1851 Pietta nickel/gold played "bargain"

[RedFeather]

Couple weeks back, my brother in law out in Wyoming sent me some phone pics of this gun. He was doing a deal for a pump shotgun and the seller said take the revolver along with for $100 or no deal, so he acquiesced. Knowing I do BP and he does not, my BIL offered it to me, same price plus shipping. I said OK, although I'd never buy one of these outright, but it looked fine in the pics. Well it arrived today. I don't know what the seller used to clean it with but the leading edges of the cylinder look more like copper than gold and there's a fairly large oval discolored on the side. (He was shooting Pyrodex Select.) Also noticed the wedge stop screw is absent. This isn't the first time I've been surprised like this by dear BIL but, what can I say, he's family so I'll see if I can make this work. Thankfully, the nickeled parts are OK.


Can the gold plating (wash?) be stripped for rebluing? Where would I find a replacement screw? Are spare cylinders available? It's a .44. (This thing might end up a lamp or something.)


Thanks in advance!


Red(fooled again!)Feather

 

[RedFeather]

Well, came across a thread which said the cylinder plating on these blows off pretty easily through use. So, if you have a hankering for one of these showboats, might want to keep it tied to the pier.

 

[Juice Jaws]

Dixie Gun Works carry lots of parts.

 

[Grenadier1758]

You will need to know the thread size used on your pistol. Most of the Italian pistols use the same metric threads. You may have to take the barrel to your local hardware store to determine the threads. What markings do you have on your pistol that may tell you the manufacturer?
Usual group of dealers may have what you are looking for. Check out Dixie, Muzzle Loader Builder's Supply, Track of the Wolf and others.

 

[arcticap]

It sounds like this Cabela's plated model.--->>> https://www.cabelas.com/product/Pie...-Caliber-Revolver-with-Starter-Kit/734627.uts
But Traditions sold similar models and could be able to help with original parts.
I know they sold an all nickel 1851 model that had a blue wedge screw, and a nickle 1860 with a gold cylinder.

Phone# 860-388-4656
Monday - Thursday 7:45am-4:30pm Eastern Time
Friday 7:45-3:15pm
Saturday & Sunday - closed

 

[RedFeather]

Thanks. Might give them a call. Found a new blued screw on fleabay but the seller wants more to ship than he's asking. I see Cabelas has extra blued cylinders which would actually look nice.

This was one of those offered with a basic kit. It is a 2011 or 2012 Pietta.

 

[drobs]

I seem to recall these Nickel Pietta's have a Brass frame. Might hold a magnet to frame and see if it sticks.
If the magnet doesn't stick, it's brass - use lower powder charges (15gr to 20gr) to get the longest life out of the gun.

 

[RedFeather]

Never thought of that. Will do and a BIG thank you!

For anyone contemplating shooting one of these, I'm thinking the fouling might have reacted with copper in the gold alloy. I would clean the cylinder just as soon as possible.

 

[RedFeather]

Just tried a small magnet. It only went for the screws, so I'd say it is brass framed. Not such a big thing in my case but I sure wouldn't have been happy paying $400 for one of these, as I've seen similar Piettas going for. Wouldn't have broke the bank to use steel. I guess these are meant for display.

Again, appreciate the heads up.

 

[Columbus]

Can find parts from Dixie, VTI and Numrich to name a few.