Pietta 1851

[ARFLY]

Cabela's had the 1851 Confederated Navy .44 with extra cylinder on sale so I ordered one. I have never owned or shot a black powder pistol. What do I need for this gun as far as round ball, powder and primer?

 

[Patocazador]

I bought the Sheriff's model from them. I use .451 round balls, 20 gr. of 3F black powder, and #11 percussion caps.

 

[azmntman]

Cabela's had the 1851 Confederated Navy .44 with extra cylinder on sale so I ordered one. I have never owned or shot a black powder pistol. What do I need for this gun as far as round ball, powder and primer?

.451 or .454 balls (see what instructions recommend, they need to shave a small ring of lead when seated), caps #10 usually, powder and optional is over powder felt lubed wads. Some use grease over seated ball (messy) and some use nothing. Some choose to use filler (corm meal or cream of wheat) between powder and ball. Lotta info, but thats the main stuff. Make sure to clean good after shooting. Suggest clean WELL before shooting including removal of nipples. Search will reveal too much info to consume before you run to the range. Have fun :grin:

 

[necchi]

Have a caliper or know someone with one?
Measure all the cylinder(s) inside diameter, get an average and get a ball bigger.
Your supposed to "shave" a ring of lead off the ball as it's seated in each cylinder.
Pistol ball are typically 451, 454 or 457.

 

[M. De Land]

Chamber mouth uniforming is one of the things that needs tuning on virtually any revolver because they are gang reamed at the factory and each reamer has a wear tolerance before they are replaced.
Find the biggest chamber mouth and lap or ream all the rest to the same diameter.

 

[ARFLY]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Sounds like I will need to wait until I get the gun to see what size balls I will need for it. Will Pyrodex be OK to use in this gun or do I need to get some real black powder like a Goex?

 

[Patocazador]

Black powder and Pyrodex are both corrosive but I have found Pyrodex to be more so. I haven't used anything but real black powder for years. Also Pyrodex has a shelf life, B.P. doesn't. B.P. will last almost forever.
However, Pyrodex is available in most shops that sell firearms whereas BP is scarce.

 

[ARFLY]

I will have to order black powder as far as I know, there is no one around me that carries it. I am wanting to get a flintlock, so I guess I will need to order some anyways.

 

[John V.]

This is just a thought, but you might ask a few local gun shops if they know of anyone local or close that sells real black powder?You might be surprised. That is how I found a BP dealer fairly close to me that I did not even know was in business. I believe that ordering BP on line can be quite expensive. Again...just a thought.

 

[azmntman]

I have a can of pyrodex thats like 30 yrs old and shoots just fine. Ways its stored maybe? but mine has not "decomposed". You can also shoot Triple 7 3f. Also alot of guys use Black MZ, $9.99 at Sportsmans warehouse here. Have yet to try it but may. I "hear" Black MZ doesn't foul alot and cleans eaiser and is less corrosive (no personal experience). Good luck and have fun!

 

[Patocazador]

I have never owned or shot a black powder pistol.

I don't know if you have loaded or taken down C&B pistols before so here is a primer for rookies:
(P.S., I don't agree with his method of loading powder directly from a horn or flask. Use a measuring device.)
http://hunting.about.com/od/blackp...gn=list_hunting&utm_term=list_hunting#showall

 

[Grenadier1758]

Get screwdrivers that fit the screws in your gon.

You will need a pistol sized nipple wrench. You will need a powder measure that measure powder for a pistol in the range of 15 grain volume to 30 grains

Cleaning solutions are easy. Warm water and a few drops of dishwashing detergent will clean black powder fouling and fouling from the substitutes. Rubbing alcohol or WD40 to displace the water left after cleaning. Finally use a Google rust inhibiting oil such as Birchwood Casey Barricade.

Welcome to the hobby.

 

[ARFLY]

Thanks for posting that tutorial. Everything looks to be fairly straightforward. I think I will measure the powder though. As for the screw drivers, I have that covered. I need the powder flask, capper, and maybe a measure and nipple wrench, and of course my gun. March 1st is the delivery date Cabela's has given me. I hate the waiting part.

 

[John V.]

Arfly, I will tell you that once you shoot a BP revolver there is no turning back...you will be addicted.I am a beginner myself and these folks on here are awesome. I bought my first BP revolver a year ago and like you I had zero experience with them. I now enjoy shooting them more than a modern handgun and now own two and looking at a possible third soon.You will love it.Just sit back and enjoy the BP revolver experience. It is a slower pace.Happy for ya!

 

[M. De Land]

Revolvers were designed to be loaded from a flask and the reason it is safe is because no patch is used that holds sparks as occasionally happens with patched ball use.

 

[Poor Private]

Welcome to the addiction. I started back in the early 70's.

 

[vfisher93]

You can go to duelist 1954 on u tube he has a lot of videos about cap and ball pistols.How to tear them down to clean them how to tune them up .very interesting to watch.

 

[ARFLY]

I just watched some of his videos. They are very good and show everything from loading to cleaning and complete disassembly. Thanks for sharing. I really like the Dragoon he was shooting. Maybe that will be my next one.

 

[BJC]

I have the same pistol.

I use 25 gr of BP but most will say not to as it will stretch the brass but I don't care if it stretches the brass frame as I like big booms and will buy another when this one is wore out.

I also use .451 ball which always gets a complete shaved circle of lead and at first I used #11 caps but eventually went to #10 caps but it is harder to get the left over cap off after fired.

Lots will say to use lard or some kind of something to cover the load but the original Colt manual said lead ball over powder and that was all.

I have never had a chain fire in my whole life.

 

[BeoBill]

Welcome to the dark side. I've had the same pistol for about a year. I've settled on .451 balls, lubed wads over the powder, 24 gr. of Triple Se7en powder from a brass measuring flask, and #10 caps. I found a capper to be more trouble than it's worth. A nipple wrench will also come in handy.

Spent caps will sometimes come off the nipple and fall close to the workings; just tilt the gun to the right side and the cap will drop out on its own.

And you may find you're shooting high.

Enjoy!