Congrats on the new gun! I never had any interest in black powder, or cap and ball, until I inherited my S&W top break. That sort of turned me on to more historic guns. I'm sort of itching to try a cap and ball pistol now. Seems like it would be alot of fun.

Not sure how bad it looked before, but looks like you did a nice job cleaning it up too.

 

It’s not a hard thing to get into. There are tons of YouTube videos out there showing the basics.

I had total confidence in loading mine up from the very first outing.

I really like this guy’s blackpowder videos. Very knowledgeable.

https://www.youtube.com/user/duelist1954

It’s a fun hobby.

 

Very cool

Those are a lot of fun

 

I shoot cap and ball revolvers for many decades and also have a Remington:



I love shooting a Bondini Le Page muzzleloader pistol. in .44 with 20 grains it is surprisingly accurate.

 

I have been owning and shooting them since 1972. I don't like them that much, only got 9 of them.

I have a matched pair like yours with simulated ivory stocks. Both are great shooters.

Shooting cap and ball revolvers is as much fun as you can have with your clothes on IMO.

 

I thought I was going to have a timing issue to fix. A few times the cylinder didn’t lock and over rotated.

After cycling the action about 100 times it won’t repeat itself. It would appear I had some corrosion inside gumming up the cylinder stop, and it has worked itself loose with some manipulation. Looks like I need to get in there and do an inspection and clean/lube.

I am waiting on the Slix Shot nipples to arrive before taking her out the first time. Hopefully I can make it to the range when I get off this week.

I will definitely post a follow up after I shoot her. I am planning to do some accuracy and chronograph testing and see how it compares to my .36 caliber Navy model.

 

Okay someone has to say it: Isn’t that Dragoon’s first duty weapon?kie:

 

I thought he carried a rapier..........

 

Nice revolver OP. I’m into blackpowder pieces as well. I currently have a Euroarms 1851 Navy .36 and 3 Ruger Old Armys. I traded a Springfield XDM for a ROA and that started me on this path. If you’re looking for a great capper try this you won’t be disappointed :
https://www.polishcappers.com/en/p/kapiszonownik-uniwersalny-model-pcc-na-okolo-150-szt-kapiszonow

 

Who else loves cap & ball revolvers?

A local shop had an older Pietta 1858 Remington that has been sitting on the shelf for a while. I made an offer of $200 and they accepted so she is mine now.

Definitely a fixer-upper. The nipples have corroded and there was rust in the cylinder threads; and the wood needs some work but the overall finish, chambers, and barrel are in good shape.

I have some Slixx Shot stainless steel nipples on the way. That’s should get her running right, and they run perfectly with Remington #10 caps which I have a thousand plus of home. I spent an hour getting cleaning her up last night, but I think she’s gonna be a solid shooter. Those nipples took my 1851 from about 60% reliability to 99%. I rarely have a misfire or cap jam with that gun now.

I’ve been saying I was bored and needed something new to tinker with, well here she is. She looks great next to my Uberti 1851 Navy. I picked up some .454 balls and some fresh Goex while I was there.

No manual came with it. I’m assuming 30-35g grains of FFFg should be about right. I run 20-25 in my .36 1851 Colt. Hopefully a .454 ball will shave a good lead ring.

Unfortunately I am a lousy photographer but here is a quick pic:

Should be a lot of fun to tinker with this spring and get her running right. I’m curious what kind of accuracy I will get with her. My 1851 is impressively accurate even by modern standards.

I may try some conicals later after I do a little research. I’m not sure conicals will fit without modifying the cutout in front of the loading lever.

What do you use to prevent chain fires? I always liked wonder-wads under the ball. Also have you tried Hodgdon's 777 BP substitute? It works very well and is a lot less corrosive, requires no hot water cleanup, and is a little more powerful. But it doesn't have as much smoke or the good smell of BP which I actually like.

 

I am of the opinion that chain fires happen from the front of the cylinder, due to improper fitting caps. I don’t see how it’s possible for a ball seated tightly enough to shave a lead ring allowing a spark past it to ignite the powder charge.

I use aftermarket nipples that fit Remington #10 caps perfectly. I use a pencil eraser to push them on tightly. I have never had a chain fire.

I do use Bore Butter to cover the chamber mouths after loading. That’s the way I was taught to do it and I get very good accuracy doing it that way. I have never used felt wads. Using the Bore butter as a lube I can fire upwards of sixty rounds before fouling becomes a problem and starts gumming up the action.

 

I have a short barrel new army. I bought it when ammo was hard to find and have a real fun time with it. Not many guys around here know much about BP at work, so when stuff comes up they give me a call.

You can get some pretty good accuracy once you find what charge of whatever powder you find works best. I like it because it’s much easier to adjust your load compared to cartridge loads

 

of course now you'll need a 1875 companion piece.

 

Got my Slix Shot nipples in today. As expected they fit perfectly.

I can’t wait to take her out. Hopefully I will be able to make it to the range Monday. I usually shoot Pyrodex P, but I have a can of Goex BP I plan to use Monday.

Should be a lot fun. The Slix Shot nipples make shooting reliable and cleanup easy.

Here is a crappy pic of her with my 1851 Navy .36. It’s going to be hard for her to top how well my Navy model shoots. She’s a real tack driver.

 

Made it out to shoot this morning. She shot well. No malfunctions or FTF.

I had to back the chrono out to 10 yards to get a reading shooting the blackpowder.

The 1858 was shooting a .454 round ball and averaged 836 FPS shooting 35g of Goex FFFg.

The 1851 Navy was shooting a .375 round ball and averaged 818 FPS shooting 22g of the same Goex powder.

The .454 balls shaved a nice lead ring on the new Remington’s cylinders.

The .375 balls in the 1851 always shave a very thin ring, but the accuracy has always been top notch so I have never tried a larger ball.

 

I was just at my hunting lease today with no real target stand. I just shot a milk jug today and was mainly focused on the chrono results and reliability.

Next outing I will definitely be testing accuracy at 25 yards.

 

Love'em. I'd like to have one with the .45 conversion cyllinder.

 

Well I’m an idiot. Was cleaning the 1851 up using water in the sink. I backed a couple screws out during disassembly but for some reason didn’t remove them from the frame. You guess it.......down the sink it went.

I got a screw set on the way. Not the worst thing I guess. The screws are really soft, I’m guessing on purpose because of the brass grip being easy to strip out, so a couple of the screws slots were damaged from using an improperly fitting screwdriver. I had been meaning to replace them anyway.

Oh well. It’s in pieces until my screw set gets here. I will be using a gunsmith screwdriver with a proper fit for the installation this time.

It needed a good work over anyway. Years of just squirting Ballistol down into the internals did prevent corrosion, but the inside was disgusting after doing this for a long time. It needed a good cleaning.

 

I made it out with the new 1858 Remington again this afternoon.

Am I a total sinner for preferring Pyrodex to the real holy black?

Maybe so, but after 24 shots the Remington was locked up tight and required a strip and lube to start functioning again. Shooting Pyrodex I can go Atleast double that without problems.

I have always heard the 1851 and 1858 both generally shoot way high to point of aim. Both of my cap and ball guns shoot to point of aim. A friend’s 1860 shoots about a foot high at 25 yards. Guess I got lucky.

I appreciate this Pietta 1858 Remington, but nothing shoots as sweet as my Uberti 1851 Navy .36

The mainspring on the Pietta 1858 is just so excessively heavy. I understand why, but it is just not as pleasant to shoot.

I didn’t shoot the Navy today. Shooting real black powder I didn’t feel like cleaning two guns as soon as I got home.

Here is my shooting partner holding her before I capped her up. We had a talk about chain fires and hand placement right after this.

And of course, once again, the Slix Shot nipples functioned perfectly. If you’re a cap & ball shooter I cannot recommend them enough. Perfect fit. Reliable ignition everytime. And no chain fires. And being SS no corrosion worries.

I ran 35 grains of FFFg this outing. I think that is a better load. The ball’s are seated much closer to the chamber mouths. Faster lock time and better accuracy vs last outing with 25 and 30 grain loads.

 

Very nice.


1911club#410

 

I have 9 Ruger Old Army cap-and-ball percussion revolvers (mix of blued and stainless, adjustable and fixed sights), as well as a dozen originals I fire regularly with light loads...

here is my kitty with some of my stainless ROAs:

here are some of my original vintage Colt revolvers:

here is my original 1837 Allen & Thurber Pepperbox in .31 caliber, which I fire with 15 grains of FFFg:

here is my original Hopkins & Allen 3rd Model Bacon .31 Pocket Model:

I actually do not have a good photo at the moment of my original Remington New Model Army .44 caliber (1863 vintage, based on its serial number)

here is video of me firing my original Colt 1860 Army recently, again with 15 grains of FFFg and lubed WonderWad under a 0.454" diameter lead round ball...

 

I cannot believe I even forgot to post about some of my favorite modern reproduction cap-and-ball percussion revolvers, namely the Euroarms Rogers & Spencer; here are a just of few of my R&S (beside a brace of some of my stainless ROAs)

 

Just got done rebuilding an Italian 1860 Army, which I gave to my oldest son.

“El Californio”: The Italian 1860 Army | The Sixgun Journal

I like the 1858 Remington as well and need to find one to Tinker with.

 

Nice project! I was heavy into BP shooting and always loved getting back to basics.

Revolver Crossfire? I tried many products but settled on "Crisco" cooking grease. I apply it on the forward end of the cylinder and it does a great job of preventing crossfire. Crisco also provides lubrication for the ball. The best part is that it's easy to clean later, and it softens deposits.

I disassemble my pistols to sub assemblies and boil them in a pot on the stove with soapy water. Don't use one of your kitchen pots. I got my pots from a garage sale. After the parts are clean, I place them on the open door of the oven on "low" until dry. Apply oil while they're still warm. OH, don't boil the wooden grips.

Have fun!

Flash

 

In a couple weeks I'll be down visiting family in N.C. and copious quantities of charcoal will be burned