Check out the Guns of the West store here: gunsoftheweststore.com

Dustin, This episode is a good example of why you have so many subscribers. Precise, direct, and easily understood by those who may be in the market for such a black powder revolver and are too timid to ask for assistance in a busy gun shop. I own a Ubretti Cattlemen, and though it obviously is not a black powder gun, for me it represents the quality & value of the manufacturer

Great comparison info. Thanks, Dusty Britches!

I have the Pietta 1851 Navy Sheriff Model in 5.5" barrel in .44 BP. I have no problems, doesn't rattle. Well put together. No gaps between grips and frame. I love it.

Another good video, Dustin, and very fair. I think a lot of people are still caught up in the memory of the fact that Piettas were, at one time, having significant quality problems, and they ignore the fact that Pietta has eliminated most of those.

Great video Dustin! Straight forward on your comparison and it will help on decision making for folks like me!

For those asking about conical bullets, both of these revolvers will accept them without modification.

I'm new to old west guns. Great informative video.

As always another great video sir!

Another great video. Love seeing these informative/opinion videos you do. Keep it up! Also hope you and your family are staying healthy in these trying times.

Thank you for the video. I have 2 Pietta 1851 Navy revolvers. 1 is period correct36 caliber) and 1 is a fantasy caliber(44 caliber). They get cleaned once a month if i am not using them. The 36 belonged to my father and was used as a cavalry officers weapon.. very accurate boomer. Re enactor.

Thanks Dustin, good information.

Thank you Dustin for your paper cartridges reloading kit, I have received. Good stuff!

Great content, Pard! I subscribed!

Uberti or Pietta Converted or original Colt Navy always a fancy gun! 😎

Excellent comparison my friend.

Thx a lot for this video, I’m so happy !

I have the Uberti 1851 made in the mid 90's with a brass frame. I love it. Generally speaking, in all of the single action reproduction guns I own both cap and ball, and cartridge, Uberti makes a better gun.

My first, and for now, cap&ball is an Uberti 1858 New Army and I love it. At the time, Uberti was the only choice at the store so I have not experienced Pietta, but watching this video I'm leaning toward my next cap&ball to be an Uberti as well. Thanks!

This is the second video of yours that I’ve watched today. And I’m subscribing great videos by the way

Thanks for the video! I have one of each. The uberti is by far a better, trouble free running gun. With that said,if you actually want to learn how to make a gun run yourself, go with a pietta. A complete parts kit to completely rebuild the gun can be had for less than $30.

I have several Cimarron imported Ubertis, both cap-n-ball and center fire. I have also talked to Greg at Cimarron on the phone. I have been very pleased with the quality of the arms they sell, and the customer service. I really appreciate the font/script Cimarron uses in their barrel markings. It's has an "old timey" look.

I have two Pietta Navy models. One has perfect exterior finitions, beatifull naval battle scene engravings, but came with one of the 6 nipples too short and preventing the cap to fire and had rough finitions on the internal mechanism. I had to spend quite à lot of time to file the internal pieces, and hat to change the nipples, but now is perfect ! My second Pietta Navy is the Pietta London (it is not a copy of the second London model as the Uberty in this video, but a copy of the first London model with a square brass trigger guard), it has a very shallow naval battle engraving of poor quality, but the internals have great finition. The second model worked perfectly out of the box, but I cant do anything to improve the poor engraving quality. Anyway, nice video. Thanks !

Looks like I'm getting an Uberti! I have to find one with the brass grip frame though, I have my reasons! I'm glad I waited for this video. Thanks Dustin!

Good informative video. I have both revolvers as well. I don't favor one or the other because they are both fun to shoot, To me that's the important thing

I went with Pietta because in my research the Ubertis were having issues with overly long arbors, which led to multiple problems with running the gun.

Great video thanks !!

I'm sitting at the doorstep, waiting impatiently for a package containing an Uberti Leech & Rigdon steel-frame Navy. It is basically a Colt 1851 Navy with the old-model two-hinge loading lever, but has a round barrel. Pietta doesn't offer the Leech & Rigdon per se, but they do offer the Griswold & Gunnison with the same style of round barrel in a brass frame instead of steel. Anyone with a Pietta G&G could try fitting the barrel and cylinder to a steel-frame Pietta 1851 to carry off the same effect as the Uberti L&R.

I haven’t seen a Uberti made Dance Brothers yet. I had to get mine from Pietta and they are fairly accurate on that model.

Thank you for this informative video. One thing many people over look is that some repro revolvers have forged frames and some have cast frames. If the distributor's description says "forged steel frame", then it is. If it just says "steel frame", then it is probably a cast frame. It's just my opinion, but I think they take a little more care with fits and finishes on the forged frame guns, that is why they cost more.

It seems like people like to bash Pietta but my first cap and ball revolver was a Pietta New Army and if it had been more money I may have never gotten into the hobby to begin with. Now, the Uberti is more appealing to me as well but Pietta is not garbage the way some people make them out to be. They usually shoot very well, and for me that's what matters most, unless you are in it only to play dress up. Thanks for explaining the differences and what to look for when considering a 1851 Navy. Well done, as usual.

I definitely go with Uberti. My 1851 Navy was made just this year, and it is in excellent shape. I think they've corrected the issues some were having out of the box in previous productions.

Great vid, I have both pietta's , and uberti's in my collection and have noticed the same differences, so on my 61 navy pietta I decided to give it a distressed antique look and it turned out great, the uberti's are too pretty to do that to.

very cool i like this series you have going

Hi guys!!! Les uberti sont très bien même au niveau qualité de fabrication et fluidité de l arme mais maintenant le fabricant Pietta aussi c est vrai du sérieux avec leurs nouvelles machines à commande numérique dernière technologie industrielle et l avantage de Pietta c est qu on trouve des pièces assez facilement je parle pour la France cher amis tireurs,amateurs,chasseurs et collectionneurs😎salut!!!

I have two Piettas and I understand the complaints, but I bought them to shoot, not look pretty. Historical accuracy is not a priority for me. As far as fit and finish, I assume that a Pietta is a project out of the box and that's okay with me. Part of the appeal is finishing them, but for thems that would rather skip it, pay a little more. A good fine flat file or emory board to break the sharp edges is a necessary item for a new Pietta, but the advantage is you can hone the action very precisely. The next thing is to replace the trigger group springs. It's a weak point. All in all, it comes down to what you want to do with it. I recommend a Pietta for a mechanically inclined new shooter or to anyone who doesn't intend to pretend it's the real McCoy and just enjoys jackrabbit stew. (A .36cal ball doesn't damage much meat.) Great vid, dude. Cheers!

Thanx Perfect video for me .totally helped me figure out which one to buy 7.5" .44 cal.. Pietta For me Found one for $286 Good place to start..

If cost is an issue and you just want one to have a little fun with, get one with a brass frame. If you need something that will fill a larger hand, then put on the longer trigger guard, backstrap and grips from an 1860 Army. They will fit the 1851, 1860, 1861 and the 1873 SAA. All those parts can be found at Dixie Gun Works, as well as a few other places.

Thanks great video

I'll take one of each, but in all candor, I'm sure the uberti would be in the right holster, because Its prettier and the right always seems to come out first. Great video

Another difference I've noticed between the two brands is the muzzle chamfer or bevel at the end of the bore. My Ubertis have a nice bevel, while my Piettas have none or just the slightest hint of one.

I mostly have Uberti's. Walker, Dragoons, 1858 New Army, 1860 Army, 1860 Navy Pocket. I have a Pietta Avenging Angel. The grotesque markings and stampings on the side and barrel tops, out in the open, always turn me sour about the Pietta's. At least Uberti hides that legal required stuff under the loading levers or on the underside of the barrel, out of sight.

Hello Dustin. This is another good insightful video which makes people think! These Pietta and Uberti replica percussion revolvers have greatly improved over the years. There is still more improvements to be made. As you, others and myself point out. Further improvments only have a positive benefit for both the customers and the manufacturers. It behooves both, Pietta and Uberti to take heed to such constructive criticism,suggestions and further continue to improve the overall quality of their percussion revolvers. As well as for Pietta,Uberti, Pedersoli,Chiappia etc. To add new additions; models of percussion revolvers that have never been replicated before such as the Josef Scheinigg M1860 percussion revolver in 55 caliber. Flli Pietta has at times offered the 1851, 1861 Navy's and the 1860 Army in an All Blue steel "London" version. Currently EMF is offering the Pietta 1851 Navy London version in both 36 and 44 calibers. As well with Pietta 1861 Navy London model and the Pietta 1860 Army London model, which has an 1851 Navy grip. All for the American market. For the European market, Pietta offers a full 1860 "Plow" grip in a London model version. However the "Type" of Rifling, in both the Pietta& Uberti 1851 Navy replica percussion revolvers is historically incorrect. As the original 19th century Colt's are documented to have had "Gain Twist" "Progressive Rifling. As both the Pietta and Uberti 1851 Navy's do not offer such Gain Twist Rifling. Pietta Colt style percussion revolvers generally require lesser work then Uberti's do with functing problems such as the infamous crippling "Cap Sucking" problem. Also the Pietta Colt style percussion revolvers Arbor to Barrel fit size are most often usually correctly sized. However with many of the Uberti Colt styled percussion revolvers, the Arbor to Barrel size fit is often not correctly sized and is in need to be adjusted. As Master BP revolver Tuner Mike Brackett of goonsgunworks.com does very well. I also grind flat the projectile plunger. This way I am able to smoothly load without disfiguring the RFN bullet's nose. All of which makes for effectively, accuratly functioning& firing of my newer 145 grain 36 caliber RFN Universal Bullets in both my Pietta and Uberti 1851, 1861 Navy percussion revolvers. The Universal Bullets work very well in the Colt styled percussion revolvers after they have been "Well Regulated" with taller front sights etc. As I have Master Black Powder Gunsmith Dykes Reber of the muzzleloadershop.com in Berryville Arkansas do all such need work. A few years back, one man, who obtained some of my older 36 caliber 140 grain RFN Universal Bullets(which have since been upgraded to 145 grain version now in a 6 cavity mold), that man eventually became a customer of mine. He suprised everyone including myself. By safely and successfully, killing a 152 pound Wild Boar. With the use of my smallest 36 caliber 140 grain 377 diameter Universal Bullets. He used the 140 grain 36 caliber RFN bullets in a Pietta 1861 Navy revolver with an 8 inch long barrel. The cylinder was filled to the brim with Pyrodex P Powder. It took only Two shots in the head( ear) of the beast. The first shot was at approximately 7 yards followed up by a second round shot at 7 feet. Which produced a "Dead Right There";Wild Boar!

I've heard that the Uberti also has a more historically correct grip shape than the Pietta, but not owning either yet, I can't say for certain.

Just got a Uberti 1851 Navy London in the mail today. I also got the Guns of the West paper cartridge kit.

Very helpful

Hello Dustin... Thank You again for a most informative and interesting reporting. Will there be reporting, and we are hopeful, of and about enthusiasts gatherings, fairs, market conventions and the likes? Looking forward to your next episode. Derek (new black powder enthusiast and western cosplayer 🤗😁)

First time watching. Great video

And don’t forget the shape of the grip frame. They swell out towards the back at the bottom which is not the case on real colts from the period. Another good video Dustin.

I've been looking for the Uberti ever since I first watched this video almost a year ago. For a while they were almost impossible to find. They are finally available again. I plan on ordering one on Thursday after I get paid. I bought my very first gun also about a year ago. It's a 22lr Heritage Rough Rider (I also have the bonus 22wmr cylinder). I have been enjoying it quite a bit. Not exactly a 45 but it's a cheap gun with cheaper ammo.

i love those cap and bolguns tums upp for colt s

Wonderful! I also noticed that the Pietta locking bar does not look as "tight" (fitting) as the Uberti?

I own a brace of Pietta 1851s and carry them routinely for woods and trail defense. They are very well made and have no malfunctions. I examined an Uberti 1851 a few years back. It had what was called "short arbor syndrome", where the end of the cylinder pin failed to bottom out in the barrel well, causing wobble and excessive peening of the wedge upon firing. I offered to fix it for him. He agreed and I did, using my TIG welder to carefully add a layer of metal to the end of the pin, then buffing everything down to dimension using a Dremel sanding head. It worked a lot better after the fix. I repair single action revolvers. I have fixed far more Ubertis than Piettas. I would recommend a Pietta.

Everything on the Uberti I prefer, except the plastic looking finish on the wood. The wood finish on the Pietta appears to be a light application of rubbed oil, such as tung oil. Much better for tools, imho.

I've found that Pietta usually has the cut in the standing breech for the exit of spent caps as per colt originals and Uberti doesn't .

I have the CVA F,LLI Pietta in the white and 44cal Navy.

What do think a bout ballistics gel testing some of these guns

My London Navy (original) has nikkel plated steel backstrap and trigger guard, as when it comes to rifling, I believe they have/had progressive rifling, both right and left, have seen the 1860 Army with both too.

Dustin you’re on the money with my observations also. One thing I noticed was my Pietta cylinder has a looser fit on the arbor than my Uberti. So it rattles more. Do you notice the same?

Great stuff... I have the Pietta Confederate... the finish on the inside was awful... I spent hours grinding and polishing the brass pieces with the help of information from this channel, it works great now. I dont like the shinny wood on the Uberti, which one of the two is more original? Lastly, can we put an Uberti cylinder on a Pietta? Thanks !

Great video but you forget to mention a finish of the grips and a shape of cutout or loading port for bullets

I would add one other thing I noticed in the video, and not having them in front of me I can't honestly tell, is the cut-out in the barrel section where bullets are loaded. The Pietta appears to have a larger cut-out that may accept period correct conical bullets although as you stated, one would have to replace the plunger. The Uberti on the other hand has a cut-out that appears fine for round balls but looks too small to fit a period correct conical for loading. I remember Duelist1954 had to modify the cut-out on one of his 1851's to allow loading of a particular conical paper cartridge. I may be mistaken because I do not have them in front of me. Still a great video because some of us wonder what are the main differences between Piettas' and Ubertis' that make up the price difference. Thank you for making that video.

Hi Dustin. Have you been able to find out where all the percussion caps have gone? Did the manufactures stop making them to help ramp up primer production?

What about the cut out for conicals? Either one historically accurate or better than the other?

I also have both in my collection . Also found the uberti to be that little bit better finish . Am happy with both companies revolvers . The extra dollars for the uberti has been forgotten about with in a month after the purchase . I do have one brass frame CVA , it has gotten just a bit lose over the years. The spring is stronger the harder to cock >>hammer hits harder .

I like the walnut grips on the Pietta better than the orange (cocobolo?) on the Uberti. My Pietta 1860 Army has been great - a great shooter and a finely crafted machine. I did polish some of the action, as time went on, but it was a great performer right out of the box. The rammer is concave, and the revolver really sends conicals downrange with some punch! I enjoy your videos - please keep them coming!

I can tell that pietta was your first because of the dents by the wedge lol (my first bp revolver has very similar dents)

Dustin, Dustin, Dustin :)

Some variables I'm always interested in for these comparisons: What manufacture or purchase years? Are they from an importer (like Cimarron or Taylor's)? Second one matters because they'll often be made to different specifications compared to the models that a store might have straight from the Italian company. Anyway, thanks for sharing your thoughts! Been coming back to your vids a lot as I consider my first black powder purchase.

Brass frame pietta are a great entry IMO

Both seem like fun piatols, but that Uberti looks like a much sharper gun as far as finish and final construction. I also like the look better, accuracy be damned.

I see the Uberti has the cap groove in the frame also, and the Pietta did not. Colt made both and did evolve that gun a little and it seems Uberti adopted the best of what Colt did. I wish you had taken the wedge out and barrels off to see the cylinder arbors and points of contact. Original colts have a rounded end on the cylinder arbor that was hand fit along with the wedge slot to force the barrel tight to the frame. I think the Italian guns omit that fit point and have a flat arbor but I’m not sure. A replacement arbor I bought from Taylor’s for my original 1849 Pocket is flat on the end, so the only fit point to file to get a tight wedge up is the actual arbor slot for the wedge. Thanks for the great videos !

Good stuff, I'm looking into a pietta 1860 snub nose. I wanna get a conversion cylinder for it do you know if the pietta and uberti cylinders are interchangeable?

@ Guns of the West. Another good video Dustin. I own 3 Piettas (1860 Army; Remington 1858 New Army Sheriffs model and Remington 1858 in 36 caliber, I have a conversion cylinder for the last one.) I love all 3 of them and have had no problems with them so far. Knock on wood. The 4th cap & ball revolver I have is a 2nd generation 1851 Colt. I'm wanting to get a conversion cylinder for it. Not sure If a Pietta or Uberti conversion cylinder will work. I've been communicating with Mike Beliveau about it. I know a lot of people say the 2nd gens are just Ubertis, but I have checked with Mike and other people, who most people consider experts on cap and ball revolvers, and they say that it's not true. They say the 2nd gen Colts are real Colts. This leads me to my question. Do you or anyone on this page happen to know if either of the conversion cylinders would work with my 1851 Colt? Any help is appreciated. Keep the great videos coming. Next on my list of cap and ball revolvers to acquire, is an 1861 Navy and then an 1851 Griswold & Gunnison.

I shot my Pietta 36 about every weekend until it fell apart.I was really good with that one for some reason, no complaints.

Uberti for fit & finish...Pietta for better steel

I just watched this video for the second time, and found that every compared characteristic of the two guns proves the old saying "You get what you pay for."

You didn't address the difference in the cutout/loading window for conicals or round balls... is that because both would require modifications to load conicals?

Great video, the 1851 Navy can you load that with Pyrodex Pellets, do you use lube wads and do you need wonder seal. I saw in another video you just poured the powder and drop the ball but was also wondering about what I mentioned. ☝☝

So what is with the difference in machining where the ball or conical bullet is inserted on the barrel side of the pistol. looks like the pietta has a much larger relief machined into it than the uberti.

very meticulous but what abt the hinge screw for the plunger?

Both my piettas were perfect out of the box. Even the wood.

Hope you'll forgive a possibly dumb question, is there much of a difference between a steel or brass frame on these 1851 revolvers? I'm considering getting into black powder revolvers.

I need a Lemat Revolver that I can actually locate here in the midwest. Any chance you have any clues how to find such a gun? I am at a loss. I'm not used to hunting down remakes of old guns, so I could use help if you have any clue.

Hmmm. I must have an earlier Uberti. It has the engraving on the barrel clearly on the lower right side rather than under the lever.

What about interchangeability in parts. IE the barrels please?

Comments are turned off in the cowboy load video and I was wanting to know with cap and ball revolvers I load all six cylinders with powder and ball but only 5 withcaps is that still a safe load as it requires cap to fire

Have you loaded conical bullets? Mike Belliveau (Duelist1954) modifies his pistols by opening up the gap where the bullet rotates under the plunger so it can be seated in order to allow a conical bullet to fit.

How good is the steel they use

Now how did GOTW know I was interested to know which 1851 was better?

Does the Uberti suffer from the short arbor issue, or has that been resolved? Also, is the Pietta grip frame correctly shaped or do they still have that prominent tail ?

don't know what happen to my 1849 Uberti. think it was assemble with a hammer and had a missing the cylinder pin. sent it to Benelli. they replaced the cylinder pin, but did not fix the hammer wheel. it is froze up gun smith said it did not need to roll and ignored it. it's marring in to the spring. i did purchased new. have not had any problems with Pietta.

One very important difference that you neglected to mention is that the Uberti arbor does not bottom out in it's socket in the barrel. This will allow the wedge if driven in with any force to close up the barrel cylinder gap and tie up the gun. Colt had the arbor bottom out in the originals and Pietta has the arbor bottom out. This allows the wedge to do it's only job which is to lock the two unit together as one. This can't be done with Uberti unless the problem is corrected. Uberti has known of this problem for years and even tried to do a cheap fix of increasing the arbor diameter slightly for about 1/4in right at the front of the cylinder this made for an interference fit with the barrel and iis why new Ubertis can be so hard to take apart. The arbor hole soon gets wallowed out and the fix is done. Big win for Pietta who charges less for doing it right.

I go exclusively with Pietta's and it has nothing to do with them being cheaper. With all my Ubertis I had two major problems that are absent in Pietta's but are deal breaking, alteast for me. First of all, if any of my Ubertis had imperfect timing, the bolt would beat up and deform notches in cylinder and develop barrel to chamber misalignment over time. I don't know what kind of steel Uberti uses but it is soft as mush and gets deformed by simply using the gun. Pietta's steel was never known to be of decent quality but it is not quite THAT bad! The gun won't destroy itself, atleast. Second issue with Uberti Colts is improper (too short, check that out) cylinder axis length which develops all kinds of weird issues like excessive, uneven cylinder gap and higher-than-usual wedge wear. Cheers.

I'll have to look at my original Colt 1851 and see the bore direction

I can’t find any in stock anywhere. Does anyone know who has them in stock for a good price?

The wood is supposed to stand slightly7 proud of the metal. If it does not, this one way that you can tell that the wood has been refinished and thus the piece is devalued.

Dustin, I noticed you didn’t talk about Uberti’s problem with arbor length. Did you see it on this pistol?

Were either of these firms producing replicas in the 1960s? I have an 1851 Navy replica that my father gave me as a Christmas present when I was 10 or 11: the markings on the butt read, "Italy", a logo with "EIB", and another logo with a "B" in it. Cylinder has no engraving: the only marking on the barrel is "EIG Navy". Loading lever does have a hollow end.

Cost. I went with the 1851 pepper box.