1851 colt?

WestKentucky

WestKentucky

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IMG_5259.jpeg I managed to snag a garage sale revolver. Navy arms 44. Rebated cylinder I think means it’s an 1851. It’s a navy arms gun. Used. Brass frame. Nice enough but also aged appropriately. I haven’t disassembled anything yet but the action is super smooth. Has the Uberti gear stamp along with proof marks.

$100. Seems fair enough.
 
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Brass frame, dragoon barrel like a Griswold and Grier, but .44 cal. therefore a "reproduction" without an original.

Stick to light loads, those brass frames are not real durable.
 
Jim Watson said:
Brass frame, dragoon barrel like a Griswold and Grier, but .44 cal. therefore a "reproduction" without an original.

Stick to light loads, those brass frames are not real durable.
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I figured it’s a fantasy gun of some sort. I really need to take time and learn more about the cap and ball guns. I have the basics at least. Now time to get all the other bits to make noise.
 
Yup, it's an 1851 "Navy" fantasy gun. It may still be a good shooter with light loads as long as it's in good mechanical shape. After confirming the mechanical condition is safe for shooting, 17 to 20 grains of 3Fg black powder or Pyrodex P under a .451 or .454 ball should be good. You can use either a lubricated felt wad or lube cookie* between the powder and ball, or grease over the ball, to keep fouling soft.

The original 1851s were in .36 caliber and lacked the rebated cylinder. The rebated cylinder was introduced with the 1860 Army to allow it to be chambered for .44 on a Navy-size frame. Previous Colt .44s were the Walker and Dragoon revolvers, which were much larger.

* Use the forum search function to find info on lube cookies.
 
Not a Navy or Grier (whatever that is) it’s a Griswold & Gunnison in fantasy 44. That was a Confederate piece in .36 made in Griswoldville, GA before a column of Sherman’s cav burnt them out. I have a G&G Pietta .36 and it’s a fun gun. Follow the loading advice here and you’ll have some good times with that. Nice pick up.
 
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They called them Griswold and Grier in the early repro days. I understand Mr Grier was the company lawyer and supposedly Mr Griswold's son in law. Mr Gunnison was the "mechanic" probably the period equivalent of a mechanical engineer, and more deserving of mention.

I know a Grier family with roots in southern Alabama and Georgia but cannot get them interested in the genealogy to look for a connection.
 
Hawg, is 15 graines in a .44 nearly asking for an eventual squib? Of course one can clear a squib but ratchet teeth marks on the recoil ring and end shake are forever. You would stick with 15 grains even with forty-four?
 
Eyrie G. Dogg said:
Hawg, is 15 graines in a .44 nearly asking for an eventual squib? Of course one can clear a squib but ratchet teeth marks on the recoil ring and end shake are forever. You would stick with 15 grains even with forty-four?
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I never had a brass .44 but I don't see 15 grains causing a squib in one.
 
I can’t say for sure that this one has been shot. It’s definitely used… as in been laying in an attic or something for years, but it’s not rusty and crusty like you would expect for a used gun that’s unloved.
 
Thanks for the history lessions on the 1851.
Now I know what this one is.
Here is a picture of a Navy Arms Sheriff's Model that a friend of mine brought over for me look over. Never been fired either.
20230512_083737.jpg
 
Jim Watson said:
Date code XX9 = 1973

Can’t make out OP’s.
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XX8 so it’s from 1972 per online charts. I’m accumulating things from the 70s this year it seems. Most notably a 73 Harley sportster. I’m not complaining about that. I tell folks I was born about a decade late. I should have been a 70s kid.
 
I just repaired a loose arbor on a brasser, the frame was pounded pretty bad. A lot of damage can be avoided if you fix the short arbor and correct the barrel to cylinder gap. The cylinder basically acts like a slide hammer and between that, the short arbor and soft frame things can get chewed up fairly quickly. Once all of that is fixed and using light loads it might last a while.
 
The Griswold and Gunnison enjoyed some publicity when it appeared in the tv series "Hell On Wheels". From IMDB firearms database:

Griswold & Gunnison
Former Confederate soldier Cullen Bohannon (Anson Mount) carries a Confederate-made Griswold & Gunnison Revolver in "Pilot" (S1E01), by which he is recognized. This weapon is only mainly seen in the pilot episode, after which Cullen Bohannon carries a Colt 1860 Army revolver as his main sidearm for the rest of the season. The Griswold & Gunnison revolver is also seen firing during a continuity error in "A New Birth of Freedom" (S1E03).

500px-GRISWOLD.jpg
 
It has definitely been shot, but it’s tight. Very tight. I had to put a bit of pressure on the barrel to get the wedge back in place. Seems it’s been worked over a bit as there are file marks where it’s been trued up and tuned up. I’m slightly more excited about it now. I was looking at bullet molds last night. I think I would prefer a skirted bullet if this thing will shoot them worth a flip. I may still have appropriately sized balls though so I may use those if I can find them. What I’m missing is 3f and caps. I have 2f pyrodex which would work in a pinch but it’s not proper powder. Either way, with an upcoming migration of the family I’m not gonna have time to play for a while. Starting to seriously pack today.
 
J-Bar said:
The Griswold and Gunnison enjoyed some publicity when it appeared in the tv series "Hell On Wheels". From IMDB firearms database:

Griswold & Gunnison
Former Confederate soldier Cullen Bohannon (Anson Mount) carries a Confederate-made Griswold & Gunnison Revolver in "Pilot" (S1E01), by which he is recognized. This weapon is only mainly seen in the pilot episode, after which Cullen Bohannon carries a Colt 1860 Army revolver as his main sidearm for the rest of the season. The Griswold & Gunnison revolver is also seen firing during a continuity error in "A New Birth of Freedom" (S1E03).

View attachment 1154825
Click to expand...

It was actually a brass 1860 that Cullen carried in the pilot and they called it a Griswold. I think he did have a G&G after the pilot for a few episodes. There were a lot of incorrect brass framed revolvers in it.

800px-HOWS1E03_07.jpg
 
I though they didn't do too well with the guns used in the series but was willing to over look that as I enjoyed the story so much. Mount was just about perfect in his role. Maybe that is why I just can't find any interest in watching him play the boss of a starship now. He looked like I though a railroad engineer did back then. Dirty, rough, hairy, and not prone to take any guff from anyone. On a starship, not so much.
 
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They had a special with the studio armorer explaining some of their guns, including the Bogus Brass.

Seems like about everybody had an 1866 Winchester very soon after it was introduced.
 
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