Pietta .44 new to me

picked this up today. Tell me anything about it you can. I know absolutely nothing about cap and ball.

Hello 1950DAVE,

All I can tell you is don't hot rod it. 20 grains max. If it's used be sure to check the support ring behind the cylinder, with heavy loads they will pound the manure out of them (so called frame stretch).

AntiqueSledMan.

I shoot 25 gr 3F Elephant or Goex powder in mine, I don't shoot it often but I hear that the new reproductions hold up very well with that load.

1950Dave
Load it light. 15 to 20 grns of BP is good. Use some COW to fill up cylinder and bring ball close to cylinder face. Less jump from cylinder to muzzle crown. Enjoy.
DL

Thanks folks. I have been looking for a backup after misplacing a shot at a buck with the 54 GPR, and this is the first thing I have found. $50 for what you see in the pic.
Dave

$50 is a really good deal for the gun, even if it isn't in the best condition.
Like the others mentioned, it is a "brass frame" pistol so keep the powder loads on the light side.

These cap & ball revolvers use balls that are bigger than the bore so even though it is listed as a .44 caliber, it uses .451 to .457 diameter balls. That will result in a small amount of lead getting sheared off of the ball when it is rammed into the chambers. It is this shearing that causes the ball to make a tight, "line to line" fit with the chamber which is what keeps the ball in place in the remaining chambers when the gun fires.

As for the actual gun's design, first off it is a reproduction of a Colt 1851 Navy. It is also a reproduction of a non-existent gun. The 1851 Navy was a .36 caliber pistol.
The Italians got the idea that people would like a .44 caliber version of it so the created a "rebated cylinder" by making the forward end of it larger so it could have .45 caliber chambers in it. They also added a clearance cut to the frame to allow this stepped cylinder to fit. This sort of thing is exactly what Colt did when he created the .44 caliber 1860 Army revolver.

Although the gun is patterned after the Colt 1851 Navy which is a steel frame revolver, by making the frame out of brass, it is actually more like the Confederate copies of the 1851 Colt. The Confederates were the only ones that made brass framed revolvers.

I know your going to have fun with it.

In all likelyhood it will shoot high at closer ranges, but you won't know until you try it. Also, if you carry it loaded use the single action practice of having an empty cylinder under the hammer for safety. At the range where I'm shooting right away I normally load all six, cap at the bench and fire away.

BTW, you got a really good deal unless there are real serious problems with it. It look pretty clean.

Thanks for the tips, guys. Bluing shows no wear. Only light scuffs on the brass and the grips are immaculate. Bore shows very light rust. Can't wait to shoot it.
Dave

Hello Dave,

I should add, .454 balls & #10 Remington Caps.

AntiqueSledMan.

Get a revolver sized nipple wrench. You need a nipple wrench that can get into the recesses in a revolver's cylinder. Before you go shooting it will be best to remove the nipples and use some anti seize lubricant on the threads. Nipples only need to be tightened to snug. No need to over tighten.

Way too many revolvers have nipples that are so tight that it is very difficult to remove them.

You will probably want to build a loading stand for the pistol. Other wise you are waving a loaded gun all over the place.

It won’t be loaded until it’s capped.

It’s not difficult to load the gun while keeping the barrel in a vertical position. Many shoot in the field where using a loading stand is not really feasible. It’s good practice to learn to be able to load-up just using two hands and the rammer.

Gee Dog said:

It won’t be loaded until it’s capped.

It’s not difficult to load the gun while keeping the barrel in a vertical position. Many shoot in the field where using a loading stand is not really feasible. It’s good practice to learn to be able to load-up just using two hands and the rammer.

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It’s what I do, I’ve never used a loading stand.

Woodnbow said:

It’s what I do, I’ve never used a loading stand.

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Same here.

And I load 20 gr of Pyrodex 3fg in mine. She shoots well.