bp revolvers
- Thread starter oneshot52
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I have several black powder revolvers including both .36 and .44 cal Remington(Pietta) New Army, 1851 Confederate Navy .44 cal, and the New Model Pocket .31 cal. Far and away the best of these is the 1858 New Army and if I had it to do over again it would be the New Army Target(adjustable sights). The Colts(1851 & 1860) have a groove in the top of the hammer that is the rear sight when cocked. I'm not crazy about that. ALSO...with the 1858 New Army you can load your cylinders outside of the frame with the loading stand accessory. I can't tell you how nice that is!
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I have owned the 1861 Navy and the 1858 New Army. I still have the Pietta New Army 1858 .44 caliber target model. With 30 grains of APP 3f and a roundball it is accurate and hard hitting.
The Navy I owned, chain fired on me and stretched the frame. I had it fixed but never trusted it after that. The Army is a little more sturdy. It has the top strap and the cylinders come out for easy loading from a loading stand.
The Navy I owned, chain fired on me and stretched the frame. I had it fixed but never trusted it after that. The Army is a little more sturdy. It has the top strap and the cylinders come out for easy loading from a loading stand.
allow me to suggest this bad boy:
:twisted: :twisted: :twisted:
they are discontinued, but i can put you in touch with a dude who is selling them. i own a pietta 1858 remington brass frame, and just got this old army. there's no comparison quality-wise ... the old army is built like a modern firearm. the piettas use mild steel. the downside to the old army is that its built like a tank and, as such, its pretty dang large and heavy. the italian guns are much leaner and lighter weight.
:twisted: :twisted: :twisted:
they are discontinued, but i can put you in touch with a dude who is selling them. i own a pietta 1858 remington brass frame, and just got this old army. there's no comparison quality-wise ... the old army is built like a modern firearm. the piettas use mild steel. the downside to the old army is that its built like a tank and, as such, its pretty dang large and heavy. the italian guns are much leaner and lighter weight.
I would suggest the 1858 New Army. My latest purchase has been a Cabelas (Pietta) 1858 New Army .44 Caliber Revolver Target model (adjustable sights). It's quite a dandy and seemed like an nice upgrade from my 1851 Navy and 1860 Army models.
The Ruger Old Army is a great BP revolver, but I could not justify the $200 difference in price.
tooldog
The Ruger Old Army is a great BP revolver, but I could not justify the $200 difference in price.
tooldog
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I have a very nice stainless Ruger Old Army with adjustable sights I would like to sell. PM me if interested.
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Today I took my 1858 New Army .44 caliber (Pietta) Remington model six shot revolver out. I had run out of APP 3f, so I decided to try some Triple Seven 3f in place of it. Also I was running low on wads, so I took a 1/2 in hollow hole punch and pounded out about fifty 100% wool felt wads out and used them when I ran out of the store bought.
I have a cylinder loader and it was working perfect. 30 grains of Triple Seven 3f, then a wad, then a .451 roundball and then I greased the cylinders shut with homemade lube. I also used Remington#10 caps. I never had a single misfire today.
The first round out of that revolver was a lot different then with APP. The recoil and the smoke was much more apparent. Nothing I could not control, and nothing like shooting a Ruger Redhawk .44 mag, but it was a lot more of a kick then with the APP.
Accuracy was different also. The revolver shot high. I was shooting at 25 yards, and it was hitting very high. So I lowered the POA and then started loading the main bull of the target. I also noticed a huge difference between rested shooting off my shooting sticks, and the old fashion target free hand aiming style. Resting was much more accurate. And I used to be a good shot the other way. Just goes to show what happens when you don't practice.
I shot a total of 30 rounds. On the third loading I noted the revolver was almost impossible to remove the cylinder as the locking pin that goes through the cylinder into the face of the trigger area was so fouled, that I could not hardly get it to back out of the cylinder. After cleaning the parts with some water and soap, all was well, but by the next loading it was necessary to clean again. This is not the case with APP.
Off a rest, with the target sights on the revolver, I could hold between a 3-4 inch group at 25 yards. Also with the Triple Seven, I suspect this thing would have enough power at that range to kill a deer, if the ball was placed properly. Free hand was a different matter. We did a little wandering on the target free hand style. But it was a lot of fun shooting. The weather was perfect, the smoke from the gun exciting, the noise.. just a good way to spend an afternoon.
I have a cylinder loader and it was working perfect. 30 grains of Triple Seven 3f, then a wad, then a .451 roundball and then I greased the cylinders shut with homemade lube. I also used Remington#10 caps. I never had a single misfire today.
The first round out of that revolver was a lot different then with APP. The recoil and the smoke was much more apparent. Nothing I could not control, and nothing like shooting a Ruger Redhawk .44 mag, but it was a lot more of a kick then with the APP.
Accuracy was different also. The revolver shot high. I was shooting at 25 yards, and it was hitting very high. So I lowered the POA and then started loading the main bull of the target. I also noticed a huge difference between rested shooting off my shooting sticks, and the old fashion target free hand aiming style. Resting was much more accurate. And I used to be a good shot the other way. Just goes to show what happens when you don't practice.
I shot a total of 30 rounds. On the third loading I noted the revolver was almost impossible to remove the cylinder as the locking pin that goes through the cylinder into the face of the trigger area was so fouled, that I could not hardly get it to back out of the cylinder. After cleaning the parts with some water and soap, all was well, but by the next loading it was necessary to clean again. This is not the case with APP.
Off a rest, with the target sights on the revolver, I could hold between a 3-4 inch group at 25 yards. Also with the Triple Seven, I suspect this thing would have enough power at that range to kill a deer, if the ball was placed properly. Free hand was a different matter. We did a little wandering on the target free hand style. But it was a lot of fun shooting. The weather was perfect, the smoke from the gun exciting, the noise.. just a good way to spend an afternoon.
I've owned several bp revolvers over the years, and always end up selling them. Love my rifles, but the revolvers are just too much work for me. Like the look an feel of the army / navy open-tops, but loading and cleaning are a pain. Someday when I've got some extra cash, I'm going to buy one of the Cimmaron open-tops made for smokeless in 38 or 44. Right now I'll just stick with my Blackhawk.
