New to cap & ball revolvers

[sawyer04]

I carry one of the sheriffs model of the 1858 new army. It is better balanced than the long barrel. I use 2F and 3F gun powder, but pyrodex will work . The #10 caps fit and ignite well. It does help to seat the caps with a wooden dowel. I use a 454 ball, but a 457 will seat, but I imagine it would be easier on the weapon and hand to get a bench loader. Having an extra cylinder is handy.

 

[.36Rooster]

Thats a beauty. Wouldnt mind having that one to complement my colt.

 

[Gee Dog]

Congratulations on your new piece. You're going to enjoy shooting that. Think about using at least 20 grains, especially with RS. Vids will help you but be careful. Bellevue is great but the other guy you mentioned is not. Blackie Thomas' vids are very valuable too.

Have fun.

 

[eggwelder]

while i don`t have a NMA, my ROA takes .457, my 1860 army takes .457, and my Dragoon 2 Gen takes .454.
the .454 slide very easily into the cylinder of the 1860 army, i`m assuming it was honed during the re-furb it was given before I got it.
don`t shoot the dragoon much, it`s very heavy for worn elbows. Maybe off the bench it might be better on the joints

 

[smoothshooter]

View attachment 4179 View attachment 4180 View attachment 4181 purchased my first black powder revolver last Friday from Cabela’s (Pietta New army 44.) and the only powder that was available was Pyrodex FFG, the manufacturer says to use FFFG which I don’t have. My question is is it ok to use the FFG to shoot the revolver with? I don’t want to injure myself or my brand new revolver. Also the gun was coated in grease, what’s the recommendation for cleaning a brand new cap and ball revolver? TIA

2f powder generates less pressure and velocity than 3f.

 

[wb78963]

The revolver you bought is usually refered to as a .58 Remington. Mainly because they have a solid frame. (TOP STRAP) Most of the others are Colt style (OPEN TOP) Revolvers. It can be confusing
but you will get it. I have a few 58 Remingtons, mostly older ASM brand. Just clean it with some kind of gun solvent. Dont take anything apart that looks complicated. No need to take out the nipples,till you get acquainted with the pistol.
8BORE

When using Pyrodex CLEAN IT WITH WATER quickly after shooting.
Smokeless solvents ( like Hoppe's #9) will NOT work with Pyrodex or real Black Gunpowder.
Warm water with a drop of dish washing liquid detergent, then clean very carefully, dry thoroughly and use any kind of gun oil to protect the metal.
If you can find Black MZ, Jim Shockley's Gold, American Pioneer Powder or the new sulfur less powder it is less corrosive that Pyrodex and easier to clean..
Welcome to the club have fun make lots of smoke.
Yr' Obt' Svt'
Bunk

 

[wb78963]

Mike Beliveau {Duelist 1954} has some good videos on BP shooting, cleaning and lots of other great information on BP and BP guns.
Look him up..

 

[ZUG]

I disagree with "not" removing the nipples prior to firing.

Some pistols manufacturers blue the cylinders with the nipples in the cylinder, which causes great difficulty in removing the nipples. If you cannot remove the nipples, it needs go back to where you bought it.

Get a copy of Percussion Revolvers by Mike Cumpston and Johnny Bates. You will learn a lot from reading it, it is a worth while book.

I agree with FishDFly on this. I would just wipe off the oil that is on the out side of the gun, run a patch down the bore with a solvent or IPA. Run a solvent patch in the chambers after I remove the nipples. I would clean the nipples inside and out put some anti-seize grease on their threads (very small amount), lube the arbor (the rod that the cylinder slides on) and reassemble. Go shoot it

 

[Dobermans]

Unless someone has mentioned it get caps that fit tightly on the cones/nipples. Better yet get some slick shot or equivalent cones/nipples to replace the cruddy factory ones. You are more likely to have a chain fire with loose caps and I hear they aren't a whole lot of fun......

 

[smoothshooter]

I use Pyrodex P in all my BPs. Now some won't agree with this but to each their own. Was using RS in rifles using #11 primers but experienced too many hesitations. RS works fine in my inline with 209 primer. FF is too coarse for pistol. Not that it won't pop but the burn rate not suited for them. I have the same pistol. I also have a formula I reverse worked from an article about find peak efficient load. It does not give the exact load but rather gives a good safe starting point using round ball.
Bore radius squared x 3.1416 x barrel lemgth x 15.72
For this pistol, if I got barrel length right, comes to 13.77. So a good start point is 14grains. Every gun shoots different so adjust from there. In mine I don't go past 25 grains, even in the 7.5 barrel. With conicals I drop powder 10%.
There are all kinds of lube out there you can use to seal the cylinder with. I've been using wax melted together with veg oil for years. Inexpensive to make and easy. I use it for patch lube too. Make some to a consistency it can be used in bakers syringe for revolver cylinder.
Another thing you might check is that the cylinder bore provides projectile diameter fits barrel max diameter. Sometimes, for what ever reason, this happens. I just picked up a colt walker and found the cylinder bore was delivering a projectile that was 0.005 less than the max 0.44 barrel bore. Meaning it was barley catching riflings and leaving gap to barrel max. It is something to look into if the accuracy is an issue for you. Some take to gun smith to rebore cylinder. I lucked out and was close and able to hone polish to good diameter.
Always use projectile that when pressed into cylinder cuts a ring of lead to insure tight seal. If you mold your own only use pure lead.
#10 primers.
Lots of ways to clean. I take grips off and use hot soapy water. Soak about 10 minutes then brush and mop. Rinse with very hot water. The residual heat helps it dry quickly. Drop or two of oil on all moving parts. Light oil mop cylinder bore and barrel mainly for preservation durring storage. Clean out oil before next shoot. Then I go over outside with silicone cloth.
What I do. Everybody has their on ideas.

The chambers do not need to be sealed.
Grease does not prevent chain-fires.
Properly fitting caps DO.

If unnecesarily messy shooting is your thing, grease that thing up and go for it!

 

[smoothshooter]

Greased wads under the ball work well for lubrication.

The chambers do not need to be sealed.
Grease does not prevent chain-fires.
Properly fitting caps DO,

If unnecesarily messy shooting is your thing, grease that thing up and go for it!

 

[rodwha]

Pietta calls for .454, seating .457 with the loading lever will be a challenge.

It’s all my Pietta has been fed, though it was eventually reamed to .449” and chamfered, but it loaded .457” balls just fine.