1858 remington arrived today

[Mr Nick]

My 1858 remington cap and ball arrived today from cabela's. Several posts have stated that the quality of pietta has improved over the last several years. I must agree. I had bought the same model from Cabela's about 10 years ago and the quality of this one appears much better. On my old one the finish was not as good (you could see the polishing lines). I also had to tinker with the mechanism a little. This new one is a shiny blue and the mechanism is tight and the lockup lug dosen't rub on the cylinder. The trigger has a little creep that I plan to work on but that's about it.

The starter kit came with a 30gr spout. Many have found this to be a accuate load. I'll start with that and see what happens. Hope it shoots as good as it looks.

 

[horkeye]

The starter kit came with a 30gr spout. Many have found this to be a accuate load. I'll start with that and see what happens.

MN,

:imo: you may care to start your loads at around 15gns of 3F if you are only target shooting at 25/50yds. :results:

Have fun shooting it!

:thumbsup:

 

[Mr Nick]

If I remember right, I used about 20gr in my old 1858. Good Idea, I'll start low and check my group size. All I plan to do is target shoot.

 

[WV_Hillbilly]

The starter kit came with a 30gr spout. Many have found this to be a accuate load. I'll start with that and see what happens. Hope it shoots as good as it looks.

Did you get the steel framed model or the brass framed version of the Remington?

Either way, I would back off just a wee little bit to about 24 or 25gr of FFFg as the starting load. You may want to stay below maximum loads if you've got the brass frame. It is thought by many, that regular use of heavy loads will stretch the frame which could cause the gun's timing to go out of whack. Besides that... sometimes a less potent load will prove to be more accurate, use less powder, and recoil less too. Just be sure to fill the excess space with corn meal or other filler media. The closer the ball is to the edge of the chamber mouth, the better the potential for accuracy, due to less "jump" to the rifling.

PLEASE make sure that you use a separate powder measure for pouring the charge into the chambers. There is a slight chance that a spark left in the chamber could ignite the powder stream from the flask and you'd end up holding a very nasty black powder hand grenade.

BTW, a 38 Special case makes a nice (approx.) 25gr FFFg powder measure. And likewise you can use other pistol cases for various fixed powder measures.

Shoot Safely!
WV_Hillbilly

 

[jdstrang]

MN:

I am in no way a pistolero but one of the best I know -- with a stack of medals to prove it -- declares that 24 grains is the optimum load for any Italian repro. :master:

But, of course, :results:

 

[cayugad]

I have that same revolver with the target sights. 25 grains of Pyrodex P or Goex 3f and a .451 roundball with a wonderwad under it and the accuracy will really surprise you.

We rabbit and squirrel hunt with them. We do not get too many, but then we do not have to clean too many. It is more for fun.

Have fun shooting your new revolver...

 

[FV Rago]

You're going to get hooked on cap n ball revolvers, they are great.

I picked up a brass 44 Navy a few years back and now have one in the civilian model and a Shooters Model Remington 1858.

I've found that 25 grains of 3F works great in the 44's but the Remington is a 45 so I boosted the powder to 35 grains. I will be starting all over again as I just could not get a good group.

I am however surprised at the accuracy of these revolvers.

Starting to look at Walkers now but I'm thinking I may have to get a horse to carry it on long treks.

Frank

 

[Mr Nick]

Thanks for all the input. BTW I got the steel framed target model with adjustable sights. I plan on using wonder wads or home made felt wads with Gatofeo's recomended lube on them. I'll probably need a filler (cream of wheat or corn meal) if I use the lighter loads. If I remember correctly I used 20gr BP, 5 gr cream of wheat and lube over the balls on my old remington. Gatofeo recomends forget the lube over the balls and use a well lubed felt pad.

 

[horkeye]

I'll probably need a filler (cream of wheat or corn meal) if I use the lighter loads.

Good - :imo: :m2c:

Gatofeo recomends forget the lube over the balls

Not Good - :imo: :m2c:

:redthumb:

 

[oldarmy]

I have a number of cap and ball pistols that were made by Pieta, both a colt old army and a Remmi 1858. You will like it, but I would also lighten up the load a little, they are not as strong as the Rugers.
I cast my own ball and use a .454 with 20 grains Prydex ppp and crisco on the top. Never bothered with a filler. I need to try the wad, just too cheap to spend the money I guess.

 

[TarletonRanger]

I too shoot a Pietta 58 Remington that I picked up from Cabelas some years ago. It is the target model with adjustable sights. With a load of 30 grains FFFG, a wonder wad, and .454 roundball, I get about 1 1/2 inch groups at 25 yards off of a bench.

As long as your revolver is steal framed, I don't think you have to worry about damaging the frame through more powerfull loads, as long as your using pyrodex or black powder. :imo: Enjoy!!

Jake

 

[jdstrang]

Lube over balls is as much a safety issue as an accuracy issue. Many folks believe that such lubing prevents a spark from the cylinder gap from worming its way into a loaded chamber and igniting something you don't want going on that close to your knuckles! :: :curse: :shake:

 

[Mr Nick]

I have read that a lubed felt pad under the ball also keeps the revolver from chain firing and lubes better than the lube over the ball?

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

If you use the proper size ball, you aren't apt to get a chain fire from flashover from chamber mouth to chamber mouth. Chain fires tend to occur when caps are too loose or fall off the cones and you don't notice. If you are shaving
an even ring of lead off the ball when you seat it in the chamber, there is no way for the flame front to get by the ball. The lube does serve to keep fouling soft. Using a capper that firmly seats the caps on the cones seems to be the best insurance against chain fires. That and using the right size caps to begin with.

 

[Gatofeo]

Lehigh County:
When I said that lubricant over the balls is not needed, I also recommended a lubricated felt wad between the ball and powder.
Please don't give others the impression that I don't put lubricant over the ball and, therefore, use no lubricant at all. I use a greased, felt wad between the ball and powder.
It's not as messy to load and keeps the bore cleaner, in my experience, because the wad helps scrape fouling from the bore.
To read my recommendations, search this site under my name. Of particular interest will be my posts, "How To Best Use a Cap and Ball Revolver" and, "Found! Felt to make your own wads."

 

[horkeye]

Lehigh County:
When I said that lubricant over the balls is not needed, I also recommended a lubricated felt wad between the ball and powder.
Please don't give others the impression that I don't put lubricant over the ball and, therefore, use no lubricant at all. I use a greased, felt wad between the ball and powder.
It's not as messy to load and keeps the bore cleaner, in my experience, because the wad helps scrape fouling from the bore.
To read my recommendations, search this site under my name. Of particular interest will be my posts, "How To Best Use a Cap and Ball Revolver" and, "Found! Felt to make your own wads."

Gatofeo,

I was not giving anyone any impression about anything or anyone including you; I simply stated that "in my opinion not using over ball lub' was not good".

:redthumb: eace: