Pietta LeMat

[Mule Clanton]

   I want to complete my collection of BP revolvers and have been looking at the LeMat.  I know these are manufactured by Pietta, and to this day Pietta is not one of my favorite producers. I have owned a couple of their guns and have not been very happy with the either the functioning and/or finish. Any Pards out there have any experience with this particular gun???The gun will be fired and I want to be able to disassemble and clean it before placing it in the collection.

[Steel Horse Bailey]

Doesn't mean much, I s'pose, but I've never heard anything bad 'bout 'em.

[Dick Dastardly]

Howdy Mule,

My experience tells me that the Italians don't pay much attention to precision and accuracy in machining.  They are all over the place on the gun I bought from Cabelas.  Walt Kirst has been tryin' to make a good fitting, drop in Konversion cylinder for the lil spur trigger .31.  The darn pistols are not consistant enough to make a product that will simply "drop in" and work.  They all need hand fitting.

I'm thinkn' that this is the case for your purchase.  Get one, then pay a good pistolsmith to complete what should have been done by the manufacturer.  I really hope you buy one and prove me wrong.

DD-DLoS

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[REELFOOT REGULATOR]

Mr Clanton, Since you are collecting C&bs, Do you have any of the STARR revolvers yet? If so do you like them?

[Tommy tornado]

Mr Clanton, Since you are collecting C&bs, Do you have any of the STARR revolvers yet? If so do you like them?

I have not heard good things at all about the Starr revolver.  At one point in time I was going to buy a Starr SA and a Rodgers and Spencer.  After handling the Starr at DGW, I decided to purchase another Rodgers and Spencer instead.  The Starr's action was very rough, didn't index properly, and there was a big gap between the hammer and nipple.  The only thing I could say was positive about it was the grip felt good to me. 

[Major 2]

When Navy Arms first offered these... You paid $100 subscription ( Get on the waiting list )
I ordered one ( as did a friend) from Val's daughter, I met her at a Florida Gun Show.
Sometime later I got a Letter from Navy Arms, My gun was ready to ship,  please send the final payment of $250.
My friend was a bit strapped for cash by then, so I bought him out and sent for both.
For $350 each I owned two Cavalry Models.
I don't remember exactly when,  it was some in the mid to late 80's.

I do recalled the were Pietta's and fit and finish was much better than Pietta standard offerings in other Cap & Ball revolvers.
 
as to the issues:
 pro ...they were very well made, and unique, very nice bluing & no machine marks , Well fitted with walnut checkered Grips. High Quality

con... Hammer springs was almost two thumb heavy and a little awkward (and a stretch for my hands to thumb one handed)
         The lever that locks the barrel ( Cav. Model only ) would work loose and allow the barrel to turn.
         Army and Navy models don't have this draw back.
         Lastly the ramrod for the the Shotgun was a slip fit in the pistol rammer, these would loosen under recoil and slip out ( I lost one , had to make a new one ) a slight bend to the rod, solved that problem. 

If you get one get the Army or Navy model ( not the Cav. Mod. because of the reason above ) .

 Also they seem to run about twice the cost I paid 18+ years ago ... but heck what doesn't ?

[44caliberkid]

The ones I have looked at seemed to be assembled with more care than what Pietta used to do.  I (and a couple other pards here) have found the most recent Pietta products, sold by EMF Hartford, to be very well finshed and functional. The latest one I have, a 1861 navy, even showed signs of some internal polishing by the factory.  I also have a Hartford (Pietta) 1860 Army Sheriff's model that has performed very well out of the box.  I tried contacting someone at EMF to see if they hold Pietta to a higher standard and maybe Cabelas still gets the crappy ones, but they never responded to my query.

[Dakota Widowmaker]

Got to see one recently and I am impressed!

The finish is actually quite good. The LeMat his assembled by a different group than the 1851 Navys and such.

The loading lever has had issues and the main firing spring is rather weak if you are trying to set off the under barrel shotgun.

They sell now for $500-$600 and are actually not a bad deal.

I see them from time to time on Gunbroker at those prices.

For a 9shot 44cal (actually. 454 round balls work well, so I have been told) with a 28g shotgun for backup, its a very appealing item to add to your collection.

The other sootlords who have them often remark on how much better they are made today than 15 years ago.

[Tommy tornado]

The LeMat is a very pretty gun.  From what I understand it is held to a higher standard than the Pietta '51 Navies, etc.  I knew a fella in IL that had one.  He loved shooting it, however it was the only C & B pistol he ever owned that chain-fired.  Shooter was ok but the pistols shotgun barrel was knocked off.  It was fixed and looked as good as new after a trip to a gunsmith.  He figured that the chain-fire happened because of the nine shots the gun could hold.  It is still in his collection, and he still fires it to this day.