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I liked Pietta 1873 SAA clones but…


portugeejn

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The frame contour around the ejector rod housing is not right, but you pretty much have to live with that.  BUT-the MIM injection marks on thread left side of the trigger drive me crazy. I decided to remove them, but it took a bit longer than I thought it would.
 

The metal is HARD and I ended up having to use stones and various grits of sandpaper to remove the marks-a file wouldn’t touch it.  I did sand and buff off all the finish so the color would be consistent when reblued. I also used the opportunity to remove and soften some of the sharp edges on the corners of the trigger itself. (I covered the sear and pivot hole with blue painters tape to keep the areas safe from the stray stoning or sanding slip.  It was also slightly reshaped to more closely match an actual Colt trigger.)

 

There are 3 marks but only 2 show below the trigger guard & only those 2 were removed.  Used 3 applications of Birchwood Casey Perma-Blue paste on a q-tip to get it back to the colors I liked.  I like the paste as it is easier to control where it ends up. 
 

BEFORE, AFTER, & COLT TRIGGER

 

 

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thats interesting , ive never looked for those marks on mine - ill have to do that and see if they bug me , i like the finished look of what you did , its very obvious in the after pictures - great work , 

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There have been many small changes to the Colt SAA. I don't know which version the Pietta is patterned after but here is a reference for some of the changes.

https://www.coltforum.com/threads/subtle-changes-in-the-colt-single-action-army-a-photo-essay.48166/

The beginning is photo heavy and it takes a while for all of them to load.

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8 hours ago, portugeejn said:

The frame contour around the ejector rod housing is not right, but you pretty much have to live with that...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you!  I've been complaining about that for years, and you're the first person I've heard that knows what I'm talking about.  That discrepancy bothers me a lot more than the trigger, but like you say, what can you do about it?  What I did was buy three Ubertis.

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3 hours ago, Diamond Jake said:

 

Thank you!  I've been complaining about that for years, and you're the first person I've heard that knows what I'm talking about.  That discrepancy bothers me a lot more than the trigger, but like you say, what can you do about it?  What I did was buy three Ubertis.

I have a nice Uberti also, but that brand is no longer in the 4-click, smokeless game. Pietta is. I think expectations are rather high for a $500 gun. My El Patron was exquisite, while the Pietta had sharp edges, which I removed at no expense, and life goes on.

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9 hours ago, portugeejn said:

Interesting. I have 2 Piettas & they both had them. When did you purchase yours?  

I bought mine used.  Based on the huge font on the left side of the barrel, I think it was from when Cimarron first started importing Piettas which would be about ten years ago.

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5 minutes ago, Abilene, SASS # 27489 said:

I bought mine used.  Based on the huge font on the left side of the barrel, I think it was from when Cimarron first started importing Piettas which would be about ten years ago.

Mine came from Cimarron & purchased new. It is marked Frontier 44WCF on the barrel. 

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Mine are both CU, which I am thinking is 2019.  (That jibes with when they were purchased, both new.)  The oldest date code I found online was CS used in 2017, so that date makes sense.  I wonder if they used a different process for the trigger then (machined part to MIM), or perhaps just finished them less as a cost saving measure. 

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I don’t like the strange profile of the frame, but it is more than offset in my book because the Pietta still has the 4 clicks, the pressed in firing pin shield & the replaceable cam on the hammer.  I also like the more rounded trigger guard compared to the the Colt or Uberti.  

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The frame contour difference.

Pietta then Uberti (Colt is the same as Uberti for practical purposes.)

 

 

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Great pics on the frames.  Ticks me off that Pietta screwed up that shape so badly.  It would have cost them nothing really to make it right the first time.

 

I'm going on 5 years with the Uberti "retractable firing pin" 3 click with no problems, but this spring I replaced hammer and trigger on one of my revolvers, and I'm considering switching out the hammer and trigger on the other match gun with my black powder frame 4 click Uberti.  I have two C&B Piettas (1851 and 1860) and like them, though the frame on the 1860 has a terribly shaped bullet notch.  I'm thinking of taking a Dremel to that and fixing it.

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12 hours ago, portugeejn said:

The frame contour difference.

Pietta then Uberti (Colt is the same as Uberti for practical purposes.)

 

 

96883A07-CCA2-4F17-A448-A79D3DEC89CF.jpeg

514A4240-8174-4F7E-BDEA-0ECD4A8E3512.jpeg

In looking at my Pietta, the extractor tube is not contoured to the barrel, which looks like that would have solved the fit issue. The extractor appears to have enough room to be repositioned when poking through the chambers. The tube fit on mine is beyond the frame and exposes a sharp edge. The gun was not expensive and works perfectly, so I doubt if I will pursue any refitting. In any case, my gunsmith closed up and other revolver guys are scarce in the area and overbooked. I don't care enough to sideline the gun in some gunsmith queue.

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