Should I Buy a Colt’s Pocket 1849 .31?

[azmntman]

Might not be your favorite but you sure wont mind having it! Pics n range report due up next!

 

[Ontario47]

Watch 'capandball' "Most popular percussion revolvers" on youtube.

 

[jlatz]

The 1862 Pocket Navy is sort of the same size and is in .36. They are fun to use.

 

[toot]

try a 31 CAL. you'll rely like it. plus a lot of shots per #.

 

[MSW]

you can never be too rich, too thin, or own too many revolvers

 

[Billy Boy]

I have one and I shoot it often. It s as accurate as any other cap pistol I have. I made a simple brass handle (hollow) which slides on the loading leaver as an extension, and makes ramming those 00 buck (.33 dia) pills a breeze. Without that, shooting the little rascal wouldn’t be near as much fun.

 

[Bruce Evans]

I have large hands, but I have had large hands most of my life. I am also over 6 feet tall and kitchen counters are way too low for my preference. You learn to adapt. My daily carry gun is a Ruger LCP and I can only get two fingers around it. I would buy a .31 cal model with the spur trigger (I don't remember the specific model) but I have purchased three guns in the last few months and my very good friend is starting to give me the side-eye. I'll give her a few months to cool down and then start some serious shopping.

 

[hawkeye2]

The .31 with the spur trigger is a Remington pocket copy and it is much smaller than the pocket Colts. I would suggest you try to find one to handle before you invest.

 

[ZUG]

Those Remington 1863's are a bit too small for anyone with medium to large hands☹. I bought a steel frame one just to have in the collection. They look neat but I would not carry it. The Colt 1849 is my fun plinker when I want to shoot a .31 caliber tin can.

 

[Auldjin]

My problem is I keep mine with an 1851 Navy, so by comparison, it always seems rather small. Luckily (?) I don't have a Walker to dwarf the Nayy.

I always felt the 1849 looked out of place when used as a prop in CW period studio photographs.

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

My problem is I keep mine with an 1851 Navy, so by comparison, it always seems rather small. Luckily (?) I don't have a Walker to dwarf the Nayy.

I always felt the 1849 looked out of place when used as a prop in CW period studio photographs.

I was the Ruger LCP of its day from what I understand. One of the most common private carry type guns, something a soldier would have carried “under the radar” and not as their main weapon.

 

[RB POWELL]

Yep, get one.

 

[Bruce Evans]

Thank you all for your advice. I will 71 in a few weeks and I am determined to do what *I* want to do. I know it's a Remington replica. I know it is small. That is why I want it. It won't be the smallest gun I have ever fired. If it goes BOOM and makes a hole in the paper occasionally, I will be happy. It will not be my carry gun. I will carry it from the loading bench to the firing line. And when I am not shooting it, it will hang in the safe next to my other Remington and Colt replicas.

As I said, 71. No filters anymore. Thanks, guys.

 

[Notchy Bob]

Thank you all for your advice. I will 71 in a few weeks and I am determined to do what *I* want to do. I know it's a Remington replica. I know it is small. That is why I want it. It won't be the smallest gun I have ever fired. If it goes BOOM and makes a hole in the paper occasionally, I will be happy. It will not be my carry gun. I will carry it from the loading bench to the firing line. And when I am not shooting it, it will hang in the safe next to my other Remington and Colt replicas.

As I said, 71. No filters anymore. Thanks, guys.

You go, Bruce!

Well, Smoky Plainsman, have you ordered your Colt M1849 yet?

Notchy Bob

 

[PastorB]

I have a Uberti copy with a 4" barrel. Nice looking, feels good in hand. Playing card accurate at 15 yards, which is just fine. Now the negative. Unless you replace the nipples, which are fairly difficult to find as they are unique to this model, you will have cap jams most every shot. This gets annoying quite quickly. The Uberti uses a .330 round ball, not common, and buckshot loads very hard as it is not pure lead. I finally found a discontinued .330 single cavity mold, and I now cast balls for it, which eases loading. I shoot it because I bought it, but wouldn't buy it again. The Uberti Pocket Police in .36 is even worse, never got two shots in a row without a cap jam. Watch Mike Bellevue's youtube video on the Pocket Police and you will quickly understand the veracity of what I am saying. Wish I knew the problems before I paid $329, plus another $40 for nipples, before I bought one of these. YMMV.

 

[Boston Bill]

I have a Uberti copy with a 4" barrel. Nice looking, feels good in hand. Playing card accurate at 15 yards, which is just fine. Now the negative. Unless you replace the nipples, which are fairly difficult to find as they are unique to this model, you will have cap jams most every shot. This gets annoying quite quickly. The Uberti uses a .330 round ball, not common, and buckshot loads very hard as it is not pure lead. I finally found a discontinued .330 single cavity mold, and I now cast balls for it, which eases loading. I shoot it because I bought it, but wouldn't buy it again. The Uberti Pocket Police in .36 is even worse, never got two shots in a row without a cap jam. Watch Mike Bellevue's youtube video on the Pocket Police and you will quickly understand the veracity of what I am saying. Wish I knew the problems before I paid $329, plus another $40 for nipples, before I bought one of these. YMMV.

Where did you get the nipples? I have one and would like to replace the nipples. BB

 

[PastorB]

Where did you get the nipples? I have one and would like to replace the nipples. BB

It has been years ago, but I think it was an outfit called Badman Bullets. I don't see that they currently have a listing for the "pocket model" nipples. Even back then, they were difficult to find, and to make matters more complicated, they came in two different lengths. I got the wrong ones first, and had to go through the hassle of returning and getting the correct ones. Even now with replacement nipples, it jams with fair regularity. IMO the mainspring is too weak and allows the hammer to blow back and the cap to fall into the works when firing. The new nipple helped some, but I still have to cock deliberately each time, making sure the just fired cap gets out of the way.

 

[Zonie]

Where did you get the nipples? I have one and would like to replace the nipples. BB

Track of the Wolf shows a PTC-PI (steel) AND PTC-PS (stainless) nipple for the .31 and .36 Colt and Remington Pocket Revolvers. They use a #12-28 thread and are shorter than normal nipples. They are sized for #11 caps.

https://www.trackofthewolf.com/List/Item.aspx/807/2

 

[Bruce Evans]

My

Thank you all for your advice. I will 71 in a few weeks and I am determined to do what *I* want to do. I know it's a Remington replica. I know it is small. That is why I want it. It won't be the smallest gun I have ever fired. If it goes BOOM and makes a hole in the paper occasionally, I will be happy. It will not be my carry gun. I will carry it from the loading bench to the firing line. And when I am not shooting it, it will hang in the safe next to my other Remington and Colt replicas.

It's on order and should be here on Saturday. But I am having a hard time finding .311 balls for it. I can find .315 but I would prefer .311s. Any suggestions where I can find round balls in that size?

 

[Treestalker]

I used to own this Replica Arms El Paso Texas (ASM) 1848 Pocket 6". It shot well enough but I could not get comfortable with it because of its small size. I much prefer the 1851 Navy.

Regards,

Jim

View attachment 45068

My first BP revolver was one just like yours w/6" barrel. I loved it, but had to work away from home when I was 18 and my dear old daddy got dry and sold it for some Old Forester. Never got another, but I'd buy one if I could afford it. Buy It!