Looking to get a black powder revolver

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Dragline45

New member
Lately I have been very interested in getting myself a black powder revolver. Before I buy one I was wondering what some of you could recommend for around $350 in .36 caliber? I'm thinking about getting the Uberti 1851 Navy, what do you all think about that particular model or others?
 
Dragline

You would probably do okay with a 51. As an alternative you might want to consider a 58 Reminton in Navy Caliber.
 
The Remington is probably a better choice for a first timer but the Colt wont be that hard to learn.
 
I have two Uberti 1851s. They are great. They will shoot longer than my remingtons do without binding up due to black powder fouling. Colt type revolvers are not a bad choice for your first BP revolver. They are not hard to learn on. The 51 grip fits the hand better with most people than does the Remington grip. The 51 navy, IMHO, balances better than just about any other BP revolver, and they are very accurate. There is a reason that the 1851 navy was one of the most popular revolvers in the 1800s, even after the big .44s were around. Good luck on your purchase.
 
Dragline

I neglected to mention that if you presently shoot cartridge revolvers, you may find the Remington with a shorter barrel is more akin to your experience than the standard barrel.

As regards MJN's comment about binding up, I might add that I went out shooting on Sunday and took along two Remingtons and three Colts. About thirty rounds in I bagen to have trouble getting the Remingtons to release the cylinder pin. I am a pretty clean shooter, load with the cylinder out of the pistol and try to keep the fouling cleaned out and the pin lubricated. Still I had to put one of the Remingtons up before I was finished shooting.

The Colts shot as much as I wanted because as I said, the loading is done with the pistol stripped and wiped each time and with a Colt that generally keeps you going.
 
hmm....$350 is within striking range of a Ruger Old Army. It's not a .36 and it's not an historic reproduction of any gun - but it's a helluva nice black powder revolver.

I'm just sayin'
 
Any particular reason why you'd like a .36 for your first? Just wondering ...
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I just figured since I shoot a lot of .38 special and I assume the .36 balls are cheaper than the .44 balls, not to mention less powder. Also I know some .44 magnum revolvers shoot high at close distances, I just figured at a moderate distance for plinking and range fun that the .36 would do me fine.

I am open to suggestions, if some of you prefer .44 to .36 caliber go ahead and tell me why.
 
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Your reasoning seems sound. I started with .44s because I specifically wanted an 1848 2nd Model Dragoon. After the first, I standardized on .44s because there are more available in .44 than anything else. Colts and Remington clones, and the Ruger Old Army. I also like the hand-filling size of the .44 frames.

But tastes differ. I've not had the pleasure of shooting a .36 yet. Who knows; once I do, I might decide I need to add one (or more) of them to the collection. But for now, I'm quite happy with the .44s.
 
Dragline, the cost of BP rounds isn't like the difference between .38 and .44 magnum. As far as I can tell .36 and .44 ball is about the same price.

The expense of BP revolvers isn't the balls, it's all the other stuff you are going to need (WANT actually) to make it shoot.
You have to have ball, powder and caps to make it work of course But you have to have a method of measuring the powder and delivery. Some use just a flask, but it goes from there. It's another world really.

I like BP revolvers because they are so archaic, historical and interesting. I enjoyed gathering parts and pieces from various sources, making my own loading stands, making my own "over the ball" lube, finding deals on Ebay...etc. Just fun stuff.

I don't know how much you've read about them, but even cleaning a BP revolver is its very own art form.

OJW
 
I like the 44 C&Bs for the main reason that the scorers can better hear the lead strike the steel so fewer false misses are called when they can't see the targets for the smoke. Also I can knock down fallers if they appear (rarely nowadays but earlier in the '90s half the pistol targets were IPSC and the others were big heavy fallers). Besides, the 44s hold more powder for bigger BOOMS!
 
The price difference at "the world's largest outfitter" for .36 caliber and .44 & .45 caliber balls works out to 2¢ per ball - and you can shoot either with 20 grains of powder. Of course, you can also get quite a bit more into a .44 (or .45 as the case may be....

I own both .44 caliber and .36 caliber Remington 1858's and, though they're fun to shoot - I'd personally rather shoot my stainless steel Ruger Old Army any day of the week. To me, it seems a more robust and higher quality firearm, it fits better in my hand, shoots better and I like the sights a whole lot better on the ROA than on even the target model 44 Remmie I own. The biggest drawback for the ROA, in my mind, is that they don't make the damn thing anymore
 
The biggest drawback for the ROA, in my mind, is that they don't make the damn thing anymore.
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Yup ... but I got mine! A 7.5" adjustable sight model and a 5.5" fixed sight, both stainless. And I have my eyes open for a blued 7.5" beater, if there is such a thing.
 
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