1851 Pietta Confederate Navy

[The New Guy]

I've found a .44 1851 Confederate Navy for sale that comes with a very nice leather belt holster, leather belt, extra cylinder, leather cylinder belt pouch, confederate sword and scabbord. The guy selling the complete set up is only asking $400 for everything and I am thinking about buying it. However, the gun has a bit of side to side play in the barrel assembly. What could be causing this movement and is it something worth fixing. Should i just shy away from the purchase due to this? Thanks for any help.

 

[F.G. Ford]

Well the side play is a easy remedy, but should be discounted in the price.
.44 cal. Navy pistol never existed, that was a gun makers creative mind.
All navies were .36 cal.
If you wish to re-enact the sword & scabbard are a good accessory if they are in good shape.
Is the cylinder pin moving around?
Are the two allignment pins that extend from the bottom of the frame into the barrel still present?
The .44 navies were a fun gun to shoot with, and easy to cary.
Fred

 

[fort fireman]

I'm assuming if it is the confederate it has the brass frame. Just so you know, that gun brand new from cabelas is on sale for 179.00 That may give you an idea if it is a good deal or not. Also with the brass frame you can't get a conversion sylinder if that is something you may think you want down the road. i have the brass frame 51 and love it. As was said, I'm left to understand that the navies were all 36 cal. i don't think they started with the 44 untill the 1860 came out but I could be wrong on that.
It is alot of fun to shoot but I don't have any side to side play. It is pretty tight. i couldn't say how hard it would be to fix or if its worth it to fix. Alot would depend on the condition of the other stuff.

 

[Zonie]

The only .44 caliber pistols Colt made are the .44 Walker, 1st, 2nd, 3rd Model Dragoon and the 1860 Army.

If Colt ever made a .44 caliber 1851 it was an experimental gun that I've never found a documented record of.

 

[Robert an saa fan]

I'm assuming if it is the confederate it has the brass frame. Just so you know, that gun brand new from cabelas is on sale for 179.00 That may give you an idea if it is a good deal or not. . .

This past spring Cabela's had the brass navies on sale for $129 and the steel frame .44 Remington's on sale for $179. IIRC Cabela's runs black powder revolver sales about twice a year.

 

[necchi]

:hmm: , Just off the top of my head,,
I'm thinkin that's a bit much.
As said is you need the other stuff then maybe,
But it's not a "Sweet Deal"
I picked up an 1860 at a gun show w/extra cylinder and extra barrel for $140
And an 1858 for 100 (co-worker)
an 51` uberti 36 for 125,,(pawn shop)
All Brass frames, but nuthins loose with any of'm.
The Uberti was un-fired an too tight!
Not braggin, but save yer money an look around for awhile.
Check the classifieds here from time ta time.
If I had 400, I'd be buyin steel frames
Don't let the fever get ya too hard. :wink:

 

[Poor Private]

I also have a brass framed 1851 in .44. But mine is called the sheriffs model. It has a 5" barrel. Great shooter. It is well balanced. My wife when firing it for her first time at 25feet- first shot in the bull, the other 5 bullets in or near the red. She loves it casue it fits her small hand and with the shorter barrel it is not front heavy. It takes a .451 ball and I usually put in 20 grains of triple 7 in it.
Because of the shorter barrel it is a nice pistol to take out in the woods for a walk. I bought this plus a CVA accessory pack at a gun show for a hundred bucks.

 

[cynthialee]

when I bought my last pistol (1851 in brass and .44) I got it NIB with a bunch of stuff in the package to go with it for about $175

 

[Zonie]

I only mentioned the thing about .44 caliber Colts because some folks around here are interested in history.

As for a .44 caliber 1851 Colt, my very first cap & ball pistol was a steel framed version of these "non-historic" guns.

Great shooter and truth be known I liked the boom and recoil of the .44 much better than shooting the .36 caliber 1851 I replaced it with.

I also liked the feel of the gun and grip better than my Colt 1860 Army repro.
For my hand, it just fit and pointed better.

I think ole' Sam Colt kinda missed the boat when he didn't make a .44 caliber version of the 1851 Navy.
He could have called it the Colt 185X Marine, put an engraving of the Halls of Montezuma on the cylinder and sold them by the thousands! :grin:

 

[cynthialee]

Over the years I have had a number of differant cap and ball revolvers and my favorite so far is the 1851 in .44
When I get the wearwithall to get anouther revolver it is going to be an 1851 .44 but I want the steel frame one so I can use heavier charges.

 

[The New Guy]

Thanks for all the advice. If I had made the decision to purchase I would have sold the reenactment stuff to someone already involved. I know me and if I were to keep something like that some new clothing items, a tent and a few other things I don't need would be in my future. The Battle of Olustee is held down here every year and it does look like fun :grin: . I think I'll wait a bit on the handgun. I think I might want a flinter anyway.