Pietta 1858 New Army and Conicals.

1

1winnen

Inactive
I have a NEW Pietta 1858 and I would like to shoot conicals but I don't know if I want to have a gunsmith open the loading port or without removing the cylinder from the gun to load it. I tried Kaidos 220gr but I couldn't get it into the chamber and through the loading port so I have a couple of questions. 1) Is anyone using conicals in their unmodified 1858 and if so what grain weight are you using and 2) are there any commercially made soft lead conicals in the 180-200gr range and if there are by who? Thanks
 
Sorry, I don't mean any offense, but why on earth do you want to go through so much trouble to shoot conicals out of a gun made for round ball and shoots round ball as accurately (or more accurate in my case) as harder to find conicals?

That said, I'm pretty sure you'll have to mold your own. Others may know which mold specifically.
 
You can buy them somewhere (I don't remember) but they will be the LEE cast 44 conical that weighs 200gr. The drive bands are stepped in size with the smallest on the bottom. They usually drop into the 2nd driving band which puts them at a lower level and easily rotate under the ram. I have shot them in Pietta, Uberti and Euroarms Remingtons. They are a nice "thumper" with 30 gr FFFg under them. I hand lube them by smearing a BP comparable lube in the grooves as well as put a lube on the top after seating. They are very accurate in my ASM 1860 Army Colt repro but they will not fit under the barrel of a Pietta Colt.
From the LEE catalog:
MOLD D C 450-200-1R

SKU: 90382


MSRP: $25.98 (cheaper from MidSouth Shooter's Supply or Nachez)
 
Kaido also makes a 200gr that requires no mods to load on the gun. I just use cylinder stand for my 240s and even loading round ball, better for me, saves wear and tear on the gun too.
 
No offense taken. I want to shoot conicals because of their high muzzle energy compared to RBs using the same powder charge. As I said I tried Kaidos 220gr and couldn't even get them started much less able to rotate the cylinder under the ram. I have been told that My 1858 can be moodified by opening the load port. just not sure if I want to go that route. Thanks for the info.
 
Got a dremel and a steady hand? I hear tell thats how most folks fix the problem. I havent done it myself, but probably will as soon as I can afford to start buying the conicals in ernest.

Short of that, you could buy a decent off gun loading mechanism? probably between $30-$60 USD for a decent one, but whats the gunsmithing going to cost?
 
Short of that, you could buy a decent off gun loading mechanism? probably between $30-$60 USD for a decent one, but whats the gunsmithing going to cost?
Click to expand...

More like $75+. :)

If you are going to buy a cylinder reloading stand, be sure to get one that holds and drives the ram in a straight vertical line.

The el-cheapo ones like Cabela's sells just swing the ram in an arc. Not only are they weak as heck but they don't drive bullets in straight.

Here is what you don't want:
ML112.JPG


Here is what you do want:
http://www.powderinc.com/catalog/cyl_loader.htm

Steve
 
I just ordered a Walker cylinder pin for my Walker revolver from the above web site.

It asked during ordering, "Where did you hear about us?"

I answered: "My revolver whispered it to me." :)

Steve
 
One thing nobody touched on is that with round balls it will probably shoot high. Pietta's have a very tall front sight to help alleviate that but they still usually shoot high. Conicals are going to shoot even higher.
 
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