Pietta 1860 Army - why not approved?

[lkmcd1]

I am new to this forum and I only recently recently became aware of the shooting activities of the NSSA which I'm excited to get involved in. I will be going to Winchester in a couple weeks to observe all the activities. I have a question about a gun I currently own, a a Colt 1860 Army Pietta revolver (Cabela's). I have looked over the approved gun list and recognize that it is not approved for competition. Could anybody tell me why it has not been approved? To my eye it looks very comparable to the Uberti of the same model which is approved. Also, the process for approval was discussed in this forum, but I could not find out if a Pietta 1860 Army has been approved in the past.

Thanks for the help
Larry

[Edwin Flint]

Not sure, but it is likely it has never been submitted to the small arms committee for approval by an importer or pietta. If it meets specs, it can receive an individual approval.

[John Holland]

Larry,

The reply from Ed Flint is correct. The Pietta replica of the Colt 1860 Army has never been submitted to the Small Arms Committee (SAC) for consideration of being granted a N-SSA Production Approval. This process requires an arm to be in the possession of the SAC for an unspecified period of time for inspection purposes, and then submitted to the N-SSA's Board of Directors at a regularly scheduled Board meeting for their approval, and then returned to the manufacturer, importer, or individual owner.

When an arm is listed in the Approved Arms List that means you can buy it "off the shelf" and use it in the N-SSA's competitive matches with no questions asked. If an arm is not included in the Approved Arms List it can be submitted to the SAC for consideration of an Individual Approval. If it meets the criteria (the dimensions, caliber, etc. are within +/- tolerance of an original) the competitor will be issued a Small Arms Individual Approval Card.

Welcome to the N-SSA, and I hope you will be on the firing line before too long!

JDH

[Maillemaker]

I just bought one of these with a work bonus. Didn't know it wasn't N-SSA approved. That's OK though, since I shoot my 1858 Remington for N-SSA anyway.

Would you guys like to borrow this gun for inspecting it an approving it? The only thing I've done is knock out the original front sight and replace it with a taller one. I still have the original front sight I could send along with it.

http://www.4thla.com/articles/1860_sight/1860_sight.htm

http://www.4thla.com/articles/1860_sight/IMG_0843_small.JPG

Steve

[lkmcd1]

Thanks all for the feedback.
John, your response helps me understand the situation better regarding the approval process. It is surprising to me that Pietta didn't directly apply for an approval right from the start which would only benefit them ... oh well.
Steve - I hope someone takes you up on your offer!
I am going to email Pietta and ask them if they can submit a gun for approval. I will post their response if I get one.
Thanks again
Larry

[John Holland]

Larry,

Since the N-SSA does not have an import license, we deal with the domestic vendors who handle the import end of the process. The importer then gets credit for submitting the arm.

Maillemaker - Thank you for the generous offer, but we would rather not be shipping your personal arm around the country.

John Holland
Chairman, SAC