Pietta 1860 score today

[Trooper Joe]

Went past one of my favorite gun stores near Kalamazoo, Michigan and found a used, never fired, Pietta 1860, .44 Cal, 5 ½” barrel for only $250. It was made about 2007 according to the dealer. No box or papers but I was not going to let it lay there.

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Looks like it is set up for a shoulder stock which will now be my next search.

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Broke it down to clean and start to season the barrel with “Bore Butter”. Nipples were all loose so they were taken out, cleaned, anti-seized, and put back in slightly snug.

The barrel wedge was lightly tapped in and went all the way through to the right side with the spring not actually protruding. The wedge does actually come out with the screw in place. The only thing weird so far is a .010 cylinder/barrel end gap. Going to shoot it and see if I can get that a little tighter.

The dealer had both .451 and .454 balls. Bought a box of each but will start with the .451 size.

Does anyone have any experience with this model?

Thanks,

Trooper Joe

 

[sourdough]

Joe,

The date code will be found on the right side of the frame as 2 alpha characters in a rectangle.



I don't have a Pietta, but I do have an Armi San Marco 1860 Army .44 (BD/1994) with a full-fluted cylinder (Uberti) and an engraved cylinder (ASM) with shoulder stock and accoutrements, cased. It took me over a year to put it all together.



Assembled.



If you are looking for a shoulder stock for your revolver, Pietta makes a replica of the Colt Type 3 stock. EMF in California is owned by Pietta and is their primary distributor, but due to the pandemic in Italy shipments have slowed down to a crawl or less.

Shoulder Stocks - EMF Company, Inc. (emf-company.com)

Good luck with your endeavors!

Regards,

Jim

 

[hawkeye2]

As far as seasoning the bore I suggest you read the following:

https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/barrel-seasoning.126588/#post-1744879
https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/why-we-dont-season-barrels.61745/
I used Bore Butter extensively for a year or two and went away from it. I do know it melts and runs everywhere when used in revolver chambers in Virginia summer days. That was a good deal on the Pietta but don't try to tighten the barrel/cylinder gap by driving the wedge in.

 

[M. De Land]

That is a bit wide but will work fine and probably open up a bit more after you shoot for awhile. It can be set back after the gun wears in some so just enjoy it for now.

 

[Eterry]

I thought you seasoned a cast iron skillet, or a mess of crappie BEFORE you put them in the cast iron skillet.

 

[Trooper Joe]

I came up with this concept of "seasoning" the bore from the advise I found on the net. It seemed like a good idea, so I tried it. The advise was to use something like bore butter before you shoot the gun. It allegedly makes clean up easier.

I just tried it on my new 1851 Navy and it seemed to work. Maybe it really doesn't make much difference.

I do have a question about the "safety" pins located between the nipples on the rear of the cylinder. I did not know they were there until I read an on line owners manual. Seems like a good idea. Any thoughts on the use of them instead of loading only five?

Thanks ahead of time gang for all the great advise I am getting on this forum.

Trooper Joe

 

[hawkeye2]

If you remove any burrs from the face of the hammer and carefully check the fit of the pins in the slot in the face of the hammer they might be OK but I wouldn't trust them myself. I keep the hammer down on an empty chamber even with a Smith & Wesson unless I'm at the range and about to shoot.

 

[Justin.44]

Using bore butter to lubricate the bore of the revolver before you shoot is different than actually seasoning the bore. When you season a cast iron skillet you oil it and then put it in the oven for a while. It's fine to use just as a lubricant. Now, using it to lube over the chamber mouths is a mess IMO, it's too thin and most melts after the first shot or two.

 

[Grenadier1758]

I came up with this concept of "seasoning" the bore from the advise I found on the net. It seemed like a good idea, so I tried it. The advise was to use something like bore butter before you shoot the gun. It allegedly makes clean up easier.

Some advise from the internet is worth while but other advise you need to apply some critical thinking. The internet advise for seasoning a cast iron skillet, griddle or Dutch oven are pretty good. There are no internet hints for "seasoning" a steel or stainless steel kitchen utensil. There would be some serious debate in the kitchen if a greasy, crusty build up of cooking residue was left in the steel utensils such as cookie sheets, sauce pans or pasta boilers or the stainless steel frying pans. The makers of Bore Butter applied the logic of seasoning cast iron as a relationship to the old time nature of muzzle loading and the evidence of the use of natural oils and greases in the maintenance of firearms. Historically, the old rifles became "shot out" because the grooves were filled with a mixture of crusty fouling and oils from shooting. The time between the use of a firearm historically is much longer than the uses we have for our shooting activities.

The application of Bore Butter to lubricate a clean firearm won't hurt as long as all that combined Bore Butter and fouling built up during the shooting session is cleaned out afterward. You do want the fouling to remain soft while shooting, but you don't want that gunk to get solid between hunting seasons or shooting sessions at the range.

Seasoning, just another word for a dirty bore that allows rust and pitting to build up.

 

[Stantheman86]

I just put lard over the chambers, and the gun will run all day.

I clean it normally with some kind of BP solvent.

Seasoning the Bore with bore butter will also require cleaning in a way that won't remove the "seasoning " but it really doesn't matter as long as you're comfortable with whatever works.