Bought a pieta 1858 Remington. Looking for some load data and answers.

[muzzleloadingat18]

I bought the sheriff with the 5.5in barrel and am looking for a good load that would work on deer. Ik I'm barking up the wrong tree with the short barrel but I think it's possible. I have a 200gn deep hollow point for 45acp that I think will work wonderfully. I think I can cram 35gn of pyrodex under it. What velocity am I looking forward to. I want to use a heavy HP to make up for the short barrel and help the powder burn and I don't want over penetration because it will all so be my carry pistol. No I'm not a felon I'm 18 and the founding fathers said I should be able to carry a gun so I will. For the record I absolutely love the 58 Remington my 1860 army is great and all but it just doesn't tickle my fancy the same.

 

[PastorB]

I bought the sheriff with the 5.5in barrel and am looking for a good load that would work on deer. Ik I'm barking up the wrong tree with the short barrel but I think it's possible. I have a 200gn deep hollow point for 45acp that I think will work wonderfully. I think I can cram 35gn of pyrodex under it. What velocity am I looking forward to. I want to use a heavy HP to make up for the short barrel and help the powder burn and I don't want over penetration because it will all so be my carry pistol. No I'm not a felon I'm 18 and the founding fathers said I should be able to carry a gun so I will. For the record I absolutely love the 58 Remington my 1860 army is great and all but it just doesn't tickle my fancy the same.

You can find a suitable close range deer load using the 5.5" barrel, but it is not ideal. I have shot the 8" and 5.5" side by side using the same loads, and the 8" is significantly more powerful. I also am better able to place an accurate shot with the full-size gun as compared to the "stubby" barrel. If you are able, get the 8" barrel. If you are content to use the Sheriff's Model, a 25 grain charge of 777 3f will get you enough oomph with a 200+ grain conical to cleanly take a deer. I can go as high as 30 grains with a 225 grain conical in my Pietta's if you want some extra "power". A healthy charge of 3f 777 in your gun will duplicate the ballistics of a .45 ACP, the 8" barrel will be more powerful, more in line with a standard .45 Colt load, or about 100 ft. lbs. more energy. Either will do the job if you are patient enough to wait for a perfect shot at close range. My self imposed limit is about 20 yards, and I would not choose my stubby 5.5" barrel unless strictly out of necessity. Actually, my 5 5" barrel Remington is my least favorite revolver by a wide margin. I would prefer the 1860 Army over the 5 5" Remington. Just the opinion of a fella with 47 years experience shooting cap and ball revolvers.

 

[muzzleloadingat18]

You can find a suitable close range deer load using the 5.5" barrel, but it is not ideal. I have shot the 8" and 5.5" side by side using the same loads, and the 8" is significantly more powerful. I also am better able to place an accurate shot with the full-size gun as compared to the "stubby" barrel. If you are able, get the 8" barrel. If you are content to use the Sheriff's Model, a 25 grain charge of 777 3f will get you enough oomph with a 200+ grain conical to cleanly take a deer. I can go as high as 30 grains with a 225 grain conical in my Pietta's if you want some extra "power". A healthy charge of 3f 777 in your gun will duplicate the ballistics of a .45 ACP, the 8" barrel will be more powerful, more in line with a standard .45 Colt load, or about 100 ft. lbs. more energy. Either will do the job if you are patient enough to wait for a perfect shot at close range. My self imposed limit is about 20 yards, and I would not choose my stubby 5.5" barrel unless strictly out of necessity. Actually, my 5 5" barrel Remington is my least favorite revolver by a wide margin. I would prefer the 1860 Army over the 5 5" Remington. Just the opinion of a fella with 47 years experience shooting cap and ball revolvers.

To me the army doesn't point quite as well and the sights could be better. The big thing is I can squeeze 40gn of pyrodex with a 200gn HP and I'm hoping that will make up for the shorter barrel.

 

[muzzleloadingat18]

You can find a suitable close range deer load using the 5.5" barrel, but it is not ideal. I have shot the 8" and 5.5" side by side using the same loads, and the 8" is significantly more powerful. I also am better able to place an accurate shot with the full-size gun as compared to the "stubby" barrel. If you are able, get the 8" barrel. If you are content to use the Sheriff's Model, a 25 grain charge of 777 3f will get you enough oomph with a 200+ grain conical to cleanly take a deer. I can go as high as 30 grains with a 225 grain conical in my Pietta's if you want some extra "power". A healthy charge of 3f 777 in your gun will duplicate the ballistics of a .45 ACP, the 8" barrel will be more powerful, more in line with a standard .45 Colt load, or about 100 ft. lbs. more energy. Either will do the job if you are patient enough to wait for a perfect shot at close range. My self imposed limit is about 20 yards, and I would not choose my stubby 5.5" barrel unless strictly out of necessity. Actually, my 5 5" barrel Remington is my least favorite revolver by a wide margin. I would prefer the 1860 Army over the 5 5" Remington. Just the opinion of a fella with 47 years experience shooting cap and ball revolvers.

Really I want to make sure that pistol is enough for a side arm when hunting with my Hawkins. I would never primarily hunt with a snub nos pistol. I could buy a long barrel but that defeats the compact size carry ability and balance. What kind of performance do you think I can get from the 1860 army?

 

[Sparkplug]

Really I want to make sure that pistol is enough for a side arm when hunting with my Hawkins. I would never primarily hunt with a snub nos pistol. I could buy a long barrel but that defeats the compact size carry ability and balance. What kind of performance do you think I can get from the 1860 army?

I carry mine on a regular basis. I have also successfully harvested a deer with it. 30gr of 777 3F with a 200gr bullet will give you the equivalent of a 9mm as far as effectiveness. Any shot on a deer with it will take a lot of planning on your part, including understanding deer anatomy and where to place the shot.

 

[SDSmlf]

I bought the sheriff with the 5.5in barrel and am looking for a good load that would work on deer. Ik I'm barking up the wrong tree with the short barrel but I think it's possible. I have a 200gn deep hollow point for 45acp that I think will work wonderfully. I think I can cram 35gn of pyrodex under it. What velocity am I looking forward to. I want to use a heavy HP to make up for the short barrel and help the powder burn and I don't want over penetration because it will all so be my carry pistol. No I'm not a felon I'm 18 and the founding fathers said I should be able to carry a gun so I will. For the record I absolutely love the 58 Remington my 1860 army is great and all but it just doesn't tickle my fancy the same.

Difficult to turn these old pistol designs in magnums, but that doesn’t mean people won’t continue to try. While not recommended in a 58, remember getting near 1000 FPS with a roundball over 40 or so grains of 4F in a ROA (7-1/2” barrel), and maybe 825 FPS with a 185 grain conical over 30+ grains of 4F. Velocity was significantly lower with 3F or 2F, and with a 5-1/2” barrel, imagine even more unburnt powder will be blown out the barrel. These 4F loads were shot before all the modern thinkers arrived on the internet and was based on Lyman published data. Before anyone’s hair spontaneously combusts, I wouldn’t recommend the conical 4F max load in a 58 just because I haven’t tried it. And it’s just not recommended today. A ROA is a much stronger gun. But the roundball load in a 1858 or 1860…..

Best way to know velocity in your gun is to run it over a chronograph. Barrel length, cylinder gap, powder, bullet diameter and bullet weight are all factors. I’d expect less than 700 with Pyrodex, maybe near 700 with T7 3F or Swiss 3F. Let us know what the chronograph says.

 

[Gee Dog]

Difficult to turn these old pistol designs in magnums, but that doesn’t mean people won’t continue to try. While not recommended in a 58, remember getting near 1000 FPS with a roundball over 40 or so grains of 4F in a ROA (7-1/2” barrel), and maybe 825 FPS with a 185 grain conical over 30+ grains of 4F. Velocity was significantly lower with 3F or 2F, and with a 5-1/2” barrel, imagine even more unburnt powder will be blown out the barrel. These 4F loads were shot before all the modern thinkers arrived on the internet and was based on Lyman published data. Before anyone’s hair spontaneously combusts, I wouldn’t recommend the conical 4F max load in a 58 just because I haven’t tried it. And it’s just not recommended today. A ROA is a much stronger gun. But the roundball load in a 1858 or 1860…..

Best way to know velocity in your gun is to run it over a chronograph. Barrel length, cylinder gap, powder, bullet diameter and bullet weight are all factors. I’d expect less than 700 with Pyrodex, maybe near 700 with T7 3F or Swiss 3F. Let us know what the chronograph says.

I question whether a hollow point would be the best bullet for this gun and this application. I would choose a 190 to 200 grain slug with a moderate to generous meplat.

I have both the Remington 8” and the 5.5 and each is a great shooter. Pietta. It would never occur to me to go deer hunting with a 5.5 inch.

 

[PastorB]

To me the army doesn't point quite as well and the sights could be better. The big thing is I can squeeze 40gn of pyrodex with a 200gn HP and I'm hoping that will make up for the shorter barrel.

I doubt that using 40 grains of powder would result in any realistic gain in a 5.5" barrel. That short barrel will not effectively burn all that powder. You WILL get tremendous recoil, horrible muzzle flash, and probably abysmal accuracy. I actually shoot better with the Colt style sights, but I've been doing it four plus decades. The Colts tend to shoot high, even more so with conicals. Some Pietta's will not shoot conicals well due to the slow twist rate (1 in 30") of their revolvers. I have posted a lot of chrono data on this forum, including side by side results using my 5.5" and 8" Pietta Remingtons. You can find thise threads using the search. A round ball at 1100 fps, very doable in a 8" barrel, might be a better option than a conical. Don't get caught up in "Magnum Mania" and getting all impressed by ft./lbs. of energy. Round Balls are very effective killers, have less recoil, and are usually more accurate. That is true for your Hawken Rifle also, PRB's are my go to projectiles in my rifles, and i use a very moderate powder charge, 60 grains (volume) in my .54's. Kills deer and bear just fine.

 

[Jedidiah]

I bought the sheriff with the 5.5in barrel and am looking for a good load that would work on deer. Ik I'm barking up the wrong tree with the short barrel but I think it's possible. I have a 200gn deep hollow point for 45acp that I think will work wonderfully. I think I can cram 35gn of pyrodex under it. What velocity am I looking forward to. I want to use a heavy HP to make up for the short barrel and help the powder burn and I don't want over penetration because it will all so be my carry pistol. No I'm not a felon I'm 18 and the founding fathers said I should be able to carry a gun so I will. For the record I absolutely love the 58 Remington my 1860 army is great and all but it just doesn't tickle my fancy the same.

I just purchased an 1858 remington, 5.5 in bbl from Midway. Expect delivery in a week. The price was too hard to ignore. They are having a sale and promo! Cost, $ 316.00!!!! Can't beat that with a stick. IMHO

 

[CaptainVane]

Just looked, great sale prices, especially for Ubertis.

 

[Jedidiah]

Just looked, great sale prices, especially for Ubertis.

I have the Piettas, and have no complaints. The constant argument of Pietta versus Uberti is odl worn and lame IMHO. I have this Pietta 1858 Remington, 2012 manuf. date. It is perfect. Smooth, locks up correctly and the fit and finish is as good as any firearm modern or old. I took a few pics. This one is unfired. I just purchased a second one, a twin, because i wanted to have a "brace" of pistols and also have one that I can use a conversion cylinder in easily and the Remingtons foot the bill. I will compare the build quality of the new one when it arrives this week, and update with a review of this new acquisition. You can't go wrong with the Pietta ,IMHO YMMV

 

[CaptainVane]

Hmmm, when i looked it only showed me Ubertis on sale. Don’t know why.

 

[Jedidiah]

Hmmm, when i looked it only showed me Ubertis on sale. Don’t know why.

Try again, i just bought mine yesterday!

 

[Jedidiah]

I just checked the site. They are all still there and still on sale. they will not last long. just put in Black Powder Revolvers in the search at Midway...

 

[Sparkplug]

I have the Piettas, and have no complaints. The constant argument of Pietta versus Uberti is odl worn and lame IMHO. I have this Pietta 1858 Remington, 2012 manuf. date. It is perfect. Smooth, locks up correctly and the fit and finish is as good as any firearm modern or old. I took a few pics. This one is unfired. I just purchased a second one, a twin, because i wanted to have a "brace" of pistols and also have one that I can use a conversion cylinder in easily and the Remingtons foot the bill. I will compare the build quality of the new one when it arrives this week, and update with a review of this new acquisition. You can't go wrong with the Pietta ,IMHO YMMV

My only complaint about the new 1858s is a common problem. Some, but not all, have an issue with the latch post on the end of the barrel breaking. My original broke on the 12th or so shot. Cabellas was good about the replacement and told me I was the 2nd person that day with the same issue.

A little research turned up a lot of folks with the same problem over the last few years.

That being said, the replacement I got has fired a lot of hotter loads with no issues whatsoever!

 

[Jedidiah]

My only complaint about the new 1858s is a common problem. Some, but not all, have an issue with the latch post on the end of the barrel breaking. My original broke on the 12th or so shot. Cabellas was good about the replacement and told me I was the 2nd person that day with the same issue.

A little research turned up a lot of folks with the same problem over the last few years.

That being said, the replacement I got has fired a lot of hotter loads with no issues whatsoever!

Thanks good inofrmation.

 

[Jedidiah]

My only complaint about the new 1858s is a common problem. Some, but not all, have an issue with the latch post on the end of the barrel breaking. My original broke on the 12th or so shot. Cabellas was good about the replacement and told me I was the 2nd person that day with the same issue.

A little research turned up a lot of folks with the same problem over the last few years.

That being said, the replacement I got has fired a lot of hotter loads with no issues whatsoever!

What did Cabelas replace? The entire pistol or the barrel?

 

[Sparkplug]

What did Cabelas replace? The entire pistol or the barrel?

Whole thing. Walked in with the broken one and walked out with the replacement.

 

[Jedidiah]

Whole thing. Walked in with the broken one and walked out with the replacement.

wow, that is great, Was this a recent thing?

 

[Sparkplug]

wow, that is great, Was this a recent thing?

Couple of years ago, I think.