remington or colt?

[Don]

Folks get off point regularly here,nature of the beast. I'll repeat, as much as I love Colts I think you would be better served by the Remington.

Don

 

[himem777]

As far as cheep guns go Cabelas has them cheep. The Colts start at $149, But for $50 or so dollars more I just baught a Remington with a 5.5 barrel for my own critter protection. And considering what these guns can do I do not feel out gunned against two legged critters either (I am not an idiot tho when I carry concealed its a semi). I like the reliability and the ability to improve the sites. I live in a mountainous semi arid area and we have mountain lions, but because of the conditions here you can shoot the at a greater distance than in the dense woods. So the good sites do make a difference.

The Piettas can even be had with target sites from the factory.seems to me that it just might be as close to a more modern smokeless gun as you can get without crossing the line or paying the big bills for the Ruger old army. And that seem to be your goal to have the protection of a gun without breaking the law. The 5.5 Remmie would do that cheapest and best with a change of sites.

The Colts are more asteticly pleasing and more old fashioned, but that is not your goal.

 

[Pete Gaimari]

holy crap!the whole point to this is which would be a better pistol in the woods in case of emergency situations not whether hogs are dangerous or not! there is NO DOUBT in MY MIND so i wont argue any more what is dangerous. these woods are full of things that WILL eat you and imhp a stupid person may deny or ignore that fact ,but im not that person we have been informed of black bear killed not far from here kennard.20 milesaway there have been pics in my immediate area of mountain lions stalking the deer feeders not a half mile from where i hunt,hve personally seen black panthers, large bobcats and large hogs, copperheads, tree rattlers and reports of the ever elusive bigfoot! it dont particularly matter what critter ,if it FEELS threatned ,whether it is or not you could mean a dangerous situation .i want to have some sort of back up ,insted of just one shot! hell, ive even seen video of men attacked by enraged buck deer and guess what? the deer won! so in my mind its not whether its dangerous in the woods its which pistol would serve me best! :yakyak:

I think you meant to post this to Richard. I'm the one saying to carry a big gun.

 

[Pete Gaimari]

As far as cheep guns go Cabelas has them cheep. The Colts start at $149, But for $50 or so dollars more I just baught a Remington with a 5.5 barrel for my own critter protection. And considering what these guns can do I do not feel out gunned against two legged critters either (I am not an idiot tho when I carry concealed its a semi). I like the reliability and the ability to improve the sites. I live in a mountainous semi arid area and we have mountain lions, but because of the conditions here you can shoot the at a greater distance than in the dense woods. So the good sites do make a difference.

The Piettas can even be had with target sites from the factory.seems to me that it just might be as close to a more modern smokeless gun as you can get without crossing the line or paying the big bills for the Ruger old army. And that seem to be your goal to have the protection of a gun without breaking the law. The 5.5 Remmie would do that cheapest and best with a change of sites.

The Colts are more asteticly pleasing and more old fashioned, but that is not your goal.

A Remington won't do a thing that a Colt won't do better.

Besides, he's too big a guy for the small grip of a Remington.

 

[Dphar]

I wouldn't put a whole lot of faith in everything that was written, even in 1937 (a good 50 years after most of the buffalo were thinned down by the professional hunters).

I will admit that I've never heard of a professional buffalo hunter going after buffalo with a Dragoon but then, the professional buffalo hunters I'm thinking of used the big Sharps and similar large caliber cartridge guns.

The same article says two shots into a grizzly (along with a bunch of .36 caliber bullets that only penetrated about 1") with a Dragoon were enough to do in a grizzly but it would be a cold day in Phoenix before I would think of using a Dragoon for grizzly hunting.

A notorious cattle killing Griz was killed in Wyoming back in the day with a 45 Colt carried by a cowboy, or so I have read. The Dragoon is not that much different. The Walker is equal if not superior to the 45 Colt.
All that is required is penetration to the right spot.

I would not have the slightest problem in running buffalo with a Dragoon Colt. All you need to do is poke it in the lungs one or 3 times. It will run off across the prairie and drop dead. If it runs a mile so what? You are horse back after all.
There is a Catlin painting titled:
"Catlin the Artist Shooting Buffalo with Colt's Revolving Pistols". I have no idea if it ever actually took place.
However.
There are period accounts of Patersons being used for running buffalo the large Paterson's were 36 caliber like the Navy
Pistols of all types were popular for this.
People used what they had, they were not thinking to stop the buffalo in its tracks. Just kill it.

Dan

 

[Stophel]

A Remington won't do a thing that a Colt won't do better.

Besides, he's too big a guy for the small grip of a Remington.

For me, the Colts just simply handle better. The grips are better shaped, with a little bit of "filler" behind the triggerguard, and the hammers have larger, better shaped spurs, that I find MUCH easier to cock. If there was any way you could handle the two before you buy, you could see which one suits you better. :wink:

 

[Pete Gaimari]

Exactly.


Nothing points like a Colt.

 

[bdhutier]

holy crap!the whole point to this is which would be a better pistol in the woods in case of emergency situations not whether hogs are dangerous or not!

Here's 2 cents from one cop's perspective... Emergency, close-quarters shooting takes place without the benefit of sights. It's all adrenalin fueled point-and-squeeze, not aiming, and mental debate on which of the best kill-zones present themselves, blah blah.

The soundest advice I can give is, if you're looking for the best gun to shoot in a panic, it's all about pointability. You're looking for a weapon which is closest to an extension of your hand, and naturally points in the same basic place your eyes tell your hand to be. I PROMISE, if there's a 600lb-er at 15 meters charging and you're scared, you won't even register there are sights on the revolver.

Tall order, but if there's any way to shoot any of these prior to buying, that's the best way to determine which is best for you. Otherwise, go with what you like the best, and just shoot many hundreds of rounds to lock in the muscle-memory (that's why most departments require so much range time).

As a side note, I had to totally shift my shooting technique for my 51 Navy. The most comfortable way to shoot it (and luckily the most pointable as well) is one-handed with my pinky finger laying up under the grip. My hands are also big, and the pinky naturally lays about half way over the bottom edge of the grip. If I just tuck it under, the muzzle drops perfectly in line with my wrist and points wherever I point my arm.

Anyway, hope that helps some!

ETA: If shooting for muscle-memory, make it point-and-shoot, not aim-and-shoot. You're training your snap shooting, not sight-on-target acquisition.

 

[east texas]

my apologies sir you are correct on both counts! by the way how difficult is it to change the cylinder on a dragoon is it the pin and screw also? also you would think remington would put a bigger grip on their more bulky than the colt gun wouldnt you?

 

[east texas]

have you had a chance to shoot the remmie yet?how does the 5 1/2 barrel do compared to the 8?is it hard to load with the shorter lever? thanx mike

 

[Norinco]

The Dragoon is held together by a wedge, just like other Colt's. It can be really fast if the wedge is fitted right.

On my Colt Navy, all I have to do is press the right end of the wedge and it goes shooting out the left side until it hits the stop screw. Then I simultaneously pull the barrel assembly and cylinder. It's just as fast if not faster than a Remington.

 

[Pete Gaimari]

my apologies sir you are correct on both counts! by the way how difficult is it to change the cylinder on a dragoon is it the pin and screw also? also you would think remington would put a bigger grip on their more bulky than the colt gun wouldnt you?

No problem. I mix up posts sometimes too.

As for the Remington grip? I'm not sure what they were thinking. It bangs my knuckle into pulp. Even with a good grip they don't point like a Colt.

A Colt doesn't come apart like a Remington. I actually like the Colt method better. I found the pin would get stuck easily when using real BP.

The Colt uses a wedge to hold the barrel on. I work on mine so I can push it on and off with my thumb. It's as simple as pushing the wedge to one side (it stays on the barrel and won't be lost). Then pull off the barrel, and then pull off the cylinder. I can do it in seconds. The advantage is you now have the barrel off for cleaning. (no water in the action) You can also easily lube the arbor.

Don't let anybody fool you into thinking the Remington is easier to change the cylinders. Get the wedge fit on a Colt just right, and it's faster.

This applies to the 51,60,61, Dragoons, and Walker. The 51/61 will be too small of a grip for you.

You need an 1860 good power. Dragoons more power. Walker most power.

 

[Homesteader]

I got into the whole Pale Rider cylinder swap thing for a while. It's a pretty cool idea really. I still have several revolvers with spare cylinders.

What I found is that only one revolver I've used (the '58 Starr) was actually easy to swap out, and then it was constantly in the back of my mind that I was carrying a sort of primitive hand grenade / Claymore mine on my hip. One that would only take a sharp blow to ignite. Didn't like that one bit. (Thankfully the one time I dropped a loaded cylinder was onto soggy soft ground!)

My answer - and the answer of the old timers from what I've read - was simply to carry two revolvers if I felt I needed that many shots. A third if that seemed right, a fourth if I thought that was too few.

Grabbing a second revolver is one heckuva lot quicker than swapping any cylinder. Frankly, though, I tend to think that 5 or 6 shots should be enough.

I've had lots of smokewagons, of all sorts. If I had to pick only one, it might be the Rogers & Spencer. That or the Walker... :hmm:

 

[east texas]

so on the colt models do you remove the set screw? or just back it out some? forgive my stupidity but nif i knew much about them i wouldnt be here. well i take that back this place is a hoot. im really wanting the 60 army if it would do i just love the round barrell and the lines of that thing! and every body seems to agree on two things one is the pointability and the other being a larger grip im sure ill not stop with one pistola who here has? but i just wanted the right one to start with , i now have 3 percussin rifles and am drooling to try a flinter so you see its not all about the legalities its the same sickness i see in all of you :thumbsup:

 

[himem777]

Did not recive the new one yet. I like the way the one I have fits in my hands, but more guys like the colts. Like others have said its best to play with both and see. On the reloading front the I always belived that the best for fast changes was the remmie, but the last post has me curious. My current remmie locks pin locks up after 12 or so shots, so if the colts do not have this issue maybe ill change. In any case I will keep You posted wont be long.

 

[Pete Gaimari]

so on the colt models do you remove the set screw? or just back it out some? forgive my stupidity but nif i knew much about them i wouldnt be here. well i take that back this place is a hoot. im really wanting the 60 army if it would do i just love the round barrell and the lines of that thing! and every body seems to agree on two things one is the pointability and the other being a larger grip im sure ill not stop with one pistola who here has? but i just wanted the right one to start with , i now have 3 percussin rifles and am drooling to try a flinter so you see its not all about the legalities its the same sickness i see in all of you :thumbsup:

I can't disagree with your choice. I shoot two 1860 colts in CAS competition and love them.

I'm not sure what set screw you mean, but there's none that you need to touch to remove the cylinder. Just push out the wedge, and it comes apart.

 

[Norinco]

No, you don't need to remove the screw. All it does is keep you from separating the wedge from the barrel assembly, but it allows you to pull it far enough to remove the barrel.

 

[Pete Gaimari]

No, you don't need to remove the screw. All it does is keep you from separating the wedge from the barrel assembly, but it allows you to pull it far enough to remove the barrel.

Yes of course. I should have known what he meant. I just didn't think of it as a set screw. My bad.

 

[east texas]

i must be mistaken i thought all the colts had a screw above the wedge to keep it from coming out?

 

[Zonie]

The open top Colts are all built with a very large cylinder pin which has a slot thru the forward end.

A tapered wedge is inserted thru the barrel and thru the slot in the cylinder pin to hold the barrel onto the frame.

This tapered wedge is relieved in the center area and the head of a small fillister head screw located on the side of the barrel fits down into this relief. This screw head prevents the wedge from falling out of the barrel when the wedge has been driven back out of engagement with the cylinder pin.

There are also two small dowel pins at the bottom of the front of the frame which slide into matching holes in the lower part of the barrel. These keep the barrel aligned with the frame.

To remove the barrel (and cylinder) the first step is to put the hammer at half cock. This frees the cylinder so it can rotate.

Then, push the wedge out of engagement with the cylinder pin. Properly fitted this can be done with thumb pressure however on new guns it often takes a small block of wood and a mallet to remove.

With the barrel wedge dangling out of the side of the barrel, the barrel will usually pull off of the frame and cylinder pin with hand pressure however if it seems to be stuck in place all is not lost.

Rotate the cylinder 1/2 chambers worth so the web between the chambers aligns with the loading levers ram. Pulling down on the loading lever will force the ram into the face of the cylinder and jack the barrel from the frame.

With the barrel out of the way the cylinder will drop off of the cylinder pin into your hand.

To replace the cylinder simply slide it back onto the cylinder pin. Place the barrel back on the cylinder pin aligning the bottom with the two dowels and push it towards the frame until it is stopped by the lower frame.

Push the barrel wedge back thru the slot and your done. Do NOT hammer the barrel wedge in place. It doesn't have to be very tight at all to do its job.

Some folks think that if the nose of the wedge isn't sticking out of the side of the barrel they have a safety issue but this is not true.
Others think the small flat spring that is in the bottom of the relieved area of the wedge must latch onto the side of the barrel. This is also not true.
The little spring is intended to catch on the screw head when the wedge is removed from the cylinder pin thereby keeping it from getting lost.