Details on Pietta 1858 New Army?

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Brass Rain

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I never had a huge interest in BP firearms, but recently it just kind of struck me that I'd like a cap-and-ball revolver, and remembered that Cabela's online offered some. The 1858 New Army clone by Pietta caught my eye, and reviews seem to be, by and large, in favor of it. Do any of you own one of these, or can attest to their quality? Also, I'm pretty sure I know of all the stuff I need to order with it to get me started on BP shooting. That would be the gun of course, cast lead balls, caps, powder, and a measure. Am I missing anything? Is there a special oil to be used in lubrication, or a special solvent to be used in cleaning? Or can I use the same stuff as I would with cartridge firearms?

Thanks for your time.
 
Pietta Remmies are pretty good today and Cabela's has great service. Pietta used to make second rate stuff (in comparison to Uberti which is usually considered the best, or atleast among the best), but their quality has gone up recently. You should be happy with your Pietta -- and if you aren't Cabela's will make it right.
As far as "stuff," you might want to get some wonder wads to place in between the powder & ball, or bore butter, crisco, or similar stuff to put over the bball in the chamber as a lube, and to help protect from chain fires.
For cleaning I use Palmolive and hot water. Other stuff is just the same stuff for cartridges.
You might find Q tips handy for small stuff and to get into the nipple recesses,
 
Without a doubt you will receive many replies with a wealth of information from some of the best people you could ever wish to communicate with. The one thing I would like to point out is it would be easier to quit smoking, quit hard drugs or even get to like paying your income taxes than it will be to leave or quit shooting BP. Once the smoke gets in you your doomed but will love every min. of it.
 
I got that Pietta 1858 recently. It is much better than I expected. The finish is great and I found it to be quite accurate.

To your list I would add a nipple wrench (test to be sure it will fit the nipples on the Remington) and some lubed Wonder Wads. I use hot water and dish soap or Simple Green to clean BP guns. Just be sure to rinse it, dry it thoroughly and oil afterwards. I use Q-tips for the small corners and pipe cleaners for the nipples.

I also suggest you check out the stickies at the top of this section, especially the second one. Tons of great info.

Black powder guns, of any type, are addictive. The pace is very different and slower but I find it relaxing and enjoyable.

Good luck.

Jeff
 
Do it!

I just got my first blackpowder gun a few weeks ago. I opted for a Pietta 1858 New Army. :D

So far, I've been tickled with it. It's fun as heck to shoot, though it does take a while to load. I'm considering ordering an extra cylinder for it. Only thing I have mixed opinions on is the barrel length. On the one hand, I love the look and feel of the 8 inch barrel. However, I'm looking into getting into cowboy action shooting, and that's a lot of gun coming out of the holster.:what:

Since you asked about cleaning it like other guns, I'll tell you my thoughts...Everyone and their brother is going to tell you to use water. Personally, I don't much feel like it. :neener: I use modern solvents alongside Hoppes Blackpowder Solvent. If you're interested, you can check out my thread in the BP section at the URL below. It works for me.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=540104

I have to agree with what the others said, BP is addicting. It's fun as heck to touch off that first chamber and watch every head on the range snap around to go "What the heck was that!?" It's enough fun that I just bought another gun, an 1851 Confederate Navy Sheriff.:) It's a 5 inch barrel, so I'm thinking that'll be a bit better outta my holster in Cowboy Action stuff.

I bought my 1858 with the starter kit. I'd suggest that you do the same, as it's a decent value. You get a nipple wrench, 30 wads, 30 balls, a powder measure and flask and some thingum called a capper that I can't for the life of me figure out how to use. :scrutiny:

Last tidbit! Cabelas has a free shipping offer valid through midnight tomorrow. Not to put a time rush on you, but it's like 18 dollars to ship normally. They're usually running some manner of shipping special though, so watch for it. It was 5 dollar flat rate when I bought both of mine. Wish I'd waited on buying the 1851, because 3 days after I purchased, this free shipping thing kicked in. :cuss:

I say buy, shoot and enjoy. There's a TON of resources on this forum that tell you all you'd want to know and more about the New Army.

Hope that helps!

Packman
 
All good advice, even the bits about using or not using water; the last time I checked, which was this morning, water was less expensive than Hoppe's Black Powder Solvent or any of the other 'modern' solvents. And it still works, also.

You can get lots of toys to help you enjoy the experience, so many in fact you can actually end up NOT enjoying yourself. BP shooting can be as simple or as complicated as you want to make it. Me, I like simple.

Wonder wads, or any other brand of lubricated felt wads, are good. Grease/Crisco works but it's messy. One or the other, you don't need both.

I second the nipple wrench and powder flask. And for the bench at home I'd very strongly recommend a good set of gunsmith's screwdrivers. Your local hardware screwdrivers, or even your Craftsman or Snap-Ons, will eat the screw heads alive in no time. Make the investment.
 
Just to chime in on what mykeal said...

Even if we don't clean the same way, :) he's right about those screwdrivers!

The screws in this gun are irritatingly soft, and if you use a poorly fitting screwdriver, you'll mess them up pretty quickly. I was fortunate enough that I already had on hand a rather large collection of screwdrivers and so didn't have to purchase any.

Mykeal, one of these trips to the range, I'll try your hot water method. Who knows, perhaps I'll love it, right? :eek: :)
 
Necessary? No. Worth the trouble? Well, that's a matter of opinion, and mine is yes. They perform two worthwhile functions that I know of: they provide a small but effective amount of lubrication that helps keep combustion by-products softer longer, and they move the ball closer to the chamber mouth, which helps accuracy. As for preventing chain fires, well, yeah, maybe - that's really accomplished by using the proper sized ball and cap, so whether the wad really helps or not, I'm not so sure. But really, how much more trouble are they?
 
The wads are not needed to fire the gun but they serve several beneficial purposes.

They help seal the powder from errant sparks that could cause a chain fire. (I think tight fiting caps are more important in that regard.)

They provide a scrubbing action to keep fouling down. I make my own wads from a heavy, dense felt saturated with a home made lube. (See the Gatofeo section on wads in the second sticky.) I typically can shoot 2 or 3 more cylinders full before the action stiffens up when using wads. Sealing the chamber mouth with Bore Butter or Crisco is probably more effective but is a lot more messy. The wads are convenient.

For best accuracy you want the ball close to the chamber mouth. My most accurate loads don't call for enough powder to to that. The wads help fill the chamber without using a filler like corn meal. Again, it's convenient.

When I started using wads I went with commercial ones. Now I make my own because it's a LOT cheaper and I see it as part of the hobby. When I reload modern ammo I use lube on the cast bullets. Making, or using, wads is the same thing.

Jeff
 
I have yet to shoot my Uberti Remingtons or my recently aquired '61 Colt clones with wads. But I have to admit that I have not been out bullseye shooting with them so I'm not sure to what extent I'm giving up my accuracy. So far I've just been enjoying making big clouds of smoke that masks the view of the targets I'm shooting at in my Cowboy Action Shooting matches... :D

There's a very nice sticky at the top of the listings about blackpowder shooting and cleaning that I took to heart and it worked well. Vegtable based lubricants or Ballistol only with no smokeless solvents or petroleum based oils as used in smokeless guns. In fact before I got my Ballistol I used canola cooking oil as my lube. I tested it and found it to be an excellent rust preventer and it produced the most easily washed away fouling deposits. I still use a drop of it over the balls in the chambers as barrel lube and to seal the balls and avoid the risk of frontal crossfires.

Granted this is not kosher by the standards of many here but so far it's worked for me and my rather non demanding cowboy shooting chores.

Don't use it on guns that won't be used often though. Once exposed to air it begins to polymerize from the oxygen in the air and turn into a varnish. A couple of months to three months is fine with no issues at all as I've used it for that long without issue. But if you let the guns sit for more than 3 months at a time you want to use Ballistol or similar oil to avoid a hard to clean away varnish lke plastic deposit from the vegtable based oils. And most veggie oils will do this to some extent given enough time. But enough of the dire tales of woe. For short term use it's cheap, fights rust nicely and keeps the BP residue nice and loose for cleaning.

Hot water and a dash of dish soap works like a treat. Dunk, swish, nylon barrel and chamber brush then dunk and swish again then rinse with hot water and use a hair dryer on high. Oil again once the last of the water is gone which doesn't take long at all if rinsed with full hot water so the steel is hot.

Oh, and yes, the Remington Clone is a very nice start. But it'll soon be lonely so I'd suggest an 1861 Colt as a very nice and different style safe and range companion so that they both have someone to talk to. Truly the two styles are different enough that it's well worth having one of each... or more :D
 
Get the Remmie as soon as you can.! I just (yesterday) took mine out to the range for a test drive and was very impressed. I have been shooting an 1851 Navy and there is no comparison. The Pietta Remington has great fit and finish, is easy to shoot, and it feels right in my hand. The 51 always felt small in the grip, while the Remmie feels much more controllable. You'll love it. BC Rider and the others are correct though, you are probably going to end up with more than one C & B! now, an 1869 Colt....
 
I think I'm going to order the Pietta 58 Remmie while it's on sale for $199 at Cabelas.
 
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