Pietta revolver problem. I was wrong! This revolver has a transfer bar.

[Marlin Buckhorn,SASS 51727]

I just bought this gun at an online auction 20 miles from my house. They had a preview the day of the sale, went and saw the gun and worked the action everything seemed fine at 4:30 PM when I was there. Auction started at 6:00PM. Won the auction went to pickup the gun the next day and this is the problem.

 

When you get to the third or firing click the hammer feels gritty and rough. The trigger won't pull and drop the hammer, but you can "push" the hammer forward while pulling on the trigger. What an I looking for other than a good gunsmith? The revolver appears to be unfired. Markings on the box make it possibly from 2021, this gun has a transfer bar. It is imported by Cimarron .

[Warden Callaway]

Loosen the hammer screw a half a turn and see if it helps.  I had a Uberti with that problem until I took it apart and honed the insides and hammer.

[Abilene, SASS # 27489]

Maybe somebody dropped it in the dirt.  Hopefully somebody wasn't fanning it after you left.  I doubt it and hate to say it, but I might wonder if they did a bait and switch with a matching gun?

[Marlin Buckhorn,SASS 51727]

I know the auction house very well. They wouldn't or couldn't switch guns, too honest and would never think of it. But anything could have been done, including an attempt to fan, but couldn't drop in the dirt as the auction house has a cement floor. Thank you for your input.

[Sedalia Dave]

Make sure the cylinder pin is properly inserted.

[Warden Callaway]

When I started CAS, I thought it ridiculous people would buy new guns and send them off to be "slicked up". I'd bought many new guns and don't remember having a problem.  But since I've come to consider new guns as just assembled kits. With the exception of my CZ hammer coach gun, all seem to need some to a lot of attention.  Even brand new Colt SAA was full of metal shaving and burrs and wire edges.  The hammer loading notch was too tight to let the trigger drop in it. Seems like people just didn’t finish their job. Another 5 minutes would have fixed many of these problems.  

[Abilene, SASS # 27489]

Well now that you say it has a transfer bar, that is strange.  I've never known Cimarron to carry any guns like that.  Do you have the box, which would show the model number?

[Marlin Buckhorn,SASS 51727]

The revolver is an  El Malo model in 357 with a 4 3/4" barrel made by Pietta & imported by Cimarron Firearms Co. My understanding is that all the later Pietta guns have transfer bars.

 

Have checked & rechecked the cylinder pin. Not pushed in to the auto safety position.

 

I only have full use of one hand for a few more weeks. Can't really take it apart to look inside right now.

 

Thanks for the input!

[Cholla]

I just had a Pietta -- Great Western II, and it didn't have a transfer bar. It was new, from Pietta. It did have a two-position cylinder pin.

[Abilene, SASS # 27489]

Well I bought a standard model Cimarron Frontier a few months ago, no transfer bar. I'll have to look into it.

[Sedalia Dave]

Pietta makes two different lines of single actions, one line has transfer bars the other doesn't. 

 

Current production GW II series doesn't have a transfer bar while the Maverick series does.

 

https://www.emf-company.com/store/pc/viewCategories.asp

 

 

[TN Mongo, SASS #61450]

I currently shoot Pietta revolvers that I purchased from Cabelas years ago.  They had transfer bars.  My cowboy gunsmith removed them when he tuned them up and they have performed wonderfully ever since. I never have had any issues with my sets of Rugers with transfer bars (I don't dry fire a lot). My gunsmith warned me that the transfer bars in my Piettas were not nearly as robust as Ruger transfer bars and would be far more likely to fail at some point. He grinned and stated, with my luck, it would happen in the middle of a big multiday shoot.  

[Abilene, SASS # 27489]

On 3/22/2025 at 7:12 PM, Marlin Buckhorn,SASS 51727 said:

The revolver is an  El Malo model in 357 with a 4 3/4" barrel made by Pietta & imported by Cimarron Firearms Co. My understanding is that all the later Pietta guns have transfer bars.

 

Have checked & rechecked the cylinder pin. Not pushed in to the auto safety position.

 

I only have full use of one hand for a few more weeks. Can't really take it apart to look inside right now.

 

Thanks for the input!

 

Hi Marlin, I just checked with Val at Cimarron.  As I thought, none of their guns have transfer bars.  Do you have the box or just the gun with a Cimarron marked barrel?  Please send me the s/n in a PM, Val said she could check that to be sure if it was a Cimarron.  I know Uberti has put the wrong marked barrels on guns before, it's possible Pietta did as well.  It's also possible Pietta accidently sent a transfer bar gun to Cimarron and it wasn't noticed when the action was worked by the guys who check the gun before shipping.  I've seen some wacky things done by the Italians.

Thanks.