My replicas are of Colt revolvers that were made in the mid-1800s, and were manufactured by the Italian company Uberti. It seems most of the replicas come from Italy. Colt made the 2nd Generation black powder line in the 1970s, and later came out with the 3rd Generation ‘Signature’ series. The latter featured Sam Colt’s signature engraved on the backstrap. I’ve heard that the 2nd- and 3rd Generation Colt revolvers were actually made in Italy and then assembled by Colt in the U.S. I’ve heard that Uberti made the Colts, but I have it in the back of my mind that they were actually made by Army San Marco.
I’ve chosen Uberti as my preferred brand because I like the quality. Army San Marco are also good, but I just prefer Uberti. An Uberti Colt revolver will set you back about $230 - $250, IIRC. ISTR that ASMs are slightly cheaper. There are other BP revolvers out there in the $150 range. One thing to look out for is that many of the cheaper ones have brass frames. (The trigger guard and backstraps on the originals and replicas are brass, but the frame is case-hardened steel. I’ve had the trigger guards and backstraps on my Uberti Navies silver plated like the originals and the Colt 2nd- and 3rd Generations.) The Confederates used some brass-framed copies of the Colt revolvers, since they did not have the industrial capacity of the North. There are replicas of Confederate revolvers that indicate they are Confederate revolvers. The cheaper brass-framed replicas are generally sold as Colt replicas. The problem with brass is that it’s soft. Eventually the frames will wear out if you shoot it a lot or use heavy loads. Some cheaper replicas, with frames of brass or steel, are 1851 Navies; only they’re in .44 cal. The ‘Navy’ caliber is .36. Fourty-four is the Army caliber. Basically, these guys are not paying much attention to historical accuracy.
But the do shoot. I suspect that even the cheapest replicas are metallurgically at least the equal to originals. Even the ones that are not exact replicas (.44 cal. on a Navy, round barrel instead of octagonal, brass frame instead of steel) do the job of igniting black powder and pushing a lead ball down a tube. So yes, they are shootable.
Now, Webleys…
I have never heard of a replica Webley (at least, not one that shoots). While I’d like to have a Webley Mk.IV or Mk.VI for my collection, I don’t really know all that much about them. I did a very quick google search and found two examples for sale (one was already sold); one for $500, and the other for $495. So they’re not that expensive. While I haven’t personally looked for one to buy, they seem not to be especially rare. With excellent-quality black powder Colts going for $250, Uberti Colt SAAs starting at a little under $400 (top-break Uberti Schofields starting a little over $800), it seems to me that it would not be cost-effective for someone to make a replica Webley when originals are available for half a kilobuck.
I went out and fired my Ruger today, and yes, it was everything I expected it to be. The DA pull was just a touch too heavy, but quite manageable. The SA pull was outstanding. In that gun the .38 Special loads felt very light. The .357 Magnum loads definitely stung the hand a bit, although it was still very controllable. It’s a very nice piece, but as I said before it could use different grips. I’m quite happy with it overall.
As an FYI, in case you hadn’t seen it yet, us “gun nuts” got a MAJOR victory in the courts today. See here.
Right now, just a Ruger Mini 14 with a Choate non-folding stock. Back in my pistolero days a Gold Cup .45 but I had to give it up when I got too crippled to shoot it well (can’t get full extension on my right elbow). I’m considering getting a home defense pump shotgun.
I was going to start a thread but this looks like it might fit in here. In anticipation of Shooter coming out soon I checked Point Blank out of the library and read it again. Several times in the novel – and I remember this from the real-life long gun boys too – it’s mentioned that the favorite piece for people to accurize is the Remington Model 700, pre 1964. What did Remington do (or stop doing) that year that made the earlier runs more desirable?
That sounds like a mistake. The pre-64 Winchester model 70 are much sought after. Winchester made some changes in their manufacturing process for the 1964 and later models that weren’t well received.
They’re not conversions- they were made that way. They are chambered for .380" Revolver Mk IIz, better known as .38/200 (commercially sold as .38 Smith & Wesson).
THEY ARE NOT CHAMBERED FOR .38 SPECIAL AND CANNOT BE SAFELY MODIFIED TO ACCEPT THE .38 SPECIAL CARTRIDGE
To the best of my knowledge, there are no modern replicas of either the Mk IV or Mk VI Webley Revolvers, which is a shame- I think there’d be a lot of money in a .38 Special calibre Webley Mk IV or Enfield No 2 Mk I revolver.
Yeah, you can get Winchester Model 70 rifles made before '64, and now within maybe the last decade or so they started producing Model 70s with the pre-64 action. So you have Model 70s made before '64 and New Pre-'64 Model 70s. I have a fairly new Pre-64 Model 70 .22-250 SS Featherweight, great rifle. Glad I got it before they shut down the factory.
I also have a Model 700 Remington Sendero SF in 7mm STW. It’s like a 22-250 on steroids.
I don’t think they make the 7mm STW any more, it was a flash in the pan load. You could surely still get a barrel chambered for it, I have plenty of brass to last me. The rifle is a good shooter, though. I had the trigger pull reduced to about half the factory setting and mounted a bi-pod and a 6-18 Leupold on it (it weighs like 12 lbs or so IIRC), I haven’t even had it out of storage this century.
That happens. I’d really like to get a fancy-ass Sendero like that in .300 H&H Mag, even though I believe the ballistics of the .300 Win Mag are superior, I’m a dork enough to be swayed by Point of Impact (Bob the Nailer is cool)
The ballistics of the .300s are probably superior to the 7mm, but it’s still fun to shoot…paper it’s only foe. I’d like to put a different chambered barrel on it some day, but have quite a bit of brass/dies/stuff for the STW. Still a nice long bolt 700 and scope to toy with the idea.
Ah, 70, not 700. That explains why my Wiki link didn’t say a thing about pre-64 models, one way or the other. I should have clicked on more models in the Wiki Remington arms entry… Thank you, Bto.
