Pietta NMA "Oversized Frame & Grips"

Dixie Gun Works Pietta Remington New Model Army...Anyone have one? How does the grip compare to the stand Pietta version? In 40+ years of percussion revolver shooting, I've never seen or handled one...

Friend of mine has one. he just took 2ed in his class at the Nats with his. My take compared to the regular size is yes it`s bigger by a small bit and I might like it better after shooting it for some time. I will get around to buying one to truly test for myself. Yes, they are legal for NMLRA matches. If you consider the standard Remmy grip a bit small or tight to the guard you may prefer the Larger frame...c

So, no one else here has one?

BULL'S-EYE said:

Dixie Gun Works Pietta Remington New Model Army...Anyone have one? How does the grip compare to the stand Pietta version? In 40+ years of percussion revolver shooting, I've never seen or handled one...

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I’ve had several. The grip is somewhat larger and different in a couple dimensions. Not hugely so and in my hands they all suffer from the same maladjustment. The trigger guard is too close to the front strap. There’s no room for a size 13 middle finger in there under recoil and the SOB’s bite me every time I fire full power loads.

BULL'S-EYE said:

So, no one else here has one?

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I have one, and I like it. The bigger grip makes sense to me.

Mine came with the pimp grips, but I think they look cool!

Thanks for the replies, I have one on the way and will soon see for myself.

B P Arn said:

I have one, and I like it. The bigger grip makes sense to me.

Mine came with the pimp grips, but I think they look cool!

View attachment 148634

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Did not know they made the Shooters Model with the fluted cylinder... nice looking pistol.

Oooooops; I forgot about this one.

Bad Karma said:

Did not know they made the Shooters Model with the fluted cylinder... nice looking pistol.

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That was a GunBroker purchase I made about 5 years ago. I don't remember the exact price, but it was very reasonable. Those days are gone forever, I do believe.

The Pietta Remington Shooters Models have a dovetailed front sight and a silver plated brass trigger guard. The shooters model I have was imported by Mitchell Arms in the late 1980s. There was a dealer at the Costa Mesa Gun Show (CA), in 1990, who had some remaining stock that came from Mitchell Arms about the time of their bankruptcy. I had never heard of a shooters model and thought the price was high at the time, $175, but if I knew what he had, I would have bought several more. Now fast forward, Dixie is asking $1,195 for the Shooter and their standard Remington NMA is selling for $450. Back when they made my Shooters Model, the trigger guard was solid silver, not silver plated. I drilled a divot about 3/64" deep, on the underside just to check, no brass just silver. I didn't know what I had until I was talking to Walt Kirst, telling him how good it shoots. He began asking a lot of questions, such as, if it had a dovetailed front sight, a silver trigger guard, and 5 lands and grooves, I said yep, yep, and yep. He tried his best to buy it off of me, but I didn't sell. Back then he was just starting to look for dealers for his unmentionable cylinders, and I was his first dealer in Alabama. The Shooters Model has 5 lands and grooves with a gain twist 1-30", whereas the standard NMA has 7 lands and grooves 1-30" twist. I don't know if Pietta still uses Lothar-Walther made barrels for the shooter model, but they did 30 years ago. The Shooters Model requires a .457 ball and the standard NMA requires a .454 ball.

Both of mine have non-dovetailed front sights and brass trigger guards, so mine are not Shooter's Models.

Bad Karma said:

I’ve had several. The grip is somewhat larger and different in a couple dimensions. Not hugely so and in my hands they all suffer from the same maladjustment. The trigger guard is too close to the front strap. There’s no room for a size 13 middle finger in there under recoil and the SOB’s bite me every time I fire full power loads.

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I figured out with my NMA that it's much less painful if I just tuck my pinky under the butt of the grip instead of trying to get all three fingers onto it. I heard once that it was actually designed that way to make it more pointable like pointing your finger. Holding that way does seem to do just that.

TrapperDude said:

I figured out with my NMA that it's much less painful if I just tuck my pinky under the butt of the grip instead of trying to get all three fingers onto it. I heard once that it was actually designed that way to make it more pointable like pointing your finger. Holding that way does seem to do just that.

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That is what I do with the 1860 Army. The Remington just doesn’t seem to fit my paw. It’s fine. I don’t have a shortage of stuff to shoot…

Bad Karma said:

I’ve had several. The grip is somewhat larger and different in a couple dimensions. Not hugely so and in my hands they all suffer from the same maladjustment. The trigger guard is too close to the front strap. There’s no room for a size 13 middle finger in there under recoil and the SOB’s bite me every time I fire full power loads.

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Do you try putting your pinkie finger underneath the butt?
I do and it makes a huge difference. No more banged up finger.

Boston Bill said:

Do you try putting your pinkie finger underneath the butt?
I do and it makes a huge difference. No more banged up finger.

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Yes, that’s how I manage the 1851/1873 grip frame. My middle finger is about the size of a Johnsonville bratwurst… the middle and ring finger occupy the front strap. It’s the distance or lack of distance between the back of the trigger guard and the front of the grip strap that’s the problem. The 1860 and Ruger Super Blackhawk frames are the only stock single action frames I can use with full power loads. Ronnie Wells has the same oversized paws and he’s built a successful business making frames for Single Action revolvers.

TrapperDude said:

I figured out with my NMA that it's much less painful if I just tuck my pinky under the butt of the grip instead of trying to get all three fingers onto it. I heard once that it was actually designed that way to make it more pointable like pointing your finger. Holding that way does seem to do just that.

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Pretty sure they just made a close copy of the Colt Navy but they got a couple critical dimensions wrong. Compare the 1858/1861 NMA grip to the 1875 and 1890 Remingtons and you’ll see what they did to correct those errors. There’s substantially more room behind the trigger guard on the 1875 and it’s nearly comically overdone on the 1890. I’ll bet it works well though!

Bad Karma said:

Pretty sure they just made a close copy of the Colt Navy but they got a couple critical dimensions wrong. Compare the 1858/1861 NMA grip to the 1875 and 1890 Remingtons and you’ll see what they did to correct those errors. There’s substantially more room behind the trigger guard on the 1875 and it’s nearly comically overdone on the 1890. I’ll bet it works well though!

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If that was just an error, then it was a critical error. You'd think they would have tested their prototypes before sending them to market

Bad Karma said:

Yes, that’s how I manage the 1851/1873 grip frame. My middle finger is about the size of a Johnsonville bratwurst… the middle and ring finger occupy the front strap. It’s the distance or lack of distance between the back of the trigger guard and the front of the grip strap that’s the problem. The 1860 and Ruger Super Blackhawk frames are the only stock single action frames I can use with full power loads. Ronnie Wells has the same oversized paws and he’s built a successful business making frames for Single Action revolvers.

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I have a friend that has what we call sausage fingers