cap and ball revolvers, should i go stainless?

Nope, I use 25 grains in my 51
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Interesting.

The guy that sold me my 51 told me not to worry about the brass frame since the 51 can't take a heavy enough charge to beat it up that bad.

LOL!
Not that it mattered..
The innards of mine busted a long time before I'd shot enough rounds through it to test the guy's story!

I bought my 51 from The Log Cabin down in Lodi, Ohio back in 1970-something. 73 maybe?
 
I remove the grips and boil my BP pistols in soapy water. I rinse them completely and place the parts on the open door of a warm oven then oil them while still warm. I've never seen any rust.

The only issues that I've ever had were from broken action springs that bias the hand and bolt. The gun was 53 years old and had been fired a lot. Stainless steel frame, grip and cylinders would not have prevented those problems as the springs are ferrous metal and subject to rust.

When the gun fires, salt in the smoke gets into every nook and cranny of the gun and the boiling removes it.

From my experience, SS is not necessary and it takes from the authentic appearance of the pistol.

Flash
 
The guy that sold me my 51 told me not to worry about the brass frame since the 51 can't take a heavy enough charge to beat it up that bad.
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This is a .36 Remington but makes no difference. Imprinting the cylinder ratchet into the recoil shield is the first sign. Keep going and you have a pretty paperweight.

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When the gun fires, salt in the smoke gets into every nook and cranny of the gun and the boiling removes it.
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I never felt the need to boil one.
 
Wow! That's pretty beat.
My 51 is already a pretty (temporary) paperweight due to the broken pieces inside.
I can get the parts from Dixie Gun Works to fix it, but, I've never gotten around to ordering them.
Maybe one of these days.
 
i have no interest in any of the brass models unless i wanted little more than a wall hanger... right now im not sure if i want an 1851 london navy, or 1860 army
 
Just pick one, it doesn't matter which one. You're going to wind up with both anyway. Trust me on that.;)
 
Personally I feel that the 1860 is the best of the cap and ball revolvers with the 51 a very close second. They both have great looks but the 1860's grip is made for my hand and points like a finger.

I bought my 1851 in 44 caliber and looking back I regret not sticking with 36. I like historical accuracy.
 
Ballistol is good stuff but nothing cuts bp fouling like water. I remove the grips and cylinder and dunk all the metal in hot soapy water. A bore mop is better than patches for cleaning. A couple of passes is all it takes for the bore to be shiny clean. An old toothbrush for the nooks and crannies. I do the action first and let it drain while doing the cylinder. Then spray everything out liberally with WD-40 followed by Remoil in the action and Bore Butter in the bore and chambers. Reassemble and wipe down with whatever oil is handy. It sounds like a long drawn out process but really only takes a few minutes. I spend more time cleaning smokeless guns.
 
well, i see many people are discussing cleaning.. so heres a question, i notice the inside of these revolvers get pretty cruddy... the fouling gets everywhere even inside the mechanisms that require removing the frame, trigger guard, and internal components to clean.... will hot water dissolve this stuff and wash it away or will it still need to be disassembled and wiped off as well?

another thing id like to say is im going to collect a few cap and balls, and some later cartridge revolvers and rifles too... decided ill get an 1873 saa, 1873 rifle, 1875 remington in .44 special, an open top or 1860 conversion revolver in .44 colt / .44 russian (which i can trim .44 special to), as well as a henry rifle.....

i know its off topic from cap and ball, but how does the idea of getting the henry, 73 rifle and pistol, and 75 in .44 special, the open top/conversion revolver in 44 russian/colt... and then cut some of the 44 special brass to the length of 44 colt or 44 russian, and use the equivelant reloading data for 44 colt OR 44 russian loads, and use these in the weaker designs such as the henrys and open tops.... reserving the full length cartridges for the firearms that can go much hotter?

this way, ill only need to stock up on 44 special brass, .430 bullets, have a shorter one for weaker designs, a much hotter one for the stronger designs, with a clearly visible difference between the two as a safety precaution to prevent loading something too hot in a design thats too weak, as well as safe lots of money on reloading equipment and supplies
 
Some people disassemble every time they clean but its not necessary. Just swishing the action around in soapy water will remove it. I generally tear mine down once a year or so.

You can cut down 44 special brass. Uberti makes open top revolvers in .44 special. If you buy the factory revolver you'll be ok with flat based bullets but if you do the conversion yourself you will have to use hollow based or heeled bullets. The Henry is the only one you listed that cant be had in .44 special. There were supposed to have been some made several years ago but nobody I know has ever seen one.
 
actually, looking through cimarron i can get everything in 44 special which is what i might do including a '66 henry... uberti makes an 1873 winchester in 44 mag as well... could get the 1873 and 1892 lever actions in 44 mag and have the option of 44 specials with it.... have 44 mag for hunting in the lever actions, 44 special in everything else i guess...

i notice standard pressure .357 magnum and standard pressure .44 special put out about the same amount of kinetic energy in the load data i was researching in similar barrel lengths, 357 being higher pressured and 44 special having the larger capacity.. i thought the special would be a good, more modern, easier to reload analog to the .44-40

i thought about converting a revolver myself but it would cost so much more than just buying one

anyway, to be on topic again, i have a feeling ill end up getting a '60 army first because i still have a lot of supplies left over from when i had an 1858 remington
 
right now im actually researching some typically overlooked models that most people dont know of... until a few days ago i didnt even know of these either... theyre the roger and spencer revolver and the starr revolver... i might get one of these just to have a real curio to play with
 
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