Pietta 1873 SAA

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gunnarheim

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I've always had a yearning to own an 1873 SAA. The one I am looking at is a Pietta Peacemaker with a 7 1/2 " barrel with a transfer bar in a .44 Mag and a case hardened frame . I was also considering the same pistol in the .45 Colt. Has anyone had any experience with this gun ? Any expert opinions greatly appreciated
 
I am no expert but I have a pietta 1873 in 357. Mag/ 38 special, wouldn't want to put a bunch of .44 mag through one, would be hard on the hands, if I had a choice I would go .45 ( got mine on sale) but then again the .38 is cheaper to shoot, I suppose you could shoot .44 special and save money and you wrist! Buy one, they are fun!
 
Brianma65 said:
I'd get a .45 LC,5 1/2 barrel.
Scrap the transfer bar, it just ain't right, on a SAA. :)

I found the uberti a bit nicer ,as well.
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What this guy says!

I have a Pietta SAA in .45 Colt with the 5 1/2" barrel. It's a great fun gun to shoot - albeit expensive!! (ammo price is anywhere from .75 to a buck a round :eek::eek:)
 
Once you get into these calibers, reloading is the only way to go. If you are using lead bullets you can load 45 or 44 for under 10 bucks a box. Some of these calibers it is actually cheaper to buy the brass outright rather than buy the loaded rounds to accumulate brass. I generally prefer star line brass which you can get from doubletap a site sponsor
 
Picked up an Uberti cattleman Chisholm model in 45 Colt with a 4.75" barrel for $570 from Wolverine Supplies last week. It is my first SA revolver. Build quality is excellent.
 
I bought a Cattleman a while back from Wolverine. All the 45LC El Patrons were sold out so I just got the Wolff springs and slicked up my Cattleman. :)
 
I own a Pietta SAA 7.5" barrel. In .357 Mag/.38 Spl I got her from Marstar for around $480
I will say a couple things:
1. Don't get the transfer bar, it's sacrilege. I had one with it and it just didn't feel right. I sold it and picked up a traditional one. More parts involved = more things to go wrong in the end.
2. The 7.5" barrel is long. Crazy long. It makes for a heavy f**king gun. The long barrel makes the gun a little front heavy. If you don't like heavy handguns, go for the shorter 5" barrel for better balance.
3. It's accurate. Extremely accurate. I can't miss with mine. Even when I don't take my time at all it's still the most accurate handgun I've ever fired. Shooting with junk Blazer .38 Spl I can put 6 rounds in a 2" circle at 15 meters with ease.
4. It's dead reliable. I haven't had a single issue with mine. Don't listen to the "Uberti is better" crowd. I stripped mine down to frame complete. Every part is solid milled steel. No plastic at all. Timing is Swiss clock tight and lock up is beyond rock solid.
5. 44 Mag is crazy expensive and so is 45 LC. .357 Mag is just as amazing a round, less recoil and when you want to have some cheap target practice shooting just swap over to .38 Spl (about the same price as 9mm these days)
6. There is something inherently bad ass about a 2 and a half pound 7.5" barreled solid steel revolver.
7. The sound of cocking the hammer to full #### is one of the sweetest sounds you'll ever hear.
8. I've never had more fun shooting a handgun.

I highly recommend the Pietta SAA's. Bang for buck they can't be beat. Actual Colts are beyond stupid expensive. You can get a Pietta and thousands of rounds of ammo for the same price as an actual Colt.
 
bobdbldr said:
I am no expert but I have a pietta 1873 in 357. Mag/ 38 special, wouldn't want to put a bunch of .44 mag through one, would be hard on the hands, if I had a choice I would go .45 ( got mine on sale) but then again the .38 is cheaper to shoot, I suppose you could shoot .44 special and save money and you wrist! Buy one, they are fun!
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And ack on the .357 Mag through a SAA.
It bucks like a mule! Still so fun though! :rockOn:
 
dogzilla said:
Pietta is lower end, the Uberti's are excellent
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Back in the 1990's that was the case. But these days from seeing the insides of both some Pietta and Uberti guns I'd call it a wash. Each does some small things better than the other to the point that either are equally nice guns. Uberti does seem to put a little more care into selecting better figure in the wood used for the grips though. But all in all a buyer could go with either company and be very happy.

The longer barrel guns actually point well and provide a longer sight baseline. If the shooter is steady enough both these CAN aid with producing slightly tighter bullseye shooting groups.

On choosing a .44Mag version..... While the guns would not blow up from ammo of that high a power I would worry about any 1873 in terms of the long term use of overly powerful ammo. I would expect that the hand stop bolt and indexing points on the cylinder would wear more quickly. Basically the gun would shoot itself loose sooner instead of later or never. But if you would be shooting loads tailored down to .44Spl like muzzle velocities then you would likely never wear out the gun.

Another factor on the barrel weight issue. The outside dimensions of all the models are the same. So the .357 and .44 size guns have heavier wall barrels and heavier wall cylinders. This makes the gun more weighty in the hand more by a lot than the length of the barrel. Of course there's not a big difference between .44 and .45. But a 7.5" long barrel in .357 WOULD make for a rather front heavy gun. But you did ask about the bigger bore sizes. And for those the weight of the barrel isn't that big a deal. The big advantage of the shorter barrel lengths is actually the easier time drawing from a holster as we don't need to raise the butt of the gun up to our armpits before the muzzle clears leather. But if you're not playing that Cowboy Action game a longer barrel is just fine. So just get the one you THINK looks better.
 
I got one when marstar had them on sale for Father's Day. It's a peacemaker in 45 colt with the 7.5 inch barrel
It's been very reliable and accurate to boot. If your thinking about getting one do it you won't regret it
 
I have a Pietta in 45 Colt. . Excellent value and good quality. . I bought the gun to take the load off my Colt SAA 1st Gen, 1906. . I figured with the Pietta I could shoot all I wanted, fast draw, twirl it a bit if I have a mind to and not worry over a $5000 gun. . Both have 5 1/2" barrels and both fit the same in the holster rig. . There's some differences with the actions but what the hell it works just fine for the money. Also, the Pietta has the firing pin on the hammer and no transfer bar. . Reloading is the key to 45 Colt.
 
Thanks to everyone who posted. Based on the input from everyone, I finally settled on the Pietta 7 1/2 " barrel in a .45 LC. It was a tossup between the .45 and the .357. Thought it would be nice to have it as close to the original as possible, hence no transfer bar. Next on the list is a holster, cowboy hat and a HORSE..
 
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