Armi San Marco made Walker imported by Dixie Gun Works

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ClemBert

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I saw a Colt Walker replica made by Armi San Marco and imported by Dixie Gun Works today at a gun show. The backstrap, trigger guard, and loading lever appeared to be plated silver. The grips had a gold colored eagle embedded in them near the bottom of the grip. The gun appeared to be unfired and still had packing grease around the nipples. It was available for $325 and came with the original box.

I wanted to know from you Walker experts your opinion on the value or worth of obtaining this specimen. Am I better off going with a new Uberti made Walker for $355 or does this old ASM Walker have any value above and beyond what a new Uberti is worth? I don't know if the gold eagle grips or the silver platting is something to be desired or not. Additionally, I'm interested in knowing if you feel the Uberti is superior in fit and function versus the ASM I saw today.
 
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mykeal

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IN GENERAL, Uberti Walkers are better in fit, finish and function than ASM Walkers. HOWEVER, it is possible to get an ASM that's well made and will compete with a Uberti, and it's also possible to get a Uberti that's a lemon. It's impossible to say where any given gun will fall in regard to such a comparison. The ODDS favor getting a good Uberti, by quite a bit, in my opinion.

BTW, the 'function' comparison is based on comparing my guns; I own a Uberti Walker and an ASM Walker, and the Uberti is a superior shooter. This is due to the fact that the Uberti has a much better chamber to bore lands/grooves match than the ASM. The Uberti chambers are 0.001" larger than the barrel grooves, while the ASM chambers are 0.007" smaller than the barrel grooves.

I'm not aware of any collector value for the ASM you describe. It may have been a special order for Dixie, but there's no group collecting such guns that I'm aware of. I think the Uberti would be the better buy.
 
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Fingers McGee

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What Mykeal said. One other point. If something should happen and you break the ASM, you may not be able to fix it easily. Parts are a whole lot easier to get for a Uberti.

FM
 
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madcratebuilder

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As far as comparing fit and function it's a roll of the dice. Some are better than others. ASM did have a period of soft metal for the internal parts. Hands would wear fairly quick. All the soft issues can be corrected with kasenit, small parts breakage should not be a major problem as other manufacturers parts are very close and in many cases can be hand fit. If you have a major component break that could be a problem.

The silver back strap and trigger guard is not correct for a Walker. It is possible this ASM may have some collector possibilities. I would contact Jim Davis about that.

If you are wanting a shooter, I would pass, and I would talk to Jim before I bought as an investment. I think I have seen that model before, not bad looking but a gun that never was.
 
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sebou

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Hello
Usually Uberti made revolver with more quality than ASM, as the comments says. However some ASM product before 1980 are goods, specially Walker model.
The best thing to do that you need have the revovler in your hand to see it before your order to buy.
Each black powder revovler need to be "work yourself" to ajusting mecanic parts. You also can buy Pietta or Uberti set to put into your ASM if you need to replace broken componnent.
325$ with the box, that not really expensive, while revolver alone could be selling around 200$ in 1990 in France (ASM). If you can get it and show all parts, and if that ok for you, i think that all right.
The price of the Uberti 1847 is ok and the same in France actually, and there more chance to have a nice revovler.
However, all Italian manufacturers had 2 kind of business productions : Normal quality into the European business ans High quality into USA dealing business. This fact is important about my opinion to give you the best for your question.
Best regards,
Seb
 
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ClemBert

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Thanks y'all. I'm going to go with an Uberti. Like you said I don't want to have to deal with finding replacement parts. If the ASM was $250 I may have gone for it but with a difference of only $30 plus shipping I think I'll take my chances on an sight unseen Uberti.
 
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madcratebuilder

New member
sebou said:
all Italian manufacturers had 2 kind of business productions : Normal quality into the European business ans High quality into USA dealing business. This fact is important about my opinion to give you the best for your question.
Best regards,
Seb
Click to expand...

Are the revolvers you get in France really that much of a lesser quality? That's not right! I know in Europe there are many different models that are not available here in the states. I didn't know that there was a difference in quality.

So Seb, is black powder revolver shooting a popular hobby in France? I have always thought of Europe as being a very restrictive on fire arms. Maybe I watch too many James Bond movies.
 
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ClemBert

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I ended up going with a Cabelas purchase of all places. I didn't think that would be my source as the last time I checked Cabelas they wanted $419.99. I discovered that Cabelas lowered the cost of the Uberti Walker back down to $399.99 which is where it was all of last year. Then, I realized I had $15 in Cabelas Club points, a $100 gift card I paid only $80 for (so free $20 from that), and a $75 off coupon from Cabelas for a $500 purchase. All in all $110 worth of discounts for having done nothing special. I ended up buying some primers and powder. That got my purchase up over $500 to qualify for the $75 coupon. So $20 of my $110 went to HAZMAT fees. So in the end it was like getting a virgin Uberti Walker for $310 after using the other freebie credits. Not too shabby and better than that ASM deal I asked y'all about.

I ended up buying about $200 worth of powder and primers. I figured that same purchase would have cost me another $40 if bought locally at the Gander Mountain. Oddly, the costs of these reloading components were selling at the weekend gun show for that same everyday price of Gander Mountain. Why I bother going to the gun show I haven't a clue. I suppose the $9 I spent to get in the door is for 3 hours worth of entertainment similar to going to the cinema.
 
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madcratebuilder

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Sounds like you cut a good deal. Nice thing about Cabela's is you can return your items with out question. That can be important when dealing with these revolvers in the odd chance you get a lemon. Look it over close and don't hesitate to return it if not satisfied.
 
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bprevolver

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ASM Walker

ClemBert,

Was the Walker marked Dixie Gun Works on the barrel? What kind of box was it in? Armi San Marco made all kind of variations in their big revolvers. The silver back strap & trigger guard was a "Civilian Model" in the replicas. If I had seen it I would have bought it if were marked Dixie Gun Works. I have one NIB Uberti from Dixie with their markings. Dixie Gun Works marked revolvers are already bringing higher price. Dixie used ASM, Uberti, and Palmetto revolvers that are marked Dixie Gun Works.
 
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ClemBert

New member
The barrel was marked Dixie Gun Works. I didn't see the box but rather the dealer told me he had the original box for it. I didn't spend too much time looking over every last detail of the firearm but I looked enough and remember enough to know that the quality didn't seem quite as good as the Uberti Walker I just received yesterday. However, my interest stemmed from the fact that it had the silver grip and backstrap and an eagle emblem in the grip. I thought that perhaps it was a special ASM and thus worth the $325 pricetag. Either the plating job was bad or the plating needed to be cleaned up as it was splotchy in places.
 
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