My friend has an unfired NIB Uberti 1873 lever rifle with octagon barrel and case hardened receiver in .45LC.  Looks like they run ~$1300 MSRP.  He will sell it to me for $700

Do these 1K plus rifles have a good reputation for quality?

Who is the importer? Cimarron? Taylors? Navy Arms? $700 could be a good price or a great price.

I am going over to look at it this evening...which is the most to least desirable importer?

Cimarron would be the best.  They disassemble the rifles/pistols that they get and properly heat treat them, hand-fit the parts and reassemble them.

No they don't. The get them from Uberti and out the door they go. The rumor about them disassembling the rifles/pistols has been around for years but it's not true.



When I had a FFL I sold quite a few Cimarron firearms. Several had to go back cause they were junk right out of the box and I do mean junk that either wouldn't fire or was unsafe to fire.



Doesn't matter who imports the guns, they are all the same and come off the same assembly line.

Taylor's has the best reputation for customer service issues.  Cimarron has taken a lot of flack in years past for not fixing rifles that made it past quality control with various problems.  In my experience with Uberti, Cimarron, and Taylor imported revovlers and rifles, Cimarron had a slightly higher polish on small parts like screws, while Uberti USA firearms were a bit rougher.  Overall quality and functionality was equal with all three companies.

When I was buying my last 'factory' gun I went with Taylor's because, at the time, Cimarron wouldn't sell to your local FFL holder, only 'distributors'.  They wouldn't even quote a measley citizen a factory cost.  I called Taylor's, they quoted me a price, I sent them a check and a copy of my dealer's FFL and I was all set.

To be fair, from what I've heard, Cimarron will now sell to individual FFL dealers, but the 'actual' price of the firearm isn't available to us proles.

I am a big fan. I have a few to include SAAs, cap and balls, 72 open tops and my favorite, the 1860 Henry military. All have been great. About the only "western" gun I like more is my USFA SAA.

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I have the same rifle with a 24" barrel.  Purchased it NIB in '92.  I have used it in countless SASS matches and it has not failed me during competition.

The only part that broke on mine was the "trigger safety spring" and that was a very easy fix.  I would not hesitate to buy another Uberti rifle.

Just make sure to use very good fitting screwdrivers when taking off the side plates.

I would check the auction sites and see what they sold for (not what they are asking for) to get an idea on the price.

It is an EMF imported Uberti.  Beautiful wood and in new unfired condition.  I gave him the $700 he wanted and feel good about it.  Smooth as silk action.

EMF is good stuff. I have two of their 1875 Remingtons.

Read and reread what is said above about screwdrivers. The clones are notorious for having soft screws. I buggered the crap out of the screws on my pistols the first time I took them apart, and I'm no novice to assembly/disassembly.