Taylor's & Company New Model No.3 Frontier revolver.

[Captain John Jarrett]

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All,

 Don't know if anyone else has seen this new revolver or not  http://www.taylorsfirearmsstore.com/product59.html  , actually it seems to be the old Beretta Laramie but with nice checkered grips and not the ugly fat grips the originals had. Also looks to be an Uberti symbol on the grip and they will be made in .45 Colt & .44-40 as they should have been all along.
 There is a six month backlog allready, but went ahead and had my dealer put in an order for two of them in .44-40. Now if only six months doesn't turn into a year what with back orders & delays & calibre changes & yadda-yadda-yadda...........

John.

[Irish Dave]

Now, if they'd just make them in the original .44 Russian caliber........

[Danny Bear Claw]

Nice sixgun.  I like the improved grips.  Don't know if I'd pay a grand for one though.   

[Captain John Jarrett]

Dave,

 Agreed, but probably won't ever happen! Heck at this point I'm hoping the .44-40 actually show up...

John.

[Books OToole]

Now, if they'd just make them in the original .44 Russian caliber........

...or at least .44 special; then us purists could shoot Russians. (Meaning the cartridges  )


Books

[Captain John Jarrett]

The barrel & latch are from a Russian model, so if the .44-40's do actually come out couldn't a Russian cylinder be swaped for the .44-40 cylinder? I see SAA's all the time with .44 Special-.44-40 combo's, wouldn't this be the same or am I missing something??

[Driftwood Johnson]

The barrel & latch are from a Russian model, so if the .44-40's do actually come out couldn't a Russian cylinder be swaped for the .44-40 cylinder?

Howdy

I know the SASS rules say you can swap out the adjustable sight latch from the Laramie with a Russian latch, but I do not believe it is quite that simple. The hammer profile of the New Model Number Three, which the Laramie is a replica of, is different than on a Russian. Some surgery will have to be performed on a Russian latch to make it work in the Laramie. Here is a link to a recent post where this was discussed.

http://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index.php/topic,42191.0.html

Regarding swapping cylinders between a Russian model and a Laramie, I would not assume anything. It is not the same as popping different cylinders into guns of the same model. There is a lot involved with swapping cylinders from one gun to another, let alone swapping back and forth between different models. At the very least, the spacing of the centers of the chambers to the center of the cylinder must be the same, the configuration of the ratchet teeth and the hand must be the same, the location and size of the bolt locking slots on the cylinder must be the same, the frames lengths where the cylinders sit must be the same, the cylinder arbors must be the same, and the cylinder lengths must be the same.

If Uberti is using common parts for the two different models, that would be half the battle, but I would not guarantee that unless I had tried swapping cylinders.

[Pancho Peacemaker]

Don't know if I'd pay a grand for one though.  

Give it a couple years.

When Beretta introduced the Laramie (New Model No.3 replica) in 2006, MSRP was almost $1300.

They are great guns, but didn't sell well.  The price was high and the SASS crowd shunned them due to the adjustable sights.  They discontinued them in 2009 and they started showing up at closeout prices as low as $600.  I bought a pair at that price from CDNN.

[Captain John Jarrett]

Pancho,

 My dealer quoted me a price of $850 + shipping on these Frontier models, and if that price stand's I'm content!

John.

[Pancho Peacemaker]

Pancho,

 My dealer quoted me a price of $850 + shipping on these Frontier models, and if that price stand's I'm content!

John.

Sounds like a deal!

There is no finer production handgun made than the pre-1900 S&W No. 3 frame variations.  These guns are elegant, well balanced, and point very naturally  (plus they reload faster than poop runs through a goose.)

I'm thankful the Eyetalians are willing to put the effort into producing some more No. 3 replicas.

[Trailrider]

For those of you who are concerned about the authenticity of "non-.44 Russian" NM#3's, be advised that about 2000 originals with a longer cylinder were chambered in .44-40!  Sadly, I saw an original in that cartridge blown up!!! at a CAS match about 20 years ago.    The shooter, NOT ME, was using some "remanufacturer's" smokeless loads. I witnessed this disaster. The first two rounds sounded like squib loads and bullet impact was about 10 yds in front of the gun! The third round split the cylinder vertically. Unfortunately, the shooter/owner would not let me examine the remaining ammo.  The gun's forcing cone was split at the 12 o'clock position. Given my later research into ignition delay overpressure phenomenon, I suspect the ammo was actually underloaded so the bullet was kicked out of the case, into the forcing cone, with the smokeless powder smoldering behind it. When the bullet stopped the pressure went up and got the powder going again.  The force required to engrave the rifling on the bullet probably exceeded the strength of the brass, which ruptured and hot gases acted like a cutting torch on the cylinder's metal. (Not sure if the cylinders were steel or wrought iron at that point in production.)

Properly loaded, with modern steel, there is no reason this new gun can't handle reasonable smokeless loads.

[Wild_Willie]

Pancho,

 My dealer quoted me a price of $850 + shipping on these Frontier models, and if that price stand's I'm content!

John.

  That is a FINE price in my book! I paid about that for my used Laramies.

---

 Could just be a typo, but the illustrated parts breakdown diagram looks EXACTLY like the Laramie (to me):



  Only difference is that it is listed as being .44-40...
http://www.taylorsfirearmsstore.com/SANewModelFrontierParts.htm

  Hmmm.... 



  Same barrel latch with "adjustable" sights as the Laramie.

  I was SO hoping that my modification was useless and I could purchase a Fixed Sight.  Blast it!

~Will

[RickB]

Capt. John, did you ever get your guns?