New Pistolero

[Many Klatch]

The gun club that I shoot at allows any muzzle loading gun to compete in the pistol event. So I have been competing against Rugers, Remingtons and Colts with my smoothbore 20 gauge flint locks. This weekend I bought a Pietta .44 caliber Remington reproduction. It has an 8" barrel and a lot of engraving on the steel frame. It also came with a euroarms brass mold with a conical and round ball cavity.

What do I need to feed and clean one of these pistols? I have a lot of .445 lead ball that won't drop down the cylinder so I should be able to get a lead ring when loading. It has been 15 years since I shot anything but a flintlock. I could use some advice. I tried out the trigger pull with empty cylinders and some old caps that I had. The three that stayed on went off well enough. How do you keep those suckers on?

Many KLatch

 

[bwhoffman]

give 'em a little pinch between your fingers and they will snug fit onto the nipple!

 

[Bob Riegl]

:nono: I wouldn't suggest deforming any cap with your fingers, unless you want to get rid of your prints. The next time down your range ask some of the other shooters to try their caps on your gun---#10's or #11's. If any of them sit on without forcing (don't do this :shake: ) and they come off with ease that's the correct size cap for your gun. If one is too large and the other too small, then take off your nipples and chuck them into an electric drill, by their base. Now at a slow speed, using a small needle file, carefully remove a little bit of metal---until the cap slips on easily (not too easy) and can be removed easily. At this point your nipple(s) can be returned to the gun for successful firing. :thumbsup:

 

[mykeal]

Ok, first of all, .445 rbs are too small for a .44 cal c&b revolver. They need to be at least .451 and preferably .454. Here's how to tell for sure: seat the ball in the chamber mouth and use the loading lever to force it down further. If a small ring of lead (a full, circular ring, not a partial one) is shaved off, then the ball is at least large enough. I'm quite sure the .445's will not shave the full ring.

Second, caps: the explosive material in the caps is sensitive to mechanical shock; pushing them on the nipple or pinching them will not set them off. If you're still leery, use your short starter or a short piece of dowel rod. As to size, they should easily slide into place such that the closed end is against the nipple face, and once in place should not fall off when you turn the gun over and shake it. You will need to view how the cap sits on the nipple from the side and estimate whether or not it's fully down against the top of the nipple.

Pasquenel's advice about modifying the nipple with a file and a drill motor is an excellent one. Just be sure to chuck the nipple against the widest part of the body and not the threads.

 

[renovato]

Your revolver should take #10 caps. If you're trying 11s, that'd be why they're a bit loose. You definately want a snug fit to prevent any hot gasses from sneaking around the caps and causing a chain fire. I seem to have the best luck with Remington caps in my revolvers, but they're a little harder to find.

Also, from an accuracy standpoint, your more accurate loads will probably be in about the 20-25 grains range. To seat a ball on a light charge like that puts the ball pretty deep in the chamber. I'd suggest some filler like cornmeal, cream of wheat, or wads to keep the ball near the mouth of the chamber. I use cream of wheat or fiber wads. These also help scrub out the fouling.

A .451 ball is usually the right size for Pietta if I remember right. Pietta chambers are slightly smaller than the Uberti's which prefer a .454.

Good luck to ya!

 

[TFoley]

It also came with a euroarms brass mold with a conical and round ball cavity.
Many KLatch

Dear Mr Klatch - keep the brass Euroarms mould in the box - my experience with three of them is that they look nice and original but throw a ball shaped like a lemon. :shocked2:

Get yourself a suitable Lee double-cavity mould and laff... :thumbsup:

I'm still using my .457" ROA moulds, made by Lee sometime in the early 1980's, every coupla months to throw 2-300 ball or conicals at a time. Same for the Walker .451s..

tac

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

Manny,

Congrats on becoming a new pistolero! Most of the previous posts have said what needs to be said, so I'll just put in my two cents' worth:

As far as cleaning a 1858 Remington New Model Army, the first thing that you need to do is to get the factory grease/gunk off of everything! I would recommend Shooter's Choice or regular #9 Hoppe's. Then a simple light coat of oil on the metal-to-metal parts, especially where the cylinder engages the parts that advance and bring the revolver into battery.

It's common for BP residue to build-up everywhere, especially on the cylinder pin, and this leads to the cylinder binding-up some. Regular windex or (what I use) Butch's Black Powder Bore Shine :thumbsup: will dissolve BP fouling on contact! Every two-three cylinder's worth of use I would take the cylinder out and clean the main pin, so that you won't have to use a wooden mallot to hammer it out later! Clean it with the Bore Shine, lightly oil and re-assemble...this is done with the revolver at half-cock. I also use some cleaner in the chambers, but I both dry-patch and cap-off at the line afterwards PRIOR to reloading the cylinder, to make sure that the nipples are open. Using a nipple pick isn't a bad idea either, at this point! Keeping the ignition path clear means NO PROBLEMS and more FUN :wink: .

Ball size should be .454 to get the good all-around lead ring, just like mykeal said! 20-25 grains will be the most accurate load, and using a couple of wonder-wads in the winter to keep the fouling soft isn't such a bad idea either! The magic formula is to do EVERYTHING THE SAME, including the amount of pressure seating the balls onto the charges/wads. For this I use a loading stand for pistols. Dixon Muzzle Loading Shop in Kempton PA has stands for any pistol from a Sherrif's Model to a 12" Buffalo...I have three of them! Most of these revolvers shoot about 6" high at 25 yards, with the 25-30 grain field charge.

I use Remngton #10 caps and don't have to pinch them or fuss with machining the nipples either!

Good luck and welcome to the world of BP sixguns!

Dave

 

[Poor Private]

I have no additional info to share--except welcome to the world of percushion shooting.
:thumbsup:

 

[Blizzard of '93]

good instructions the fellas have given you and mainly USE THE RIGHT SIZE BALL! should be .451 for the Pietta. next use the right size cap #10 is the correct size if they are tight fit you may try removing the nipples and carefully chucking in a drill then filing the circumfrence a bit. nipples beaten up can be salvaged in this manner.
I like windsheild washer fluid for clean-up.

 

[Many Klatch]

Thanks for the advice from everyone. It looks like I'll have to round up a .451 mold. As usual the information on this website is fast and accurate.

Many Klatch

 

[mazo kid]

Andy, PM me with your address and I'll send you a few round balls to carry you over 'til you get a mould.. Emery

 

[Rebel]

My Pietta '58 Remmy takes a .454 rd ball. You might want to try a few of each size to see which works best.

 

[hornetk4]

I've used up to .457 dia balls in my 44 and they all work well from 451 up to 457 but I think the larger of these work the best in my pistol . The cylinder is going to make them all the same diameter anyway.Try a load of each I'm sure you'll prefer the larger ones , they just work better.