Hi Niederlander
I'll try to cover all your questions, but probably in reverse order. No, Pietta does not use Coil Spring and Plunger for the 1851 hand. At about the same time the Capt. Schaeffer came out, Pietta redesigned their Hand Spring. Use to be a very flimsy thin thing. The new spring is made of much sterner stuff and has a rather neat bend at the tip. Should last.
Overall Pietta quality has improved greatly. Their guns, made in the last 8 - 10 years are right up there in quality. While Pietta build a really nice reproduction, Pietta does not attempt to completely mime Colt. All of Pietta's guns are built on the 1851 frame as were Colt, but Pietta even carry it to the smaller colt guns.
Some years back, the '51esque grip more resembled a Trombone Belle than a '51 grip. At about the same time the Capt. Schaeffer came out, Pietta reshaped their '51 Grips to more resemble the original sample example. The Schaffer was the first I saw of the "new" shape and the next a pair of Dance and Brothers Replicas had the newer grip shape. Very pleasing visually and fell quite good in the hand.
The other "good thing" with Pietta, the parts of the lock works are all standardized throughout the Percussion line. ALL of the lock works.
I also found the Pietta guns to be the Best (my Opine) basis for the modifications necessary for CAS use. Very easy to set up. I seriously doubt you would be unhappy with Pietta's latest offerings (when you can find them). Also don't rely on just the web site. Give 'em a call to see what they may have available.
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