

Take a look at Pietta, though.  EMF is one of their distributors.   Dixie Gun Works (IIRC) handles some lines of both Pietta and Uberti. 

 

good luck, GJ

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Ever since Pietta went to building cartridge guns using CNC machinery, their quality has vastly improved, IMHO.

When I started shooting cap guns in the early 80s, Pietta's QC was much lower, and Uberti outshone them.

But, when they changed their machinery, which coincided with building cartridge guns for marketing in the USA, their quality improved, & they surpassed Uberti.

Again, this has been my experience in shooting cap guns for almost 40 years, and almost all of my cap guns are Pietta.
I still have 3 Uberti-Colts that Coffinmaker worked over, but they are 1851 Navy revolvers, & I hardly ever shoot them anymore.

Never had any issues with the 10 or so Uberti Rifles I have, but, they all had a trip to the gunsmith when I first got them, so maybe any issues were smoothed out before they got any real use.

--Dawg

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There are lots of reproduction models that Pietta does not offer, and plenty of "never were" models that they do.

You mentioned the Walker -- That's one.
Dragoons, 1849s, 1861s are others.

But they make quality guns.
So does Uberti, but I think Piettas are made better (Others will disagree)

Both have problems, but they are different problems.
Read Larsen Pettifogger's articles:

https://www.cascity.com/pdf/Tuning_the_Pietta_Part_One.pdf

https://www.cascity.com/pdf/Tuning_the_Pietta_Part_Two.pdf

https://ia903101.us.archive.org/19/items/PettiFogger_Files/TOR Posts pdf/Tuning_the_Uberti_Open_Top_Revolvers_Part_1.pdf

https://ia803101.us.archive.org/19/items/PettiFogger_Files/TOR Posts pdf/Tuning_the_Uberti_Open_Top_Revolvers_Part_2.pdf

https://ia803101.us.archive.org/19/items/PettiFogger_Files/TOR Posts pdf/Tuning_the_Uberti_Open_Top_Revolvers_Part_3.pdf

https://ia803101.us.archive.org/19/items/PettiFogger_Files/TOR Posts pdf/Tuning_the_Uberti_Open_Top_Revolvers_Part_4.pdf

--Dawg

 

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The only Uberti I had a problem with was a Taylor's tuned rifle that is still giving me fits! Of course that wasn't Uberti's fault it was Taylor's!:angry:

 

I've had several Ubertis all SAA's and 73's and 66' rifles and they've all been fine!

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21 minutes ago, Doc Marks said:

Still no response from uberti and it’s been a week.  Not looking good.

Have you talked to Midway yet?  They should be your starting point. 

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When it comes to percussion guns in general I find Uberti to be a little better than Pietta, but I stress that neither of their percussion guns are even close to ready for SASS without at least a little work.  Starting off with rusted chambers is a bad deal, but unless its really bad I would not worry about it too much.  Life is short, and in truth almost all my heavily used percussion guns have developed a slight frosting of rust inside the chambers.  I tend to keep my cylinders only lightly oiled, and the night before a match I always strip off the oil with alcohol or brake cleaner, followed by a few caps to clear out any moisture right before loading.  Keeping the chambers this dry is not ideal for preventing rust, but it has virtually eliminated any duds or hang fires at SASS matches. *knocks on wood*

 

When it comes to SAA clones, again in general I have found Uberti to be slightly better than Pietta.  That being said I will not buy one of Uberti's new "3-click" SAAs so if I were to buy another clone I would really only consider Piettas.

 

When it comes Uberti 1873 rifles I find their quality to be in general good, but I too had issues with one of one of their rifles right out of the box. 

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I have had good luck with uberti

guns but I only have their rifles and cap guns.  The biggest problem I have had with them is poor quality springs.  In addition to being stout, they punch them out, which  creates a sharp jagged edge on one side.  This creates stress risers.   The first thing I do when I buy a new uberti is take it apart and polish all the springs.  This involves removing all the sharp edges and tool marks with a file or rotary tool, being sure to work along the length of the spring, never across.  This is the time to lighten the spring if you want.  I also put a round profile on the corners of the spring.  I then finish the spring with fine sandpaper so it is bright and smooth, always working along the length of the spring.  Once I have done this I have never had Uberti spring break.  

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15 hours ago, Doc Marks said:

They told me to contact uberti.

Once again, a strong reason to buy from Taylor's when getting a Uberti-made firearm.  

I know, doesn't help now.  

 

Press Uberti as hard as you can for a new cylinder.   GJ

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Ive always had better luck with piettas when it comes to cap guns. As for customer service I've had nothing but excellent luck dealing with cimarron. Twice now ive gotten new guns that was missing a part or had a broken part and they sent me the part to make it right pretty much immediately.

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