Pietta 1858 NMA question

R

rem1858

New member
Okay fellows;

What is the difference between a Pietta 1858 NMA and an 1858 ?

Ordered a couple extra cylinders and they arrived today but they are too long.

My cylinder has casting above the cylinder mouth where the retaining rod holds the cylinder into the frame.

The cylinders that came do not have that and the cylinders are longer so to speek.

Visual...
New cylinders are flush across the cylinder mouth.
My cylinder has extra metal sticking above the cylinder in the middle where the rod slides through.

Therefor the new cylinders will not fit cause they hit the barrel going in.

Looks like I will have to purchase another pistol to be able to use these cylinders :D

Clarence
 
You must have an older Pietta. The pic shows that the slots in the cylinder for the bolt head are wider in the newer cylinder as well. Older Pietta 58's had narrower slots for the bolt head to lock into.
 
I picked it up at a gun show a couple moths ago used.

Here is the serial number if anyone knows how to date a Pietta.
Ser# 127494

Has an 8" octigon barrel with target sights and blued.

Thanks;
Clarence
 
That protrusion on the cylinder for your gun is a gas ring. It's purpose is to keep powder fouling from getting between the cylinder and base pin and binding things up. It is not a part of the Remington design and Pietta has never incorporated it in their reproductions.

It would be useful to see photos of your gun with the cylinder installed.

This is just speculation but some target shooters that use the Remington platform have had their guns modified by installing a custom barrel that is threaded further back into the frame. The cylinder is then faced off to incorporate a gas ring. This keeps the guns running longer and the reduced powder capacity is not a factor for competition shooters who use light loads anyway.

As to dating your gun there should be a square box with two letters inside it. Those letters are the date proof code. If you post those we can tell you the date it was made.

If my speculation is correct and all other dimensions are the same you could have a machinist face off your new cylinders to match the one from your gun and be good to go.
 
I just checked my 1858 NMA that was bought new from Cabela's last month. The original cylinder that came in it appears to be identical to the new cylinders that were delivered to you.

Denster may be correct in that a previous owner might have had the cylinder face machined for a deeper set barrel.

Noelf2 might also be correct about the different sizes in the grooves cut into the cylinder for the bolt head. I honestly can't tell from your photos. If the grooves are different, it would make no sense to machine the new cylinder face to match your old cylinder.
 
Allrighty then. The BA code makes it 1991 production. Appears to be a factory barrel that has been set back. The cylinder has been shortened and a separate gas ring bushing set in similar to Colt SAA. The nipple recesses have been opened up to facilitate a capper. The bolt notches have been enlongated probably part of deepening them. It's hard to tell from the photos but it appears that the bolt notches on the guns cylinder are a few degrees offset from the factory cylinder. That may be an illusion due to the nipple recesses being opened up on the guns cylinder.
For certain your gun has been extensivley smithed. Maybe not a bad thing. How does it shoot?
 
Denster

Looks like the barrel has been worked too. Note that the factory engraving is very weak and the angles between the flats are not very crisp. Sometimes that engraving/stamping on pistols is less than perfect from the factory, but this one appears to have been refinished.

BTW for Rem1858 I do recommend you get another pistol. I recommend an 1860 Colt. Your Remington cylinders won't fit in that either so you will have a good reason to go get a Dragoon. I must admit that I make use of a different strategy. When the odometer in the car passes an even thousand miles, it is time for another pistol. Somethimes the neighbor helps out by letting me celebrate his odometer passing an even thousand. ;)
 
I agree with denster on the smithing work. Appears to have been re-blued also. A good smith should be able to duplicate the gas ring and bolt notches on your new cylinders. The bolt notches do look offset to me compared to the new cylinders.
 
Last edited:
I'm rethinking that the notches may be offset after looking at the photos again. There would be no good reason to do that and it would entail a lot of modifications for no good reason. When you photograph a details on a round object rotating it even a little will create an illusion that the details are in a different location. Easy to check by just laying a straight edge along one side of the notch on the old and new cylinder and see if it bisects the nipple in the same location.
It may have been made from parts from different guns but someone put a lot of thought into it and it was purpose built, probably for competition. Makeing the gas ring a separate bushing makes it easy to accomodate for eventual wear.
If you got it for a fair price and it locks up well and the chambers align with the bore you may have gotten a bargain and a good shooter. Let us know.
 
Your new cylinder is of the new style with the wider notches.. and your old one is the old style with the narrow notches... I have both and it is fairly obvious when I put them together... Yes yours has additional mods ..but even before the mods, the cylinders are from two different Pietta eras.

My vote is to buy a new Cabelas 58...they are on sale right now for $199... you already have the cylinders....Not like you could come up with a better excuse to buy a new one:D
 
That's what I was thinking, by the time you pay someone to modify those cylinders, you could have bought a new pistol and probably saved money.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top