Cabela's BP Revolvers

[GregC]

Does anyone own and shoot Cabela's Blackpowder revolvers?

Are they of good qualitiy?

What is the difference between brass frame and stell frame. I really like the 51 Navy in .36 cal.

Opinions?

 

[amccall]

A guy at my gun club bought an 1851 in brass 44 cal. and it basically fell apart after a few shots. Cabela's took care of him and gave him a full a refund. I do not think that this is standard for the brass pistols, in fact many people on this board have brass revolvers and they like them. If I was going to buy a revolver I would get the steal. The steal can take more abuse, higher loads and can be upgraded to a cartridge cylinder if you want.
In fact I just had a problem with getting wrong size nipples and Cabela's was very helpful in resolving the problem. Cabela's revolvers are mainly made by Pietta from my understanding and from what I know are good. Hope it helps and have fun with what ever you get.

 

[makensmoke]

I own both an 1851 .36 brass and a 1858 Remmie .44 brass both are the Pietta imports. The .36 I have is was built in the 70's and I bought it used and have had 0 issues. The .44 is only a few months old and I haven't fired enough to make an observation yet.

I have hear the opinion expressed that the brass frame will shoot loose or deform easy but I myself haven't seen a "deformed" frame.....but lets face it the brass is softer and will deform much faster that the steel if you abuse it. I would think that if you are going to be doing target with light to moderate loads the brass frame is a very "shootable" choice.

If you like the big boom and smoke of a max load you should consider geting the steel for the extra strength.

IMHO Either way you will have a blast.

 

[Hawkeye]

Last Spring I bought a pair of steel frame 1851's from Cabela's. I use them for CAS and have shot them a lot, with no problems. Just for reference they are the Wild Bill version, with fakey white wanna be ivory grips and some engraving on the barrel as well as the standard cylinder scene. Typically I shoot 15 to 20 gr by volume of FFFg either Goex or Swiss, both work fine the Swiss is a little cleaner in my experience. I use a home made wonder wad lubed with a 50/50 (by weight) mix of bees wax and ballistol, this seems to keep the revolver working through a full day of cowboy shooting. I have not really shot them on paper for a group but I seem to be able to shoot minute of steel plate at 7 to 10 yards :thumbsup:.

 

[Mr Nick]

Hawkeye;
I was looking through the Cabela's shooting catolog and could not find the "Wild bill" revolver" Did you by it with the fakey ivory grips or did you buy the grips somewhere else? The only colt I found with fakey ivory grips was the 1851 .44 cal nickel & gold plated.

 

[walruskid1]

brass frames will stretch over time. the revolver will loosen up and start to spit at the flash gap.

 

[Bear Rider]

Or worse than stretching, they will workharden and then crack. I know of a the brass framed remington that cracked right across the top strap.

 

[Hawkeye]

Hawkeye;
I was looking through the Cabela's shooting catolog and could not find the "Wild bill" revolver" Did you by it with the fakey ivory grips or did you buy the grips somewhere else? The only colt I found with fakey ivory grips was the 1851 .44 cal nickel & gold plated.

Mr Nick,

Here is (I hope) a link to the page on the Cabela's site to the revolvers in question.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templa...&id=0022091

 

[Choctaw]

I believe the steel frames are made by Pietta. I have two Pietta 1851's and they compare favorably with my Uberties. :imo:

 

[PaulN/KS]

I have a 44 Navy Colt that I got at Cabelas and it works and shoots fine.Decent fit and finish too. :m2c:

 

[Zonie]

If you can afford it, go with the steel frame gun.

As was mentioned, the brass framed C&B guns have been known to 'shoot loose" or crack.
Another reason is if you decide to sell your gun, the steel frame guns will retain their value much better than a brass framed gun.

The only reason I own 3 brass framed C&B guns, is they are representive of the Confederate guns made during the Civil War.
(The South needed its iron for other things so they used brass.
The old story is they melted down the Church Bells. I don't know it that is really true, but it makes a good story and could explain why most of their revolvers were brass framed.)

 

[Pittsburghunter]

I own one revolver and it is a brass framed 1858. If it wears out or breaks I will let you folks know. I bought it as a kit with all the stuff you need to shoot(not!).

I am going to shoot it with recomended loads only to see how long it last. I too want a steel framed gun for high power work.

 

[walruskid1]

i would not use 777 in a brass frame, the higher energy output would only stretch it faster.

 

[Mr Nick]

Hawkeye;
That was the correct site for the Wild Bill 1851. Thank you. Now I have to decide if I want to pay $70 more for the fakey ivory grips or go with the wood ones.

 

[Bob Riegl]

Not to cast too many aspersions---I personally avoid anything made by Pietta. Having had two of their (Cabela's)revolvers (Pietta) I sent both back with complaints of either total inability to function or deep tool marks on the frame. The brass framed ones look nice, but that brass seems to harden and then it splits like a major earthquake hit.I for one think that Uberti is somewhat better manufactured, though not always without issues. It all depends if Luigi had too much wine with dinner the night before or had an argument with Giuseppina over the tomatoe sauce. Many guys just take the Pietta's apart and replace the malfunctioning components. I cannot work that way---I just expect to get something for my money---which wasn't faulty. Call it my Clan Maclaren stinginess. :imo:

 

[Hawkeye]

Well if I had avoided anything made by Pietta I would not have two very nice 1851 Navy repros. The only thing I did was to replace the nipples which I will do no matter who makes the revolver, I am a big fan of Treso nipples also I picked up some spare springs etc from VTI assuming (Wrongly) that CAS would require a lot of work. Now my junker is a top doller Uberti 1851 Richards Mason conversion which has not worked from the day it came out of the box, it has been back for repair and the seventh time I attempted to cock it overinexed again. It is pretty but not worth the scratch I have in it. :results:

 

[mothernatureson]

I have owned several Pietta revolvers(steel) from cabelas. I think they're great guns at great prices. I've got a 51 navy bought in 1991, and its had lots of shooting. no problems. Never even had to replace the nipples(never dry fire a percussion arm) Plus, cabelas stands behing their products. Have fun!

 

[pondoro]

With due respect to those who had bad experiences the bulk of the posters here have said good things. I decided to buy a 44 cal Cabela's 1860 Colt repro. It should be here next week.

Now what? I have a 50 cal rifle and a 45 cal percussion pistol so I have cleaning rods, jags, a flask, powder measure, etc. I did not buy the started kit. What else do I need? What size balls does a "44" revolver take? Will my regular nipple wrench fit or do I need a special one for revolvers? I need wads, correct?

Any advice will be appreciated.

By the way I was in New Market, Va today at the battlefield museum. Saw three model 1860's, including one that was carried by Jubal Early. So now I am really psyched to get mine and shoot it.

Thanks

 

[longfowler]

I have had may pietta and uberti revolvers, and I think the piettas are very good. my last one I purchased was an 1860 from cabela's, and it's very acurate! my brass frame ones are not, and belive it or not, the worst of the group is my uberti walker.I had alot of problems with it and the gun is very loose( but that could be my fault- its had a steady diet of 60 grain loads all its life!)I would definetly recomend a pietta in steel- very good gun for the money.
I use 20 grains fff under a .454 ball, then grease. no wads. shoots to point of aim at 15 yds, and is more accurate than I am. yes get a nipple wrench for it most rifle ones are to big to fit.

 

[Zonie]

The Dixie Gunworks catalog says you should use .451 dia balls in their Pietta reproductions and .454 in the Uberti's.

I lean towards the .454 in my .44 cal guns as the balls seem to be a little tighter in the cylinders so they don't walk forwards during recoil as much as the smaller .451 balls.

Wads are up to you. Some say they improve accuracy and assure a flame proof barrier to lessen the possibility of chain fire.

Others say they cost about as much as the balls and aren't worth the extra expense.
These wads by the way may be hard to find. Ox-Yoke, the company who made them is out of business, the last I heard.

You should be able to use your #11 caps, but if they are too loose, you might want to try some #10 caps.

Yes, the nipple wrench for most rifles is too large to reach down in the little counterbores on the back of the cylinder so you should look around for a wrench made for pistols.

Happy Shooting!

PS: Most C&B guns shoot high. Of the many I own, only 3 shoot to the point of aim. If your gun doesn't have adjustable sights (Colts rarely do) it is something you will just have to get used to, but it is Historically correct as near as I can determine.