1851 or 1858 ???

[gshepard]

Can someone give me a hand here. I told my wife that I wanted the 1851 Confederate Navy .44 from Cabela's for Christmas. Being a good wife she took it up a bit. When I open my gift I found the 1851 Navy nickel/gold. Everyone can guess what happened. The first time I take it out I shot about 60 rounds. When I got home and cleaned it I found the gold comming off the cylinder. Just as I figured the pistol will not hold up. So now I'm going to return it but I'm not sure of the pistol I want. I like to target shoot and thats about all I will be doing with it. I'm looking at the 1851 Confederate .44, 1858 New Army Texas .44, or the 1858 Buffalo Brass .44

I could use any information some may have.

 

[mothernatureson]

get the Cabelas(Pietta) 1851 in steel frame(36 cal) if shot with reasonable care and loadings, it will outlive you. I have one from the 80's(1980's) and is still in great condition. Or any of the other steel frame revolvers or the remington model. The brass frame guns are best suited as decorations. The steel frame models are only a few dollars more. My two cents. good luck.

 

If you're just a paper shooter I would go with the Ruger New Army in stainless. I like the looks of the old revolvers though and prefer the 1858 Remington over any of the revolvers I have used and that includes the '51 Colt and the 3rd model Dragoon and a Texas Ranger brass frame off shoot of the "58 Remington. They are all a lot of fun.
Don

 

[CoyoteJoe]

I agree that if you expect to shoot a lot you should go with a steel frame gun. As to Colt or Remington style, I find the Colts point and hang more naturally but the Remingtons tend to group tighter on paper, mainly because of better sights. It is easy enough to open up the Colt style hammer notch rear sight to provide a better sight picture and by enlarging the notch more on one side than the other you can zero for windage. Both types tend to shoot high out of the box and need a taller front sight to zero at 25 yards. A good specimen of either type should group 5 shots in 2" at 25 yards from bench rest.
I like the Colt, 1851 or 1860 for its natural pointing qualitys and for ease of cleaning but the Remington is a more solid gun. Flip a coin.

 

[talbert]

Shouldnt any 1851 colt "Navy" be a .36 cal?
I thought thats the only way colt actually
made them? A .44 reb 1851 in brass is explainable
but a bad bet as brass and .44 cal is reputed
to be a bad combination for hard shooting...
Just my thoughts, but a .36 steel frame Navy
1851 is a real nice way to go...I think
Wild Bill thought so too? Cimarron Arms has
some "antiqued" beauties...
T.Albert

 

[gshepard]

Thank everyone for the info. I like the looks of the brass frame and thought that the full frame of the 1858 could hold up. I will put a lot of lead thought it so maybe I should take a second look.

 

[Don]

If you plan on doing a lot of shooting then the steel frame is the way to go. I have 4 brass framed guns but I don't do a lot of frequent shooting so the brass works out ok for me. I also keep loads under 25n grains for the .44 cal revolvers. I get real irritated with the brass is only for wall hanger attitude on this forum. Loaded with care and used within there limits brass framed guns will last for years. Not every body has the money to spend on $200 plus guns. Yeah the Ruger Old Army is a great gun but it costs nearly $500. Give the workin class shooter a break guys!

Don

 

[Zonie]

I'm not sure but you seemed to want a Confederate style gun, or did you mention Confederate simply because the guns you were looking at had brass frames?

If you wanted a Confederate style gun, you are pretty much stuck with a open top Colt design.
Because the hammer is the rear sight, these aren't the most accurate thing around.
The Confederates never made the Remington style of pistol (although the Spiller and Burr Whitney style pistol comes close).

If you were just looking for a Brass Framed gun and don't want to spend the extra money for a steel framed gun then get the Remington. It's closed top frame is stronger than the Colt and it has an actual rear sight groove in the topstrap.

If you keep the loads light, the Brass framed guns will shoot well for a long time.

 

[gshepard]

The biggest thing is I like the look of the brass frame. But I want something that will hold up and shoots accurately.

 

[murph]

Don,i could not have said it better myself.There is nothing wrong with brass frames in my book.Yeah if you shoot them all day with full loads, yes there is going to be trouble.My brass 51'navy works like a charm after years of use.Here's to the working man and his brass frame revolver. :yakyak:

 

[Nightwind]

I may be wrong but, I don't know of any serious target shooters that uses brass framed revolvers.

I would say to get a lower priced steel framed Remington '58 target revolver from Cabelas. And get learning on that one. Then if you want to really get into serious competitions, start saving some dollars. Learn about what to look for when buying high quality revolvers, and how to accurize them. After you've learned all that, you'll feel better when you do decide to go whole hog and part with your hard earned dollars. I have six of them.

 

[murph]

You know thats why i'm leaving this site.most every one here has to tell every one else how many revolvers they have. And that if you own a brass frame revolver you are not a seasoned shooter.Give me a break,I think some of the addvice people are giving is great if you have deep pockets. 25+ years and over 15 revolvers to my name.I started out with a BRASS 51 navy for less tha $60 bucks and i'm still havin'fun.Hey new guy's buy what you can afford. :yakyak:

 

[Legionair]

You're heading out MURF??

I thought we were all getting along O.K.??

Legion

 

[gshepard]

First of all money is not a problem. I just wanted a good looking pistol to target shoot with. I could have picked up a Ruger at Cabela's yesterday but I picked up a 1858 Army with the case harden frame. It's a good looking pistol. And I will feel better shooting a tight group with it than a $500.00 Ruger, that just who I am. As far as the brass frame, I will pick up a 1858 Texas on a later date, but I will not be shooting it as much. But for now I think this one will do fine. I will let everyone know.

 

[smokeblower]

I have both styles in brass and have no problem with them. I shoot light and heavy load, both balls and conicals. Just inspect the main cylinder pin/shaft. If any problems occur with the frame the marks will show on the cylinder pin. No reason to fear brass frames, mostly a matter of opinion and ego.

 

[Nightwind]

You know thats why i'm leaving this site.most every one here has to tell every one else how many revolvers they have. And that if you own a brass frame revolver you are not a seasoned shooter.Give me a break,I think some of the addvice people are giving is great if you have deep pockets. 25+ years and over 15 revolvers to my name.I started out with a BRASS 51 navy for less tha $60 bucks and i'm still havin'fun.Hey new guy's buy what you can afford. :yakyak:

Geez, Murf, Lighten up! The guy asks for opinions and got some. Nobody's ganging up on ya'. The fact that you're having success with brassies is good. I'm just saying that those brass sided revolvers didn't last long and lost accuracy for me because of the amount of pistol shooting I do(thousands of rounds per year).

I never shot a gun 'till 1998(at age 48). Where did I gain most of my knowledge? HERE! from guys like YOU! Everybody has to sort out the replies and see what works best for them. Which I'm sure you've done. So stick around, your opinions and experience DOES count.

As far as being a cheapskate goes, I'm with the best of them. I just bought a used blued Ruger OA and all accessories for $185.00!!!

 

[murph]

Well nightwind you impresed the hell out of me with the ruger old army deal.Iv'e been looking real hard for a used old army for a long time.
ok i'm calm now,i'm trying to trade two 60' army's for a ruger old army but no luck.
as for the brass frames i do aggree that steel is the way to go for shooting lots of lead.I take mine to the range most of the time but shoot it some of the time.No hard feelins',
murf :hatsoff:

 

[Don]

Murf,

Glad to hear your going to stick around awhile. It is tempting to get PO'd when somebody throws out an opinion that seems arrogant or inconsiderate. Happened to me recently. Just got to remind myself that it takes all kinds and that we all have something to offer.

Don

 

[TomFoolerythe3rd]

Murf, I know what you mean. There never seems to be any used Old Armies out there. I have been looking for a reasonable used fixed sight Old Army and have a no luck.

 

[Nightwind]

Hey guys, if I came across arrogant or inconsiderate, I apologize big time! It wasn't my intention. I like to help anytime I can, it's the only way I can give back for all the help I've gotten from others.

I'm glad you're sticking around too :v