ASM 1851 Navy revolver

[PluggedNickel]

My eyes are still excellent, as long as I stay hydrated, now if I could just fix that dang palsy! Just kidding! I like to lay off that pot of coffee I drink in the AM if going shooting early though. Most of the time I just wait till later in the day.

 

[Eutycus]

So far of all the things I've given up for health reasons ,I think coffee is the hardest to do ,For me anyway. At my age nothing I have is "excellant".

 

[PluggedNickel]

So far of all the things I've given up for health reasons ,I think coffee is the hardest to do ,For me anyway. At my age nothing I have is "excellant".

I hear ya. Love my coffee, the blacker and stronger, the better!

 

[bang]

I too am at the age where my eyes are a factor in my shooting. I'd rather hear the gong ring than see a hole punched in the center of a paper target. I'm easy to please, as long as the gun shoots reasonably accurate and safe. I'm happy!

Hear that. Usually I shoot my Rem New Army target if I'm feeling a bit serious. They are built to more precision. You can wallow out a hole size of tennis ball at 25ft with it. Even my old Rogers and Spencer still hits fair. But I have 2 other Rem 44s and 3 cylinders each so the 9 cylinders gives the Rem target a workout.

 

[Eutycus]

I'm puzzled as to how a person can drink decaf. What is the point? A cup of hot water! But I guess I cant bad mouth it too much, I'll probably be on it one of these days.

 

[PluggedNickel]

Some folks give their 2 cents worth. I’ve been told, my advice ain’t worth a (my namesake). I actually like that come back. But, then again, I don’t take myself too seriously!

 

[Eutycus]

I mentioned I like hearing the gong. I like the steel gong but it sure dont leave much lead to salvage. What sort of targets do y'all shoot at?

 

[bang]

On my Walker, I took the nipples off, was replacing them with after market SliXShot stainless steel nipples anyway. I had some .454" soft lead round balls, so I loaded one into an empty chamber, it fit well, but did not shave the small lead ring off. I only pressed the ball in so it was just below cylinder face. Used a hard wood dowel to push the ball back out. The .454" ball had swagged down to cylinder chamber size, but had one small spot that had not. I tried a .457" ball, both Hornady's BTW, and it gave me the slight lead ring I wanted to see for a good seal. I was pleased to find all my chambers were of equal diameters. I also pushed a soft lead ball through the barrel, to check for tight spots or restrictions in the bore. Uberti recommends .457" on the Walker as well. I think .454" is a good starting point for your ASM '51 Navy. As long as you get a however slight lead ring cut when loading, your golden! If not, bump up to .457"

http://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index.php?topic=20475.0;wap2http://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index.php?topic=20475.0;wap2

Never been much a fan of open top frame above 36 but never the less I have 2 in my collection. A 44 colt and a colt walker. It's only my opinion but I use 451 in them only to minimize pressure and friction. But on my full steel frame 44s it's 454. I've since polished honed my walker cylinder to 451 to use 454 because after some serious measuring I found that the ball was only catching rifling but no closure to barrel max diameter. It could probably go a bit more but think it's good enough to give improvement to accuracy without adding any significant pressure to the gun.

 

[bang]

I just left the sporting goods store. According to a recent post, if the chamber measures .449 or less the .451s will work. The mouth of the chamber measured 448.5. So I guess I'll give the 451s a try. I also bought a tin of #10 caps. We tried them on the nipples and they were a good tight fit. I have a bunch of 11s but I'd rather have the snug fit. One less thing to worry about.

Typically #10 primer is for pistol and #11 for rifle. Some pistols, like my walker says #11 but first time out the #11 wass too loose. Guess #10 nipples got put on it. As you say best to just use what provides proper fit. No that much noticeable difference in pop, if any, between the two.

 

[Eutycus]

How do 2 differant size caps get put on the same model of pistol? Do they not have quailty control in the Italian factories?

 

[bang]

Could have been a typo in manual or they just used what they had. No matter you can tell from reading others experiences that regardless of where or who from you get one there will be some dealings with it.

 

[hawkeye2]

"Do they not have quailty control in the Italian factories?"

 

[Blogman]

I prefer my ASM and Pietta's over the Uberti when it comes to handguns.

My ASM 58 Remington uses a .451

As I said before, I have two ASM 1858s and my ASM Walker 47. I use .451 RBs, I pour in the Lee six ball molds. I always get the ring shave and get a tight set.

 

[Eutycus]

Really you use 451s in a Walker? And get a ring shave too? Then I see no reason for them not working in my 1851 Navy.

 

[Blogman]

Before I head to the Doc tomorrow I'll try to post a series of pics of the "47" while loading it. My "Babies", the twin 1858s, I keep loaded in the glass case for looks and for emergencies.

BTW, I also have a couple of 1851 44 cal navy models, one is a Hawes the other is a Pietta.

 

[Eutycus]

Had to postpone the shooting again. Had a Drs. Appointment to tend to. Now I got to do some lab work this morning. That means fasting and no coffee. I'd be a menace to society without my morning cup(s) of java. Later I'll give the 451s a try.

 

[Bad Karma]

Had to postpone the shooting again. Had a Drs. Appointment to tend to. Now I got to do some lab work this morning. That means fasting and no coffee. I'd be a menace to society without my morning cup(s) of java. Later I'll give the 451s a try.

Gotta love these golden years, eh?

 

[Eutycus]

Hey I did it . Fired a dozen shots out of my ASM today!

 

[bang]

Really you use 451s in a Walker? And get a ring shave too? Then I see no reason for them not working in my 1851 Navy.

Best check the barrel max diameter. Think you will find a ringed 451 isn't making contact with max barrel diameter. Matter of fact you'll probably be lucky if it gets 0.001 rifling engagement. I had to hone out the cylinder bore to 451 to use 454 to get best max fit.

 

[arcticap]

Best check the barrel max diameter. Think you will find a ringed 451 isn't making contact with max barrel diameter. Matter of fact you'll probably be lucky if it gets 0.001 rifling engagement. I had to hone out the cylinder bore to 451 to use 454 to get best max fit.

I once bought a used 1992 Armi San Marco 1851 .44 Sheriff's Model that had already been loaded for many months.
When I went to fire the balls out, the old powder loadings were anemic [probably due to Bore Butter seepage).
Luckily they exited the barrel and embedded into the thick foam target backing.
It didn't look like they were still very round after they left the barrel.
The forcing cone had some very pronounced lands that these balls needed to pass through which the pictures reflect.
There seems to be plenty of engagement with the rifling of this revolver.
ASM's probably had a wide variation of tolerances over the many years of their production of so many different models.