Cap and ball question

O

Ozzieman

New member
I picked up a couple of old Italian built cap and ball colt replica revolvers in a garage sale last week and need some info from an experienced shooter. I shoot a lot of 44 cap and ball but never a 36.
The first appears to be a 1849 colt pocket and the other a 1851 Navy.
Both are broke in that the hammer won’t cock and the cylinder is locked. I have spare parts for colts and will fix them as soon as I get time. The front sight on both is missing and the nipples are flattened. I only gave 50$ for both so what’s to lose.
My question is what kind of charge do 36’s take?
The following markings.
1848 pocket: Made in Italy and several proof marks and HAWES on the side of the brass frame.
1851 Navy: Same as the 48 but no HAWES
 
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They are both brass framed '51 Navies. The shorter one is commonly called a Sheriffs model. For brass frames, your loading should be somewhere between 15 and 20 grains of fffg BP. If you are using T7 you would want to use 18 grains as a max load. Both pistols will work fine with a .375 roundball; although I prefer to use .380 in all my .36 cal C&Bs. My normal .36 cal load for a steel framed revolver is 22 grains fffg BP, lubed wonder wad, .380 RB set off by a #10 Remington cap.
 
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