Howdy, y'all! I'm new to BP and ML. I have no experience with BP, but am familiar with firearms in general. My dad past away in August. He was an accomplished artist who painted with oils and water colors. He also had an oil painting and pencil sketch series on the civil war. One of his props was an 1851 colt replica made by Connecticut Valley Arms Inc. To the best of my recollection, Dad purchased the revolver from a civil war reenactor in the 80s. Other than using the revolver as a reference piece for his artwork, it was never fired or cleaned. Now that I have the revolver, I understand why it was never fired. It was completely seized/frozen when I received it. After copious amounts of penetrating lube and disassembly, I now have the revolver working as it should. Unfortunately, the frame is brass and the barrel has significant pitting. Restoration is still in progress. My goal is to shoot it a few times. In the meantime, I'm hoping to start a collection and begin my journey with BP. I look forward to getting acquainted with those involved with the forum. I've already learned a vast amount over the past day and I appreciate y'all for making this possible. Shannon