Colt 1860 Army 44. Are Clones Compatible With Originals For Parts?

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Derv

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Hi Folks,

Are Pietta clones and original Colt 1860 Army 44’s compatible for parts? Just wondering if a new Pietta would be worth getting as a parts gun.

Thanks in advance.
 
Doubt they would be a fit. Normally any replacement parts have to be hand fitted. Even original parts have to be fitted. Even with my two Uberti’s barrels and cylinders aren’t the same. Haven’t tried swapping internals so don’t know how close they are.
One thing I found about owning antique guns you either make the part or reshape a part to fit.
 
I was just thinking about spare parts in general. I have a few antique revolvers that I’ve had to search out parts for, then hand fit to make them work. No problem with the hand fitting, I’m set up pretty well for that. It’s sourcing out the parts that has been the problem. Numrich has been ok. Wolff Springs still won’t ship to Canada. If there were modern reissues of the Colt 1877 and 1892 that were made to spec and were under $400 like the Pietta 1860 is, I’d buy one of everything just to keep the old guns running. I just know from other hobbies that reissues and copies can be more of a “tribute” to the original and can vary wildly from not only original spec, but original mechanisms as well.
 
fingers284 said:
I dont know about Pieta's but Army San Marco 1860 replica internal parts don't fit originals at all
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Army San Marco were pretty out there, I tried to work on a nickel plated one, no luck.

OP if all you needed was something to start from I think they would be better than nothing. There used to be parts kits for them with springs and some internals that would be a cheaper unregistered option to try first.
 
oneadam12 said:
Army San Marco were pretty out there, I tried to work on a nickel plated one, no luck.

OP if all you needed was something to start from I think they would be better than nothing. There used to be parts kits for them with springs and some internals that would be a cheaper unregistered option to try first.
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Thanks! I will keep an eye out for some kits. Everything is so hit and miss these days. I just want to make sure I have some parts in stock when I can find them. Even simple things like springs. I have an Iver Johnson American Bull Dog that had a broken trigger return spring and broken sear spring. I was able to make what was left of the trigger spring work well enough with a homemade spacer and had it working in double action only with the sear completely removed for the time being. Found another spring and made it work for the sear finally. Also built up the trigger cylinder stop and filed it back down to where it needed to be. I’d like to get some spring kits from Wolff for stuff like this, but I’ve been waiting two years now with them saying that they will ship to Canada soon.
 
I can answer your question as I've been down this rabbit hole already: "Yes!" With some fitting & "No!" With completely zero chances of making it work. The Italian's thrive on chaos and it's proven in their manufacture of repro's. There is no standard between the manufactures & there not made to original specs. If you find a part that drops in, you won the lottery! They have built pieces, cast or completely assembled for the other guy. Their thread pitch and direction can be totally different to the original. The list goes on & on. I had an original Remington Army restored & purchased a Pietta barrel from a fine member here because the thread direction & count looked good & rifling was correct to find out the the thread pitch was completely wrong. I have run into this with Colt parts as well... So to sum it up: "Maybe"... And a good machinist is your friend!
 
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