Went out to our range after getting my mower running again. I need to use a wagon to take all five pistols (plus a .22 and a Ruger GP-100) along with gear to the range. Anyway, I digress. First time I had them all together and shot them all one after the other. And I found out that will I love my 1851's the best shooters are the 1861 Navy and the 1860 Army. Both felt great in my fat stubby hand, pointability was right on. I also found out that I hate shooting my 1858 NMA. I bought it because my son-in-law really liked the looks and I wanted a new BP pistol and it looked nice and a lot of people raved about them. Well I hate mine. Oh there's nothing wrong with it, it fired every time, I just hate the feel of it in my hand. And I hate how it feels when I shoot it. On the other hand my 1851's, 1860 and 1861 all felt great. I expected the 1851's to fell the best but in fact it was the 1860 and 1861 that felt the best. I know the 1851 and 1861 are built on the same frame but I swear they feel different. The 1860 fits my hand better no pinky off the bottom of the grip but I really liked the feel of the 1861 in my hand most of all but I really liked the nice thump of the 1860's big .44. Now all said I'm lucky I have the choice to fire all these different pistols and really would have a hard time choosing just one but fortunately that is not a choice I have to make.
Your milage may differ.
Your milage may differ.