uberti vs pietta 1873
- Thread starter brybenn
- Start date
I've never used the .22's but I have a Uberti 1873 Cattleman El Patron in .45 LC and two Pietta 1873 in .357. The Piettas were much cheaper than the Uberti and the fit and finish is not as nice. You can see some tool marks, the stamped markings are not even and clear and the grips are not flush with the frame. These defects don't bother me at all. Mechanically I haven't noticed a difference and I shoot the Piettas more since I can use .38.
I purchased my Piettas online so I didn't examine them. One pistol has a front sight with tapered sides so the sight is much narrower at the top than at the base. The other pistols front sight has parallel sides so the sight is the same thickness at the top as it is at the base. I much prefer the tapered sight and if I ever ordered another one I would specifically look for the tapered sight. The store I ordered them from had no explain action as to why the front sights were different.
I purchased my Piettas online so I didn't examine them. One pistol has a front sight with tapered sides so the sight is much narrower at the top than at the base. The other pistols front sight has parallel sides so the sight is the same thickness at the top as it is at the base. I much prefer the tapered sight and if I ever ordered another one I would specifically look for the tapered sight. The store I ordered them from had no explain action as to why the front sights were different.
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Beretta owns Uberti , so the quality control might be better then Pietta .
The two Pietta 73's in .357 that my cowboy shooting buddy got a year ago were ever bit as nicely made as my mid 90's generation Uberti 1858's. Fit and finish inside and out was excellent.
At one point Pietta was the company making the cheaper and more crude guns. But these days I'd rank them as equal.
That doesn't help you any on choosing a .22 revolver though. My one misgiving with recommending Pietta in the case of the .22 revolver is that it appeared to be done in the less costly dull finish. I'm just not at all a fan of the dull finishes and would pay the extra for the gloss blued barrel and cylinder and color case frame. They just make it so much nicer to look at while shucking the empties and stuffing the cylinder full again.
EDIT- I went off and found pictures of the Pietta .22's. Clearly they are a gloss finish but are all blued instead of the color case frames found on many of the center fire options. That's better than the matt finish but not quite as classy to look at. A small matter for some perhaps. But I like my guns to shoot well for starters and look good doing it as a fairly close second factor.
At one point Pietta was the company making the cheaper and more crude guns. But these days I'd rank them as equal.
That doesn't help you any on choosing a .22 revolver though. My one misgiving with recommending Pietta in the case of the .22 revolver is that it appeared to be done in the less costly dull finish. I'm just not at all a fan of the dull finishes and would pay the extra for the gloss blued barrel and cylinder and color case frame. They just make it so much nicer to look at while shucking the empties and stuffing the cylinder full again.
EDIT- I went off and found pictures of the Pietta .22's. Clearly they are a gloss finish but are all blued instead of the color case frames found on many of the center fire options. That's better than the matt finish but not quite as classy to look at. A small matter for some perhaps. But I like my guns to shoot well for starters and look good doing it as a fairly close second factor.
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I have not had a Uberti 1873, but I have had other models of olde timey revolvers that they make.
I also have a Pietta.
If I were to buy another...well, I'd buy a Ruger Flattop first.
Second choice would be Uberti.
I won't call Pietta bad or substandard, as they are priced competitively, especially if on sale.
But I do think that you get added value with Uberti.
(and likewise would never ever regret a Ruger - the Lipseys single 10 is wonderful, if not completely in keeping with the 1873)
I also have a Pietta.
If I were to buy another...well, I'd buy a Ruger Flattop first.
Second choice would be Uberti.
I won't call Pietta bad or substandard, as they are priced competitively, especially if on sale.
But I do think that you get added value with Uberti.
(and likewise would never ever regret a Ruger - the Lipseys single 10 is wonderful, if not completely in keeping with the 1873)
