Navy Arms Boot Pistol

[Poor Private]

I have seen several adds for a Navy arms boot pistol. This pistol is a 1 shot .36 calibre, brass frame with what looks like a rosewood handle. Prices I have seen have ranged from $59-$99 I was wondering if anyone has one or has fired one. If any one has handled one do you have a personal review you could pass along.

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

They are made in China....And now that I think of it, in all the time that they've been on the market, I have never seen a test of one.

 

[BEP]

I bought one several months ago. A few points come to mind:

1. No half-cock notch in the hammer and no way to add one. Bad from a safety standpoint.

2. The hammer does not hit the nipple squarely - needed work on hammer face. Hammer can't readily be heated and bent.

3. Nipple was oversize for a # 11 cap (not uncommon and an easy fix).

4. Pistol's grips were rough-sawn and stained orange. Really ugly. Changed that quick fast and right away.

5. The mainspring is not strong enough to reliably fire a cap, even after the hammer and nipple issues were addressed. Because it's a coil spring that compresses completely when cocked, there is no way to even add a spacer to increase spring tension. I tried stretching the spring - temporary fix at best.

6. The flash hole is very long - had to bore it out slightly to insure ignition when the cap does fire.

7. On the positive side - they are well finished (except for the grips, that is) and are very inexpensive.

Maybe other folks have had a more positive experience; at least I hope so. That "inexpensive" feature is appropriate. I have one but would not buy it again if it was possible for a "do-over".

One guy's opinion and I realize that it's just an opinion. But it's mine.

sneezy

 

[Poor Private]

Thats all I was asking for (1 mans opinion). I just needed to hear from a few forum members to see what they think about it, before I go further into a purchase. Have only seen the adds in magazines and a couple web stores.

 

[Don]

I have one as well. The hammer on mine does hit the nipple squarely but I had to file the nipple diameter down a bit to take the caps and allow for more reliable ignition, still needs a little more work. True there is no half cock but an empty .22 case fits nicely over a capped nipple thus allowing you to rest the hammer on it as a make shift safety.

With the max load of 15 grains of powder it will easily penetrate a full one inch of spruce planking. I plan on testing it with my chronagraph to see what kind of velocities and energies that loading will produce. I'm considering bringing it along squirrel hunting as a back up to my .36 rifle and use it to deliver the coup d'gras on wounded squirrels.

I think its a nice little plinker but my expectations don't go much beyond that.I got mine for $59.95 which I think is a good price for this gun. I woudn't pay much more for it though.

Don