New guy with some questions

D

drjfkwilson

New member
I've inharated a BP revolver and have some questions. I believe it is a 1851 navy colt replica. The only markings an it are " RICHLAND ARMS CO " on the top of the barrel and " BLACK POWDER ONLY-MADE IN ITALY-CALIBER44" on the side of the barrel. I'm not planning on selling but am interested in it's value. Also, what size caps, what size balls, and do I assume correctly that it is OK to use Pyrodex powder? Thanks for anr advice.
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I couldn't give any real idea about the value except to say that personally, I prefer replicas which copy some original fairly closely. If it had a steel frame and a shorter barrel it would be more interesting to me. You could browse around on auctionarms or gunbroker and perhaps get some better idea of prices.

I use Remington #10 caps on all my percussion firearms which don't take musket caps. That would be what I tried first. You can always replace the existing nipples if they are an odd size.

Pyrodex is formulated as a black powder substitute and is widely used, mainly because it's more available than real black powder. There's no reason not to use it but, again, a lot of the attraction in shooting these guns for me lies in copying the originals. That means real black powder. Real black powder will be my preference as long as I can get it even if I have to make some sort of road trip to stock up.

The most common ball sizes used in percussion .44 revolvers are .451, .454 and .457. If you can measure the chambers in your revolver, you need to choose a ball size a little larger than whatever that size is so the ball is shaved down when you load it. If you can't get an idea beforehand on the size of your chambers, I'd probably buy some swaged .454 balls to try. Those will probably work just fine but if they are really hard to load, you can get .451s next time.

You're gonna have fun with this thing!

Steve
 
Steve
Thanks for the reply. Still wondering about Richland Arms. As I understand they are no longer in business but curious about the manufacturer?
 
Are there any proof marks on the gun? If so each MFR. has their own unique proofs (at least one of the two). Also look under the bbl. oe under the grips for a DGG if that is there it is a Euroarms/Armi San Paolo. (same company).
 
Hi,
You will find some answers here.

Ask Italian replicas producer Pietta for their 2007 catalog on this address (info@pietta.it ) and they will send you a one in PDF file. You will find data for your revolver there.
 
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I gotta say, that is one cool looking revolver. Nothing about it is historically correct - the barrel is too long, it's a Navy model in .44 caliber (Navies were made in .36), the frame is brass...but who cares? I like its looks. And with that long barrel I'll bet she's accurate. Put a shoulder stock on it and you have a Hawkins...
I would use .454 balls, #11 caps and 25 grs of black powder or Pyrodex P.
Don't use superloads with a brass framer.
I wouldn't sell it either, but I'd be curious as to what it'd be worth.
It looks to be unfired.
Are there any letters or Roman numerals on the right side of the frame? That would be the date of manufacture.
Nice gun...
 
Thanks for the info. I have one more question. A friend gave me 2 cans of FFg powder. I know fff is recomended for revolvers but with a 12" barel can I use the ff powder?
 
Sure, won't hurt a thing. Maybe the charge will develop a little less velocity than with FFF but I doubt you'll be able to tell any difference without a chronograph.

Steve
 
I use FFG and FFG in my 44 Cal Remy's I'd use FFG in anything less, but the FFg won't hurt and you will probably not notice the difference at all. Go make smoke.
 
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