1851 navy revolver

[Fivestring63]

This is gonna be my next gun. I've done a lot of research and am looking at the Pietta or Uberti in the 36 Cal. Conversion might be an option later on so looking at the steel frames.
What size caps? #10 is what I've been seeing. Also what brand of powder? I'm new at this black powder stuff.
Cabella seems to be a good source and also Dixie Guns here in Tennessee.

[Spots]

I ran #11 caps on mine and just pinched then a hair tight bedore putting them on.

Sent from the backwoods of Nowhere

[ted]

Have been wanting to get into some black powder also I think I'm going to start with this one . http://www.cabelas.com/product/Shooting/Black-Powder/Pistols-Revolvers%7C/pc/104792580/c/104701680/sc/104503680/Pietta-Model-1858-New-Army-Stainless-44-Caliber-Target-Revolver/705740.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Fshooting-black-powder-pistols-revolvers%2F_%2FN-1100201%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_104503680%3FWTz_l%3DSBC%253Bcat104792580%253Bcat104701680&WTz_l=SBC%3Bcat104792580%3Bcat104701680%3Bcat104503680

[leroy]

fivestring:__________

 

My son used to shoot lots of cap and ball revolver suff.  We burned lots of powder thru a pair of 36 navies (...my favorites...).  We have several other cap and ball revolvers as well.  They were all from uberti or cimmaron (...uberti too...).   They all needed some bit of tuning; but when the tunin wuz done; they were as smooth as glass and shot really well. 

 

As to the cap thing; in my experience it wuz hit and miss.  We usually wound up changing nipples on most ever revolver and fitting the right caps to it. The trick is to get the caps to fit exactly right and to fall off the nipples as the revolver is re-cocked when shootin pretty fast.  If the nipples dont drop off; sometimes they will bind up the hammer.

 

I would try to get the nipples and caps to fit as closely as possible with little to no "crimping" of the cap to hold it on.  We also used the trick of putting a little dot of bore butter on the side of the nipple to help hold the cap on; which works pretty well until the revolver cylinder heats up.  Here is a great resource for the cap and ball stuff:  http://www.buffaloarms.com/default.aspx

We used to buy most all the parts and supplies we needed from them.  They are good guys.

 

Bottom line on the cap thing... buy several sizes when you order them and help yourself out by buying a cash inline capper. 

 

Have fun with your cap and ball revolvers.  They are a great thing!!

 

leroy

Edited April 2, 2013 by leroy

[Guest TN.Frank]

Uberti would be THE way to go, much higher quality then Pietta. Also #11 work fine, like said just pinch em' a bit and they'll work great. I ran 22grs of FFFg and a round ball in the last Uberti Navy that I had and it shot like a champ. Don't forget a bit of Crisco around the chamber mouths to stop chain fire.
Also, something to think about, if you do want a conversion the Remington in 44cal(actually closer to 45cal if you measure the bore) is a lot easier to convert and you can pull the cylinder for loading by pulling the pin on the revolver, no need to remove the barrel like in a Colt style C&B. Unless of course you're going to cut a loading gate in the frame, then there's no difference in loading or unloading BUT with a .36cal Navy you'll end up going 38spl and the bullets will be undersize for the barrel. With the 44cal C&B you'll not have that problem since the conversion for it is 45 Colt which is the same size as the bore of the gun.
Just more info to think about.

[gregintenn]

I'll second the 58 Remington suggestion. I have one that came form Cabela's several years back. It is among the most accurate handguns I own.

 

The bad: I'd rather wash and wax a car than to clean a blackpowder revolver after it's been fired.

[Guest TN.Frank]

Ahh, it's not all that hard. Just use plenty of hot water then after it dries(quickly I might add because the hot water will make the metal hot) lube it with some Ballistol and you're done.
Another nice thing about the Remington is that you can find them in Stainless pretty easily. I know they make the '60 Army and maybe the '51 Navy in stainless but they're not as easy to find as the Remington is.
If you really want to spend the Big Bucks and get into what I'd consider the nicest Cap n' Ball six gun on the planet then pick up a Ruger Old Army in stainless. That is one sweet shooting CnB and it'll take some pretty hearty loads too. Of course you'll need to run .457" balls instead of the .451"-.454" balls that the Remington would take but man, they're nice. Still wish I had mine.

[Guest HvyMtl]

Just don't carry it in hand, while walking through Belle Meade.

 

(Had to be said, sorry.)

 

Enjoy it.  Sounds like a fun firearm to own.

[RichardR]

I built a CVA kit Colt 1861 Navy back in the late 1980's, I still have it & I still love shooting it, when I take it to a public range everyone see's this huge hog-leg belching out smoke and comes over & asks to try it out, it's probably converted a dozen or more folks to BP shooting over the years.

I remember being surprised by how inaccurate it seemed to be my first range trip with it, then just all of the sudden I either learned how to hold/sight it properly or something because all of my rounds started going exactly where I wanted them too, shooting it became "instinctive" I guess is the best word to describe it.

Anyway I've had mine seemingly forever, even after all of these years it is still great fun to shoot, they are very interesting from a historical aspect, they are a tad difficult to master all of the little nuances of loading and shooting them & they are hard to clean but definately worth the effort IMHO.

[Mike.357]

I have several BP revolvers though all in .44.  fun to shoot.  I prefer the '58 Remington it is built like a tank and is easy to swap cylinders in and out of.  I use a cylinder loader rather than using the lever on the pistol.  Makes it very easy to do.  

 

For the caps I found that by trying a few brands some fit better than others.  But I always give them a little pinch to snug them up some.

 

For cleaning I always just used tap water as hot as the tap would get and a few cloth patches to ream out the cylinders and barrel. Then oil it up with some non-Dino based oil.    I also use Crisco over the top of the ball.  It will keep fouling soft and allow the gun to run longer.  if the gun starts cycling hard I hit it with a bit of WD40 to finish firing the cylinder.  Then it's time to clean it.

 

Among other places HighRoad has a pretty active and knowledgeable BP subforum.  It is a good resource.

Edited April 5, 2013 by Mike.357