1860 Colt vs. 1858 Remington

[Erwan]

I have four Remington (three Army and one Belt) and two Colt (one Navy and an Amy). To be sure you're not making a mistake, buy the Colt and the Remington...

 

[Johnny Tremain]

Id have a heathy supply of caps first.
I had a 58, sold it. Have a 60, have not sold it yet.

 

[Chupacabra Charlie]

I have a few more thoughts on cap n ball revolvers. 36 cal. are cheeper to shoot and lighter to carry. with the remingtons you can get a conversion cylinder for 45 colt cartridges ( i used those for cowboy action). Once you start down the cap n ball trail you will not be able to stop.

 

[hrt4me]

Good choices, but both are hard to find. The Santa Barbara is a jewel and those of us who have them are not likely to sell them. I plan to be buried with mine.

difficult to find, but not impossible, and well worth the effort

 

[oncewas]

It's all personal preference. But definitely handled the Remington before you purchase. I didn’t and wish I had. I bought the NMA based on my son-in-law liking them better, It was my second C and B. I’ve since bought three more colts. A second 1851, an 1860 Army and an 1861 Navy. I personally hate the Remington, mine is a Pietta. I hate the way it sits in my hand and I have fat fingers so the trigger guard is uncomfortable as it presses into my fingers holding the grip. You may not have this problem. But I still recommend holding one before you purchase shooting one would be even better. Good luck whatever you choose.

 

[AlexB]

I am gonna go shoot my 1858's until they quit sucking.

 

[Trot]

You're reading my mind?
I was leaning toward the Remington because of its closed frame, sights and hammer. I haven't had a chance to handle a Remington in the store, and I have handled a Colt. Comparing the Colt to some of the others they had (at Cabela's) the Colt just leaped out as well-suited to my hand. So .... now, I'm thinking, maybe what I really need is the 1851 Colt Navy AND the 1858 Remington Army. Hah!! Plus, I'd have one for each service. Service sidearms is one of my collecting motifs.

The names Army and Navy are a bit confusing. It doesn’t refer to which branch it was issued to. .36 is Navy caliber and .44 is Army caliber but both were issued to cavalry. The average infantry soldier didn’t generally carry a revolver, officers did though.

 

[CaptainVane]

I have both Rem .36 and 51 Colt .36. Got the Rem first.
I have to disagree that changing cylinders on Rem is easier. I can pop out the wedge with thumb pressure, pull barrel and change cylinders and back together on Colt in under 5 seconds.
The Remington cylinder rolls right out but i have a hell of a time every time getting the cylinder back in. The bolt hangs me up everytime. And getting it aligned to insert the pin takes time.

 

[Gtrubicon]

I have a 51, 58 and 60. I shoot the Remington the most.

 

[azmntman]

I would certianly not say one is easier than the other to clean. Both a bit of a PIA but so was changing diapers and I still did it and still love the kids?

 

[PastorB]

Ugh, here we go again. I love my Colts, my Pietta .36 1851 Navy being my favorite revolver. The Colts, to me, are better looking, handle better, and just have a "Cool" factor that the 1858 Remington lacks. HOWEVER, when it come down to reliability, there is no comparison. In 46 years of shooting cap and ball revolvers, I have never had the Remington design break or fail in any way. Meanwhile, just last night I was tweaking away on my 1860 Army just to get it to function properly. There are some on this forum who are indignant about their Colts, loudly proclaiming they can be "made to run". That is true, there are procedures and upgrades that can make the Colts more reliable, but again, I have never had to work on a Remington to "make it run". In a nutshell, for fun and aesthetic pleasure, I much prefer the Colts. If I need a gun for serious purposes, the Remington is the clear winner, and I don't even have to think twice about it. The Remington handles like a brick, in my estimation, but in the words often attributed to Buffalo Bill concerning his Remington New Model Army, "It never failed me." I concur with those words, I never, ever worry about my Remington not working, while at the same time I keep a large drawer full of parts for my Colts, and I access it frequently. That is MY experience, others with as much or more usage will dissent with my conclusions.

 

[1971fx]

My collection

 

[Relic shooter]

Question about "cap sucking" (?? if I remember the term right) tendency of the Colt due to the notch in the hammer: is it more or less with #11 caps or #10 caps or no difference?

I found 'packing & sealing the actions' on open-top Colt revolvers with Mobile 1 synthetic grease as recommended by forum member & pistol mechanic 45D cured cap jams in my open-tops.
The packing also makes after-shooting cleanup much easier, can skim off any action surface crud & easily remove pieces of caps that would jam the action.

 

[Chupacabra Charlie]

Question about "cap sucking" (?? if I remember the term right) tendency of the Colt due to the notch in the hammer: is it more or less with #11 caps or #10 caps or no difference?

You can either fill in the notch in the hammer or change out the cones for cones with side holes in them and the will fix the cap sucking problem. You will want the caps that fit the tighest on your pistol 10 or 11 depending on the pistol that you get.

 

[OldRust]

You are taking the right approach. Handle them, everybody's hands are different. My first two C&B's were Remington army 44 & navy36. I liked them, then I handled the Colt 1851 Navy 36. I have and pretty much shot all the Colts (except the Patterson). I love shooting the Dragoons, The Walker not so much. Every time I get the C&B urge it's the 1851 Navy that goes to the range with me.

Find one that fits your hand and you like to shoot. If you really , really like shooting it send it off to Goons Gun Shop for a tune up, Our own Mike @45D here on the forum.

Enjoy the slippery slope

Thanks,
O.R.

 

[DementedMindOfJac]

We are the same. 1851 Navy first and then the 1860 Army a very close second. 1861 Navy comes in third and new model Army fourth.

I don't know how many BP revolvers I have. About 16 or 18 with another 5 or 8 worth of parts, no stretchy brass frames either. Most are just display, but my boy prefers the '58 Remi with the 8" barrel because it's more robust and he has a 5-shot .45LC conversion cylinder for it. He hates the short 5" one though.
For balance, I prefer the open-top, but weaker, design with the '51 in .36 topping the list every time. I don't even bother with conversion cylinders for these.
When you go with the heavy Dragoons, there is no balance. Just shoot them two-handed. The .31 '58 Baby Dragoon is a fine shooter, but it would need about a 7" barrel to achieve the fine balance of the '51.

 

[CaptainVane]

Oldrust, i cant agree more. My Remington 58 .36 stays on display.
EVERY time i go to range i take my 51 Colt .36 and Colt .31 pocket. My Remington was first bought. I don’t know why but it’s always the 2 Colts that go to range.
For me, the Rem may be the finest sculpture hand gun ever made, beautiful, classic, pretty much every following revolver was patterend after. Even Sam said he patterned the SAA to copy the lines of the 58 Remington.
But my Colts, with the wedge, to me, take me back in time to a more primitive time in revolver development. That the Remington cant match.
Its a ‘feel’ thing.
PS old pic, no .31 Colt at the time and have since put beautiful high gloss rosewood grips on the Ruger22, and ordered rosewood grips for the Virginia Dragoon (Eagle Grips $150.).
PSS. Note the Virginia is at first cock. No tranfer bar, old school, one cylinder unloaded, hammer cocked to first click. I love that pistol.

 

[Hlane]

I have both.... actually several of both. I have to give the nod to the Remington for a starter.... it's generally more reliable than the Colt open top design, caps don't tend to fall back into the action.....get the Remington to start, then you'll get the ,1860......(which sets in the hand like it was made for it!)

 

[manbat]

I'm eyeballing a cap and ball revolver as my next muzzle loading pistol. Top of my list are the "Army" revolvers used in the Civil War. The two main choices I'm considering are the reproductions of the Remington 1858 and the Colt 1860 44 cal revolvers. There appear to be some significant differences leading to similar functionality. Which do you think would make the better choice for me as my first cap and ball revolver? And why? And which manufacturer? Thanks ...

Good time to be deciding. There is a just relisted Pietta 1860 on the forum for a good price, and midway has 10%, which makes the Uberti 1860 $317, including shipping.

 

[TDM]

Good time to be deciding. There is a just relisted Pietta 1860 on the forum for a good price, and midway has 10%, which makes the Uberti 1860 $317, including shipping.

That’s a good deal on the Uberti.