Colt shooters

[54mountain]

Which do you like better, the 1851 navy or the 1860 army? and why.

The reason I ask I just won an 1860 army at our spring shoot raffle and it looks like a better built gun than the 1851 civilian I had a few years back. ( I couldn't hit a thing with it) I'm hoping I have better luck with the 1860.

PS
any info on loads is appricated

Galen

 

[jtmattison]

I don't own an 1860 but I have shot one. I like it better than my 1851. My 1851 isn't the most accurate pistol I've ever shot by a long shot but it's fun to shoot. I think the 1860 is sturdier than the 1851.

HD

 

[Cowboy45j]

I have an 1860 army and my Grandfather has a 51 Navy.

I prefer the army as the grip seems to fit my hand better. I also like the .44 for civil war reenacting as it makes a bigger boom.

I shoot 25g fff under a 451 round ball over a wonder wad.

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

I've got a few '51 Navys and a couple of '60 Armies. I like them both. They both are accurate but the '60 gets the nod on power. The '51 has better overall balance, but the '60 has a longer hand filling grip. The ramming system on the Navy is ultimately stronger than the one on the Army as the teeth on the Army can wear the barrel bolster and have been known to break with heavy use.

I use a .375 ball over 25 grains of FFFg in the Navys with a beeswax and tallow lube over the ball to keep fouling soft. The same lube on the arbor keeps the cylinder turning easily.

The Armies use a.454 ball over 30 grains of FFFg. Everything else is the same.

 

[torn moc]

I like both ! Of course I am ADDICTED to black powder arms in general.Have you ever handled a
'62 police? Now that's a sweet little .36 cal built on a '49 frame but looks like a '60 army.
....

 

[Houchins]

Uberti walker is my revolver of choice :2

 

[Robert an saa fan]

Congratulations on winning the 1860 Army!

My preference given the same manufacturer and same vintage is the 1851 Navy for just general having fun. In an exact replica or a Colt 2nd Generation 1851 Navy, they will have the same size backstrap, triggerguard and grip as the Colt SAA which fits me just right.

Lots of folks prefer the 1860 or 1861. A revolver should feel/fit "good or right" to you. Lots of variables for choices here.

You did not give the make of your 1860 Army and if it is newly made. Some replica revolvers (especially some older ones) have cylinder diameters that are too small to properly match the bore size resulting in poor accuracy until the cylinders are reamed to match the bore.

 

[David Teague]

My 61 navy is like a laser... it's dead on and fits my hand like a dream.

My 71 conversion is on a 1860 frame and while I can shoot it well, I like the feel and "ponitibillity" of a 51/61 Navy.

I've got small hands for a guy my size.

Cheers,

DT

 

[Mulebrain]

Congrats on that 1860 :thumbsup:

That is my favorite out of the Colts. I like the .44 and the larger powder charges. It fits my hand better as well.

I like the 51's very much as well, but love the 1860!

 

[54mountain]

It's a pietta from Cabela's same as the 1851 I had but the fit and finish on this one is a lot better, I'll have to slug the bore and mic every thing out to see where i'm at and go from there.

 

[st_lgarret01]

i own a pair of both the 60 armies and walkers

i prefer the armies because i've got big hands and the 60 army handles well and shoots straight every time
i've never shot a navy, but i'm interested in getting them.
the pair of walkers are my brothers (he's 6'5" tall, 250 pounds, and he's gonna play defense for Nebraska next year), so them hefty pistols suit him fine.

the only problem is that the 60 armies have avery weak leaf spring that turns the cylinder when you cock them. both of them broke on me, i had them repaired, and last time i was home, one of them broke again :cursing: whats a poor guy to do?
other than that, when they work, my 60 armies are real shooters.

 

[337]

I have an Armi San Marco 1860 & Pietta 1860 army's and shoot 25 grains of Goex 3F with a .454 round ball om both.
I cannot say about the 1851 until I get one,I fell in love with the accuracy,feel and balance of the 1860's.

 

[Zonie]

Although it is a pistol that was never made (or at least never made in production) the Colt I liked best was the idea of some Italian.

That pistol was a steel framed 1851 Colt in .44 caliber.

The slightly smaller grip and frame of the 1851 Navy had the superb pointability of the .36 caliber Navy but the BOOM when it was fired was defiantly that of the 1860 Army.

There was a time that I decided that all of my C&B revolvers had to be Historically Correct, so in a moment of mental failure I sold mine.

 

[Poor Private]

Actually I have a .44 brass framed '51' with a 5" barrel. It looks like a 51 sheriffs model. It's a Navy arms that I bought at a gun show with a nice plastic CVA kit for a outstanding price of $100. Like Zonie says not historically accurate, but a blast to fire. I sometimes use it for my reb impression at some events just because with the short barrel and firing blanks it does make a satisfying BOOM. My 5' tall wife loves to fire this revolver, it fits her smaller hands, she can hit the black at 25' firing offhand. Actually the first time she fired it she bulled the target. I havn't had the urge yet to sell any of my pistols. They all spoke to me when I bought them.

 

[54mountain]

I checked the bore and cylinder and they both mic out at .447
so I should be ok with the .451 ball the book calls for. I ordered a mold from TOW and it should be here in a few days. I can't wait to see what she'll do. :thumbsup:

 

[pondoro]

I went shooting Thursday after probably two month's when I didn't get to shoot much at all. In order I shot: my Ruger Mark II with a Clark Custom trigger, my Ruger GP100 with a smithed trigger, my S&W M&P 9mm (with the stock trigger), my friend's Glock compact 45 (forget the model number) and my Pietta 1860 Colt repro. My best group of the day was with the 1860 Colt.

 

[Jack Rancour]

Gotta agree with you on that one. I've got 2-'51 Navys in .44 cal (Confederate Reb Revolver as they were called but never actually built by Colt itself), a '58 Remington Army .44 cal, a '45 Kentucky Pistol in .45 cal, a '50 Gambler's Ace single shot .45 cal and the infamous '47 Walker .44 cal but the Walker is my favorite. Just nothing like 60 grains of powder in a hand cannon of a revolver :thumbsup: Don't own the Colt Army model yet but looking forward to in the future. Also want to get a Patterson, nice old revolver.

 

[Leatherbark]

I bought the same revolver a few months ago. Mine shoots about 6 inches high at 25 yards. I filed the hammer notch some but its still high. I may have to fashion a taller front sight. But it shoots a nice round 3 inch group with 27 gr of Grafs and a .451 ball. I'm sure it will do better with Goex as my rifles do....................Bob

 

[54mountain]

Cool!

I Knew they they tended to shoot a little high.
I'm still waitin' on a mold so I can shoot the darn thing. I just got a letter from TOW and it's on back order, I'm about to go nuts with anticipation. :haha:

 

[JPShelton]

I vastly prefer the feel of the 1860, primarily because it has a more hand-filling grip. To me, the 1860 is most naturally pointing handgun I've ever tried, and I tend to shoot mine well in spite of crude sights because of that. It groups better than my M-66 S&W that I started my law enforcement career with did, though not by much. It is light years ahead of the Beretta M-92F that I ended my law enforcement career with in terms of precision. I guess that's why I don't mind the mess involved in shooting it, or the slower, relaxed pace of "reloading as I go" rather than jamming pre-loaded suppositories in a modern handgun.

I also guess that's why I no longer own any "modern handguns" except a Browning Buckmark, and why I really don't want any.

-JP