Cap and Ball revolver newbie....sawweeeet!

R

RJM

New member
So, bought my first cap and ball after thinking about buying one for like 15 years. To many other gun purchases have taken priority for some reason, but now I finally got it. Walked out of the shop with a Traditions 1851 made by Pietta. What really swayed me was a spur of the moment purchase of an Uberti 1851 cartridge conversion. After shooting that, I was surprised at how well it pointed and felt in the hand. I thought it would be barrel heavy, but it really isn't at all. While the cartridge conversion is cool, especially with rounds packed with blackpowder, the cap and ball adds a bit more work and fun....at least I hope. So, what's your opinion on which won should I get next? :D
 
Me too!

I just completed an order for the same thing....1851 steel frame .44 Traditions. I've yearned for a cap and ball for more like 40+ years, but I've never had the expendable income until recently. I just had to make this deal though...$165!

I've always wanted one since handling an original c&b. A highschool friend, a next door neighbor way back when, had some old "smoke poles" in his family. He (his granddad's really) had an 1860 Army (about 75%+ finish) with holster, an 1873 5.5 in. SAA (don't know for sure but I think it was 44-40, (It was about 80% finish), and a trap door Springfield rifle in about 60% finish. If two highschoolers could wear out a firearm by just handling it, they all would be dust and rust by now!
 
Skip the Walker Colt. Had one, found it way too tip heavy for comfort. Instead, if you want a really well balanced Old West hand cannon that has power and comfort, get the 1848 Colt Dragoon, either model 1, 2 or 3. I prefer the 2 since less of them were made, and that distinctive square backed trigger guard hearkens back to the 1847 Walker. The Dragoon is a horse pistol, meant to sit in a saddle holster, not on your hip, but if you want to carry it, a shoulder holster is best. It's huge, powerful, and lobs a .44" ball hard and fast using 50 grains of power. The best combo of power and comfort I have seen in an old Colt. If you want frame strength, go later with Remington, but to me, the square, primitive simplistic line of a Colt say "old West" better than most others. And, Uberti makes the finest quality cap & ball revolvers on average that I have seen. Fili Pietta makes some good, and some very bad (inoperative even!). If you have a nice working Pietta, you're ahead of the pack quality wise. Their QC is all over the place. Enjoy the beauty here: http://www.uberti.com/firearms/dragoon.tpl
 

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I don't have any experience with the traditional-style Colts and Remingtons, but I can say the Ruger Old Army is a very solid gun. Many people say it is the finest black powder revolver one can get. Worth a look, if nothing else.
 
I don't know BP very well, and I don't even know how to find the date my Pietta was made

But I do know something about machines and fit and finish. Seems pretty okey dokey and it makes holes in paper pretty good. Pretty pistol, works well, reasonably accurate and I like it. I wonder how 'perfect' an original 1862 Colt was in 1862, anyway. I wonder if metallurgy, shop standards, and quality control were as good then as what we consider "alright" today
 
Metalurgically, I wonder if most modern reproductions aren't superior. However, after having handled some real, first generation pieces, made on what would now be considered archaic (if not "prehistoric") belt driven machinery, I am awed at the thought of just how skilled the workers in arms plants of the day were! It's obvious that many, many people had extraordinary skill at hand fitting and hand finishing firearms with what we consider basic hand tools. No CNC machines, no laser etching, no magnaflux machines......just basic belt drive machine tools, files, taps and dies........and a whole lot of skill!!!!!!

A memorial ought to be erected for such people.
 
I to have a pietta 58 remmy, and i have had it
years and years and years, and its still going
strong, best b.p smoker i have ever owned.:D

Sod Buster Tried To Pull On Willson.
 
Yep, you're definitely in trouble now! I started with a pair of 1860's, one 8" and one 5½". Then came an 1872 Open Top, now a Richards Type II 1860 cartridge conversion, both .44Colts. Can't decide if next I wanna go 1851 (percussion or cartridge) or Dragoon. Those 4¾" 1851 conversions sure are sweet! I'd go Dragoon over Walker just for the more secure lever.
 
I like the big walkers, but you would think they
would come up with a more secure lever,lots
guys say the same thing, lever drop down after
every shot.:confused::confused:.

Sod Buster Tried To Pull On Willson.
 
Ah

Made in '98, I'm the first to fire it though, only been in use since this summer. original owner never fired it. About 120 rounds through it I guess. Thanks Hawg
 
Well, went out and shot it today. I just love the smell of blackpowder in the morning. It worked well, pretty accurate and just plain fun. Until the end of the shooting session when I noticed it was out of time and the cylinder stop bolt thingy started marking the cylinder pretty bad. I took it apart, cleaned it real well and got all the residue out of it, put it back together and cycled it more. It seems like it is still out of time, the cylinder stop is not hitting correctly still and marking the cylinder fairly bad. I guess I am going to learn how to do some gunsmithing on these older styled pistols because there is noway I am going to stop shooting them. Too much fun.

I think next on the list is an 1861, then one of the saddle guns like a dragoon.
 
And, Uberti makes the finest quality cap & ball revolvers on average that I have seen. Fili Pietta makes some good, and some very bad (inoperative even!). If you have a nice working Pietta, you're ahead of the pack quality wise. Their QC is all over the place.
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I only have the Pietta 1858 New Army so far, but will be adding the 1863 Pocket soon. The Pietta is of very nice quality. Fit and finish very good and the action is at least as smooth as most of the modern cartridge revolvers I’ve handled. In a side-by-side comparison it appears every bit the equal of my friend’s Uberti copy. From what I’ve been reading, this is now to be expected of Pietta.

In any case, BP revolvers are a LOT of fun!:D
 
Shouldn't need gunsmithing as a regular event...do you have a digital camera?
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I am out of town until Sunday, but when I get home I will put up some photos of the cylinder. It looks like the stop bolt is hitting before the cylinder stop fairly hard and marking it up pretty good where the groove starts, if that makes any sense. I also found a little issue with the hand spring, it looks like the end that actually rotates the cylinder is marred up pretty bad. That maybe the source of the problem because it could not be spinning the cylinder when it should. I don't have the gun with me right now, that is all from memory, but it certainly started having issues when I was firing it, didn't come in the box like that. Finish of the gun is pretty first rate and if it wasn't for this little snafu, I would say it is a pretty good gun.

I look forward to shooting it more.
 
During at least the late 90's and into the new century Pietta had a run of poor quality control and 'soft' internal parts (the parts problem started some time in the 80's, I think). They have corrected both and the current Pietta product is nearly on a par with Uberti.

Used Piettas are certainly a risk from the standpoint of being from that poor quality era. Replacing the internal action parts was pretty common on those guns (other Italian makers, including Uberti to some extend had similar problems). RJM's description of the timing problem and the wear on the hand really sound like many other anecdotes about Piettas from that earlier time.

My advice to him would be to first replace all the internal action parts with new ones from VTI Gun Parts or Dixie Gun Works. I would change out the hand/spring assembly, bolt, trigger and trigger/bolt spring. I would polish the wear surfaces and edges of the new parts with a stone before installing them (some filing may also be necessary). I would also polish the hammer face and the bearing area on the bolt cam on the bottom of the hammer. Also, check the full and half cock notches on the hammer for burrs and polish as necessary. Go very carefully with polishing any part of the hammer; it should be at least surface hardened but some of the poorer quality Piettas had hammers with soft surfaces, and it would not take much to remove too much material on one of those soft hammers.

Yes, gunsmithing these guns should not be necessary, but used guns from Pietta's 'dark ages' need it, and a little elbow grease is not a big investment to make in achieving an excellent weapon that should give years of service.
 
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They are all fun IMHO and let you relive history in a small way. I have found the Dragoon is just right for me. Has the heft and recoil dampening qualities of the Walker with a more secure loading lever latch-firing it feels like firing 38 Specials in an S&W N-Frame.
 
Huh. Well I didn't know that about the Piettas. I guess I got lucky with mine. Worst thing to happen so far is caps getting jammed between cylinder and frame.
 
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