1851 or 1861 Navy?

Q

Quincy

New member
I'm thinking about adding one of these to my collection. I shoot BP rifles, but haven't tried cap and ball yet and thought one of these would be a great start. Are there any advantages of the '61 over the 1851 model? Either would be in .36 caliber. Thanks.
 
The 1861 Navy is often quoted as being the most elegant of the cap and ball revolvers.

Ultimately, you'll probably end up with both of them. :)

Steve
 
The only real difference is the 61 uses a creeping loading lever like the 60 army but there's nothing wrong with the lever on the 51.
 
The '51 has a much richer history IMHO. The loading lever is fine on the '51 as well.

Really, I would get whichever you think looks better. Try to handle them before you buy them as well.

Oh, and whatever you do, don't get either one in .44 caliber. Why?

Because there is NO SUCH THING as a .44 caliber Navy!! Those all came in .36 caliber, which is excellent.
 
he 1851 Navy is a great revolver; but, IMNSHO, the 1861 Navy or, as Colt listed in 1861, 'The Improved Belt Pistol of Navy Caliber' is the most beautiful and accurate percussion revolver ever made.

However; to quote maillemaker 'Ultimately, you'll probably end up with both of them.'
 
I've yet to see any real evidence of a '61 Navy out shooting a '51 Navy.

And beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Personally, I think the octagonal barrel on the '51s are even more appealing than the curvaceous lines of the '61, which is also a beautiful gun.
 
Swap barrels!
From a "tune up" point of view, IMHO, the '60 and '61s are easier and less noticeable to reduce the the Cylinder /barrel gap.
The Uberti '51 London I bought last year, 2014 built, came with a good close fit, only had to take care of the arbor shim.
 
The "gap" is really "clearance" because there's no bushing to set a designated gap. So, the barrel/cyl clearance is defined by the arbor.when the arbor dead ends in the barrel assembly. So, it could be anything to nothing (cyl lockup because the wedge is in too far).
All that said, the "gap" or "clearance" could be anything.

I set all mine to .002" . (After "fixing " the short arbor thing)

Mike
www.goonsgunworks.com
Follow me on Instagram @ goonsgunworks
 
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And beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Personally, I think the octagonal barrel on the '51s are even more appealing than the curvaceous lines of the '61, which is also a beautiful gun
Click to expand...

^^^^ THAT! I've had both, and slightly prefer the '61---and prefer
both to the '60 Army.
 
Model12Win hey! (Thanks!)

As far as "which" Navy, I like um both (duh!) but lately, I've come around to the '61 as the best looking! The elegant lines of the '60 without the rebated cyl that "breaks up" the line.

Jim, .002" may be too tight for some revolvers with a gap, but with an open top, the cylinder makes contact with the barrel and is "cleaned" every time it is cycled. It's a clearance, not a gap. Gaps allow for the possibility of lead/fouling to build up and cause problems. Heat could also be a problem where the cylinder can't dissipate it fast enough. Cylinders in open tops generally have plenty of material for heat not to be a problem. Case in point, my Dragoons maintain a .0015 clearance. They are set up with Kirst gated conversions and will eat rounds as fast as you can feed um, for as long as you want (or out of ammo!!)

The tight clearance is the main reason these guns will run all day without binding. Everything that should go out the barrel, goes out the barrel!

Mike
www.goonsgunworks.com
Follow me on Instagram @ goonsgunworks
 
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I have both - the '51 and the '61. Boils down to what you like best. The difference in the loading lever has already been addressed but either model works well. Personally, I like the '51 best mainly due to the rich history of it - Colt produced it up to 1872.

Over the last 50 + years I've probably owned a half dozen or ore of the '51 by different makers. My present one is a Uberti and it's probably the best I've had - with the exception of the original '51 that I learned to shoot with in the beginning.

Either will be excellent shooters and barrels of fun! Good luck! :)
 
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