Pietta Navy Resetting Issues

[snipin101]

Hello all, I hope the title kinda says my problem. I have a Pietta Navy that I'm getting frustrated with. When shooting if there is any cap left at all after the hammer drops the hammer will not reset so I can pull back again. I have to pull the wedge just enough to pull the cylinder forward until I hear the click then it's ready to go again. I am kinda new to cap and ball shooting and love it but that gets kinda old after awhile. Any help would be great. Thanks

 

[Phil Coffins]

Are the nipples original to the pistol and are they tight?

 

[M. De Land]

Hello all, I hope the title kinda says my problem. I have a Pietta Navy that I'm getting frustrated with. When shooting if there is any cap left at all after the hammer drops the hammer will not reset so I can pull back again. I have to pull the wedge just enough to pull the cylinder forward until I hear the click then it's ready to go again. I am kinda new to cap and ball shooting and love it but that gets kinda old after awhile. Any help would be great. Thanks

Assuming correct nipple height check the hammer face and see if the nipple is imprinting and distorting the contact area. It may need to be filed back a bit for more clearance for reset.
This hammer face distortion from nipple contact is the main reason guns suck caps off and drop them into the action through the hammer mortise.
Another thing to check is side clearance of the hammer face into the nipple port of the cylinder which can also impede full hammer drop and reset.
I just recently fit a new cylinder that needed side clearance adjustment as above described to achieve reset reliably.
If set up correctly the hammer stop in open frame guns is not on the hammer nose but mid hammer body against the frame over the arbor thread.

 

[snipin101]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll take a look at it. It did it with factory nipples and now has a set of slix shot nipples and also does it. When you slowly drop the hammer down right when the nose of the hammer makes contact with the nipple is when you can here the click to where it can be reset again. Should the hammer make contact with the nipple with no cap on it?

 

[M. De Land]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll take a look at it. It did it with factory nipples and now has a set of slix shot nipples and also does it. When you slowly drop the hammer down right when the nose of the hammer makes contact with the nipple is when you can here the click to where it can be reset again. Should the hammer make contact with the nipple with no cap on it?

Not to the point it imprints and distorts the hammer face and cylinder pin slot. It should just kiss or minimally clear the nipple top so that the cap absorbs the the full impact while the hammer impact is simultaneously arrested , mid hammer, against the frame , over the arbor thread.
This nipple ,hammer face/ mid hammer fit, is also very important so the cap once spent can become the pressure seal to the firing chamber.
You should be able to see where the hammer ,mid body, is impacting the frame over the arbor thread area to stop it's forward movement, if set up correctly.

 

[fishmusic]

I had a similar problem with my Pietta Navy. The issue with mine was that the reset would happen well after the point where it should. It should reset when the hammer face breaks the plane of the recoil shield. Mine went way past that. My solution was to grind the inside diameter of the bolt leaf that contacts the cam on the hammer until it reset correctly. That part of the bolt on the Pietta is not made to the original Colt specs and the inside of it interferes with the cam preventing the hammer reset. So far I have not had reset problems with this implemented.

 

[64Springer]

People will read this and still think carrying reproduction revolvers for self-defense purposes is a great idea.

 

[fishmusic]

People will read this and still think carrying reproduction revolvers for self-defense purposes is a great idea.

I hope not. While I am no 45D I like to make my pistol as reliable as I can within my skill set. But in a self defense situation I don't think I could outshoot anyone with it and there will always be a failure waiting to happen. I agree that these are range guns (I don't like referring to ANY firearm as a toy) but they should shoot reliably and be fun.

To snipin101, learn your pistol and make changes for reliability and then go have fun at the range or plinking. Purchase a few extra hands and trigger / bolt springs as these are the parts that have a high failure rate. Read some of the posts by 45D and consider some of his recommendations. These pistols are fun to shoot and get a lot attention from onlookers.