My Pietta 1851 Wedge Story

[M. De Land]

If I had not been able to pop it out, my next plan was to use my Dremel to slice off the end of the keep spring and then tap it out. Fortunately, I didn't have to go that far.

Some times one can set them outside in cold weather for 20 minutes, bring them in quickly and drive out tight parts that would not previously budge. I've used this contraction trick many times over the years for various jobs here in AK. It also is a great test of work reliability as the cold can bugger many things that worked fine when warm. I use it to safety check trigger and safety work regularly.

 

[Relic shooter]

I have both. I can pull the barrel on the Colt in seconds, remove cylinders, popback in.
My Remington? 10 mins to fight to get the cylinder back in. What a pita.
Colt wedge for me all day long, twice on Sunday.
My Rem was the first BP pistol i bought, it was always my dream pistol. The Colt .36 came months later. But it won my heart.
I may consider selling the Rem this summer. I love it as a display piece, but as a functional pistol, for me, its the Colts every time.
PS. One tap on the right side and the wedge pops to the left, pull it with left hand until the spring catches the screw. Remove barrel. Reverse, wiggle wedge in, tap once with wooden ball starter. Easy peasy.
View attachment 279320

Sounds like your 58' Remington is a poorly constructed lemon.
I shoot primarily original 58 Remingtons, they shoot & function flawlessly & same with most repro Uberti Remingtons I've owned.
Also love the Colt 1860 but for serious competition on paper the solid framed 58 Remington rules !

 

[RMFnLA]

I have both. I can pull the barrel on the Colt in seconds, remove cylinders, popback in.
My Remington? 10 mins to fight to get the cylinder back in. What a pita.
Colt wedge for me all day long, twice on Sunday.
My Rem was the first BP pistol i bought, it was always my dream pistol. The Colt .36 came months later. But it won my heart.
I may consider selling the Rem this summer. I love it as a display piece, but as a functional pistol, for me, its the Colts every time.
PS. One tap on the right side and the wedge pops to the left, pull it with left hand until the spring catches the screw. Remove barrel. Reverse, wiggle wedge in, tap once with wooden ball starter. Easy peasy.
View attachment 279320

That’s unusual.

I have a Uberti with both BP and .45 Colt cylinders and both go in and out with zero issue.