"Pointability" Army vs Navy

[kwilfong]

Just took delivery of my new-to me Pietta '60 Army. Left my '51 Navy at the shop :cursing: so can't compare them side to side tonight but my initial feeling is that the Army isn't quite as quick & "lively" as the Navy. Guess that's why Wild Bill favored the Navy??

 

[Norinco]

Could the increased weight be responsible? Is your Navy a Pietta as well? Pietta does not 100% duplicate the original grips.

Didn't someone mention that the Army has a longer grip?

 

[Pete Gaimari]

The best pointing gun i've ever had is an 1860 Colt with a 5 1/2' barrel.

Otherwise the 1851 Colt is nice.

You'll find the 1860 and 1851 weigh the same. The 1860 is a bigger gun, but has a bigger bore to make up for it.

 

[kwilfong]

Yup; both are Pietta's. I've read that the Pietta '51 isn't 100% "right" & intend to do a side-by-side with a 2nd gen Colt. The Navy sure feels 'right' to me tho. Guess a lot of it is subjective & I'm sure I'll warm up to the Army after I handle it more & get the trigger set up better.

 

[Pete Gaimari]

One of the best grip profiles a revolver has ever had was the Colt 51. It was carried over to the 73 Peacemaker.

Pietta got it all wrong.

Uberti is right on.

 

[kwilfong]

So; is the '73 SAA closer to the '51, '60, or something in between? I don't have a Peacemaker but the grip on my Blackhawk feels closer to my Pietta '51 than the '60. Probably not even close to apples to apples :idunno:

 

[tg]

I have always felt that the '51 in the original.36 cal. with a .375 bal (the gun is from Navy Arms mid '70's) is one of the most user friendly pistols to shoot that I have ever handled I am not a big time pistol competition shooter but have shot over three dozen+ styles old and new, and fell in love with the Navy Colt almost love at first sight so to speak.

 

[Pete Gaimari]

The real 51 and 73 have the same grip. The 60 has a bigger grip, because it replaced the Dragoon.

The only Ruger that has the 51/73 grip is the latest smaller Vaquero.

 

[kwilfong]

SO; will the grip frame from a '51 fit a '60? I've been turned off by the .44 cal "51's" but maybe there's something there??

 

[tg]

I do not know about swapping the grips, the original '51's were .36, I have never tried one of the bogus .44 cal '51 Colts I did like the '60 Army Colt in a .44.....45? got myeslf confuse :idunno: now it has been '93-95 or so since I had the pistol fever and 4-5 pistols to treat it with, so I am going on a lot of memory here.

 

[Pete Gaimari]

No, The 60 grip won't fit any other Colt. The 51 and 73 are the same. (on real Colts)

The .44 51 is an abortion from Pietta.

All real 51's were .36 cal.

As are Uberti's. The Uberti guns will be much closer to the real guns. Pietta's can be anything they can dream up.

Colt would roll over in his grave if he could see what Pietta makes.

 

[himem777]

I think that mister Colt would be flattered that in the age of TV guided missiles, that the anyone still makes copies (even if bad)of his guns. :wink:

 

[CaptainKirk]

My '51 (while a blatantly bad copy) still points better than all the rest of my pistolas. I feel confident that if it were a Uberti, it would be almost unbelievable. Almost makes me want to buy one... :hmm:
No...stop it...STOP IT!
Repeat after me; "I don't need another pistol..."
"I don't need another pistol..." :bull:

 

[kwilfong]

Tried that too; so far to no avail

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

I'm in that club too! Tried a new sav to schmere on to stop the itch and all it did was give me greasy hands and a bigger ITCH to go buy something :slap: :haha: .

I don't own any .36's yet cause them big Horse Pistols really reach-out and hit the Gongs, but I'm readin' all of this stuff and the ITCH IS BACK! :haha: :redface:

Dave

 

[DanChamberlain]

I have switched the grip on my 51 Navy ASM to an 1860 Army ASM. Worked fine. Made the Army feel just right.

Dan

 

[Pete Gaimari]

I have switched the grip on my 51 Navy ASM to an 1860 Army ASM. Worked fine. Made the Army feel just right.

Dan

You mean you switched the grip frame and grip? No way the grip itself would switch.

 

[Norinco]

Maybe ASM got lazy and used the same grip frame for both of them?

 

[BillinOregon]

The 1860 grip frame is longer than the 1851, just as the original Super Blackhawk grip frame with the dragoon trigger guard is longer than the X3 frame on the regular Blackhawk. The 1860 usually tends to feel better for people with larger hands as there is just a bit more to hang on to. Perhaps the most elegant of the Colts is the 1861 Navy, a .36 caliber revolver that has the 51 grip frame but the smoothly streamlined barrel and creeping rammer of the 1860.
All three of these Colts point well for me, whether from Uberti or Pietta.

 

[Dphar]

Just took delivery of my new-to me Pietta '60 Army. Left my '51 Navy at the shop :cursing: so can't compare them side to side tonight but my initial feeling is that the Army isn't quite as quick & "lively" as the Navy. Guess that's why Wild Bill favored the Navy??

I like the Army better. 51 is more muzzle heavy.
But be advised that the grip shape/angle varies from one import to the next and this can have an effect.
I think Navy grips will fit the Army BTW. Its still the Navy frame.

Dan