Brass frame revolvers unsafe?

[jtmattison]

I was poking around looking for information on the Pietta 1851 Navy and one of the sites that sell it say "live fire of brass framed revolvers is not recommended".

Anybody hear of that?

I don't think Pietta would manufacture an unsafe revolver.



HD

 

[Hawkeye]

This is another story that will not die. There should be NO issues with these revolvers provided you use the recommended charges of the proper propellent. In short moderate loads of Black powder or pyrodex should be fine, cramming the thing full of T7 will evenyually cause it to shoot loose.

 

[jtmattison]

All I'm going to use is Goex 3f.

HD

 

[Rollover Jack]

A long time ago, I owned an 1851 Navy kit. The frame was brass and would not rust! I was very happy shooting it for a long time except that the caliber was smaller than that of some of my friends'. Then, I was told that my gun might be dangerous to use, that the issue was the brass frame. I decided to research the issue and found that:
If you shot it all day long, every day, the cylinder gap might increase in size from the cylinder recoiling into the brass frame and increasing the fit causing the cylinder-to-forcing-cone gap to increase and lose power. It might also burn your finger if you held it next to the aforementioned gap while firing! (Why in the hell would you do that anyway even if the fit was tight? Sometimes the "ring" of lead shaved from the bullet seating would come out of there in any gun!) Now to the meat of the subject: Forget the above. It is when the cylinder pin becomes loose and "wobbly" in the brass that the gun is not fit to shoot anymore. The cylinder may align itself with an axis other than the one that the bore is true to. The ball (not co-inciding) with the bore will send fragments in tangential directions. My ex-wife has such a fragment in her upper arm. I am thankful that was not brought up at the divorce. I have also found that brass frame revolvers and brass in general suffer the less from corrosion due to cleaning issues, and perhaps, get by with less lubrication than all-steel guns, in my opinion only.

"When you see the smoke on the wind, look for me."

 

[rebel727]

"live fire of brass framed revolvers is not recommended".
HD

That's pure B.S. It may get loose with repeated heavy loads.

 

[jtmattison]

"live fire of brass framed revolvers is not recommended".
HD

That's pure B.S. It may get loose with repeated heavy loads.

I figured it would be B.S.

I plan to shoot light to moderate loads only with roundball.

I'll be paper punching mostly and also carry it as a hunting backup. Might even keep it handy for home defense.

HD

 

[renovato]

They're plenty safe to shoot. They just don't have a long life if subjected to a steady diet of full power loads. If all you shoot is target loads, it'll probably outlast you! :haha:

 

[Poor Private]

And not only is it safe to use for years- Don't that brass shine up real purty! :grin: I own both and don't notice a difference if you don't overcharge your loads. And why would you want to anyway? They were designed for a specific load of powder. Any weapon thats ovrcharged has more of a chance of splitting, becoming loose, and generaly unsafe.

 

[Blizzard of '93]

I've owned brass-frame BP revolvers, and they did well. use max loads sparingly. and round ball only at that, it will do fine as a hunting back-up. I shot hundreds if not thousands of shots with one of them and no apparent wear. '58 Remmmy.

 

[Bob Riegl]

:hmm: All being said even a Pietta brass framed revolver will not explode---the only thing is that the frame will not take as much of a beating that a steel frame. However, I don't think you plan to shoot a war with it each time out, it shouldn't be a problem. Of course there aren't any guarantees from what is said here on the forum. :thumbsup: