I bet you guys eat this up

JenniPooh, I think ya done good! I find that I'd rather shoot my cap and ball revolvers even more than my "modern" cartridge-firing handguns! With cartridge handguns you just drop the cartridge in (however it's actually loaded) and pull the trigger, then repeat.

The cap and ball revolver gets one involved in the whole process - measuring and dumping the powder, pressing in the ball, putting the percussion cap on the nipple - and when you shoot it, there's a satisfying BOOM, and SMOKE, and FLAMES and SPARKS shooting out the front! It's a real hoot. (And you spend 30-seconds shooting and 10 minutes in the loading process - so you appreciate the shooting more and spend less money on ammo. Plus, you don't feel obligated to pick up the brass!)

Cleaning it isn't as big a deal as other's are making it out to be. A bucket of soapy water - it's just about like washing the dishes. I don't remove the nipples from the cylinder for each cleaning, either, but maybe about every third or fourth cleaning. And for lube, I use Crisco - same stuff you use when you bake cookies! (For "modern" guns you need all of these smelly, caustic, carcinogenic chemicals to clean 'em.)

And, sure, your husband can load it. Heck, I've got a picture of my (then) 12 or 13-year old daughter shooting my 1860 Army revolver, which is similar to the one you bought for your husband except it's .44 caliber where yours is .36. Maybe YOU should get your husband to show YOU how to load and shoot it, after he get's it down. The family that shoots together stays together, as they say.
 
almost the same thing happened to me and my mother when i was a child. I had a black powder 1851 navy and i did some research on them and i had my mind set on a 1860 army. went to a local gunsmith and purchased one. It was a rotted out piece of crap that he reblued and threw in some new inner parts...well it never worked right and the timing was off / paid 150.00 for it. kept taking it back for repairs until one day he advised it wasn't safe. he would not refund our money, but would give us 150.00 credit on any gun he had on the shelf. Well i had some money saved up and we purchased a nice flat black DA .38 colt army / service style revolver for 500.00. yes it was another rebuilt one and the bore looks like a sponge (all holly). I still have it
I remind you that i was a kid with my mother and we new nothing about guns at the time.
 
That absolute bare bone basics are powder, caps, balls, and a powder measure. then if he wants more he can get it later on, be those are the absolute essentials to making the gun fire.

All this can be had for less than $100 total. its expensive, but it will keep him in business for a while. call local gun shops and see if they have what you need. check both bass pro and cabellas if you have one near you. ( i ordered black powder supplies from bass pro shop and they didn't charge me the hazz. material fee)

and yes it does shoot bullets, you just have to load it yourself. Tell him to watch videos on youtube. its very simple, the manual will explain it was well. just make sure that no matter what happens, you keep that barrel pointed away from any part of your body.

make sure you put some grease on top of each chamber when you shoot to prevent chain fire.

Just be safe and have fun.
 
I bought my husband what I thought was a regular antique replica pistol.
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Hmmm, sounds to me like what you bought IS a replica of a regular antique type pistol. So what you thought was correct. However, maybe you thought you were buying a replica of a cap-n-ball revolver converted to a cartridge revolver. The firearm you bought is a real revolver that shoots. Many of us have the same revolver you bought or similar and love it. I love my 1851 Navy. It shoots beautifully.

Keep in mind just as you would buy cartridges ("bullets") for a modern firearm this particular firearm requires the same components as a cartridge shooting firearm. That is: powder, bullet, ignitor. It's just that for this firearm you buy these three items as separate components instead of the three items combined into one convenient package like a cartridge. The expense isn't any greater for these components and in fact you will be saving money by shooting cap-n-ball style instead of cartridge style.

As far as cleanup I find I spend just as much time cleaning my modern firearms as I do my cap-n-ball revolvers. It doesn't "stink" or smell any worse than using solvents that a modern revolver would use. In fact simple soap and water cleanup is less messy than using solvents like the modern revolvers use.

Rather than run out and buy all the supplies for this firearm I would suggest you give your husband the firearm as intended and have him sign up for this forum. He's going to thank your for pointing him this direction before he fires that first shot.

Guess what....you are probably going to get him addicted to blackpowder cap-n-ball shooting and he's going to want every model made. You won't have a problem figuring out what to get him for Christmas from here on out.
 
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Oh yeah...this is what to expect for the absolute worse case as far as the three components I mentioned:

1. Gunpowder - $25/lb
2. Bullets - $15/100
3. Percussion Caps - $5/100

That 1lb of powder will probably be enough to shoot that revolver over 450 times. That works out to $115/450 rounds or about $0.26 per shot. For a modern firearm you would be hard pressed to find a box of cartridges for a similar cost.

Again, those numbers I gave you are on the extreme high side. I buy those components such that it costs me about $0.16 per shot so shop around for lower prices.
 
1851 Navy in .44???

If was a .36 cal with a steel frame, I would have suggested a .38 Special conversion cylinder. However, I don't think one exists for a 1851 in .44 to convert to .45 LC.

Your best bet would be to get a BP starter kit.


JenniPooh
I bet you guys eat this up
I bought my husband what I thought was a regular antique replica pistol. It's not. It's a 1851 Cofederate Navy .44 Caliber Revolver replica thats made by F.LLI PIETTA. I had no idea that it doesn't use bullets. The b@$t@rd that sold it to me informed me today they don't make bullets for it when I tried to buy a box. It's a blackpowder muzzle loading pistol, instead of bullets I know have to buy a whole list of stuff that'll probly cost as much as the gun. It just so happens the store will not take returns on firearms that aren't broken. It's hard to believe they didn't screw me over because I'm a woman and don't know crap about guns. I need to know what to get to make the gun perform as good as a regular pistol. That is if my husband can even load it, which I doubt. Somebody please help me make this $200.00(and growing) mistake shoot before Christmas!!!!!
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That is a great gift. Go to Cabelas.com and order the small presentation case, it is $30 and get a brass powder flask for 44 caliber, put it all in the presentation case and you will be all set. Let him get caps, powder etc. if he is interested in shooting it. I would love to get that for Christmas. ( I am getting an 1860 Army and the presentation case ) Like your husband, I have a great wife too but she was afraid to pick which one to get so I gave her a little help. Be careful with this I have been shooting for 30 years, bought my first blackpowder pistol last February, now I have 6 of them and enjoy shooting blackpowder much more than cartridge. Blackpowder is a very contagious disease.
 
My guess is that your husband probably won't like the black powder pistol if you thought he wanted a historic replica cartridge pistol. Therefore, I suggest you take it to a local gun store and ask them to sell it for you on consignment.

Then, assuming you still want a historic replica, go for an 1875 Remington Outlaw .45LC (Long Colt), an 1872 Colt Open Top, a Colt Richards-Mason Conversion, or a classic 1873 Cattleman (a 1873 Colt "sixshooter" replica). Uberti of Italy makes versions of all of these and are sold by dealers such as Dixie Gun Works, Cabelas, Bass Pro Shop, Midway USA and others.

If you buy online, you'll have to find a local gun store to receive your order. There is a modest charge for this service, which, by law, you must use.
 
What Raider2000 recommended.

Except you don't really need wads. Your husband can use a .32 ACP or .380 ACP cartridge case glued to a stick and used as a dipper to fill the cylinder with farina, cream of wheat, or cornmeal instead of wads. It's cheaper that way.
 
My guess is that your husband probably won't like the black powder pistol if you thought he wanted a historic replica cartridge pistol.
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I respectfully disagree. Although a BP pistol is a little more maintenance (longer to load, requires cleaning after shooting without exception, etc), it is very addictive. Maybe it's just me, but the more old-school I get, the more fun I tend to have with it. Keep it. Get the necessary items to get out and fire it, and I'll bet he falls in love with the whole era. If not, you can always consign it later for a 45LC or something. But have him TRY it first. You might be surprised.
 
I also think you should keep it. He probably didn't want a cartridge replica for self defense anyway. He wanted something fun and nostalgic. The first time he draws that Pietta, he'll fall in love in love with it.
 
jcowan: That is a great gift. Go to Cabelas.com and order the small presentation case, it is $30 and get a brass powder flask for 44 caliber, put it all in the presentation case and you will be all set. Let him get caps, powder etc. if he is interested in shooting it.
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That is great advice. The presentation case sure will make it look special and a brass powder flash is a nice accent piece to put in there.

After your hubby signs up to this forum and get his questions answered he'll feel confident when he goes out and buys the power, bullets, and percussion caps.
 
I'm betting she was looking for commiseration over being taken advantage of by an unethical gunshop owner. She didn't expect all the positive comments about cap and ball revolvers!
 
<--- 18 C&B revolvers - Montana Cowboy Action Shooting Frontiersman category state champion three years running. Fun to shoot, easy to maintain, and more economical to shoot than most cartridge revolvers. I get black powder for about $12/pound in 25 pound lots and cast my own balls. Fer crissake, stay away from Pyrodex, it's corrosive as all hell. My only problem with the '51 Navy in .44 is no such revolver ever existed until modern times.
 
No kiddin the Lady says she got screwed over by the sales guy because shes a woman and she wanted a cartridge fireing gun for hubby .
Now some are trying to make her life even harder to deal with with tales of what fun he and she will have with this cap & ball gun that will make her run and puke when they enjoy cleaning it . :barf::eek::mad:

Someone even mentioned she should buy a conversion cylinder for it . AND ITS A BRASS FRAME CONFEDERATE NAVY
 
You guy's don't get it do you?


She is not real and this never happened.... Can you spell Troll? :D That's what I think.
 
You guy's don't get it do you?


She is not real and this never happened.... Can you spell Troll? :D That's what I think.
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Her email address doesn't seem to be made up since it's from an ISP and her name is part of it.
I don't doubt that the other name that's part of it is her husband Jamie.
Maybe after X-mas you'd like to email her husband and ask him how much he liked his present? :rolleyes:
 
Husband a gun nut?

I have trouble with this one when you mentioned your husband probably wouldn't know how to load it even if it took uh, bullets. Both blackpowder and cartridge guns use bullets. The difference being the latter uses an assembled package as opposed to installing the individual components, powder, ball , and cap. Is there any experience with firearms in the house? If not, it might be wise to do some investigating. Some ranges offer classes, rentals and the internet and forums yet another choice. If my wife got me a blackpowder pistol I would thank her for adding to my collection but I can't imagine her giving me something I know nothing about. So....

Yeah, you can get a conversion cylinder that requires knowledge of assembly/disassembly (not much, so as not to discourage) so the gun will shoot cartridges (uh, bullets) but ONLY STEEL FRAME REVOLVERS or learn the loading process (again, not complicated) and yeah, you're gonna need some stuff after deciding what method to use and if you don't use wads (look it up) then check for grease loss after two or three shots so you don't trigger a chain fire. Simple and not very expensive.....and I'm a sucker for responding as well. I apologize for the people who had to read this.
 
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