Traditions pietta 1858 stainless from Bass Pro?

[bwesley]

Been thinking about purchasing an 1858 new army stainless
from Bass Pro shops online, they are much cheaper than the one in Cabelas. I'm worried that I might make a mistake in quality.
Has anyone had any experience from ordering a traditions 1858 from
Bass Pro?

[Gatofeo]

No experience from Bass Pro.
I believe that guns marketed by Traditions are made by Pietta. At least, the Traditions copy of the 1860 Colt .44 that I bought two years ago was made by Pietta.
Pietta-made guns vary in quality, lot to lot, so I hear.
My own Pietta-made copy of the 1860 Colt .44 is very well made, perfectly timed and nicely finished. Cost me $140, new in the box, at the local gun store. It was a bargain.
It's accurate too.
If you get a poorly made gun, send it back. If they send you another poorly made clunker, send it back. Keep doing so until they send you a decent gun, or until you get fed up and ask for a refund.
Exterior finish is often indicative of overall finish. Check the bore to ensure it is smooth and doesn't have large tool marks. Also check the chambers, to ensure they are smooth and not rough.
The trigger pull can be improved with some careful removal of burrs in the action with a set of Needle Files, but do NOT touch the surfaces where the trigger meets the hammer. These engaging surfaces are very finely mated and should not be touched by amateurs.
But before you start tinkering with the guts, make sure you're going to keep it. Companies won't take it back if you've done even the slightest work on it.
The smoothness of the bore is critical. Degrease the bore with Ronson lighter fluid or brake cleaner. Then, push a bone-dry patch through the bore. If the patch doesn't glide through the bore smoothly, beware. The bore may be too rough to overcome with polishing.
When I get a new cap and ball revolver, I work some JB Bore Paste or Iosso Bore Cleaner into a tight patch. These are creams, containing a very mild abrasive.
Run the tight patch back and forth in the bore a dozen times or so. Then discard the patch and start a new one, with this cream worked well into it. Work it back and forth another dozen or so times.
Do this with 12 patches, for about 144 strokes. By the last patch, you should notice an improvement in the smoothness of your bore.
This preliminary smoothing will markedly increase accuracy if the gun's decently made. It won't do a thing for a gun with a rough bore, full of tool marks.
The bore may also be smoothed by shooting it, but it would take you 500 balls or more to get the same polishing effect you get with 144 swipes from a tight patch, impregnated with Iosso or JB Bore Paste.
The JB comes in a small, white plastic tub. The Iosso comes in a squeeze tube. Both are very good products. Look for them at your local gun store.

[bwesley]

Thanks for the info GAT.. I keep hearing stories on this forum about
hit or misses with Pietta revolvers, this will be my first BP gun
I would just like to get it right the first time cause i can easily
fall in love with my first purchase of a frearm and tend to keep it
because of the excitement of having it , but would not want get all
excited at a dud.

[simonkenton]

I bought a Traditions 1860 Army from Bass Pro Shop in Atlanta two years ago. It is a Pietta.
I like this gun. It locks up tight, it looks great.
I have only fired the gun 100 times, but I have sat pointing the gun at the tv while I helped Josey Wales kill the Redlegs, and I have cocked the damn thing 500 times or more [but not dry fired of course.]
Well, the main spring broke, and the hand broke. I called Traditions and they sent me new ones free, no questions asked.
The main spring is real easy to replace, it is in the handle. The hand I was afraid of, but these guns are easy to take apart, so I replaced the hand. I felt a sense of accomplishment, a sense that I understood the gun and I knew I could fix it if something broke.
I have learned that it is common for these two springs to break on any Italian repro.
The new springs have held up fine so I would buy another Pietta no problem.
Like Gatofeo says, if you don't like your gun Bass Pro will sure take it back.

[bwesley]

If I would have read that earlier on the 7th I would have made the
purchase from Bass Pro :-) , but I went to my local gun shop yesterday
and found a revolver that just cried "take me home", it was a Ruger
Blackhawk .357 stainless 6.5 barrel, for much more than the Pietta
but i was able to look the gun over before I could make a decision.
So, this Saturday I'm putting some money down on it, 419.00 which is
about twice of the Pietta revolver but I always heard Ruger was excellent
in quality and durability. But I still would like a BP revolver, I just might
have to delay for awhile, cause I still have my sights on a Walker someday.  :grin:

[MOGorilla]

I own 4 piettas, and have experienced no problem what so ever.  Okay, I have had occasional difficulties, but they were easily fixed.  I am a chemist and we, being nerds, are not known for our mechanical skills, so it is not  too bad, especially if you are handy.   The main thing that has helped me on these guns I believe was that my first was a kit.  It took me 4 years off and on to complete the kit,(see not to mechanical).   Anyway, once completed, I knew the inside and out of that pistol.  They really don't have that many parts so they are easy to get to know.  
I really believe that Cabela's and Bass Pro would both be Pietta, so I would think quality would be equal, so go for lower $$$.   Pietta has really stepped up their quality in the last few years and with the popularity of SASS, one of the Pietta family is a regular contributor to the SASS.net board, real friendly and always willing to answer questions.  
If this is your first cap and ball revolver, I would recommend reading many of the posts here, lots of excellent info for everyone, first timers and old hands.  Gatefeo's post about the bore compound is an excellent example.   Good luck.

[bwesley]

MOgorilla,

I agree, I remember reading a couple of your posts as with others
on the Pietta's and there were alot of agree's and disagree's with the
accuracy on the pietta's. I remember one fella having a hell of a time
with his not shooting all that great and complained about quality. And
some say it's a gamble with ordering through mail catalog. I would
just hate to order a revolver and not be happy with it and go through
the process of shipping it back and forth until I found a good one.

[Naphtali]

Pietta makes two significantly different 1858 Remingtons. The lower priced version -- stainless or non-stainless -- compares favorably with any other manufacturer's 1858/63.

Pietta also makes a special competition revolver, again stainless or non-stainless. Lock work is different. Barrel is gain twist and different bore ID. Cylinder's chambers are different. This revolver is comparable in quality control with a circa 1950s Colt Python or pre-WW II S&W .357 Magnum.

It is much superior to their "normal" version.