.451 or .454

J

jerryv

Inactive
hello i am jerry. new to this forum and new to bp revolvers. i would like to ask a few questions about these guns.
a friend gave me two revolvers. one looks just like the 1858 new army .44 cal in the cabelas catalog. it has no name or #s on it at all. the other one is just like the 1858 new army texas .44 caliber in the same catalog. it has ser # and eie italy on the butt. could these be remington guns? do you think the replacement pistol parts kit jk-21-4052-885 will work in them? also i will cast the balls using melted wheel weights, should i get the .451 or .454 mold?

i have been reading here for a while and have found a lot of helpful information. answers to questions that i didnt know i had. thanks
 
Greetings jerryv, and welcome aboard

Assuming they are replicas in .44s, the correct ball size is .454.
Real Remingtons aren't marked Italy :)
 
Not really advisable to use WW to cast balls for BP. I tried it contrary to what some said, and learned the hard way. They don't seem to want to stay seated once pushed into the cylinder. They want to slide back out after even very light recoil of another round or sometimes just while hanging upside down in the holster and hosteling around. I personally would not suggest WW, find some pure lead.
 
Stick on wheel weights are 99.5% pure lead and work fine. Clip on weights are too hard. Go with the .454 mold. Get a double cavity mold, you'll be glad you did.
 
Welcome to the forum.

The answer to whether or not they're real Remington guns is yes and no. No, they were not manufactured by a company named Remington. Yes, they are a design that's known as the 1858 Remington.

As to the parts kit - there are a number of different manufacturers that produced 1858 Remington replicas. It is generally not a good idea to use parts from one manufacturer in a different manufacturer's gun, simply because they will probably require some handwork to fit properly. For that reason you can expect that the parts in that kit will likely take some work along those lines. That being said, that's likely the best that you can do for spare parts until you find out who manufactured your guns.
 
You should measure the chamber size to determine the best RB size, not all clones use the same RB. Use a RB .006 larger than the chamber opening.

If you can post some pic's we may be able to ID your revolvers. Any marking on them well help also.

Welcome.
 
Welcome to the forum

Jerry,

Great to have you with us.

If you are not able to measure the chamber size, you should look for a ring of lead to be shaved off of the ball during the ramming segment of the loading operation.

This ring should be more or less a complete circle or ring. I find that .454s work in both of my Remington clones. Both of my pistols are manufactured by Armi San Marco and are mid 1970s vintage. Make sure to lube the bullets before loading.

I can recall only one question that was ever posed to this group that didn't get a definitive answer.
 
Hawg

I keep the round balls in a tub that I get Chinese food in. I put about a teaspoon of bore lube in the tub with about a hundred balls. Then I shake it around until the balls are covered with lube.

I used to pick up the balls with my fingers but that is too messy so I made a little tweezers out of poplar to pick them up. Keeps the operation a whole lot less messy.
 
Smartazz
Click to expand...
Well, having gotten that out of my system................:p
So, why lube the balls?
Seriously I've never heard of this till now & I'm curious. I usually use a lubed wad under the ball but can't figure out why I'd lube the ball itself.
 
Seriously I've never heard of this till now & I'm curious. I usually use a lubed wad under the ball but can't figure out why I'd lube the ball itself.
Click to expand...

Me either but you know doc.:D
 
Hawg and Jerry

:DI find that the round balls load about eighteen times (That is an exageration)easier if I lube them. I had an 1851 pattern in .44 that simply would not load unless I lubed the balls. Not even .451s. I bought a replacement cylinder and it was moderately better but still did not want to accept the ball without lube.

I think that every pistol should load using the loading lever. That is to say that no pistol should need to be taken apart and loaded with a press. (My personal opinion). I like using a press and probably will not use the lever on any pistol ever again but a press should not be a mandatory part of the loading process for any pistol (with the right ball and with the ball lubed)

I am one who believes that the loading process (using the lever) might be as hard on a pistol as shooting the pistol and I am especially conscious of this when shooting Colt style revolvers. (Please...don't lets resurrect the Colt versus Remington discussion)

but you know Doc :D
Click to expand...

Hey hey hey! It is great to know I have established a reputation! So what if it is not a good one.?! ;)

I really assumed that everyone lube their round balls as well as their conicals.
 
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Carrying on with this discussion and diverging just a little

This is for Jerry.

You are about to embark on a very addictive process. I never call this a hobby because that cheapens the devotion that most of us feel toward shooting black powder.

When you read any of my posts it is worth while to understand that I never shoot with other folks. I never belonged to a club and never intend to join one. I am one of the very few in the group who purposely shoots alone. It is easy to see that this results in me having some odd ideas about shooting. So the things I know, the practices I use are only those things I have learned over the years by shooting and by reading. My habits work for me but I don't suggest that you adopt my practices without an endorsement from someone else who has had the opportunity to validate the practice with safety and wisdom.

This business of lubing round balls is a glowing example. I thought everyone lubed both conicals and round balls. I have always done it and I started doing it because I read somewhere that all bullets should be lubed but not everyone uses a lubed wad. I do find that it eases the loading process.

I encourage you to read this forum often. Ask questions a lot. Join a group and shoot with others. Above all...shoot safe.

Keep the muzzle down range.:)
 
Hey hey hey! It is great to know I have established a reputation! So what if it is not a good one.?!
Click to expand...

You have a very good reputation here Doc.:cool:

I really assumed that everyone lube their round balls as well as their conicals.
Click to expand...

I generally use lubed wads under the balls and I use the loading lever exclusively. That IS what it was made for after all.:D
 
Same with me! I figured the lube in the wads would provide enough slip to ease loading.

You're using a grease type lube on the balls Doc?

Next time I get to the range I'll try it, why not I might learn something more.:D

I do load with the lever on my 58 Remmy BTW & it could be a little easier on the hand.
 
Just because sometimes I like to be contrary....

Here's a c&b gun that requires the use of a loading press:
657.jpg
 
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