Who sells the best Colt Paterson?

[Bri in Chi]

I'm thinking about a Paterson Colt revolver, and am wondering what you folks think about the quality of the various offerings? My main interest is historical accuracy, not shooting. Any help appreciated.

 

[mec]

Uberti and Pietta make them. I only have experience with uberti but have noticed Pietta is prone towards writing their name all over the guns making them more obvious as reproductions. the Ubertis without loading levers look much like originals while the ones with loading levers will not admit balls under the seating lever unless you open up the frame to make them more like originals.

 

[wulf]

I have two. One a Uberti and the other offered by
Val....... The first needed NO changes. The second
was so bad that besides having to straighten the
crooked barrel all corners needed to be rounded and all internal parts had to be remade.Now I have
two that are correct.Maturally they both shoot great. If you just want to walk around and look good then you may as well get the cheapest one because not many people can tell the difference
especially if you keep in the holster..

 

[philo426]

I wonder how you load that Patterson since it does not have a loading lever?Is it awkward and time-consuming to load?

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

You can buy a Paterson loading tool from several sources. I think Dixie has one.

 

[Doc Arroyo]

Remove the barrel.
Measure and charge the cylinders per your reciepe.
Place ball.
Insert loading tool into slot in arbor, and seat the balls.
Re-install barrels.

By the way, some of these need the cylinder removed to cap them...then reassemble.

Yep, they are a bit clumbersome to reload! :shocked2:

 

[wulf]

It seems you got your answer before I could get
the 'puter turned on...There is a loading tool but
it has to be strenghtened by adding a steel threaded insert...The center pin on which the
cylinder revolves acts as a ram rod by pushing the
ball home against a hard surface. I made a loading
tool that has a base with a staff with a pinned
arm with a plunger that crushes the ball onto the
powder.The cylinder is held in place by a pin that
is close to the dimentions of the center post.
it is difficult to discribe these techniques with
out holding the piece. the difficulty in loading
is explained by having spare cylinders..If you have any trouble understanding it is OK to re-ask.

 

[mec]

or you can charge the chambers one at a time start a ball with a mallet or ball starter and seat with the long shank on the ball starter or the arbor of the revolver. Oringinals had a tapered arbor for this purpose.

 

[WRussell]

For the very best quality, try[url] collectorsfirearms.com[/url] They have a great one just like the one in Mec's photo. An original. A bargain at only $115,000

Sorry - couldn't resist.

 

[philo426]

It does seem to be a pain to load!I have the book "Colt an American legend"which has pictures of prototype Patterson revolvers with loading levers installed.They never reached production due to the introduction of the Colt Walker.

 

[hawkeye2]

I have examined several Uberti Pattersons and they all have superb finish and were all tight and in time. The latter 2 are mportant if you plan on shooting it, this is NOT a gun you want to go inside of unless you are quite experienced with blackpowder revolvers. Almost 15 years ago my wife bought me a Pietta Patterson (only one avaliable at the time) and I have been unable to shoot it to date because of its poor quality. I just got it back from a gunsmith last week, he did everything he could with what he had but it still needs a new hand as the cylinder stops way short of lockng up. I had ordered 2 hands/springs from a well known importer, folks I know well and trust. last Feb., as of a few weeks ago they hadn't recieved any parts from Pietta since March and didn't know when any would come in. Go with the Uberti.

 

[wulf]

Well.....your about half right..The Paterson factory burnt down and Colt went out shopping for
contracts..the employees continued to make pistols
by taking parts home and assembling them for sale
Later Colt got in touch with Whitney and walker to
design and produce the WhitneyVille Walker..or something like that.............just an added bit.
I have no problem what so ever in loading,shooting
or cleaning my Patersons. They are a joy and a real ground breaker to meet people at the range.

 

[mec]

my leverless uberti has broken in nicely but the one with the lever is still problematic. gums up very quickly. I've been in and out of them several times and outline the procedure here:[url] http://www.amazon.com/gp/prod...2748?_encoding=UTF8http://www.yahoo.com/?rs=1[/url]

A tedious procedure but the chapter on patersons is helpful as long as you remain flexible minded and prepared for surprises.

This one was balky at first but has settled in to good reliability. It is a pleasure to shoot within the limits of its primitive design. the one with the lever will get through five rounds before it seizes up from fouling and is generally a pain in the butt. There is nothing in the lever design to explain the difference. Probably a matter of luck

 

[wulf]

The Uberti I have has the loading lever but I have
witnessed no problems with it..Have your tried
paper cartridges yet...makes loading a snap and it
is very PC.

 

[philo426]

Just a thought,but do you think that you could put the Patterson cylinder in the frame of a '51 Navy,load it using the Navy's loading lever and return it to the Patterson frame?I know it seems tedius but taking off the barrel and using the Patterson loading tool seems just as awkward!

 

[philo426]

Wulf, I believe you are correct about some Pattersons being produced with loading levers!I think that the revolver was called a 3rd model Ehlers.They were indeed produced prior to the introduction of the Colt Walker.