First BP Outing

[dubshooter]

Well, I went to Cabela's last week to see that the 5.5" barrel 1858 Remington .44 I had on back order was in stock at the store, but they wanted me to wait until the end of March to get mine. So I canceled my order and got mine at the store.

I went out to the desert the other day to try it out. I have quite a few semi-auto handguns, revolvers, and a couple revolvers. But BOY OH BOY, this gun was a BLAST

I took out my new 1858 and my Colt Defender to shoot, but the Remington was so much fun that I didn't even shoot the Colt. I was having way too much fun trying out different loads. I only had .454 size round balls, but tried 25, 27, and 30 grain loads,finding I liked the 27 the best with Speer round balls.

I have some .457 Hornady's now to try out with it, and have some more .454's coming in a few weeks that I ordered online.

Kind of odd though, the #10 caps seemed a little big, and I had to pinch them a bit, but then they held on well. I shot 60 rounds total, and no problems, not jamming up. Then home to clean it up and sit on the back porch with the dog (who kept looking for lizards to eat).

I see why you guys enjoy these guns so much. Now I'm tempted to pick up a Colt in .36 cal so I can find the round balls locally. Can't find many .44 cal round balls, but .36 are plentiful.

That.... and you always need another gun.

 

[Eljay]

If it wasn't a lot of fun we wouldn't bother.

Just a couple of thoughts.

The standard nipples on these things can be frustrating. You'll notice that a lot of places sell aftermarket nipples. It's not that they need to be replaced all that often so much as that a lot of people just replace all factory nipples. Most companies definitely cheap out on the nipples unfortunately.

There seems to be something of a shortage in some ball sizes, especially .454 right now. It's part of what started me casting (which turns out to be very straightforward - I should have done it ages ago).

 

[Matt85]

try different brands of caps, CCI and remington #10s are actually different sizes. i would also recomend picking up a mold and taking up casting. casting is very easy and lead can be found pretty easy if you set yer mind to it. casting is also cheaper and you dont need to worry about the stores stocking certain sizes.

my first BP firearm was a Pietta 1858 aswell. they are a blast to shoot but i quickly found single shot guns to be more fun. now i just use my 1858 to seduce others into the world of BP.

enjoy yer new gun!
-matt

 

[swathdiver]

That is odd. My Pietta is new production and the Remington #10s caps fit perfect.

Well, mebbe they changed 'em again. :hmm:

Get some other sizes to see which it likes best, after you go shoot it again!

 

[Eljay]

I think on mine which is maybe two years old the nipples are more like CCI #10 sized. I like the Remington caps better in general but the 1858's don't seem to care so trying CCI #10s is an option if you don't want to change out the nipples.

 

[dubshooter]

It doesn't bother me to pinch the caps a bit to get them to stay. Just another step. And remingtons are the only thing you can find around here (if you can even find them).

I'm thinking about casting. Ordered the stuff to make my own wads, and casting is the next thing. Just need to figure out the best place to get lead that is hopefully close by. We will see what i can come up with.

 

[Eljay]

As long as you're sure they're staying put 100% of the time. If a cap falls off, and you shoot another chamber, fire can enter the rear of the exposed nipple and a chain fire results. This is no fun.

There are a bunch of online sources of lead if you can't find somebody local. With rotometals.com if you buy $100 worth shipping's free (they just pack it into a flat rate priority mail box.)

 

[George T.]

If you can find a small arbor press you might want to use it with the 547's because they load pretty hard in all but the Rugers! I tried them but I removed the cylinder and used the arbor press. Yeah I know that the Remington has a full frame but I like to baby my firearms. 27 grains works well for me and by the way a 357 mag case measures our 27 abd a hair of 3F. Geo. T.

 

[smokepole tc]

i shot my new 1858 today cci 10 were to small remington 10 fit ok but had to pinch them ordered a new set from tow.

 

[cynthialee]

Replace the factory nipples. If it is a standard issue production model and not a custom pistol then chances are the nipples are less than optimum. It escapes me how these italian companies can make a nice functional revolver and then cheep out in the nipple department.
If you have to pinch the nipples to get them to fit then there are risks of a chain fire or fail to fire due to caps falling off.
Just about any of the after market nipples are going to be good to go. I found some #11 nipples for my pistol so that they would use the same caps as my rifles.
The Remington #10 caps seem to be the best bet out there right now. They fit both #10 and #11 nipples very well.

Also I will join in the chorus that is saying cast your own roundballs. It is much cheeper in the long run and it isn't that difficult at all. My biggest barrier to casting lead was I am a bit of a coward when it comes to dangerous work. :grin:

 

[FishDFly]

"If you can find a small arbor press you might want to use it with the 547's because they load pretty hard in all but the Rugers"

How can you stuff a .547 in a Remington 44 cal? Ruger calls for a .457. in the ROA.

 

[dubshooter]

I think I may start doing this. Just need to find a good source for lead. Although did see 50-55 lbs for $110 with free freight.

 

[cynthialee]

If you have a metals reclaimation/recycleing place in town check there first. You may be able to save some $$.

 

[dubshooter]

So these #11 nipples from TOW should be good to use Remington #10's with still? I've stocked up about 1000 caps since I've been finding them when I head into town. Be a shame they didn't fit on the new nipples

"Nipple, 6-.75mm metric thread, for *** - Pietta Remington, Pietta Colt, Pietta Le Mat replica revolvers, #11 CCI or Remington cap, stainless steel "

 

[dubshooter]

And I did take some advice and picked up a loading stand from Cabelas. I know the Traditions brand isn't the most favored as some others, but I'm going to try it out. If it's no good, i'll take it back and shell out some for the more expensive ones online. But this one was in stock and on hand for tomorrow's outing in the desert to try out the .457's so I don't wear out the loading lever on my new revolver.