Pietta 1858 New Army and Conicals.

[mikewinn]

I have a NEW Pietta 1858 and I would like to shoot conicals but I don't know if I want to have a gunsmith open the loading port or without removing the cylinder from the gun to load it. I tried Kaidos 220gr but I couldn't get it into the chamber and through the loading port so I have a couple of questions. 1) Is anyone using conicals in their unmodified 1858 and if so what grain weight are you using and 2) are there any commercially made soft lead conicals in the 180-200gr range and if there are by who? Thanks

 

[Treestalker]

Seems like I once owned a Lee rb mould that threw a rn bullet for 44 bp revolvers. 200gr. IIRC No mods. Weren't accurate for me, I sold it and went back to RB's. Tree.

 

[mikewinn]

Thanks Treestalker. I think I know which mold you're talking about. I just don't have the funds or place to do my own casting. That's why I was wondering if there were any commercial soft lead conicals avaiable. Thanks again.

 

[CaptainKirk]

Yes. I am shooting hand cast Lee 200 gr conicals in my '58s and they DO fit.....barely. Here's the proof:

 

[F.G. Ford]

Hi,
You may have to chamfer each chamber to get the conical deep enough to get under the ram.
You could also remove a little metal from the ram.
For what you will gain, I don't think it is worth the effort.
Fred

 

[azmntman]

Try buffalo bullet .457 conicals. Not sure of the weight but I bet its close. They load right up in my Pietta buntline, no modifications, and seemed to shoot well. Have yet to get the time to work up a load and see if more/less accurate than a ball.

 

[TFoley]

Try buffalo bullet .457 conicals. Not sure of the weight but I bet its close. They load right up in my Pietta buntline, no modifications, and seemed to shoot well. Have yet to get the time to work up a load and see if more/less accurate than a ball.

FWIW - bearing in mind that the ROA conical is made specially for that particular revolver and no other - I spent literally ALL day - some ten hours, that is - trying different combinations of powder, real and subs, and loads with and without grease or wads [when I could fit them into the chamber that is] with a total lack of repeatable success.

My best 25m score with conicals was 58/100. My average with RB was 92.

Seems to be a solution for which there is no problem. The only rationale for using conicals seems to be short-range hog-whumping with wrist-busting loads.

That's just my opinion, 'course, but I notice that an overall lack of success seems to be commonplace in this thread.

tac

 

[azmntman]

I didn't notice unreasonable recoil from the buffalo bullet .457 conicals myself but of course you can only load so much powder using them. I think I maxed near 30 grains and as said did NOT shoot em for accuracy that day, just to see how the worked as far as loading etc. I will likely stay with round balls as we cant hunt anything but coyotes n bunnies with revolvers here and they are accurate and cheaper by far to shoot!

 

[CaptainKirk]

My own experiences follow this. Roundballs are much more accurate and predictable, but the conicals DO make the gong swing with a hell of a racket!

 

[nkbj]

Yes. I am shooting hand cast Lee 200 gr conicals in my '58s and they DO fit.....barely. Here's the proof:

Without a self-aligning hind end that slips into the chamber it's like trying to put an oversized cork into a bottle and naturally has the tendency to not load straight every time. And if the flat base isn't perpendicular to the bore it's like a boat with the rudder cranked over. Round ball has a round hind end and more naturally produces an even jetting of gas around the circumference of the ball as it leaves the muzzle.
A flat based bullet just needs the mechanical aid to help it load consistently. And there's the problem I run into: A bullet for any revolver needs to be fitted for that revolver.

 

[Flash Pan Dan]

I’ve used the EPP-UG 155 grain and the J/P 200 grain Big Lube bullet from www.whyteleatherworks.com. You might give them a try.

 

[Zonie]

The bullets cast by my little brass mold are heeled with a short undersize diameter at the rear.

This undersized area fits into the chamber and the shoulder where the diameter increases to the full bullet size is square with the body.

This locates and squares up the bullet so it can be rammed into the chamber. It also makes the bullet short enough to fit into the area under the ram plunger.

The mold is mainly for decorating a pistol case and it does have some mismatch in the cavity which of course it casts onto the slugs so I wouldn't use these bullets for anything very serious.

When I shot some of these I did notice they require a lot more pressure on the loading lever.
I suspect if I loaded a lot of them I'd end up with a damaged or broken lever.

 

[nkbj]

The loading lever thing worries me too. The shear band on a bullet needs to be small and the chamber bigger than the bore.

 

[azmntman]

IIRC my pietta took the .457 buffalo bullets pretty easy, they do have the slightly narrow base that fits right in the cylinder, was not not worried about the lever, however when trying .457 round balls it was tight enough I was concerned and stopped using them

 

[TFoley]

My own experiences follow this. Roundballs are much more accurate and predictable, but the conicals DO make the gong swing with a hell of a racket!

Agreed 100%! :thumbsup:

However, that's fun that I have to wait until I'm in the GOUSA to enjoy, since here in not-very-merry-olde-UK you can neither hunt hogs nor gongs with any kind of a handgun. :shake:

Best

tac