Unidentified .44

[himem777]

I just baught a Italian 1858 new army .44 that I cant identify. The only things it has on it are "Black powder only Made In Italy" on the right side of the barrel, "609" on the bottom of the barrel and the proof house marks on the drum. The only other markes it has on it is the scerial# on the heal. There is a page on this form that is a wealth of info, just not for my gun. :idunno: Its a well made gun tho.

 

[Zonie]

You aren't alone.

Many of the Italian reproduction guns are not marked by the maker.

The BLACK POWDER ONLY was required by most of the importers in the U. S. and the proof marks are required by Italian law.

On the positive side, most of the parts that break are close enough that parts made by other Italian companies will interchange with little or no modification required.

 

[Burningprince]

I have an 1858 new army by Pietta.Shoots great i use the .457 ball seems to like that size.

 

[himem777]

Thank at least I know it was not an anomaly. Mine likes .451. This brings another Question...These "44s" eat .451-.458 like my 45acp(.451). Then why arent they called .45s? :idunno: :idunno:

 

[reddog97]

The bore is .44cal. After you seat the ball and it shaves a little ring off, it too will be .44cal. The ball is oversized to get a good seat in the cylinder.

 

[Zonie]

Because back in the good old days they described the guns by their bore size. Most of the .44 caliber C&B guns had .440 diameter bores and the .36's had .360 diameter bores (even though they shoot .375 diameter balls).

It wasn't until later that they started using groove size, cartridge bullet size and "who knows where they got that from" sizes. :grin:

 

[himem777]

Makes sense.

 

[junkman_01]

Yep, that's what makes the .38Special, special. It's only .35 caliber. Creative marketing at it's finest! :rotf:

 

[himem777]

Kind of reminds me of the 5.0 mustangs, most of them are realy 4.9 liters. 4.9 just didn't look good on the side of the car. :grin: