Make: Navy Arms Co., Uberti
Model: 1860 Reb Model Griswold & Gunnison
Serial#: 3585
Year of Manufacture: 1966, XXII Date Code
Caliber: .44 Cal.
Action Type: Single-Action Revolver with 6-Round Cylinder and Loading-Lever.
Barrel Length: 7 1/2" round.
Sights/ Optics: The front sight is a mortised cone. The rear sight is a square notch in the hammer, visible when cocked.
Stock Configuration & Condition: The grip is smooth wood. There are scattered handling marks and compressions. There are no chips or cracks. The right side of the grip has symbol burned into it. Overall, the grips rate in Good condition.
Type of Finish: Blued barrel and cylinder. Case Color loading-lever and hammer. Brass frame and grip frame.
Finish Originality: Original
Bore Condition: The bore is mostly bright and the rifling is sharp. There is very faint erosion. There is some corrosion in the grooves. There is old grease packed in the muzzle. In this writer's opinion the bore rates 7/10.
Overall Condition: The revolver retains about 70% of its metal finish. Much of the brass has tarnished and discolored. The blue and case colors are strong. There is old grease on the packing lever and toward the end of the muzzle. There is rust along the top of the loading lever and intermittently across parts of the barrel. There is a small dent on the upper right part of the muzzle. The action shows operational and handling wear. There is intermittent light oxidation. The screwheads are mostly tooled with strong slots. The markings are lightly worn. Overall, this revolver rates in Good condition.
Mechanics: The action functions correctly. We did not fire this pistol. As with all previously owned firearms, a thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance standards.
Box Paperwork and Accessories: None.
Our Assessment: The Navy Arms "Reb Model 1860" was an early Italian reproduction patterned after the Confederate Griswold & Gunnison revolver, one of the most important Southern-produced handguns of the Civil War. Original Griswold & Gunnison revolvers were .36-caliber, six-shot percussion arms based on Colt's 1851 Navy pattern, distinguished by their round barrels and brass frames; approximately 3,700 were manufactured at Griswoldville, Georgia between 1862 and 1864. Navy Arms offered its reproduction Reb Model with a 7 1/2" round barrel in both .36 and .44 caliber, making this .44 example a legitimate Navy Arms commercial configuration rather than an exact caliber-for-caliber copy of the Confederate original. The XXII Italian proof code confirms 1966 production, placing this revolver among the early generation of Uberti-made Civil War reproductions imported during the height of Centennial-era interest in percussion arms.
This 1966 example retains about 70% of its original finish, with strong remaining blue and case colors contrasted by tarnished brass, intermittent oxidation, localized rust, and honest operational wear. The smooth wood grip remains in Good condition, while the mostly bright, sharply rifled bore shows light erosion and corrosion in the grooves and rates 7/10. The action functions correctly, and its early production date, Navy Arms association, brass-frame Confederate styling, and less commonly encountered .44-caliber chambering give it additional interest beyond that of a typical modern reproduction. This is an appealing early Navy Arms/Uberti percussion revolver for the collector of Civil War reproduction arms or early Italian black-powder imports.
