Italian Reproductions of Civil War Era Revolvers

[sheepherder]

I believe someone on this forum made mention of Italian reproductions of American Civil War era revolvers...

I have three of those...two are F. LLI Pietta repros of the 1851 Colt Navy .36 cal cap & ball revolver, and the 1860 Colt Army .44 cal cap & ball revolver. The third is an A. Uberti copy of the Colt 1872 Open Top cartridge revolver, in 38 Special cal.

I was captivated by the 1966 Clint Eastwood movie, "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly". I really wanted an 1872 Open Top back in the 70's. No mfg made one at that time, but there were a couple of gunsmiths here in the US making cartridge conversions of the Pietta cap & ball revolvers. I had planned sending them one of the Piettas, but the profile wasn't correct. Cimarron finally started importing the Uberti Open Top clone, and I immediately bought one. The 1872 Open Top is offered in several calibers by Uberti (as imported by Cimmaron). I chose 38 Special.

Sharp observers will immediately notice that the grip on my 1851 Navy is longer than a true Navy; this is because a true Navy grip is ~1/2" shorter than the Army model. I liked the longer Army grip, and bought a second 1860 Army revolver and an 1851 Navy cylinder & barrel assembly. I assembled the 1851 cyl & bbl onto the Army grip & frame (they are interchangeable in the Pietta line). [Think Tuco's gunshop scene in the movie]. This also gives me a spare 1860 cylinder & barrel assembly. I have these two pistols mounted on boards as wall decorations.

All three are very well made, and none have been shot. I bought the cap & ball revolvers back in the 70's/80's; the Open Top about 5 years ago.

I can recommend all three of these without reservation. All are well made, beautifully finished, and function flawlessly.

Excellent examples of Italian workmanship!