new 1860 army

MEATSAW said:
why do you think the Pietta from Cabela's needs tuning on the sear?
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You very seldom need to touch the sear. Most Pietta revolvers I have had my hands on suffer from a deep sear notch cut in the hammer. This gives you a lot of creep that can feel very gritty. Two quick solutions are fill the back of the notch with some JB to limit how deep the sear resets. The best method is drill and tap for a set screw. That gives you an adjustable sear stop.
 
Madcrate,when you drill and tape for a set screw are you concerned with the possibility of it backing out and causing an unsafe hair trigger? Loctite? Blue?
With the hammers being hardened do you have any trouble drilling and taping?
I diamond file the front portion of the full cock notch at an angle annd that creates a new sear let off point. A line across the notch surface wwhere it changes angle so when the sear gets past the line the angle of the surface lets the sear go. Gets rid of the creep(most al of it).
The angle of the Pietta full cock notch is usually already good to go so I seldom change that.
Anywhoooo....I leave the rear most part of the notch as it was and as deep as the tip of the sear(trigger) is thick or 3/4's as deep as the sear is thick.:eek:
 
I wouldn't work on smoothing the action much. See how the action settles in after at least 100 shots. Just learn the basics and enjoy it for now.

.457 balls will be fine with your revolver. You will find them very slightly more resistant to seat than a .451, of course, but as long as the ball is made of pure lead, or nearly so, the slightly larger diameter won't be a problem.

I use .454 and .457 balls in all my .44 cap and ball revolvers. The Ruger requires a ball of at least .457 inches. I've heard of some guys going to .460 inch.

From what I've observed, the slightly larger balls give a little edge in accuracy. Ignition seems to be better too. Because a larger ball will have a wider bearing band against the inner chamber walls, it's more resistant to movement from recoil, and provides a wider surface area for the rifling to grip.
See my sticky, "So You Want a Cap and Ball Revolver" for more information.
 
New 1860 Army

I'm the newbee to the forum. I always thought .457 rd ball was for the .45 cal pistol's like the ruger old army. I would like to have the cylinder's on all six of my Pietta's chamfered. there's not a smith around me that's willing to do it. If I knew how I would give it a try, than, wouldn't have to shave any rings off the rd ball when there pushed into the chamber. I do have to say, I'm a pietta fan. My seventh pistol is Uberti. I've wanted a walker for a long time, but had to make up my mine as to go with the walker, or one of the dragoon models. I went to a shop here where I could see, and handel the pistol myself. I went with the walker. I must say, this is one heck of a pistol. I must say after looking over all the Uberti's he had in the case, there were a couple in there that made me realize, I will stay a pietta fan. One of my 1858 army model's is over 20 yrs old, and I've fired over 1000 rds through it. that pistol has just started getting broke in good. And I get all my black powder pistol's from Cabela's. you just cant beat the sale's they have. Sorry fellows, this all started over a .457 round ball. :confused: :D

P.S Two of my pietta's are 1860s 8" and 5.5". They have a home. :eek:
 
When chamber are chamfered to not shave lead it isn't as easy as it sounds. There has to be two chamfers cut to not shave lead or one "way too wide and deep" of a chamfer.
When there's one chamfer then there is an edge deeper in that shaves lead so then that lower edge then needs chamfered. Makes more of a funnel to the opening. Makes for having to seat the balls a little deeper and loose powder capacity.
The plungers concave edge is there to push lead against the chamber walls anyway so shaving a ring isn't a bad thing.
Most of the chambers are a little tapered anyway in the Italian guns.
The best thing to do is ream the chambers to ,at least. be the same diameter as the barrels groove diameter. Makes for more consistant accuracy.
 
Chamber chamfering is not a necessity but a convenience. It makes the pistol easier to load since the ball is already "down in the chamber" a bit.

As with most black powder guns, it ain't rocket science and does not need to be treated as such.

A couple of turns of a LEE case chamfering tool in each chamber will break the sharp edge of the chamber mouth and allow a nice easy loading.

Is it exact? NO!

Does it need to be exact? No!

Does it work? Yes!

All of my competition guns are thusly treated.

Let me lay something else on you.

When I first started SASS competition with C & B pistol I shot Remingtons. Because the Italian guns have short triggers ie do not fill the trigger guard from top to bottom, I frequently pinched my trigger finger between the toe of the trigger and the trigger guard. I occasionally came up with some impressive blood blisters. I switched to the 1860 Armys and had the same results.

What if the trigger were just a tiny bit longer?

I bought a spare trigger, put the curved portion into my vise and squeezed, listening for the dreaded ping of the metal breaking followed by the clink of it hitting the floor. To my surprise, the only thing hard about the triggers is above the screw hole. Below the screw hole is soft steel that bends easily. Squeezing the bend makes the bend shallower and in effect makes the trigger longer.
Bend them until the toe just clears the trigger guard. If the toe hits the trigger guard, then put a little curve back into the trigger. This also tends to move the trigger back in the trigger guard which is again a good thing.

No more pinched fingers.

Again, ain't rocket surgery!
 
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