My "period correct" concealed carry setup....

[Stantheman86]

I had thought about doing an "Avenging Angels" job on my "extra" pair of .36 brassers, but being unsure how to do a front sight, I decided to hold off on it. I'm kinda picky now and I like my brassers with plain cylinders like my other pair of "Schneider & Glassicks" and my brass .44's. I have a snubbed Walker and I love the look of the chopped off Colts.

These have engraved cylinders and they're the first ones I antiqued, I picked them up cheap a while back. They're not a HC repro of anything with the roll engraving on the cylinders so they became project guns. I probably paid 200 a piece for them before the "shortage".

The no loading lever look started to grow on me with these, so for now I'll leave them be. They kinda have that cool look that conversions have.

I screwed the loading levers back on, put 5 beans in each of them , put the hammer down on an empty chamber and removed the levers.

They do look really good loaded.

I had one of the cheap Indian made Messenger bags laying around and they both fit perfectly inside, with pockets for a small flask, a bag of round balls, a tin of caps , the loading levers , a repro Colt 1873 screwdriver and a small brass hammer.

The bag closes up to conceal everything, and just looks like a bag . There's been a rash of machete wielding road ragers and shootings in the area so I'll bring this along on my ride to work tomorrow, along with my "unmentionable " carry piece. Because why not have a bag with a loaded pair of Navies in it.

I got bored tonight and decided to play around, so this is what I do late at night.

If I do decide to snub them, they will still have a home in the bag , and it's a handy bag to bring to the range with room for more powder, cleaning gear, a cylinder loader, etc.

With the bag slung over my shoulder it basically becomes a wearable holster, the strap that closes it even has a handy quick release buckle for fast access.

Just an example of what you can do when you have a bunch of cap and ballers, random bags laying around and time to kill.

 

[ppg1949]

Stan86, I like your no loading lever approach. The no loading lever look reminds of the Paterson Colts, which I always thought were very cool looking. Now you got me thinking about a similar rig, shame on you for disturbing my peace, LOL!
Thanks for sharing.

 

[russellshaffer]

Great idea. I just ordered a canvas bag from Ebay to use for hunting. And maybe to drop my 1858 into. Thanks.

 

[Stantheman86]

Stan86, I like your no loading lever approach. The no loading lever look reminds of the Paterson Colts, which I always thought were very cool looking. Now you got me thinking about a similar rig, shame on you for disturbing my peace, LOL!
Thanks for sharing.

It all started when one of them had a lever that "jiggled" , and it was annoying. I'd be shooting the gun and you could feel the lever just jiggling around. Pietta makes a nice gun but I understand that a $200 gun may need tweaking . Like not totally tight loading levers.

Instead of tweaking it I just removed both levers , and you're right, it did give them that Paterson look, or like bigger versions of a Wells Fargo .31. Since the period conversions usually had the lever taken off, it didn't look weird to me.

So, I'm like, maybe I'll snub them.....then I'm like, since they're now lever-less and the latch won't tear the bag insides up or catch on things, I'll slip them into this bag. And Boom it's like a bag holster that someone might use to carry revolvers around discreetly.

I'm thinking now I'll probably never snub them , I'll just load them with a cylinder loader or dremel out the screw hole in the lever so I can slip them on to load and off again

They feel different in the hand without a few ounces of metal up front. I'm not about to go popping the loading levers off all my guns but it works for these , some guns just develop their own identity I guess

 

[Stantheman86]

Great idea. I just ordered a canvas bag from Ebay to use for hunting. And maybe to drop my 1858 into. Thanks.

I'm looking on Ebay for smaller bags that might fit one smaller gun. I like the idea of just taking a bag to the range with everything in it

 

[nick_1]

I almost never load the cylinders on the pistol. Puts stress on the frame and brassers can't handle that over time. I shot two of them out when i was a kid.. for loading I have a pine board with a 16 penny nail sticking up through it. Clipped the point off the nail. set the cylinder on it and load it with a mallet and a starter ramrod. flip it over and cap it pinching the caps. My Remington I have kept the ramrod on as it helps secure

the cylinder pin. I did lose the screw when I was a kid and ran that 1858 without the loading lever with no issues but shot that one out as well. heavy loads and lots of abuse... now that I am old and wise I just shoot 25grains and roundball.

 

[Stantheman86]

I almost never load the cylinders on the pistol. Puts stress on the frame and brassers can't handle that over time. I shot two of them out when i was a kid.. for loading I have a pine board with a 16 penny nail sticking up through it. Clipped the point off the nail. set the cylinder on it and load it with a mallet and a starter ramrod. flip it over and cap it pinching the caps. My Remington I have kept the ramrod on as it helps secureView attachment 165795 the cylinder pin. I did lose the screw when I was a kid and ran that 1858 without the loading lever with no issues but shot that one out as well. heavy loads and lots of abuse... now that I am old and wise I just shoot 25grains and roundball.

Supposedly, the Piettas use a harder brass alloy now but I do have an Ox Yoke loading fixture . I have used it, it's handy for range shooting. It's almost faster to take the gun apart and load it with the loading press, even if speed isn't an issue, it's just easier especially with loose powder and balls. The art of balancing the gun in your left hand and pouring powder, then loading balls with the lever isn't always necessary if you have access to a range table and are just punching paper. I have a loading stand but feel like a nerd using it so I rarely do.

 

[nick_1]

I have 3 cylinders so load them up before going to the range.

 

[45D]

I almost never load the cylinders on the pistol. Puts stress on the frame and brassers can't handle that over time. I shot two of them out when i was a kid.. for loading I have a pine board with a 16 penny nail sticking up through it. Clipped the point off the nail. set the cylinder on it and load it with a mallet and a starter ramrod. flip it over and cap it pinching the caps. My Remington I have kept the ramrod on as it helps secureView attachment 165795 the cylinder pin. I did lose the screw when I was a kid and ran that 1858 without the loading lever with no issues but shot that one out as well. heavy loads and lots of abuse... now that I am old and wise I just shoot 25grains and roundball.

Hmmmm . . . What do you mean by "shot out"? Bent frame anyway?
If you had gotten a steel frame Remington, you'd probably still be shooting it . . . and "loading on the gun".

Mike

 

[Stantheman86]

I'm just trying to find out of the newer brassers really are made out of a better alloy or if this is YouTube gossip

It's irrelevant since the price for a Brasser vs a Steel frame is nearly the same anyway so it's basically just an academic question. The days of the $99 .44 Reb Navy ended over 10 years ago.

If I didn't have a nice stable of steel frame Colts I wouldn't be playing with brassers , but I think they look neat and are fun plinkers . I'm doing my part with 20-30gr loads to see if they'll stretch. If they do, then best case scenario I've got extra cylinders to use and a bunch of usable parts. If they don't, then maybe there's truth to the "better alloy " rumor

I honestly love talking about the brassers because there is one person that has been shooting 100 rounds per weekend since 1982 with a brass Navy .44, loading on the gun with an "I don't know I use a .45 case full " load and it's still tight as new......for every one person that has shot one out with heavy loads in a month

I feel , that either the alloys varied and some people just got softer frames , or some people just beat on them past their limits and stretched them

The .36's, with the obviously lighter ball and a 20 gr charge, seem like they'd be easier on the gun than the .44 with the same charge. I own both so I guess I'll find out the fun way, by shooting them as much as possible

My worked over Uberti Dragoon is probably sitting in my gun room asking my pair of Uberti Walkers why I'm playing with $200 brassers and not him , but I go on kicks with stuff

 

[Stantheman86]

I have 3 cylinders so load them up before going to the range.

I just found a Pietta Navy cylinder I'd forgotten about, perfect addition to this setup

 

[nick_1]

when I was teenager I had two colt .36 1851 navys and a steel frame 1858 remington. probobly about 15 in that picture.

eventually both brass navys stopped working. the cylinder pin got loose enough that the whole pistol bent enough that the hammers would bottom out on the frame before they reached the nipple. the remington suffered a broken spring or something in the action that I was not handy enough to fix. remember this was the 70s. very pre internet. No google to find spare parts and a you tube on how to install them. also when I turned 18 i got ruger .357 and lost all interest in these rigs... I used to stuff as much [powder and lead into those things as was humanly possible. shot whatever projectiles I could find if i didn't have any lead to cast with. had multiple chain fires from over loading the remington. My guess is that they were abused I intend to have my current brasser Bison for the duration so i take care of it . It certainly feels like a lot of stress on the frame and loading lever to load the factory recomended .454 balls in the gun so i have been loading on the bench in my home made loading stand.

 

[Stantheman86]

when I was teenager I had two colt .36 1851 navys and a steel frame 1858 remington. probobly about 15 in that picture. View attachment 166585eventually both brass navys stopped working. the cylinder pin got loose enough that the whole pistol bent enough that the hammers would bottom out on the frame before they reached the nipple. the remington suffered a broken spring or something in the action that I was not handy enough to fix. remember this was the 70s. very pre internet. No google to find spare parts and a you tube on how to install them. also when I turned 18 i got ruger .357 and lost all interest in these rigs... I used to stuff as much [powder and lead into those things as was humanly possible. shot whatever projectiles I could find if i didn't have any lead to cast with. had multiple chain fires from over loading the remington. My guess is that they were abused I intend to have my current brasser Bison for the duration so i take care of it . It certainly feels like a lot of stress on the frame and loading lever to load the factory recomended .454 balls in the gun so i have been loading on the bench in my home made loading stand.

I used a cylinder loader today and it was a convenient range accessory

 

[necchi]

I had one of the cheap Indian made Messenger bags laying around and they both fit perfectly inside,

The bag closes up to conceal everything, and just looks like a bag .

With the bag slung over my shoulder it basically becomes a wearable holster, the strap that closes it even has a handy quick release buckle for fast access.

I'm confused(?)
Did you "just" discover why ladies carry a "purse"?

 

[Bunk]

I had thought about doing an "Avenging Angels" job on my "extra" pair of .36 brassers, but being unsure how to do a front sight, I decided to hold off on it. I'm kinda picky now and I like my brassers with plain cylinders like my other pair of "Schneider & Glassicks" and my brass .44's. I have a snubbed Walker and I love the look of the chopped off Colts.

These have engraved cylinders and they're the first ones I antiqued, I picked them up cheap a while back. They're not a HC repro of anything with the roll engraving on the cylinders so they became project guns. I probably paid 200 a piece for them before the "shortage".

The no loading lever look started to grow on me with these, so for now I'll leave them be. They kinda have that cool look that conversions have.

View attachment 165614

I screwed the loading levers back on, put 5 beans in each of them , put the hammer down on an empty chamber and removed the levers.

View attachment 165615

They do look really good loaded.

View attachment 165616

I had one of the cheap Indian made Messenger bags laying around and they both fit perfectly inside, with pockets for a small flask, a bag of round balls, a tin of caps , the loading levers , a repro Colt 1873 screwdriver and a small brass hammer.

View attachment 165617

The bag closes up to conceal everything, and just looks like a bag . There's been a rash of machete wielding road ragers and shootings in the area so I'll bring this along on my ride to work tomorrow, along with my "unmentionable " carry piece. Because why not have a bag with a loaded pair of Navies in it.

I got bored tonight and decided to play around, so this is what I do late at night.

If I do decide to snub them, they will still have a home in the bag , and it's a handy bag to bring to the range with room for more powder, cleaning gear, a cylinder loader, etc.

With the bag slung over my shoulder it basically becomes a wearable holster, the strap that closes it even has a handy quick release buckle for fast access.

Just an example of what you can do when you have a bunch of cap and ballers, random bags laying around and time to kill.
View attachment 165618

Unfortunately if you have to use it the gun it will be fired and dirty.
It will be taken by the LEO's and held as evidence for some period of time. It will come back as rusty junk.
I have an unmentionable (1911) that was stolen, finally recovered, and held as evidence for several years.
That is a niice gun and I love snubbies but not as an EDC.
Mine is an unmentionable designed by a gunsmith in Utah some years ago.
Respectfully
Bunk

 

[sheriff john]

Aw Hell. "FILL THE ROOM WITH PISTOL SMOKE !" As many car jackings, drive-bys, quickshop robberies, and such as the news shows us 24/7, one would think eventually a black powder "something" would show up. Waiting for smoke to clear ....might be a problem.

 

[nkbj]

Did a file search for back when I was considering an alternative short barrel for a Walker and looking at how to do it. Found the design file from 2008. Think I'd settled on making a 5 1/2" barrel for a 250 grain round nose but then got shipped out to Montana for half a year and another fun project idea went by the wayside. Then came the Dragoons...

 

[CaptainVane]

Old thread, but, my EDC…
Uberti 1848 .31 4” barrel, fit front jeans pocket.

 

[BillyC]

I’m thinking the OP might be somewhere that concealed carry isn’t allowed so by using his MLS he’s protected and not breaking the law. Not ideal, but if there was a rash of “machete wielding attacks” near me I’d rather have the MLs than a stick!!

 

[steak]

Hmmmm . . . What do you mean by "shot out"? Bent frame anyway?
If you had gotten a steel frame Remington, you'd probably still be shooting it . . . and "loading on the gun".

Mike

Great to run across another Remmy fan .

Hmmmm . . . What do you mean by "shot out"? Bent frame anyway?
If you had gotten a steel frame Remington, you'd probably still be shooting it . . . and "loading on the gun".

Mike

Great to run across another Remmy fan