Most folks on this forum know I always suggest that you avoid a brass framed revolver for your first BP firearm. I always suggest they save the purchase of a brass framed revolver for the occasion where they feel the need to complete a BP revolver collection to include replicas of the firearms that the CSA produced and used in the War Between the States. There are plenty of options when it comes to steel framed revolvers. Why limit yourself to a brass framed revolver with your first purchase.
So I got the bug for black powder revolver now what?
- Thread starter William_IV
- Start date
William_IV
New member
Thanks for all the great posts i had a great post written and it got delete when i tried to preview it. I will try to rewrite again.
For What It's Worth
First Black Powder gun... Pietta Brass 1860 on sale... $169
Cannister of 777... $21
Box of Speer .454's... $9
Tin of CCI caps... $5
My math says I got into this sport for $204 total.
Not everyone is going to love this Black Powder deal... those who want instant gratification are going to be greatly disappointed... best buy a semiauto... and those that don't want to spend considerable time reloading, disassembling, cleaning and reassembling their guns probably aren't going to end up shooting too much either.
I'm not recommending that you buy a Brass revolver like I did... I'm saying that if cost is an issue... and/or if you have any reservations that you might not really love black powder shooting... I think what I did makes sense.
Since then... Steel Pietta 1858 with adjustable sights $239... Steel ASM 2nd Dragoon $249 (used)... Brass CVA 1851 Navy $95 (used)... Steel Pietta 1860 $199... Steel Uberti 1851 Navy $149 (used)... H&R Break Action .58 Rifle $160 (used).
All of my used guns showed little or no signs of use when I bought them, so obviously some people fail to fall in love with these firearms at first shot.
There are great deals out there on both new and used Black Powder guns if you do your homework... Again, I wouldn't recommend Brass frames per se... I'd just consider each particular deal on it's merits... I certainly wouldn't shy away from them when you see a good deal.
First Black Powder gun... Pietta Brass 1860 on sale... $169
Cannister of 777... $21
Box of Speer .454's... $9
Tin of CCI caps... $5
My math says I got into this sport for $204 total.
Not everyone is going to love this Black Powder deal... those who want instant gratification are going to be greatly disappointed... best buy a semiauto... and those that don't want to spend considerable time reloading, disassembling, cleaning and reassembling their guns probably aren't going to end up shooting too much either.
I'm not recommending that you buy a Brass revolver like I did... I'm saying that if cost is an issue... and/or if you have any reservations that you might not really love black powder shooting... I think what I did makes sense.
Since then... Steel Pietta 1858 with adjustable sights $239... Steel ASM 2nd Dragoon $249 (used)... Brass CVA 1851 Navy $95 (used)... Steel Pietta 1860 $199... Steel Uberti 1851 Navy $149 (used)... H&R Break Action .58 Rifle $160 (used).
All of my used guns showed little or no signs of use when I bought them, so obviously some people fail to fall in love with these firearms at first shot.
There are great deals out there on both new and used Black Powder guns if you do your homework... Again, I wouldn't recommend Brass frames per se... I'd just consider each particular deal on it's merits... I certainly wouldn't shy away from them when you see a good deal.
My wife bought me a Bakers rifle (the one from *Sharpes Rifles" on BBC), I've fired it 3 times. Its now a wall hanger. TBH I really do not have the patients to be a Black Powder guy.
EDIT:
Sorry I just noticed that this is a BP revolver thread; No I don't own one, But if I ever decide to it would be a pair of Colt Walker's.
EDIT:
Sorry I just noticed that this is a BP revolver thread; No I don't own one, But if I ever decide to it would be a pair of Colt Walker's.
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William_IV
New member
...So I purchased the 1860 army pietta from cabelas, I was a little disgruntled because the sales clerk couldn't find the box for the specific one I wanted and he banged the barrel against the frame of the glass cabinet when he took it out to show it to me. I finally had to choose the other display model which had a slight blemish on the handle, but he was able to locate the box which was also ripped up because the sales associates don't know how to open and close boxes apparently.
Long story short I got a slight discount on the gun because of above and they happened to have had two price tags that contradicted each other. All this when cab is celebrating 150th anniversary of the civil war and had a large spread in their flyer on BP revolvers? You would think they would have been prepared for a lot of customers coming in to check them out! Not to complain but it is frustrating when the buying experience goes bad, that's important to me.
Regardless of all this I am really glad I bought the gun and hope next time will be a better experience. The pietta felt good in the hand, it appears to be very well made it had a steel frame, nice detail and makes you want to just go out and get another. All this said I'm wondering about black powder, what is the best? And what is pyrodex? The canister says it is a black powder substitute, what does this mean? I was kind of hoping to shoot the real stuff. Also what brand of caps and balls should I get? And what diameter? It is a .45 but I see there are still different diameters?
Thanks for the great posts; I'm going to re-read them. I think some of you may already have answered my questions.
Long story short I got a slight discount on the gun because of above and they happened to have had two price tags that contradicted each other. All this when cab is celebrating 150th anniversary of the civil war and had a large spread in their flyer on BP revolvers? You would think they would have been prepared for a lot of customers coming in to check them out! Not to complain but it is frustrating when the buying experience goes bad, that's important to me.
Regardless of all this I am really glad I bought the gun and hope next time will be a better experience. The pietta felt good in the hand, it appears to be very well made it had a steel frame, nice detail and makes you want to just go out and get another. All this said I'm wondering about black powder, what is the best? And what is pyrodex? The canister says it is a black powder substitute, what does this mean? I was kind of hoping to shoot the real stuff. Also what brand of caps and balls should I get? And what diameter? It is a .45 but I see there are still different diameters?
Thanks for the great posts; I'm going to re-read them. I think some of you may already have answered my questions.
William_IV
New member
I noticed the wood handles look and feel good but you can feel a slight transition between the handle and the back frame if you are really paying attention, I'm a bit of a wood worker at heart so could imagine making better fitting handles.
Good question. Get 10 people in a room and you'll get 10 different answers. My opinion, because you asked: Swiss, with Goex a close second and KIK third. All are good products and I wouldn't throw any of them away. All are real black powders, by the way.
Pyrodex, Triple 7, American Pioneer and others are black powder substitutes, which means they contain different ingredients than real black powder and are classified differently for purposes of storage and transportation. They can essentially be substituted for real black powder, usually one for one on the basis of volume (Triple 7 must be reduced by 15% to get a black powder equivalent load). Many people prefer Pyrodex, while just as many loathe it.
Just as for powder brands, brands of caps and balls each have their followers. I have no personal preference for a brand of caps as they vary in size; you will probably need to try more than one to find out what fits your gun best. I prefer Speer swaged round balls; I find them more consistent than cast but many people have different ideas. As for diameter, start with .454. If they don't shave a full ring of lead off when loaded into the chamber, move up to .457. If they're too hard to load, move down to .451.
Grips, not handles.
William_IV
New member
Thanks for correcting me.
I see Doc Hoy had a great post on components at the beginning of this thread.
I'll read more posts about powder before I buy.
William_IV
New member
Thanks Hawg
I ended up getting pyrodex 3F equivalent, figure i'll get used to that use it up and by that time maybe have gained enough experience to decide what and where i want to go from there
william, i just got my pietta remington 44 a week ago and like me you'll love it as soon as you shoot it.
mine has shot great straight from the box with nothing but an initial cleaning.
i use 27 grains goex fffg, 454 hornady balls (i use a small rag coated with canola oil to wipe the balls, makes them go in easier and will prolong the life of your loading plunger), then some crisco on top of the ball, and remington
#11 caps...at 7 yards, doing my part, i can put them in the same ragged hole.
dont be fooled, these things can shoot very accurately.
mine has shot great straight from the box with nothing but an initial cleaning.
i use 27 grains goex fffg, 454 hornady balls (i use a small rag coated with canola oil to wipe the balls, makes them go in easier and will prolong the life of your loading plunger), then some crisco on top of the ball, and remington
#11 caps...at 7 yards, doing my part, i can put them in the same ragged hole.
dont be fooled, these things can shoot very accurately.
Not trying to hijack thread
Just bought my third Remington New Army. My first was the target model, second was the 5.5" model, and this one 8" no target sights. I like the Remingtion cause they're easy to get along with, and the cylinders are easy to get switch out for a fast reload, and fell good in my hand. My biggest problem is I like them all if you can call that a problem
. I bought two 1860 Army models, two 1851 Navy models one brass .44 cal I don't think that one counts as a Navy, but it's a fun shooter. the second is a steel frame .36 Navy. All Pietta, and all came from Cabelas. The .36 Colt Navy shoots 6" high and right at 5"s to the left. I know how to take them apart and put them back together, also can replace parts if it ever calls for it. The four Colt revolvers all shoot high about 5 to 6"s I've never done anything to bring the POI down on them I just learned to aim low and it works out good cause my 1911 is the same way. Now when this little .36 came along I want to get it to shoot to POA. I'm no gunsmith and want to know what's the best way to go about fixing it to hit where I point it. The 51 Colt revolvers are pretty cool little revolvers and I like them. The 60 Army revolvers are real nice also. Not sorry I bought any of them. I'm hoping some of you guys can help me get it done without a lot of trouble. May-be some of the new shooters can learn from this also. If I can get this one done I'll try to do the others to bring them down to POA. Thinks for any and all the help I know you fellows have been through this at one time or another. ShotPut 
Just bought my third Remington New Army. My first was the target model, second was the 5.5" model, and this one 8" no target sights. I like the Remingtion cause they're easy to get along with, and the cylinders are easy to get switch out for a fast reload, and fell good in my hand. My biggest problem is I like them all if you can call that a problem
. I bought two 1860 Army models, two 1851 Navy models one brass .44 cal I don't think that one counts as a Navy, but it's a fun shooter. the second is a steel frame .36 Navy. All Pietta, and all came from Cabelas. The .36 Colt Navy shoots 6" high and right at 5"s to the left. I know how to take them apart and put them back together, also can replace parts if it ever calls for it. The four Colt revolvers all shoot high about 5 to 6"s I've never done anything to bring the POI down on them I just learned to aim low and it works out good cause my 1911 is the same way. Now when this little .36 came along I want to get it to shoot to POA. I'm no gunsmith and want to know what's the best way to go about fixing it to hit where I point it. The 51 Colt revolvers are pretty cool little revolvers and I like them. The 60 Army revolvers are real nice also. Not sorry I bought any of them. I'm hoping some of you guys can help me get it done without a lot of trouble. May-be some of the new shooters can learn from this also. If I can get this one done I'll try to do the others to bring them down to POA. Thinks for any and all the help I know you fellows have been through this at one time or another. ShotPut
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Fingers McGee
New member
William_IV said:
Since no one has said it yet; unless I missed it, reade GATOFEO's thread on "So you want a cap and ball revolver?" that is stickied at the top of this forum. It will answer about 99% of your questions.
Great replies with tons of good advice! I don't know how much I can add?
The Army has a slightly longer gtip length and you'll find it does make a big difference to your hold. The Navy grip is similar to the Peacemaker and it does hold a bit different. The Remington holds even different and the cylinder is slightly higher over the axis of your grip even different. If you shoot every one of these, you'll see what I mean.
The handling qualities of different guns makes for a highly opninated and personal "feel".
There is no right and wrong one to choose, you'll know when you find your favorite!
The subtle differences is what makes this hobby so much fun and why we all have at least 3 guns in our "Pile" of revolvers! They're all fun to shoot and even the different calibers feel a lot different from eachother.
Yep yoiu are starting to get hooked and "Hooked" is not a bad place to be! I only own 6 different C&B revolvers but each is different in it's own way. I'm just on my 2nd year of being "Hooked"...
HTH
ZVP
The Army has a slightly longer gtip length and you'll find it does make a big difference to your hold. The Navy grip is similar to the Peacemaker and it does hold a bit different. The Remington holds even different and the cylinder is slightly higher over the axis of your grip even different. If you shoot every one of these, you'll see what I mean.
The handling qualities of different guns makes for a highly opninated and personal "feel".
There is no right and wrong one to choose, you'll know when you find your favorite!
The subtle differences is what makes this hobby so much fun and why we all have at least 3 guns in our "Pile" of revolvers! They're all fun to shoot and even the different calibers feel a lot different from eachother.
Yep yoiu are starting to get hooked and "Hooked" is not a bad place to be! I only own 6 different C&B revolvers but each is different in it's own way. I'm just on my 2nd year of being "Hooked"...
HTH
ZVP
