SS1179 Uberti 1849 Wells Fargo

Received this recent-vintage Wells-Fargo as a gift. It is a variation of the Pocket Model of 1849 with the design changes that came after the Baby Dragoon that it resembles in profile. Initially the gun seemed to have timing issues and regularly tied up on spent caps. Adjusting the barrel wedge (looser) permitted the cylinder to turn freely without loosening the assembly. Use of number 10 caps also helped. This revolver has tight tollerances so I used a dremel tool to deepen the channel to the right of the hammer on the standing breach and filed some additional clearance between that part of the breach and the cylinder. The revolver now functions very reliably. I also deepened the hammer notch (sight) and filed off the top of the hammer to lower the point of impact. It is a bit difficult to find the correct .320 balls but once located it will drive them to just over 700 fps with 12.5 FFFG and just a bit under that velocity with several of the substitute powders. Aside from the necessary adjustments it proves a well made revolver with the much-improved metallurgy and heat treatment of internal parts currently seen on the Ubertis.

I am very impressed with this little gun. The fit and finish are much better than expected and the action works very smooth. The springs seem just right and cocking/firing is very pleasant. Shooting this gun also proved surprisingly pleasant. The recoil is mild and the accuracy quite good. All in all a nice gun that I recommend highly.

I'm giving this one 5 stars even after having to do some tweaking and here is why. The gun as received was tough to cock completely. Cocking required extra force when the hammer was almost all the way back. Careful disassemply and a little easy work on the hand was the cure. As delivered the hand was too square to fit in the slot which was rounded at the top. Filing the left top of the hand to a slight curve stopped the problem completely and let the gun lock up with perfect timing. A little Tetra gun grease on all the moving parts and an ever so slight honing of the edges of the moving parts makes this one slick little gun. It has a wonderful fit and finish no tool marks anywhere. Same frame as the 1862 Police and Navy models. Also at this price ($190.00) it is surprising that Dixie has not sold out already. Already got a big black powder revolver? Well get this little one and have some fun.

couldn't be happier outstanding quality shoots great doesn't come with nipple wrench or loading rod very good deal.

I ordered this in September 2006. It was out of stock and placed on backorder. I was contacted in August 2007 and asked if I still wanted it. I said Yes and provided a new credit card number. In the meantime I had moved but I had updated my shipping address in my profile several months earlier so I figured everything would be fine. When the revolver didn't show up I called and was told it had been delivered but of course it turned out to have been delivered to my *old* address. DGW couldn't track it down after that. The problem was caused by DGW's shipping department not confirming the mailing address before shipping the item. Long story short I went out of my way to find out what had happened to it to no avail. Finally DGW sent me another one and everything is fine now. This revolver is made by Uberti. In my opinion the quality of Uberti products is still a notch above Pietta products although Pietta has improved in recent years. This revolver is well-made but could be a bit better in the finish. The Italians still coat their grips with a thick red plastic-like gunk that needs to be stripped and replaced with an oil finish. There are machine marks where no real Colt would have them and the finishing of the brass trigger guard and grip frame is still mediocre but I realize that the time and cost of fixing these points would make the revolvers more expensive. All in all I'm happy with the revolver especially as I paid the lower 2006 price but DGW needs to revise their shipping procedures. I'm going down the middle with my rating.