School Me on Uberti

[choprzrul]

Made a deal with the local gunshop to trade a bunch of my old waterfowl shells for an Uberti .45:




Can someone tell me the good/bad/ugly about these Uberti single actions, what I should look for to fail, what needs replacing up front, and what custom work should I be thinking about.

Now to find brass, bullets, powder, dies....

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[1JimMarch]

Read this:

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=429930

If it was made after 2000 it'll be better than older variants - not sure quite when the cutoff was but it's basically to do with a re-vamp they did to their shop.

[choprzrul]

Read this:

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=429930

If it was made after 2000 it'll be better than older variants - not sure quite when the cutoff was but it's basically to do with a re-vamp they did to their shop.

Excellent reference link, thank you! Can you tell me how to determine if mine is a pre or post retooling model? Will year of mfg be on the box/literature/gun?

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[dfletcher]

In addition to their own line Uberti makes guns that are branded by all sorts of sellers - Cimarron, Beretta and probably a half dozen more I can't recall. I think Uberti is capable of manufacturing fairly good guns at a certain price point and better guns at a higher price point, depends on what the final seller wants to retail at I suppose. I think if the SA revolver you're handling isn't a Colt or a USFA, regardless of the name stamped on the barrel there's a good chance it's made by Uberti.

Common sense would say that if a certain quality gun is made and sold by Uberti directly it should cost less than the same gun sold to and branded by another company. I don't know what sort of exclusivity or agreements are reached in those sorts of deals, but I'll bet SA fans know the Uberti "Brand X" at $425.00 is the same gun as the "Beretta Stampede" at $475.00 - so why not buy the Uberti brand and save $50.00. Always thought it would be interesting to learn such things for certain.

[choprzrul]

Apparently this gun was won at an NRA function and the guy never fired it. As you can see in the picture, it has NRA on the grips. The serial # is NR01xx. Any ideas on year of mfg?

[sigfan91]

I have an EMF New Dakota (since discontinued) model made by Uberti. The fit and finish are excellent. However, there are 3 problems I encountered with the gun.

1. The sear and bolt spring broke during a range session. Easy fix. The part was something like $5 from Midway.

2. The various screws on the gun tend to loosen and I have to tighten them up before and after every range session.

3. The area where the firing pin protrudes to contact the primer is slightly raised, probably during the forging/machining process. After a few rounds, the cylinder heats up and expands ever so slightly. This pushes the rounds back and would jam against the raised area of the back wall (I know it's not called the breech face). I had to Dremel it a bit to smooth it out so it wouldn't jam.

[jimmythebrain]

These are good guns for cowboy type light load shooting. As long as you stay with standard or light 45 Colt (Long Colt) ammunition then you will enjoy the gun quite a bit. Do not try to shoot Ruger only or HOT loaded 45 Colt ammunition in these. They are not built to take the pressure of the uploaded ammo.

I have the same gun stamped Beretta. It shoots good at the short distances (out to 15 yards) that I usually try. it balances well and definitely gives a different shooting experience than shooting a DA revolver or Semi-Auto. Keep in mind I only shoot this for fun. I think it may be more accurate than my Ruger Bisley 45 Colt but that gun gets Ruger only loads, so that is an apply to oranges comparison. I do not regret getting my Beretta SA revolver- picked it up for $350 used. If only the ammo was cheaper...

Enjoy your gun.

[jptopz]

If you can't buy a Colt buy a Uberti! They are great single actions

[choprzrul]

From what I can tell, based upon some interwebs investigations, it is 1 of 1000 that were made for Friends of the NRA events in 2008. I doubt that this will ever achieve any type of rarity or exceptional value, so I am just going to shoot and enjoy it. I think that I will spend the $26 and put the Long Hunter spring kit in it.

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[dascoyne]

looks like you've got a Uberti Cattleman there. I've got one ... love it.
BTW. It looks just like the gun used by Charles Bronson in Once Upon a Time in the West.

[1JimMarch]

Remember: that gun is NOT safe to carry six-up. Go to half-cock, open the loading gate, load one, skip one, load four, bring the hammer all the way back, carefully lower it. It should be on the empty chamber. Carefully looking at it sideways at the firing pin area with a light behind it should confirm this.

DO NOT go from half-cock to hammer down. Always bring it back to full cock and then all the way down from there.

DO NOT rely on the "safety notch" and carry six-up. Ever.

If you want an SA wheelgun for regular carry, esp. street carry, consider a Ruger with a transfer bar ignition and safe six-up carry instead.

[B Strong]

Remember: that gun is NOT safe to carry six-up. Go to half-cock, open the loading gate, load one, skip one, load four, bring the hammer all the way back, carefully lower it. It should be on the empty chamber. Carefully looking at it sideways at the firing pin area with a light behind it should confirm this.

DO NOT go from half-cock to hammer down. Always bring it back to full cock and then all the way down from there.

DO NOT rely on the "safety notch" and carry six-up. Ever.

If you want an SA wheelgun for regular carry, esp. street carry, consider a Ruger with a transfer bar ignition and safe six-up carry instead.

Correct.

The old adage "Five Beans in the Wheel" is still true when shooting/using any Colt SAA or claone.

[choprzrul]

Remember: that gun is NOT safe to carry six-up. Go to half-cock, open the loading gate, load one, skip one, load four, bring the hammer all the way back, carefully lower it. It should be on the empty chamber. Carefully looking at it sideways at the firing pin area with a light behind it should confirm this.

DO NOT go from half-cock to hammer down. Always bring it back to full cock and then all the way down from there.

DO NOT rely on the "safety notch" and carry six-up. Ever.

If you want an SA wheelgun for regular carry, esp. street carry, consider a Ruger with a transfer bar ignition and safe six-up carry instead.

^^Yep^^

A rancher from up in the hills was there when I stopped by again to look at it. He said he had a hired hand that liked to carry 6 at 1/2 cock. The hammer caught on something one day when he was mounting his horse and he ended up shooting himself in the calf. Kicker was that the same guy did it again 2 months later.

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