Colt/Uberti .31 accurasy

[CaptainVane]

I got a question. I have the above. 4” barrel. Picture attached.
I use 10g of T7 with a .320 round ball, wad between powder and ball.
At 20ft accuracy is all over the place. High low left right, its a mess.
I read so many articles, posts, etc how most are so accurate. And i read how so many use 15g.
WTF.
First if i try 15g I ain’t fitting a ball in the chamber. I tried.
Ive thought about trying a .323 ball but I still have a couple hundred.320.
Got half a mind to sell it and try getting another.
This is an actual 1848 model, oval cylinder stops, no lever. I really like it.
I don’t understand why mine is uselessly inaccurate when i read that others are. One guy said his is accurate to 60 feet. Seriously!?
Barrel is shiny no pitts.
I cant even see where mine are going at 20 feet because i cant hit a man size splatter burst target at 20 feet.
It’s not me. I can hit red center at 60 feet with my Colt ‘51 .36 all day long.
I go to range once or twice a week determine to figure it out but at this point i just waste caps, balls, powder.
What is wrong? Are some pistols just inherently inaccurate?

 

[hawkeye2]

Does the cylinder shave off a slight ring of lead from the ball when you seat it? If so then there is no problem with the ball unless they are hand cast and of very poor quality.

Are you shooting using a rest and a constant sight picture? You won't be able to determine anything without a rest specially with a light gun with small grips.

Does the gun lock up tight and have a decent trigger? A stiff trigger in a small gun like that can cause more problems than in a larger gun.

The chambers could be smaller than the bore diameter. Drive a ball through the barrel and inspect it to see if it has filed out to the bottom of the groves. Try the ball in the chambers. If it doesn't want to fit easily (shave some lead) then the chambers are too small which will contribute to the problem. The sure cure for that is to ream the chambers larger and go to a larger ball which may require some work to the forcing cone.

There shouldn't be any issue with a Uberti barrel. You may have a short arbor (very likely) and in that case if the wedge isn't inserted exactly the same every time your zero will change. Wedge in too far will pull the barrel up and too lose the barrel will be too low in relation to the frame and cylinder. Search this site for short arbor and be prepared to spend a lot of time reading. Everything said some people have trouble shooting this gun because of its light weight and small grips.

 

[CaptainVane]

Yes, yes, yes, check tomorrow. Arbor and all parts tight. All good ideas, i will be looking into all of these.

 

[Hanger]

Is there any size difference in the “Wells Fargo” model and the other pocket model with the loading lever? I am very interested in getting one, just trying to find out what would be best for me.

 

[hawkeye2]

They are basically the same gun. The biggest difference is that the "Wells Fargo lacks a loading lever or provision for one.

 

[Tyler L]

Is there any size difference in the “Wells Fargo” model and the other pocket model with the loading lever? I am very interested in getting one, just trying to find out what would be best for me.

They're all the same size.
If you look close at @CaptainVane 's photo, the 1848 has oval cylinder stops. Obviously there's no loading lever, and sometimes they can be had with a square back trigger guard.
The 1849 has rectangular cylinder stops, with a loading lever.
The 1849 "Wells Fargo" has rectangular cylinder stops, and no loading lever.

 

[Hanger]

Thanks for the replies guys, will be on the lookout for one with a loading lever.

 

[CaptainVane]

They're all the same size.
If you look close at @CaptainVane 's photo, the 1848 has oval cylinder stops. Obviously there's no loading lever, and sometimes they can be had with a square back trigger guard.
The 1849 has rectangular cylinder stops, with a loading lever.
The 1849 "Wells Fargo" has rectangular cylinder stops, and no loading lever.

Correct! On all 3.
Except, only Colt repros have squareback. Uberti only made round.

 

[CaptainVane]

Thanks for the replies guys, will be on the lookout for one with a loading lever.

MANDMOUTFITTERS has the one like mine, no lever, new, $380.
Check gun broker.

 

[Tyler L]

Correct! On all 3.
Except, only Colt repros have squareback. Uberti only made round.

Uberti's website shows one with a square back, but perhaps it was made only for Colt?

https://www.ubertireplicas.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/1848-baby-dragon-inox_1528181.jpg

 

[CaptainVane]

Went to range and at 30ft, and about 100 shots I got this thing shooting pretty good. Not gonna win many tournaments but good enough to put a serious hurt on a perp.
So what did i do differently?
TC bore butter on top of ball. I still used a wad over powder for chain fire, because I didn’t use enough butter to seal chamber. Just a smidge for lube.
Accuracy improved, cylinder cycling was smoother, went longer without disassembly cleaning. I’m sold.
Downside? From the discharge between cylinder and cone, the pistol got greasy. Had to keep wiping hands with shop rag.

 

[CaptainVane]

Uberti's website shows one with a square back, but perhaps it was made only for Colt?

https://www.ubertireplicas.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/1848-baby-dragon-inox_1528181.jpg

Never seen that, aint that strange because the main uberti site shows this…

 

[maillemaker]

Are you shooting off hand, or off a rest? My advise is to do load workups shooting from a rest.

It's entirely possible that lube is helping keep the fouling soft in the grooves and helping with accuracy. It can make a mess.

I also recommend brushing the barrel after every 6 shots. Just run a bristle brush through the barrel a few times.

It's also possible the gun just doesn't shoot accurately. I have a Pietta Spiller and Burr, and a Euroarms Remington Navy that I never could get to shoot well, despite load workups.

 

[CaptainVane]

Are you shooting off hand, or off a rest? My advise is to do load workups shooting from a rest.

It's entirely possible that lube is helping keep the fouling soft in the grooves and helping with accuracy. It can make a mess.

I also recommend brushing the barrel after every 6 shots. Just run a bristle brush through the barrel a few times.

It's also possible the gun just doesn't shoot accurately. I have a Pietta Spiller and Burr, and a Euroarms Remington Navy that I never could get to shoot well, despite load workups.

Rest with a few hand shots. Im pretty satisfied after today. Next time i will move target back to 40.
Starting to figure out POI vs POA.
I stopped using front sight. Too short, shoots way high. So ya know what I did today?
Both eyes open, left eye watches the level of the barrel. Right eye views thru hammer V on the target. It works very well for me. Got few bullseye.

 

[maillemaker]

Nearly all of the replica (and probably original) revolvers shot high at 25 yards. I've got one (Pietta 2019 1851 Navy) that shoots point of aim.

 

[Malamute]

Rest with a few hand shots. Im pretty satisfied after today. Next time i will move target back to 40.
Starting to figure out POI vs POA.
I stopped using front sight. Too short, shoots way high. So ya know what I did today?
Both eyes open, left eye watches the level of the barrel. Right eye views thru hammer V on the target. It works very well for me. Got few bullseye.

If you can, try setting up a taller target, and/or using some aiming point lower down on the target(s) and use the sight picture with existing sights as intended. Bullseyes are nice, but not really the objective until the group size is under control, then the sights can be addressed to bring POA and POI together. Using the 6:00 hold on bullseye targets gives you some vertical leeway in the POI department. Making a sharpie mark low down on the target so the hits are on paper also helps. I usually make about a 2" square for an aiming point.

If the front sight is drastically too low to use effectively, getting one of the small dovetail front sights that you can work down is my choice to correct it. Theres several such front sights in evidence on percussion Colts at the Cody Museum.

I think a 31 would be a dandy bunny gun once dialed in.

 

[nkbj]

In the 70's I used these in a FIE reproduction .31 with 4" barrel with good results.
Hardened buckshot worked well also.