Thinking about getting my first cap and ball revolver.

[Rebel jim]

Thing about the remington new model army 1858 is, if you get tired of shooting BP, you can always pick up a conversion cylinder and go back to old west style.. just say'n
Especially now that it is so hard to get BP supplies (i.e. caps, and powder).

 

[rdungan1918]

My Pietta 1851 Navy 36 cal came in from Midway yesterday. I wasn't sure about Pietta finish/quality based on comments and videos. The finish on this gun is great. I checked the timing and it works great. Haven't shot it yet. Pictures taken after wiping off most of oil. Very happy with it.

 

[Johnny Tremain]

Before you all get ordering, you might want to look up spring replacements. It seems there are a few companies that do nothing but sell spring kits for these. I bought a spring kit, so when any break, I have replacements.
This is what I learned form owning a production gun in the 90s.

 

[Stantheman86]

There's nothing wrong with a Pietta brass frame .36 Navy, I have 4 of them. They are fitted well from the factory, are ready to go and they're tough, forgiving guns.

You can get them for about $250 new from anywhere that has them in stock. I shoot Pyrodex and anything from 1f to 3f real black in them, they accept CCI #11 caps and in my opinion the smaller charge and lighter ball of a .36 is easier on the brass frame. Get one to see if you'll actually shoot it alot and stick with Cap and Ballers, then you can add steel frame guns later.

If you shoot a brass .36 enough to "loosen it up" you've still gotten your $250 out of it, I have several hundred rounds through 2 of mine and they are as tight as when I got them. With 20 gr charges and balls. I've even tried conicals in them. I'd guess it would take a few thousand rounds of light loads to maybe start to loosen one up. Which honestly is probably a good few years of shooting if you shoot 50 rounds through it twice a month . And that's still WAY more than the average shooter will put through one. Most brassers are shot loose by people filling the chambers up with Pyrodex and crushing balls down. It's even said that loading is as hard on a brasser as shooting. I haven't seen any problems yet.

That being said I shot a steel frame Pietta loose in 2010 with max charges of Pyrodex P and Buffalo Bullets. The barrel wedge peened the slot and loosened the gun right up. I emailed Pietta and they said they don't harden the barrel steel and in broken English basically said, not to do that anymore with future Piettas. To be fair I was loading some of the bullets upside down which may have been bad. I was younger and dumber 12 years ago.

My Uberti .36 Navy survived the same charges and bullets and I still have it to this day, it probably has 2,000+ rounds through it.

Keep the charges within spec and you'll be fine. These aren't Magnums and never will be. The service charge of a '51 Navy was 18gr I believe.

 

[Eutycus]

Yeah, saving a few bucks on a Brassy doesn't pay off in the long run. But some guys love them; over time it's said the brass will loosen up a bit, even the Dixie catalog mentions this. I'd bet the brass being used isn't the really tough "ordnance grade" brass used in cannons, etc.

That's probably so but a brasser is a good looking gun in my opinion. A steel frame is a better gun but I still think a brass frame has it beat in the looks Department. To each his own!

 

[cynthialee]

had my Pietta brass framed 1851 in .44 for about 12 years now and it hasn't stretched any
But I load max of about 22 grains of 3f.

 

[goksdron]

I'm seriously debating buying my first cap and ball revolver. I'm relatively new to muzzleloading, and I am uneducated in the ways of the cap and ball revolver. In your guys' opinions, what is a good "beginner" cap and ball revolver? I was looking at an Uberti 1851 Navy, but if you guys have any better ideas, let me know. Thanks!
- Grant

My wife works at Fleet Farm in Minnesota and found me a very nice Pietta kit with an 1851 Navy replica in 44 caliber. I have found it to be Fairly reliable and I have had to do a lot of research about muzzleloading after she bought it for me not to mention a little bit of gunsmithing. It will challenge your mechanical abilities. YouTube is amazing. Find Mike Bellevue. I recommend Triple 7 3 FG powder and 454 caliber balls and number 10 Remington or CCI caps. You will find it beneficial to have a funnel to load powder into your powder flask , a powder measure that will allow you to select between 20 and 30 grains of powder and have a Capper to cap your cylinder nipples. You don't want to do any of that by hand without tools. The fun thing about muzzleloading is it's an inexact exact science. You get to pick your load and how powerful it is.

 

[goksdron]

Traditions has an 1851 in a blister pack with a flask and a lot of the tools and supplies you will need.

You are correct my wife bought me that pack. It came with everything except the percussion caps and the powder. It came with the Capper and the flask and the powder measure. It's a very good value.

 

[ernbar]

Probably a Remington would be the best "starter" revolver. Less prone to cap issues ( but not immune), single piece frame means no grip frame screws and only 1 trigger guard screw. The Colt type (open top) platform is a little more involved with take down for cleaning and possible cap issues but could definitely be a "starter" as well! After all, it was for our ancestors!!
Main thing is have fun, be safe!!

Mike

I agree. My first was a Pietta 58 Remington. Like Mike mentioned, a bit less complex than the Colts and very easy and fast cylinder removal. I did not experience any cap jams even with stock nipples unlike the Colts that are prone to this. Don’t get me wrong, the Colts are nice too I just find the Remington more user friendly for a beginner.

 

[Walkabout]

I recently bought a Pietta NMA clone. I've only shot two cylinders full so far, but I hit pretty much where I aimed and had no cap jams. I'm not an expert, but it seems that if you want to fiddle, get a Colt, if you want to shoot, get a Remington. That said, my next revolver will probably be a Colt.