Cabela's BP Revolvers

[pondoro]

Thanks for the advice. This forum is a great source of info. I will try with and without wads. I am not worried about Ox-Yoke as I planned to cut my own from felt and soak them in lube. (Following Elmer Keith's advice from his chapter on Cap and Ball Revolvers). I do not plan to use a mixture of beeswax and tallow (Elmer's recipe), I think I will use bore butter or CVA's equivalent. Tallow seems like it could smell after a few months.

 

[Pittsburghunter]

Pondoro, a couple of things you will need that wasn't mentioned are brushes made for the .44 cal and a different powder measure. The powder measures made for your rifle are pretty big and you will have a tough time pouring the powder into the cylinder. I am using a small Traditions that you can adjust up to 50g. Your powder flask should be ok as long as the tube on it is skinny enough.

Hmmm, something to hold it while you load it would be nice also. I just made a copy of the loading stand that Cabela's sells for about $.75 using some oak and dowling I had hanging around and a little Minwax finish.

 

[ValleyForge]

I've had a Pietta/Cabela's 1858 Remington for 2 years now. I use it frequently & have had no troubles at all with it. When I bought an 1861 Colt I figured I'd try the 'high price spread' and bought a Uberti. I had to return the 1st one & the 2nd one has had its share of problems. So you don't know until you get an individual pistol in your hands.

But my Remmie is the more reliable of the two.

-- VF

 

[pondoro]

My Cabela's 1860 arrived yesterday. It looks nice. No obvious problems of any type. The free carrying case that comes with it looks like it is actually useful, which was a suprise.

Question - the thing comes with two instruction manuals, one from Pietta and one from Cabela's. The Pietta manual recommends a 0.454" ball over 12-15 grains of FFFG. The Cabela's manual recommends a 0.451" ball over 35 grains of FFFG. This seems like a huge discrepancy. Anyone have any ideas what is up with this conflicting advice?

 

[Mr Nick]

.451 is what has been traditionaly used in the .44 cal cap an ball revolvers. Most shooters have found that the .454 fits better (shaves a small ring of lead when loading) and shoots more accurately.

 

[pondoro]

Ok, Mr Nick answered part of my question - the part about the ball diameter. But the scarier part is that the two instruction manuals (Cabela's and Pietta) recommend radically dfferent powder charges. Cabela's recommends 35 grains and Pietta recommends 12-15. Everything I can find on the web says "35" but then why does Pietta say "12-15"?

Thanks

 

[Sham66]

It seems the manufacturers/retailers sometimes lowball the powder charges. Not sure if this is fear of lawsuits, a recommended break-in charge, whatever. With my Walker, in using the Dixie recommended loads, it did not work well. I upped the charge to what was recommended on this forum, and all is well.

James

 

[Mr Nick]

12-15 is pretty light. 35 is on the heavy side. I try to try different loads to get the best accuracy. My last 1860 shot best with 20 gr. Of course I target shoot, If I was trying to hunt med size game I would opt for the heavier load. Pick up or borrow a copy of Lyman's Black Powder Handbook. It shows various loads and thier velocity. Most BP guns can handle a varity of loads. Sometimes it takes a lot of experimenting to get the ideal load.

 

[Zonie]

One of the interesting things found in the Dixie Gun Works Catalog is the information in the back.
Most of this was gathered years ago but it, like Physics doesn't change with time.

On page 666 of the 2005 Catalog is listed the Standard Muzzleloading Charges for the original guns.
It gives the following for C&B Pistols:

.44 Colt Dragoon .453 ball 40 gr FFFg
.44 Colt and Remington .453 ball 28 gr FFFg
.44 Modern made Remington & Colt .451 ball 28 gr FFFg
.44 Modern made Colt Dragoon .451 ball 40 gr FFFg
.36 Modern made Remington & Colt .376 ball 22 gr FFFg
.36 Colt & Remington Navy, Whitney, Pettingill, Savage, Cooper, Bacon and most .36 revolvers .376 ball 22 gr FFFg

 

[gordy]

After reading all the post on this thread,I can't add a whole lot more.I would go with the steel frame if possible.I have an 1860 colt[url] repro.in[/url] .44 cal.with steel frame and it is finished quite well for the price.I did have to replace the trigger/lock spring.I made mine from a hacksaw blade and it's still functioning fine,A friend has the Bison 12" bbl. brass framed and He also had to replace the spring.Unless You intend to hunt larger game than rabbits,woodchucks or tree rats,about 25gr.will give the best accy.I've owned the Ruger Old Army and You can stuff the chambers full of any grain size BP or approved sub and not worry about the gun holding the preasure.but the most accurate load was about25grs.As to the use of wads,I think they tend to keep the fouling soft and to a min.Makes clean-up faster and easier.Also I like the.454 ball rather than the .451.They load a little harder but I've found the .454 shoots tighter groups for me.The brass framed revolvers will last a long time if You keep the loads to 20-25 grs.Whatever You get You'll enjoy.Good luck.

 

I don't own any brass guns so my comments only apply to steel framed but with any revolver, I put in as much FFFg as I can get under a felt wad and round ball - without crushing the powder or having the ball protrude to prevent rotation. Using normal components, I think it is almost impossible to overload a revolver. That doesn't mean you can't damage one thru sloppy handling or some other unusual calamity but about the only major hazards you might see are a chain fire (read the thread elsewhere in this category) or a ball with little or no powder that squibs into the barrel and causes an obstruction. I have fired thousands of rounds thru C&B revolvers over the past 25 years and never experienced anything but lots of fun! Enjoy yourself and stay safe.

 

[USMCsniper]

I've got a brass frame Navy .44 (.454) and it works fine. :blue:

 

[pondoro]

So because of y'all I ordered a revolver, got it on Friday. Saturday started with a trip to Friendship, Indiana where I bought wads, balls, nipple wrench, cleaning utensils, plus a lot of parts for a flintlock that I am making, then I ended up sick in bed all day Sunday and Monday. So I really looked the gun over well today. As I said it is a Pietta, 1860, steel frame. I am impressed with the fit and finish. The blue is as good as any I have seen on new American-made firearms. The metal work is very nice. One small rough edge on the wood, but my dad was a cabinet maker so I know what to look for, some might not notice. If this gun shoots as well as it looks I will be very happy. Yes, it bugs me that I have not shot it yet!

Oh yeah, the Pietta instruction manual warns against using "burning patches" I must confess that even as a craaaaazzzy teenager I never considered using burning patches! And I tried a lot of dumb things.