PIETTA OR UBERTI?

The question is often raised about the comparable quality. I have noticed Pietta sixguns have really improved their quality the past several years. American Handgunner is celebrating their 45th anniversary this year and as such will be giving away a .45. The editor and I discussed what configuration we should go for and we decided on a .45 Single Action 4-3/4". Cimarron supplied the .45 and it came to me first to make sure everything was okay and it shot well.

I have been around long enough I am not easily impressed. However, I must say my first impression when I picked up the Cimarron Frontier .45 from my FFL holder, Buckhorn Gun I was most favorably impressed. The case-hardened frame exhibits extremely attractive blues and grays and the hammer is also case colored instead of having bare steel sides. The hammer is also flush with the top of the frame and not sticking up or below. The bluing is deep and metal to metal finish is as it should be with no sharp edges. The leading edge of the cylinder has the black powder camphor between the flutes. The one- piece walnut stocks are also well fitted to the grip frame and do not have that reddish look of so many grips found on replicas in the past. The top of the barrel is marked in two lines “CIMARRON FIREARMS CO, FREDERICKSBURG, TEXAS” while the left side of the barrel is inscribed “FRONTIER .45 COLT”
This is a traditionally-styled single-action which means there is no transfer bar and to be carried safely requires the hammer resting on an empty chamber. It does have the Swiss-safe type safety consisting of a cylinder base pin with two notches on the front. For normal use it is placed in the rearward notch while engaging the front notch allows the base pin to protrude far enough through the back of the frame to prevent the hammer from going forward enough for the firing pin to hit the primer of a cartridge. The action is quite smooth and the cylinder locks up tight with no end shake or side to side movement. There is no overtravel on the hammer and the hammer and trigger come together just as the hammer stops its rearward movement. The barrel to cylinder gap is barely perceptible. The sights are easy to see as they are not of the pinched variety but rather a square notch rear sight matched up with a non-tapered front sight.
Now it was time to shoot. As this is written it is January so instead of my sturdy shooting bench, and solid pistol rest, and good lighting it was necessary to go to the indoor range which has none of this. This makes the results even more exceptional. With Black Hills 250 .45 Colt FP and their 230 .45 Schofield load as well as the CCI Speer 230 Trailblazer, groups at 20 yards all measured right at one-inch. For my eyes it shoots right on for windage and low for elevation which means the front sight can be filed in to accommodate a chosen load. The good news is it is a shooter. This is no surprise as I’ve yet to have a Cimarron sixgun which wasn’t.