Pedersoli Model 86/71 45-70: good or problem child?

[kcub]

This thread has me concerned about this make/model/caliber. Either it is hit or miss, an early problem that got fixed (serial# cutoff?), or a faulty assumption that a design built around the .348 Winchester would work for 45-70 and does not.

I already had an Italian problem child rifle (Chiappa 92 44 mag) and don't want to repeat that horror.

 

[stubbicatt]

Yes. I've read of NSB's issues. Had two that wouldn't work.

There was one here at the LGS which looked beautiful. He talked me out of it. It was very beautiful. Like a willing supermodel which one suspects of carrying a social disease, I just had to walk away, but it wasn't easy.

I don't need the heartache.

I asked NSB and others the same question, has the manufacturer rectified the issues, is there a serial number range to avoid, etc. There was no definitive answer.

Another oddity is that the rifle itself isn't really an 1884, but a sort of hybrid action, combining elements of an earlier model. I didn't fully understand, but determined for my own uses I would seek a Miroku Browning instead. I haven't found it yet.