New 1858 Remington Pietta for Christmas. I have comments AND questions.

T

The Red Hot Rider

Inactive
Wow!! I think I Have just rejoined the legions of the followers of the holy black! My wife purchased an 1858 Remington revolver from Cabela's for me for Christmas. Isn't life much easier when you have a great wife? Yesterday I totally disassembled the gun and cleaned it and loaded it and shot two cylinders through it. I was very impressed at the accuracy of the gun out of the box. I was shooting without support at about 10 yards and making one ragged hole.

Now, after praising the pistol, I have to talk about the starter accessory kit that I also purchased from Cabela's. It is crap! I would not recommend it to anyone. The in line capper broke almost immediately and the nipple wrench wore out not long after.

However, I am very satisfied with the gun. It makes me want to break out my old Thompson muzzleloader and start shooting it again. I think I can see you more cap and ball revolvers in my future. I am thinking about purchasing a colt navy or army maybe for next Christmas.

I do have a question for you guys. What is the best way to clean the inside of the cylinders? I tried swabbing and I also tried a brass brush.

What is the best and appropriate use of bore better? I used it to seal the ends of the chambers after I had loaded a bullet in each one. For cleanup I disassembled the gun and used break free for cleaning and Remington oil for oiling. I have heard that some people apply a liberal coat of bore butter all over the gun. What do you guys use/do.

I loaded this gun with about 23 grains of Pyrodex P in each chamber of the cylinder. This was a very nice load and seemed quite accurate. I am not a person who likes to push the limits of their firearms, but how much do you think could be reasonably applied to this gun if I ever wanted higher velocities from it? In other words, I want to know how much powder can I put in this gun and not risk blowing it apart.

One last question. Is this gun legal for sass matches? I have recently traded some guns and procured a full set of firearms that would be appropriate for sass. I got a hold of two Ruger vaquero's one Rossi M 92 lever action and a century arms double-barreled shotgun. I think it would be fun to sometimes use the cap and ball revolver with one of the Vaqueros in a match instead of using both vaqueros. Is this legal?

Thanks very much in advance for any answers, advice and information you guys can give me.
 
questions

Bore butter in natural state is really a little thin for over ball lube.
I have not used overball lube in 35 yr. Loaded right really not necessary.
Some / most people today
load your powder, use a dry or lubed wad seat your ball, shave a nice ring of lead the cylinder is sealed. cap and shoot.
If you are going to leave the gun loaded a long time, a dry wad as lubed can degrade the powder.
You can use bore butter to lube a dry wad.
Some people will make a cardboard wad from a cereal box, put it on the powder and then the lubed wad.
I make paper cartridges and use lubed conicals, So when Ido use a wad it is dry. Mine stays loaded dor months at a time sometimes.
You can also make your own lube. Easiest is Beeswax and lard (tallow).
Every body has their favorite cleaning method.
I pull the nipples once when new. use antisieze on the threads, then remove them once a year or so, becacause if the hole is clear it's clean
I use a dish/ bowl deep enough for the cylinder to sit in up and down.
I use pure rubbing alcohol. fill just ove 1/2 deep soak all the small parts in it.
wipe clean and dry.
same with cylinder soak then swab with q tips or a cleaning patch with a slotted tip jag. rarely a small bore brush.
Before I shoot, I remove the trigger guard and fill the cavity with (bore butter will work)patch grease (no longer made). this way fouling can't get in there to start with.
I clean it out maybe once a year.
I also put some in the cavity at base of hammer when cocked and uncocked.
then a very dine film in the hammer slot and on the sides of hammer.
fouling just wipes away usually.
you can wipe the exterior surfaces with just about any good gun oil or the bore butter. Me I don't. My holster gets wiped down now and then with saddle soap (mink oil) and or neatsfoot oil, inside and out. This keeps the exterior of the gun coated
The bore of barrel a very light coat of Bore butter will work, or a Black Powder lube / oil.
Petroleum based products and BP don't mix well together.

25 to 30 gr usually produces a nice load. No excessive recoil, but yet allows for good velocity and accuracy. These guns are not magums and don't need to be.
Also I never use a "filler". load enough powder it isn't needed.
Have fun with it!!


Wow!! I think I Have just rejoined the legions of the followers of the holy black! My wife purchased an 1858 Remington revolver from Cabela's for me for Christmas. Isn't life much easier when you have a great wife? Yesterday I totally disassembled the gun and cleaned it and loaded it and shot two cylinders through it. I was very impressed at the accuracy of the gun out of the box. I was shooting without support at about 10 yards and making one ragged hole.

Now, after praising the pistol, I have to talk about the starter accessory kit that I also purchased from Cabela's. It is crap! I would not recommend it to anyone. The in line capper broke almost immediately and the nipple wrench wore out not long after.

However, I am very satisfied with the gun. It makes me want to break out my old Thompson muzzleloader and start shooting it again. I think I can see you more cap and ball revolvers in my future. I am thinking about purchasing a colt navy or army maybe for next Christmas.

I do have a question for you guys. What is the best way to clean the inside of the cylinders? I tried swabbing and I also tried a brass brush.

What is the best and appropriate use of bore better? I used it to seal the ends of the chambers after I had loaded a bullet in each one. For cleanup I disassembled the gun and used break free for cleaning and Remington oil for oiling. I have heard that some people apply a liberal coat of bore butter all over the gun. What do you guys use/do.

I loaded this gun with about 23 grains of Pyrodex P in each chamber of the cylinder. This was a very nice load and seemed quite accurate. I am not a person who likes to push the limits of their firearms, but how much do you think could be reasonably applied to this gun if I ever wanted higher velocities from it? In other words, I want to know how much powder can I put in this gun and not risk blowing it apart.

One last question. Is this gun legal for sass matches? I have recently traded some guns and procured a full set of firearms that would be appropriate for sass. I got a hold of two Ruger vaquero's one Rossi M 92 lever action and a century arms double-barreled shotgun. I think it would be fun to sometimes use the cap and ball revolver with one of the Vaqueros in a match instead of using both vaqueros. Is this legal?

Thanks very much in advance for any answers, advice and information you guys can give me.
Click to expand...
 
Stay away from bore brushes! Unlike modern arms you have to reverse the direction while the brush is inside the bore of the chamber & one day you will get stuck.:p

You don't specify caliber but for my .44 I use a .45 bore mop. you could do the same for a .36 with a .357 & so on. wet mop, spin, dry & follow up with a couple of dry patches. Wash the mop at home & dry for next time.

I use modern synthetic oils for everything except the bore, center pin & places in direct contact with flame from firing. Those I lightly swab with a b/p paste lube like bore butter, wonderlube 2000 & so on when firing. For storage I use the same oil as a rust preventative. Don't use petroleum-based lubes where the flame will go directly as it carbonizes into a horrible, hard to remove glaze. To prepare for firing I swab with alcohol to remove the oil & lightly use the greases for firing.
 
See? The thing about not using brass brushes is exactly the sort of thing that I need to know. I am relatively new to this. Thank you so much, gentlemen.
 
Rem 1858 vs 1851 Steel Frame Navy vs 1860 Colt from Cabela's

I have been having a hard time deciding between the above Pietta revolvers.

Hem and haw.

I finally decided on the 1851 Navy after reading the online Cabela's reviews.

I was really leaning to the 1858 Rem (but read from many sources that the cylinder loads up heavily with powder residue, restricting cylinder movement) or the Colt 1860 Army and both are very heavy to carry (I guess that is why they were used primarily in pommel holsters because of the weight).

I decided upon Cabela's Pietta 1851 Navy .36 steel frame pistol. Ordered it online today for $199 + tax + $5 shipping. 8-9 weeks out. I wish it had the squareback trigger guard like the original Colt 1st thru 3rd models (the 4th model had the small rounded trigger guard) and Uberti sold the 1851 many years ago with the square guard. No longer.

I rely a bunch upon Norm Flayderman's expertise. My latest edition is his 5th from many years ago.

I like all three guns and wish I had the money for all of them.

Good luck with your purchase!

Jim
 
Disassemble the pistols and dunk it in a hot bath of regular Dawn dish washing liquid, using a bore mop to wash the chambers of the cylinder and barrel. Dry it and lube it up. The cheapest and an effective way to clean these. When I shoot the first cylinder I do top the chambers with beez wax and tallow lube, after that it's just a lubed wool wad between the powder and ball.
 
You want to really scrub those chambers out on a new gun to get all of the packing grease out and pop a cap on each one before you load it up for the first time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top