And a different 1858 Remington question

[trent/OH]

I took my new-to-me 1858 Navy shooting today. I had bought a bag of .375 RB, caps, I figured I was all set. It's a Lyman gun, built in 1979. When I loaded it, the balls slid right into the chambers, no ring shaved off at all. Snug, but not tight. I thought the bag was mislabeled and I'd gotten some .360 RB by mistake. But when I got home, the balls were fine. The chambers are oversize, about .374 to .375.

So here's the question: I shoot .395s in my 40 caliber rifle. Would that be TOO oversized for .375 chambers? Some shooters use .380 RB in their 36 cal wheelguns, so maybe .395s in mine????????

 

[hawkeye2]

.395"s would be way too large. If the .375" fit in the chamber and do not creep forward under recoil as you shoot the other chambers they are fine, that tells you they are sealing the chamber too. The most common brands of round balls are Speer and Hornady and neither make a .380" so you would have to mail order or cast your own. Take a ball, place it on the muzzle and smack it with a plastic mallet. Push it through the barrel and then check its fit in a chamber. If it is an easy fit in (smaller than) the chamber then your chamber size to bore size is good

 

[olliesmypup13]

Track of the Wolf has .380s for $10 + shipping

 

[Toomuch51]

So here's the question: I shoot .395s in my 40 caliber rifle. Would that be TOO oversized for .375 chambers? Some shooters use .380 RB in their 36 cal wheelguns, so maybe .395s in mine????????

Yes .395 would work, if you must, (some even like the extra bearing on the rifling). If as you say your cylinder mikes to .375 I would think .380 or .385 would be more to your liking.

 

[rodwha]

Hardly fitting balls are hardly fitting, right?

I use .457" balls in my reamed Pietta with .449" chambers.

 

[M. De Land]

If you have a sizer luber die you can drop them (.375 dia balls) into a .380 die and size them out to that diameter.
Use the same lever pressure to keep them uniform.
You may have to drop a hardwood slug into the die to keep the ball out of the lube groove down in the die body.
They can be expanded in the top part of the die very quickly, popped out and dropped in their original box.
Balls are not round after firing any way as they bump up and have a parallel waist band with a sphere on each end.
If you don't have a sizer/luber it could be done in a loading press as well or in a pinch with a hammer giving each ball a tap on the sprue over a vice, steel plate or anvil.
In the old days shooters used to chew their ball up diameter until they fit the bore correctly.
They apparently had no knowledge of lead poisoning.

 

[Mr. Troll]

I have 3 .36's...two of them use the .375, but my Uberti from 1969 HAS to have a .380, or it will chain fire...I mic'ed the chambers and they are .375...just like yours, the balls load easily but with no ring. If I use the .375's, then it will fire the top and the bottom chambers at once...the loading ram gets a pretty hard knock. the 380's go in normally and shave a nice ring.

 

[nkbj]

The .395's might work great.
Tried them out yet?

 

[F.G. Ford]

My2 cents worth!
With .395 balls you run the risk of causing damage to the loading lever, THAT would be expensive.
Bumping the .375 balls up to .380 is easy with a sizing die or even so much as a steel tube drilled to .380 with an appropriate steel rod to hammer the balls to size. Quick and easy!
Fred

 

[M. De Land]

I should point out the correct way to mic a chamber that seemingly is not know very well.
Using caliper jaws down the chamber is not the most accurate practice.
The most accurate method is to use a steel split ball gauge that can be diameter mic'd after withdrawn by a mic or caliper.

 

[M. De Land]

In the continual search for better methods and means at this point I think the most important dimension in ones revolver is the groove diameter at the muzzle of the barrel.
The chambers should be uniformed to each other(all the same diameter and perfectly round)and sized at least to barrel groove diameter or .001 over.
Very often chamber throats are to small for the barrels groove diameter for optimum accuracy.
Another problem I often encounter is the barrel will be swaged tighter under the threads where it screws through the frame then open up past this area.
Such barrels need to be lapped to an even bore diameter full length for peak performance.

 

[F.G. Ford]

Another problem I often encounter is the barrel will be swaged tighter under the threads where it screws through the frame then open up past this area.
Such barrels need to be lapped to an even bore diameter full length for peak performance.
[/quote]

Good point!
Fred