First experience with Cap and Ball!!

[Evil_Ed]

A friend of mine just got a set of 1851 Navy revolvers (reproductions of course) and stopped by my place on the way to our local rifle/pistol club to pick up the cowboy hat he had left at our place during my birthday party the night before (yay me, I'm 32 ). Since my wife and son were both ready to take a nap (he's 2.5 and she's pregnant so they both needed one!) I decided to tag along with him to the range and check them out as well as get some plate time with my preffered carry weapon (9x18 Makarov).

Let me say this...WOW!!!!!! Those guns are the most fun I have had standing up! I love tinkering with mechanical stuff and making things and those pistols are the ULTIMATE!! You get to satisfy your tinkering urges with the whole involved loading process and then of course you get to very satisfyingly blow the HE!! out of a bunch of poor defenseless steel plates with their considerable .44 caliber bullets. I have GOT to buy a set of these! I still have an ear to ear smile thinking about it almost a full week later!

So I guess my question would now be, who is your favorite repro maker of black powder pistols? I want a set but I don't want them to wear out anytime soon... I was even thinking of getting a SASS approved cartridge conversion kit for them as well as an added tinkering toy for doing cowboy shooting (of course convincing the wife to let me spend the money on a lever gun and a shotgun on top of 2 pistols will be an interesting experience!).

 

[BigG]

Hi Evil Ed

Uberti makes really nice Colts. Good luck on your new found love!

 

[RobW]

If you are going to shoot a lot, dont use the (good looking) brass frames. Brass is just too soft and will loosen the cylinder-arbor quiet fast.

Uberti is known as the # 1, tightly followed by Pietta. Buy it from Midsouth Shooters Supply or Midway, they have the best prices.

By the way, the original configuration of the 1851 Navy was .36 caliber (.375 - .380 balls).

You bet, its a LOT of fun to handle that metal!

 

[Baron Holbach4]

Here is further incentive to shoot blackpowder firearms: load your firearms with American Pioneer Powder, a non-corrosive powder meant for blackpowder firearms. Shoot all day without fouling your gun.

http://www.americanpioneerpowder.com/products.html

 

[4v50 Gary]

Congratulations

My first blackpowder gun was a Ruger Old Army. Besides shooting fun, I use to use it to clear shooting lanes for my buddies. Other shooters hated the grease and smoke that belched from it and they'd move away.

If I were to get a modern repro, I'd go Uberti too. Easily Uberti has the best metallurgy & quality control of the bunch. If you want American, check out the 5 1/2" barrel Ruger Old Army. That's the ticket for revolvers today. The shorter barrel is handier than the 7 1/2" bbl.

 

[Evil_Ed]

Thank you all for the words of encouragement, I think I have found a new love for target shooting with the cap and ball revolvers.
I have been searching the sites for the different types of cap and ball revolvers available and I think I want a set of the steel frame Uberti copies of the 1858 Remington New Model Army in .44. Now I just have to convince the wife I can't live without a set of them! I think I'll blow some of my tax return this year on them. This has really given me the itch to get involved with SASS as well so I will need to hunt down a decent lever gun and shotgun sometime this year. I'm wishing more than ever that the little punk that robbed our house 10 years ago and made off with most of the family collection suffers a slow agonizing death. I really miss my old Marlin .35 lever action and my Rossi 20 double barrel exposed hammer coach gun.

 

[Bainx]

Yup, there ain't nothing like tinkering with blackpowder guns.
When you get a chance, try a flintlock pistol [or rifle]. It has yet another device to manipulate....the flint, frizzen, pan ordeal. After you build the load, you pull the trigger and levers rotate, springs flip, sparks and smoke fly and finally, the bullet goes down range. Most satisfying.

 

[NoTsO cLeAn HaRoLd]

Try one in .36 too!

Wild Bill Hicock carried a couple of 1851's in .36.

I've got one & it's a hoot! Even with full loads the recoil is mild. The only thing is, they're addictive.

 

[foghornl]

I shoot a bit of blackpowder, and it is {bad pun intended} a REAL BLAST!. I currently have a "Traditions" brand 1851 'Navy Colt', and a Lyman Trade Rifle .50 Flintlock. Not sure about the flinty rifle, but the Navy Colt is made by LLI Pietta of Italy. I sort of prefer the "Remington" revolvers, but I can't complain too much...Navy Colt was a gift from Sis-In-Law.

I prefer the Remingtons for 2 reasons....The top strap looks like it may be stronger than the "open frame" of the Colts, and the top strap is also the rear sight, where as the Colts use a notch in the hammer for sighting.
Probably just an 'Old Coots' preference, but I know what I like.

Anyway, enjoy your BP shooting.

 

[Gatofeo]

The Remington being "stronger" is a moot point. When you're talking about the pressures of black powder, then the Colt is amply strong. It's when people start using smokeless powder in them that the strength difference appears --- the Remington tends to bulge and crack its top strap while the Colt blows the top of half of its cylinder up and all over the place.
But hey, not the gun's fault. It's the fault of the idiot who put smokeless powder in it. Even a "smidgen for cleaner burning" (as I've heard some nitwits counsel) is too much for these guns.
It's not so much the steel that regulates the strength of cap and ball revolvers, but the design. They simply were never designed for the higher pressures of smokeless powder. Period. End of argument. Shaddup.

Regarding your preference for the Remington, I can understand a man's eye being attracted to a certain type (and not always guns, either)
I have a repro 1860 Colt and a repro Remington, both in .44 caliber. The Remington doesn't feel as balanced in my hand and seems clunkier but it will take slightly more powder than the Colt. And the Remington's sights are better too.
But it's amazing what can be done with the Colt's notch in the hammer and brass bead, on the target line.
I honestly can't say which design is more accurate; I've shot exceptional groups with both designs in .36 and .44 caliber.
Lately, I've been pining to get a Colt 1849 in .31 caliber, with a long barrel. The 4" barreled, brass-framed copy that I bought in 1976 is a piece of junk. I figure a well-made .31 caliber Colt would be a fun plinker. And then, of course, I'd have to get the Remington .31 ... and mebbe the Palmetto repro of the Colt 1855 pocket pistol with its solid frame ... and then a Colt 3rd model Dragoon .. and a Paterson .. and a Walker ...

Anyone know the number for Cap & Ball Shooters Anonymous? I have a serious addiction here.
"Hello. My name is Gatofeo. And I'm a cap and ball shooter ...."