mrappe
Member
Join Date: 2009-01-29
Location: Texas
Posts: 19
Remington 1858 vs Colt 1860 Army
I have both of these guns made by Pietta. I have a hard time deciding which I like better. I like the looks of the Colt better and the way it points and feels better. It is much more balanced in the hand but the Remington I like for the extra strength/capacity and the ease of changing out cylinders. I would like to get another one of the two but I haven't made up my mind yet.
age old question, like asking who's better, the Beatles or the Rolling Stones. Genie, or Bewitched ?
a tough call.
The 1860 is a lighter, quicker pointing weapon, better balanced- and has more graceful lines.
The 1858 is a stronger design, inside and out, has a more positive safety notch, and holds more powder, and less prone to cap and cylinder jams.
Shoot both of them, shot for shot, the Remington will outlast the Colt, eventually the Colt will loosen up a bit. If I was fighting a war, or in a gunfight, and was looking for reliability, I'd take the Remington.
the Walker/Dragoons are a stronger/bigger version of the 1860 that predate the 1860- but one issue is, the W/D's are a bit heavy. I'm not sure there's any real value to the increased powder capacity in the W/D's. 40 grains of black is plenty IMHO, which both the Remington and Colt 1860 have (albeit a bit compressed in the Colt). 50-60 grains in a pistol would become a bit of overkill, for putting holes in paper ! Shooting full cylinders in my Remington 1858 and Colt 1860 recently, I can't imagine wanting more powder charge than that- unless you're going after grizzly or polar bear...
My 10-year old exclaimed "daddy, that thing is like a cannon" when I fired the 1858 Rem w/full chambers.
having said that, I will put a full cylinder of 6 shots/60 grain charges through my Walker, soon. If it's fun, I'll shoot a few more.