My first 1860

[rebel727]

I started out shooting Remingtons and stuck with them but lately had a hankering for a Colt,so I oredered one and it just go here, haven't even shot it yet. Four screw cut for stock, wasn't expecting that. Gonna hafta find some different screws to fill the holes when I take the stock screws out, the one on the right side rubs my finger. Don't think it's gonna feel too good under recoil. This is my first 1860 and I was kinda surprised at the almost Bisley cant to the grips. Overall fit and finish is very good. I expected the grips to be fat for the frame like my Remmy but wood to metal is perfect. Bluing is very good. CCH is nice too, better and brighter than some Uberti's I've seen(including my 73 cattleman). Rebated cylinder with Naval scene????? What's up with that? It's an Army model fer cryin out loud! Engraving is nicely done tho(stamped). Has the patent line but no number. Says "engraved by W.L. Ormsby New Yo" Guess the originals had cylinders two letters longer. :grin: Also on the battle scene it says "engaged 16 May 1843" it's double stamped tho, the only screwup I see on the engraving/stamping. Hammer pull is lighter than my Remmy's by a whole bunch. Trigger has some creep and overtravel but breaks crisp. Trigger guard and front strap are brass, backstrap is blued steel. Front sight is a brass blade. Rifling is very deep. Loading lever action is a lil rough with a couple of snag points but that'll prolly smooth up with use. It points better than my Remmy's and if it shoots anywhere near as good as it looks I'm gonna love it. Was gonna take pics while it was still new but the batteries are dead in my camera. :cursing: :cursing:

 

[RickD]

Please do, I`d like to see pics of it

 

[mykeal]

Here are pics of mine, in anticipation of yours, for comparison:

Interestingly, the barrel of the Euroarms gun is 1/4" shorter than the barrel of the Pietta gun. The cylinders are the same size, and I think (I can't check this because the Euroarms gun is away from home working as a model for a new holster) the cylinders are the same, including the engraving.

 

[Zonie]

Rebel727: If you didn't know, the 4 screw frame is made to accommodate a removable butt stock.
The fourth screw may bother you but I find that I don't even notice it when shooting my Uberti.

The Naval Engagement scene is correct for the 1860 Colt.
By the time the 1860 was made, the scene was much like a Trademark for Colt and it's presence indicated that the gun was a genuine Colt.

Have fun with it.
zonie

 

[PitchyPine]

Grats on the new gun bud, i love my 60`s :thumbsup:

 

[rebel727]

I knew about the four screw frame but I didn't know about the Naval scene. That's what I like about this place, you can learn something new every day. Even a die hard know it all like me. :grin: Now for the bad part. It shoots really good.........when it shoots. First thing I did was take it apart and clean all the packing grease out of it. Loaded it up with 35 grs. Pyrodex and .454 balls. It shaved a thinner ring than I expected. Tried CCI #11 caps, really loose fit. Tried RWS which are tight on my Remmy and they're a pinch fit. First six shots only one went bang. Next go around all but one fired. Took six caps to get it to fire. I figured I didn't get all the grease out of the chambers so I loaded it up again. This time they all fired but two.I'm thinking must be some hellatious grease. Took three caps to get the last one to fire. Got to get new nipples. Good part is it only shoots about four inches high at 15 yds. I expected a lot more than that and seems to hit dead on laterally. I was shooting offhand with one hand at a 16 inch steel plate. Rang it every time after I quit aiming six inches under it :grin: All in all I'm happy with it or I will be when it goes bang every time. Oh Zonie, you're right, screw doesn't bother me at all. :thumbsup:

 

[Rebel]

I used Uncle Mikes stainless nipples on the new Remington and a #11 CCI cap fits fine on them.

 

[jlynn]

Naval scene is a battle between Texas Navy and Mexican if I remember correctly

 

[Wes/Tex]

Naval scene is a battle between Texas Navy and Mexican if I remember correctly

Exactly right, the scene is suppose to represent the naval battle in the Gulf of Campeche when the squadron of the Texas Navy (Republic of Texas) actually won an engagement with the Mexican Navy. It was also the only engagement in which an all sail squadron beat a steam squadron, for whatever that's worth. The engraver needed to show the ships all together for the sake of convenience. The actual engagement took place at virtually maximum range and pounded the diddly out of each other. This scene first appeared on the 1851 revolver, giving it the title Navy Colt.

Earlier revolvers carried the supposed engagement with Capt. Hays beat a party of Comanche warriors but artistic license put them in the uniform of the U.S. Dragoon Regiment...oh well! :haha:

 

[Blizzard of '93]

nice looking revolvers, I have the '58 Rem, love it. quick cylinder swap.

 

[mykeal]

Ok, got the Euroarms gun back and made a comparison of the two cylinders. The Pietta cylinder is stamped with 'PATENT No.' and 'PATENTED SEPT 10th 1860', and of course it has the naval battle scene engraving. The Euroarms cylinder is just stamped with 'PATENT N' (the 'o' is missing, as is the entire 'Patented Sept 19th 1860'), and it also has the naval battle scene engraving.

The two cylinders are NOT interchangeable. There is significant interference with both the hand and the bolt on both pistols when the cylinders are swapped. I do not know the reason for the interferences.

 

[rebel727]

Mine doesn't have the date just "patent no." Right under that it has "engraved by W.L.Ormsby New Yo"
On the front edge of the cylinder it has "engaged 16 May 1843" When it cools off a little bit I'm going to try it again and see if ignition is any better after a second cleaning. All the nipples are clear so shouldn't be having problems. Still going to change them so I can use #11 caps tho.
BTW your Pietta looks just lke mine.

 

[Zonie]

IMO, the little 'errors' on the cylinders and frames of the replica guns were intentional.

They are there to make using the guns to make forgeries out of difficult.

Some companies also use the wrong number of rifleing grooves and direction of twist to achieve the same purpose but there are times that folks get fooled by the crooks anyway. That is why the better gun collectors will always get the opinion of an expert before shelling out their hard earned cash.

zonie

 

[rebel727]

Kinda figured that but it's a nice touch anyway.
Shot two more cylinders today and it worked fine. :thumbsup: Guess it was the caps. I switched to CCI and it seemed like they were louder when I fired them to clear the chambers than the RWS did yesterday. Next project will be printing it on paper off a rest to see how it really shoots. Too hot right now.

 

[rebel727]

Here it is. Not the best pic. My wife went to town the other day and instead of getting rechargable nicads she got plain ol AA's. Took four batteries to get this one pic and get it downloaded. :cursing:

 

[PitchyPine]

Very nice, love them Colts. :thumbsup:
Get a cable to plug your camera into your puter for downloading.

 

[rebel727]

Got one Lenn. Problem is the batteries that came with the camera aren't rechargable. Regular batteries won't last but a minute or two with the camera just turned on. Take two pics and they're so dead the lens won't even retract. Takes another new set to download.

 

[PitchyPine]

AC addapter for downloading. :thumbsup:

 

[rebel727]

We're getting off topic but that ain't gonna help much if I can't take the pics to start with. :rotf:

 

[PitchyPine]

Just for downloading onto your computer, saves on your batteries, after you get the rechargables :blah: