Centennial 1860 new model army help

[cwbyengraver]

I just got this pistol with shoulder stock. IT's made in Belgium and is 44cal. Can someone tell me what size ball and charge to use. Thanks

 

[Zonie]

cwbyengraver:

Welcome to the Forum.
You might want to think about shooting your Centennial.

These pistols are among the very few reproduction guns that actually have a good collector value.

We have at least one member here that specializes in Centennial pistols.

Anyway, if you don't give a hoot about collectors value and you want to shoot your Colt you will need to buy some .454 or .457 diameter lead round balls.

#10 caps may fit the nipples but are usually hard to find so buy some #11 caps.
They should fit snugly on the nipples seating all the way down so that the priming compound is resting against the end of the nipple.

If the #11 caps are loose when they are seated you can pinch them to make them out of round. That will hold them in place.

If you do have to pinch them, visually inspect the unfired caps on the nipples each time you fire the gun. You want to make sure that none of them came off the nipples due to recoil.

You may have heard of the infamous "chain fire" where more than one chamber fires? That is almost always caused by a cap that fell off of a loaded chambers nipple.
There is a lot of fire around both the front and rear of the cylinder when the gun fires and if a charged chamber doesn't have a cap on it, it too may fire.

About the balls.
They are used without a patch and they are larger than the chamber mouth.
When you use the loading lever to force the ball into the chamber, a small ring of lead will be sheared off of the outside of the ball.
This is good.
It not only seals the front of the chamber to prevent the flames from igniting the powder under the unfired chamber but it holds the ball in place during recoil.

You can use any real black powder but 3Fg will give you the best velocity.
You can also use any of the new synthetic black powders like Pyrodex, 777, or the others.

With a .44, a powder load of 22-25 grains will give a nice healthy boom. You can load a little more for more boom but usually the best accuracy will be with the load I mentioned.

Have fun. :hatsoff:

 

[cwbyengraver]

I have round balls .451 and .454 I have been shooting them in my 1858 45cal. IF I can shoot shese balls in a 44 cal what size do I need for the 45.

 

[Zonie]

I don't think you will find many cap and ball revolvers that are called a ".45".

The Centennial Arms 1660 and all of the other reproductions of that gun are all called .44's.

That's because back in the days that these guns were made it was common to give the guns size by the bore size, not the groove size.

 

[Long Johns Wolf]

Cwbyengraver & campfire: recommended ball size for these Centennial Armies or Centaures as we call them in Europe is .451 (and not .454 or .457). Their rifling groove dia is .446/.447.
If you like to know more about these Belgian cousins of the 1860 Colt Army go to my website www.1960nma.org.
I'd love to include the specifics of your Centaure Cavalry Model into the survey of the website. So, if you care, download the data sheet, complete it as good as you can an mail it to me at [email protected]
Long Johns Wolf

 

[cwbyengraver]

Thanks for the help guy's. Will do on the info

 

Those are very cool guns you got , congratulations :thumbsup:
While there may be some collectors value to your piece , its a gun , shoot it :thumbsup:
The only right size ball for your gun is the one that fits right , shaves lead , done :thumbsup:
The only powder charge that is right is the one that produces the best accuracy with enough foot pounds of energy left to kill what your killin :thumbsup: Enjoy

 

[cwbyengraver]

Dang right I can't wait to shoot it. It lockes up so tight just as good as my diamondback colt. If it didn't a shoulder stock I woldn't of asked to look at it.

 

[bprevolver]

Why is the Centennial Belgium made 1860 Army considered a collectable? Well, like all firearms that become "collectable", someone takes the interest and time to collect information about it and share that information with everyone else who is interested. Soon, as more and more collectors gain information a bug bites and that collector is infected.

Having been involved in collecting replica percussion revolvers for nearly 20yrs, I have been very fortunate in seeing the transformation of collecting replica revolvers from one of ridicule by the pseudo experts to one of becoming one of the fastest growing areas of firearms collecting.

Several years back I was fortunate in meeting Wolf Neiderastroth on a forum such as this and sharing what limited information I had accumulated up to that point about the Belgium 1860 Army. At that time these revolvers were “just another replica” revolver, not demanding any higher price or desire of owning than their Italian counterparts. Through the very thorough research of this revolver, organizing the information, and sharing the information, Wolf created a web site and brought serious attention to this unique revolver. Since then, the price of owning one of these revolvers has escalated over 400%. These revolvers have become a collectable area of interest in and of themselves.

Thank you Wolf.

 

[Long Johns Wolf]

This are very kind words, Jim,
In all fairness and with great respect, my pard in Centaure crime Panhandle Paden and I would be nowhere with this research in the Belgian Colt Armies without your solid "how-to" advice regarding structuring, organization & documentation of the program during the initial phase in 2007/2008.
You inspired us to get our butts up and going in the first place.
Long Johns Wolf

 

[Dphar]

I have round balls .451 and .454 I have been shooting them in my 1858 45cal. IF I can shoot shese balls in a 44 cal what size do I need for the 45.

All 44 C&B revolvers that I know of use 45 caliber balls.

The Centennial is reputed to be superior to the Italian guns that soon put them off the market. When repros first appeared on the American market some were Belgium made. But the cottage industry, build them cheap Italian guns soon forced them out. At least thats my take...
I had a DGW Squirrel Rifle in the late 1960s that was made in Belgium.


Dan

 

You're one lucky cur! You have one of the only Colt copies that can swap parts with the originals. Made for the Civil War centennial, these were made under the original Colt license. You will definitely want to look up this website:
http://www.1960nma.org/

Stick a pair of horns on me and paint me green!

CP