2nd gen 1851 navy f series pitted bore shooter

[Blackpowderwarrior]

I recently aquired a squareback 51 navy 2nd gen colt for the sweet sum of 350$

The bore was pitted but plenty of rifling is still there.

I took her out today with a few loads of 23 grains 3f old eyesnford and the groups were less then stellar.

I decided to bump the charge up to 30 grains with a .380 round ball and the group tightened up to around 2 inches.

She's a good shooter with a max load , does anyone else find that their 2nd gen navy shoots better with a stouter load?

 

[woodnbow]

A couple of my 1860’s do better with heavy charges…

 

[1KPerDay]

All of my cap and ball guns so far shoot better with the proper full charge. I haven’t really done too much experimenting though.

 

[Blackpowderwarrior]

All of my cap and ball guns so far shoot better with the proper full charge. I haven’t really done too much experimenting though.

That's been my experience as well

 

[dickydalton]

This one likes 21 grains of 3F Swiss, Gatfoe #1 lubed wad and round ball. It's Goonerized.

 

[Blackpowderwarrior]

This one likes 21 grains of 3F Swiss, Gatfoe #1 lubed wad and round ball. It's Goonerized.View attachment 1161671

That's a beauty

 

[.38 Special]

My experience also has been that full charges tend to work best. Failing that, topping a light charge with a filler, so as to get the ball to the end of the chamber, works fine too - if you can't handle the fierce recoil of the .36...

 

[Jackrabbit1957]

Several things come to mind, arbor correction, is it the same gun every time it's assembled? Chamber mouths, same size? How does the crown on the muzzle look, any pitting or damage? Accurately measuring the charge, I know, but it bears mentioning. One method of loading consistently is to hold the muzzle up, drop the loading lever into an empty chamber, set the powder charge to the spot where the end of the rammer just touches the powder. Ball is seated with light pressure and lubed. Worth a try if nothing else. Try a conical bullet, it made a big improvement in accuracy on my Pietta 1860 Navy. Went from shooting high and left to point of aim.

 

[LonesomePigeon]

New nipples might help if the old ones are worn. I had a Remington repro by Santa Barbara that went from being average to outstanding after getting new nipples.

 

[Blackpowderwarrior]

New nipples might help if the old ones are worn. I had a Remington repro by Santa Barbara that went from being average to outstanding after getting new nipples.

This colt is wearing new slix shots

 

[Blackpowderwarrior]

Several things come to mind, arbor correction, is it the same gun every time it's assembled? Chamber mouths, same size? How does the crown on the muzzle look, any pitting or damage? Accurately measuring the charge, I know, but it bears mentioning. One method of loading consistently is to hold the muzzle up, drop the loading lever into an empty chamber, set the powder charge to the spot where the end of the rammer just touches the powder. Ball is seated with light pressure and lubed. Worth a try if nothing else. Try a conical bullet, it made a big improvement in accuracy on my Pietta 1860 Navy. Went from shooting high and left to point of aim.

The arbor has been corrected and I'll probably crown the barrel tonight.
The chambers on the colt are much larger then uberti or pietta.

In this particular colt a .380 rb swaged just right with no lead ring shaved off.

Bore looks pretty rough in a few spots but will still spin a ball though I havent tried conicals yet. I do have some lee conicals and some colt conicals for further testing.

 

[Gator Weiss]

Conicals - if sized correctly - seal better and have more contact with the bore than RB. Heavy charges can really mean the revolver load was packed more firmly. I have some repro Navy guns in .44 and when I use a filler over 15-18 grains of FFF, RB, and pack very firm, I get cleaner burn, less foul and more accuracy. Revolvers like tight loads.