Matt Wallis
New member
Hey Everybody! ("Hi Dr. Nick!")
Well I recently aquired a Pietta 1851 Navy (.36) and I finally got a chance to shoot it. Of course, I loved it! Heh, heh. I even found that the gun was pretty accurate (once I realized that it was shooting 6 - 12 inches high the way I was aiming it). This is definitely something that I'm going to be sticking with. I'd like to tell you all how it went and maybe get some input on what I could change around, do better, etc.
Well, it was a short session and I ended up shooting about 25 or 30 rounds through the gun. The gun had been cleaned the night before and lightly lubricated. I was using .375 pre-lubed balls and wonder wads over fffg (the real stuff, not pyrodex).
The first five shots I loaded about 17g (my measure is only marked in 5 grain increments) of fffg. All my shots went high at 15 yards. All but one missed the 8x11.5 paper target I was using. Now I think that's because I was sighting wrong, in addition to the sights being factory preset for a farther distance.
After that I switched to 20g of fffg (17g just felt too wimpy!), adjusted how I was using the sights and just plain aimed lower (the bottom of the target or even a few inches below the target). For the next 20 rounds or so I was hitting on the paper 3 or 4 times out of five. Even got one in the bulls eye! Though in all honesty I have to chalk that more up to chance than to my ability. I was shooting two handed, but with no rest.
Through all this I didn't encounter many problems. The one I had heard the most about (caps falling off the nipples) didn't happen at all. The Rem #11 caps I had stayed on just fine. Now, I did have a cap get stuck behind the cylinder after being shot (twice, I think). Pointing the gun up while cocking seemd to help, just like people said it would. The other wierd cap related prolem I had was that sometimes the caps would stay stuck to the hammer! I litterally had to pry them off with a knife (oh yeah, and I got a bad range ettiquette/safety story to go along with that one. My wife had to yell at me! Heh, heh). That happened also about twice (the caps getting stuck, not my wife yelling at me. )
Now, the only lubrication I was using was the light oiling I had given the gun the night before and the wonder wads. That leads me to a couple of questions. First, another guy there shooting BP thought it wasn't safe to use only wonderwads to prevent chain fires. He thought greasing the cylinder over the ball was a must. I told him I had heard mixed advice on that, but thought the wonderwads were supposed to help prevent chain fire. What do you guys think?
Second, by the last time I was loading, it was noticably difficult to cock. Also, though cocking the gun would still advance the cylinder, it couldn't be turned when at half cock (which is where you'r supposed to be able to turn it freely). What can I do to get more shots out of my gun before it starts to freeze up? Is there a lubrication I can actually put on at the range? What do you all recommend?
I'd appreciate any other thoughts and advice you guys might have. Thanks,
Matt
Well I recently aquired a Pietta 1851 Navy (.36) and I finally got a chance to shoot it. Of course, I loved it! Heh, heh. I even found that the gun was pretty accurate (once I realized that it was shooting 6 - 12 inches high the way I was aiming it). This is definitely something that I'm going to be sticking with. I'd like to tell you all how it went and maybe get some input on what I could change around, do better, etc.
Well, it was a short session and I ended up shooting about 25 or 30 rounds through the gun. The gun had been cleaned the night before and lightly lubricated. I was using .375 pre-lubed balls and wonder wads over fffg (the real stuff, not pyrodex).
The first five shots I loaded about 17g (my measure is only marked in 5 grain increments) of fffg. All my shots went high at 15 yards. All but one missed the 8x11.5 paper target I was using. Now I think that's because I was sighting wrong, in addition to the sights being factory preset for a farther distance.
After that I switched to 20g of fffg (17g just felt too wimpy!), adjusted how I was using the sights and just plain aimed lower (the bottom of the target or even a few inches below the target). For the next 20 rounds or so I was hitting on the paper 3 or 4 times out of five. Even got one in the bulls eye! Though in all honesty I have to chalk that more up to chance than to my ability. I was shooting two handed, but with no rest.
Through all this I didn't encounter many problems. The one I had heard the most about (caps falling off the nipples) didn't happen at all. The Rem #11 caps I had stayed on just fine. Now, I did have a cap get stuck behind the cylinder after being shot (twice, I think). Pointing the gun up while cocking seemd to help, just like people said it would. The other wierd cap related prolem I had was that sometimes the caps would stay stuck to the hammer! I litterally had to pry them off with a knife (oh yeah, and I got a bad range ettiquette/safety story to go along with that one. My wife had to yell at me! Heh, heh). That happened also about twice (the caps getting stuck, not my wife yelling at me. )
Now, the only lubrication I was using was the light oiling I had given the gun the night before and the wonder wads. That leads me to a couple of questions. First, another guy there shooting BP thought it wasn't safe to use only wonderwads to prevent chain fires. He thought greasing the cylinder over the ball was a must. I told him I had heard mixed advice on that, but thought the wonderwads were supposed to help prevent chain fire. What do you guys think?
Second, by the last time I was loading, it was noticably difficult to cock. Also, though cocking the gun would still advance the cylinder, it couldn't be turned when at half cock (which is where you'r supposed to be able to turn it freely). What can I do to get more shots out of my gun before it starts to freeze up? Is there a lubrication I can actually put on at the range? What do you all recommend?
I'd appreciate any other thoughts and advice you guys might have. Thanks,
Matt