cleaning revolvers

[Bill Austin]

I just got a 1851 Navy revolver and would like to know about cleaning it. Any information would be appreciated. Thanks. Bill

 

[graybeard]

My drill is to field strip the pistol down to handle and frame, barrel and cylinder. Take the wooden handles off the frame. Run a patch loaded with solvent down the barrel a few times. run a patch into each cylinder chamber a few times. Put the piece on half cock and scrub around the hammer with a toothbrush and solvent. Then put the works in a dishwasher, with the cylinders and the barrel vertical. Run it through a regular cycle with dishwashing soap and all. After the drying cycle, while the metal still is hot, take it out and douse it all with Rem oil. Wipe it off with an oily rag, smear some grease where called for and put it back together. Easiest weapon I have to clean. Don't forget and leave the pistol in the dishwasher, though, or you'll get some flash rusting. I've been shooting my 1860 Army Colt replica for about 15 years and cleaned it that way every time. No problems. :redthumb: graybeard

 

[Maynerd62411]

The local gun shop has a 1851 Navy for sale on consignment for $185. The guy ordered it and looked at the instructions to clean and brought it back to sell. He said he wasn't going to do all of that. .44 cal. , full box of round balls, and 2 tins of #10 caps. He didn't have the gumption to clean it so he wouldn't shoot it. Sure wish I had an advace in my allowance about now. :boohoo:

 

[Rat]

Wait a min't! You mean old Wild Bill took his pistols down to the Chinese laundry???

I just use Hoppe's #9+, and then Kroil and then some oil, and clean them pretty much like a "regular" pistol, but just more dirty.

Rat

 

[Rebel]

$185.00 for a '51 Navy is a bit on the high side. I don't think that Uberti makes the '51 in .44 cal. and none of the other makes would be worth that much. You can get one brand new in Cabela's for $149.99=Shipping.

 

[Rat]

Seems to always be '51's for sale at the gun shows around this part of the world for real cheap...$100 or less. Obviously, you have to check them over VERY well before buying.

RAT

 

[Rebel]

Yea, you sure do, You never know. Some unknowing person may have cleaned them with some kind of solvent instead of water. :: But $185 is too much for even a new one.

 

[Mr Nick]

1851 44 cal. It's probably the brass framed model. Cabellas has them brand new for $110

 

[crockett]

It doesn't really take that long to strip down a 1851. I take off the barrel and cylinder, then the grips, then all the lock parts. Everything gets scrubbed with a tooth brush and hot soapy water. I have never noticed any lead fouling in the bore so a wipe or two does the job. Everything then gets put out on newspapers and dried off with tissue and q-tips. I then put the parts on a pizza pan and stick them in the oven for a few minutes. Make sure everything is pretty dry or you could get some rust. An oily rag is then used to rub down the parts and then I put everything back together. One gun is over thrityfive years old. Obviously there is some wear but no rust. The only worry is the spring on the hand, be careful you don't break it or lose it. You also should grind down some cheap screw drivers to exactly fit the screws so you don't mar the slots. Some of the cheap Chinese screw drivers are plated copper so if you take off the plating you have a copper screw driver that shouldn't scratch a steel frame.
My method is overkill but on the other hand I have a thirtyfive year old gun still in great shape.

 

[Rebel]

Mr Nick, they do make the '51 on .44 cal with a steel frame too.

 

[Mr Nick]

Rebel, Yes they also make a 1851 44 cal steel frame. It's called the 1851 Navy Civilian. Steel frame with silver plated back strap and trigger gaurd $190. The standard 1851 was a 36 cal, steel frame and they are $150. www.cabelas.com

 

[Zonie]

If anyone cares, for an authentic recreation 1851 Colt, it has to be a .36 caliber. Ole Sam never made his '51 in .44 caliber.

Before you get ta thinking ole Zonie is some PC driven guy, you should know that I'm really not.
I like my repros to be historically accurate, but I like to shoot too.
I used to have a steel frame '51 in .44 caliber. Bought it new in 1971 and really enjoyed it. In fact, it was one of the more enjoyable (and accurate) C&B guns I ever owned, and I've regretted selling it. That gun is the reason I know about ole Sam never making a .44. I liked it so much I dug everywhere I could to find if there was a record of his ever making an experimental version so I could justify it's existance. Nada!

I do think $185 is a bit too much to spend on one though.

 

[Mr Nick]

I also thought that colt never made an 1851 in 44 but several have corrected me. I have been told that they Made the steel frame 44 with the backstrap and trigger gaurd in silver and that the cabela model is correct. This model was supposely made some time after the 36 and was called the civilion model? Some one had looked it up in a colt firearms book and found it. I'll try to find who sent me the info and post it.

 

[Maynerd62411]

It was a F.LLI Pietta .44 cal 1851 Navy Yank with a steel frame.
It has an engraved cylinder of the Battle of Campeche -Texas navy vs. Mexico. Samuel Colt chose the original design of the engraving to honor the Texans who mostly used Colt Patersons. Texas won the battle.
I didn't think it was that bad of a price new.

 

[Rat]

Actually Reb the first thing I look for is soap suds in the cylinders...then I pass on that gun. I hate it when I shoot a pistol, a big bubble comes out the muzzle, and there's no bang until the bubble pops.

But some are very good deals, as people often buy a CB revolver, shoot it once or twice and then put it away when they discover they don't like cleaning BP guns.

Rat

 

[Mr Nick]

I found the source of the info on the colt 1851 44 cal. According to "Arcom the first" on gunboards, Colt Made 1600 1851 colt 44 with steel frames. They were issued to the 2nd calvery (Indian fighters) in 1855.

 

[oldarmy]

I just take the wood handles off and put the parts in the sink and wash it all off with hot soapy water. Run a patch through the barrel and the clyinder. I take off the nipples and clean them if I am not going to shoot it for a while,but if I am going to shoot in the next few days or so I don't bother.
I don't think they are harder to clean the a center fire pistol and to be honest I like the hot water better then the harsh modern solvents.
If the gun is on consignment offer the dealer a lower price and see if he will take it. Some times it works if it has been sitting there for a while.

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

What is "Arcom the first's" source? According to all sources I have ever seen, Colt didn't develop the rebated frame/cylinder concept until later, along with the improved metallurgy that allowed the '60 Army to be produced. A quick
look at a Navy cylinder shows there isn't enough meat there to allow punching it out to take a .454 ball. Why would he have developed a light powerful pistol in 1855 and not put it into production until years later? Especially when the Dragoons were not selling very well? Perhaps the second Cavalry was upset when their snappy new revolvers blew up in their hands due to the paper thin cylinder walls and gave the guns a somewhat less than enthusiastic revue.

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

The only reference's to the 2nd Cavalry that I can find do not mention their firearms. They were a unit that patrolled the frontier after the Mexican War until the Civil War in relative obscurity. A look at my Colt books makes no mention of any run of .44 Navys and it is difficult to understand why this unit (which doesn't seem to have had 1600 men in it anyway) would have been singled out to receive a new weapon. Can you find out what Arcom's source was?
Since this run of revolvers was supposedly only issued to a military unit, it would be unlikely that it would be referred to as the civilian model.

 

[Mr Nick]

I went back on gunboards and found the post by "Acrom the first". He had an e-mail address so I emailed him to find his source. When I get a reply, I'll post it.