I am a noobie to muzzle loading but not to firearms.
Got the Pietta 1851 in the mail yesterday. Bought the cheapest new case hardened 1851 I could find. I was gifted a colt gen 3 1851 and didn't want to bugger it so hence I bought this. If my colt is a 10, and my Uberti 1873 Cattleman 45 LC cartridge is a 9, then this is an 7.5. Its a Nissan not a Lexus.
Now, it is exactly what I expected at this price point. It was a bit rough with a couple minor sharp edges and a bit of rubbing here and there but nothing major and no nasty machine marks. The cylinder snugs up really well (by cartridge standards) and it seems solid. A bit of Flitz and just working the cycle a couple hundred times (no dry fires) it smoothed up considerably. The trigger is plenty light and I am not crazy about light triggers. All the hardware was tight and the first 6 test shots were fine and on the money. I did take a very fine polishing stone and used the butt end to smooth those 2 little grips to unlock the loading handle. Those babies were sharp and wanted blood. Bonus, I got to file my gun!
My only complaint is that I hate the plastic grips. Possibly the worst stock grips I have ever owned. The only good thing I can say is that they are checkered and might be handy with a bunch of goop all over the place. They don't fit the gun very well, they look and feel cheap, and they are too thin. Yuck! And I have small hands and generally ok with almost any grips. Not these.
I ordered some unfinished walnut grips from Taylor as they had the best price I could find. I think the grips will bump this gun to an 8 or even an 8.5.
This gun is for me to learn with, whether it be filing sights, grips, parts, etc. The stuff that muzzle loading people do. I just didn't want to do it with a Colt. What would Sam think?
In conclusion, I Love it and would do it again. Nissan does win its share of races after all. Kudos to Natchez in TN for a smooth deal.
Cheers,
Wheelman
Got the Pietta 1851 in the mail yesterday. Bought the cheapest new case hardened 1851 I could find. I was gifted a colt gen 3 1851 and didn't want to bugger it so hence I bought this. If my colt is a 10, and my Uberti 1873 Cattleman 45 LC cartridge is a 9, then this is an 7.5. Its a Nissan not a Lexus.
Now, it is exactly what I expected at this price point. It was a bit rough with a couple minor sharp edges and a bit of rubbing here and there but nothing major and no nasty machine marks. The cylinder snugs up really well (by cartridge standards) and it seems solid. A bit of Flitz and just working the cycle a couple hundred times (no dry fires) it smoothed up considerably. The trigger is plenty light and I am not crazy about light triggers. All the hardware was tight and the first 6 test shots were fine and on the money. I did take a very fine polishing stone and used the butt end to smooth those 2 little grips to unlock the loading handle. Those babies were sharp and wanted blood. Bonus, I got to file my gun!
My only complaint is that I hate the plastic grips. Possibly the worst stock grips I have ever owned. The only good thing I can say is that they are checkered and might be handy with a bunch of goop all over the place. They don't fit the gun very well, they look and feel cheap, and they are too thin. Yuck! And I have small hands and generally ok with almost any grips. Not these.
I ordered some unfinished walnut grips from Taylor as they had the best price I could find. I think the grips will bump this gun to an 8 or even an 8.5.
This gun is for me to learn with, whether it be filing sights, grips, parts, etc. The stuff that muzzle loading people do. I just didn't want to do it with a Colt. What would Sam think?
In conclusion, I Love it and would do it again. Nissan does win its share of races after all. Kudos to Natchez in TN for a smooth deal.
Cheers,
Wheelman
