Pietta 1858 New Army

[tryinhard]

The local hock shop has one they're asking $215 put the door for. Cylinder and barrel are rusty. They can be cleaned easily enough. This seems kind of high to me given the shape it's in. Please advise as I'm looking to get a revolver. Thanks!

 

[SDSmlf]

How do the cylinder chambers and barrel bore look? If rusty outside....

A bit more, but new and rust free, you can get one from Cabelas for $270 delivered. https://www.cabelas.com/product/Pietta-Model-New-Army-Caliber-Black-Powder-Revolver/731695.uts

 

[Blogman]

I wouldn't go over a buck fifty.

 

[IdahoMatt]

I agree with @Blogman. I have found that unless the difference in price is significant, its usually better to just buy a new one and save the inevitable headache.

 

[bang]

Rusty, wouldn't go over 100 tax included.
I got one like new ready to shoot with belt, holster pound of powder, tin of primers, flask and around 50 balls with felt wads for 250.
270 Cabelas and free shipping over 50.

 

[rshveyda]

I paid $200 used for mine in excellent condition from the local gun shop and someone had already tuned it, adjusted the front site to shoot to point of aim, and filled in the hammer safety notch so it wouldn't suck caps.

Check out Cabela's or Bud's for a little comparison shopping. Right now Bud's will sell you a Traditions 1851 Navy in .44 caliber for $236 shipped if you want a good inexpensive revolver. And as everyone is saying Cabela's has the best price on a Pietta 1858 New Army at $270 shipped. I've got both and the Navy is light and easy to point, but the New Army is sturdy, reliable and mine shoots like a dream. I don't think you can go wrong with either, but the New Army is what I would take to battle if I had to take a cap and ball revolver.

 

[tryinhard]

The bore had light rust but you could still see the rifling. The cylinder though had fuzzy rust down in it. Doesn't matter because I went to another pawn shop & found the same gun in the original box, with the extra cylinder plus a holster & cylinder pouch for $215 out the door. Gun is slick & clean, both cylinders are clean. You can tell one has been used more than the other but the gun is tight & seems to me to be in top condition. Now I just need to learn how to properly load & shoot it. Anyone want to give tips?

 

[Zonie]

You didn't say what the caliber of your new pistol is.
If it is a .36 caliber gun, you will need some .375 diameter lead balls. (Yes, they are larger than the bore size).
If it is a .44 caliber gun, you will need some .454 or .457 diameter lead balls.

It is impossible to over load the chambers but many people find that using a powder load of about 20-23 grains in a .36 or, 25-28 grains in a .44 is just about right.

Many of us old timers put a layer of some sort of grease over the top of the balls after they are loaded into the chambers. Others have found that the felt wads sold in some gun stores placed between the top of the powder charge and under the ball also works well.
These things are intended to provide some lubrication to the ball and also to seal the area around the ball in the chamber to prevent any flames from getting past the ball into the next loaded chamber. If this does happen, the chamber can fire, creating what is called a "chain fire". Another cause of a chain fire is if a cap falls off of a nipple on a loaded chamber. There is a lot of fire coming out of the rear of a chamber thru the nipple when the gun fires and if one of the chambers caps have fallen off, that fire can get thru the nipple into the loaded chamber and cause a chain fire. With this in mind, it's a good idea to visually check the unfired chambers to see if their caps are still on them when you fire the gun.

The cap and ball pistols can use any type of black powder or synthetic black powder like Pyrodex or 777.
Most of them like to use #10 percussion caps but some of them work fine with the #11 caps.

After shooting your gun, always clean the bore, the chambers in the cylinder and the nipples. Usually, powder fouling doesn't get into the inside of the frame so you do not have to take the pistol entirely apart when your cleaning it.

Soapy water works great for cleaning a black powder gun. You really don't need any of the fancy cleaning solutions.

 

[tryinhard]

Sorry about that. It is a 44 caliber. I bought a box of 457 balls. I've heard Crisco works to put over the ball. Any truth to this?

 

[Treestalker]

I used 30 gr 3f under a .454 ball for years, I tried the conicals but only used about 25 grains FFFg and not as good accuracy. The newer Piettas have a taller front sight from the factory and are easy to file down and adjust for impact, but they are not dovetailed. Have shot several small game animals and am rumored to have shot a duck with one. Best cap and ball revolver made, you'll enjoy it I'm sure. The grips are a little small for some folks, you might carve a new set thicker to help fill your hand. Cheers, Geo.

 

[Stophel]

I've been told that Uberti pistols have rifling designed for conicals (matching the original guns), while Piettas have rifling intended for round balls.

I put grease over the balls once, years ago... because you're "supposed to".... the biggest dat burned mess you could imagine. Grease blown everywhere. I decided to put an end to that practice pretty quick.

 

[SDSmlf]

I've been told that Uberti pistols have rifling designed for conicals (matching the original guns), while Piettas have rifling intended for round balls.

I put grease over the balls once, years ago... because you're "supposed to".... the biggest dat burned mess you could imagine. Grease blown everywhere. I decided to put an end to that practice pretty quick.

Don’t know which is better for round balls or conicals, but recent Pietta barrels I have checked had .006” deep grooves, while Uberti grooves were .0095” deep. Have found round ball accuracy to be dependent on cylinder diameter matching groove diameter. Neither Pietta or Uberti are close without modifying cylinder bore diameter, at least in my opinion.

 

[Stophel]

It's the twist rate that is different. Some say the faster twist Ubertis will shoot conicals better than Piettas. Some say it makes no difference. I personally don't know either way.

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

Uberti has the proper size and weight frame.

Pietta is not a close copy from originals but many seem to love them anyway.

 

[TFoley]

Sorry about that. It is a 44 caliber. I bought a box of 457 balls. I've heard Crisco works to put over the ball. Any truth to this?

Pietta like .454". The Ruger Old Army is the .457" ball user.

If it feels like you need too much effort to load, don't cram on the loading lever. Get a smaller ball.

 

[bang]

I use .457 in my pair of the bit higher grade Pietta 1858s but I use a bench loader. They will hit inside 2 inches at 25 yards all day. I use .454 if I'm just plinking.

 

[Blogman]

If you have a .44 use the .451 for god sake! If you can't shave a round from the ball, go up. Common sense for bloody sake.

 

[Gee Dog]

Get a new one.

.454, all day - and feed your rifling something to work with (for bloody sakes).

 

[Bad Karma]

Get a new one.

.454, all day - and feed your rifling something to work with (for bloody sakes).

.457. They aren’t that hard to “cram” into the chambers.
For crying in the night... ;-)


Oops, that’s a Pietta. They often have chambers around .449 or so. You might look into that.

 

[tryinhard]

Should I carry some possibles with me? I don't plan to hunt with it. Maybe carry it as the final put down if needed or small critter that comes close enough. Thanks!