Range Trip with a pair of the $230 MidWay Pietta "clean up guns"

[Stantheman86]

After wiping off the factory oil, and fitting wood grips from 2 other Pietta Navies I put other grips on......it was time to shoot these 230 buck Pietta Clean Up Guns

If you have OCD and need perfect finishing , stay away from these. The frames and barrels look like a kit gun that was finished with a Dremel. I'm not concerned about this. I did get Consecutive Serial #'s which was kinda neat.

I had Old Eynsford 3f, a Selection of RWS 1075 caps, and CCI #11 Magnum and Regular caps.

I decided to try Wonder Wads since my charges would be 20 grains, and shouldn't foul that bad . .454 Speer round balls shaved a nice ring of lead. Some chambers seemed tighter than others.

First 12 shots , windage was dead on. They of course hit high, which I actually like. The distance was probably 23-ish yards from the range table to the target stand as I measured with my steps. I used 1075s but later switched to pinched CCI #11's

I decided to wring these out with a little "15 to 25-ish yard Qual Course" shooting strong hand and weak hand at 15, two hand at 25, from behind cover using a range building and taking a knee. I pushed a few out to the left but the guns did well. After about 6 cylinders, they got sluggish and needed a break down and wipe out. The wads don't spray enough lube around for sustained shooting but that's fine, they went longer than I actually expected.

I hadn't planned on it but I shot all 100 round balls I brought. Which was perfect, the revolvers got gummy and at this point needed another cleaning. Next time I'll try them with Tallow over the chambers and they'll probably go all day.

These guns work as they're supposed to, they may actually become some of my favorite range guns. They need some TotW nipples , some breaking in, but they are reliable and accurate. 20 grains of 3f provided plenty of pop, I didn't feel like I was shooting Mouse Farts in this Navy sized revolver. Good boom, smoke and enough recoil to feel like a .44. If I did my part, they did theirs.

20 grains will be just fine for these brassers. I'll be using these as range guns. I only used a 1/4 pound of powder vs nearly a full pound for 100 rounds through my Walkers. So they are more frugal on powder

For the price I'd recommend picking one or two up but be ready to change the grips unless you're ok with loose fitting cheap plastic .

The guns did their job, providing me with fun and entertainment. And actually letting me hit something.

I admittedly have a thing for the Brassers, I think I have 9 or 10 brasser Colt types now. Despite having steel frame Ubertis and Piettas , I like taking a pair of brassers out for range blasting. I just think they look cool. And the alloy of the brass is better now, with regular loads they'll last longer than most people will ever shoot them

 

[windini]

Nice review & range report! Thanks.

 

[Boston Bill]

Hi. What are clean up guns?
The wooden box with the round balls in it. How many does it hold and where did you get it?
Thank you, BB

 

[Stantheman86]

Hi. What are clean up guns?
The wooden box with the round balls in it. How many does it hold and where did you get it?
Thank you, BB

"Clean Up Guns" are guns made by manufacturers out of leftover or "seconds" parts that are left after runs of production guns are finished. If assemblers mess up the polish on a frame, or a barrel gets some chatter marks on it like mine do, they get put in the "seconds" bins . Pietta seems to have used "blemished" frames and barrels, and leftover Dance cylinders to put these together and they slapped on some plastic grips. They're cheap so it's ok, they're a great bargain in my opinion

Even Colt made cleanup guns from leftover parts.

The boxes are from a craft shop , I got I think a 10 pack of them for a few bucks, they're the ones that people buy to use for projects or as table decorations for wedding etc

I can fit 18 .454 balls in one, maybe more if I close the lid, I'm not sure. I just use them because they're a handy way to keep things accessible at the range. I fill one with balls, one with wads and I have a brass "pill box" for caps.

 

[Boston Bill]

Cool. Thanks for the great reply.
I also have no problem with buying seconds or even used.
Either way they are probably going to Goons for his upgrades.
Cimarron has scratch and dents that are a little cheaper but not buy much.

 

[Stantheman86]

Cool. Thanks for the great reply.
I also have no problem with buying seconds or even used.
Either way they are probably going to Goons for his upgrades.
Cimarron has scratch and dents that are a little cheaper but not buy much.

I buy all these repro cap and ballers to shoot a lot at the range, drawing from holsters and just having fun. Like the rest of my guns of any type. They're going to get used and fired anyway.