Today's find

[Jaymo]

I stopped by an Army/Navy store today and was looking through the guns when something caught my eye. An unfired, in the box CVA colonial pistol. Next to it was an unfired, in the box Pietta steel frame 1851 Colt Navy .36 cal. Asking price was $150 for the CVA and $250 for the Pietta.
The store owner told me he'd sell me both guns and all the "stuff" that was with them (they took them in on trade) for $300.
Included with the Pietta and CVA are: an unopened can of Pyrodex P, a CVA tubular brass flask (looks to be a Pedersoli), 2 tins of #11 caps (1 of CCI, 1 of RWS), A box of 100 Speer .375" round balls, a pack of 25 or 50(don't remember) .45 round balls, an unopened pack or Ox Yoke .36 cal lubed felt wads, an unopened pack of lubed (Bore Butter) .45 cal patches. a ball puller, a powder measure, an unopened tube of Bore Butter( the large tube), and I forget what else.

What thinketh ye merry gentleman of this deal? Good, bad, or ugly?
The Pietta is $249.99 at Cabelas and is currently backordered.
Then you have to pay shipping and maybe even tax.
The CVA isn't even available anymore.

I checked them both very carefully. I'm a PITA that way. I scrutinize and nitpick anything I consider buying.
They are both absolutely brand new, never used.
The Pietta is very tight, from the lockup to the barrel/wedge fit. It looks every bit as well made as my Pietta Remington NA. The timing is perfect. The trigger pull is the same as all the '51 Navy Repros I've handled.

Isn't there some kind of pinning I can do to the Colt and Remington hammers to eliminate the trigger creep they all seem to have?

I've seen those CVA Colonial pistols priced at $100-$150 for WELL used condition in pawn shops before, never seen one that was unfired before today.

Yeah, I put it on layaway. I've been wanting a Navy.
I thought about getting a Kentucky pistol stock blank and inletting it for the CVA. It'll be shorter barreled than a Kentucky, but, I can live with that.

 

[Bluehawk]

sounds like a good deal!!!!!!!
why put the Colonial in Kentucky stock...the Colonial stock is just as good?!

 

[Jaymo]

I like the bird's head grip of the KY better. After thinking about it, I'm probably not going to replace the stock. I may rework the stock. May not.
Even though beech isn't a period correct wood, I like the way it looks.

 

[SC_Slowhand]

Good Deal

For $300.00 I would have taken it.

 

[Jaymo]

I put $100.00 down on it. I couldn't pass it up.
I may reshape the grip to something more like a bird's head, but I may not. It actually feels better than it looks.
I'd like to do hat Captchee over on Tradrag did to one, Cast in pewter inlay, reshape the forend, polish out the parting lines on the trigger guard, etc. He made that little Jukar look really good.

How is Jukar pronounced? Is it pronounced "Hoo Kur "? "Hoo Kar"?
I assume the J is pronounced like an H since it's Spanish, but am not certain.

Seems the consensus is that they're actually pretty accurate little smokepoles.

I had thought about using the factory stock as a pattern to make a new stock from a piece of mahogany I have. But, the factory beech (NOT birch) stock has more grain than my hunk of mahogany.
Maybe I could get a couple of those Brazilian cherry cutting boards from Wally World, cut them in half, and laminate them to make a blank.
It would be strong, and attractive, but is probably too much work.

Now, where do I get the pewter? Maybe I should just get some lead free, or lead based, solder and use it.
Some lead free solder mixed with some 95/5 tin/silver solder would look good.
I just have to be sure to keep my pouring temp low enough to prevent scorching the wood.

Ya see, one of the reasons I got back into BP shooting is the same reason I quit shaving with a Fusion and went back to vintage safety razors.
It's a lot cheaper. ($10-$15 for 100 blades VS $30 for 8 Fusion blades)
I can cast my own balls, cut my own patches/wads, make my own lube, make my own powder solvent, and even make my own propellant if necessary.
Can't do that with a .357.
That and smokepoles are FUN.

 

[ontarget]

And boy how we love the smoke and fire !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[mykeal]

Shaving? Why?

 

[Jaymo]

I'm afraid I don't understand your question, mykeal.
Why do I shave? Because I like being clean shaven.
Why do I shave with antique, vintage, and vintage style safety razors? Because they give a closer, smoother, more comfortable shave than the modern cartridge razors for a fraction of the price of cartridge razor blades.
That, and I like my old razors.

 

[Bluehawk]

Jaymo
I agree with you...personally I use an old Henkel straight razor made around 1915 or so...virtually no maintenace except to strop it once in awhile or hone it about every 6 months.

 

[Jaymo]

Bluehawk, I would love to actually shave with my old German straight. However, I've had 2 elbow surgeries that put a permanent end to my "hands of a surgeon" days.
A Gem 1912 single edge razor gives me a shave nearly as good as a professional straight shave, yet I can't hack my face up with it.
My 1930s Schick injectors do about as well as the Gems, as do my new and vintage/antique double edge safety razors, with the right blade.
Of course, I use shave soaps, shave sticks, and shave creams from a tube.
No canned goo for me. My face is as smooth as a baby's rear end, and I no longer get ingrown hairs.
I occasionally use my Atra and Sensor, but haven't used my Mach 3 or Fusion in many months. I don't miss them at all.
There's something enjoyable about whipping up your own lather with a badger or boar brush and taking your sweet time to get a great shave.
If I'm in a hurry, I can shave in 10 minutes. 30, if I take my time and enjoy myself.
I have over 40 old safety razors, and I use them all, except the few duplicates I'm saving for my sons to use when they get old enough.
I sure wish my dad had bought me an old Gillette Slim Adjustable or Super Speed when I was 16, instead of a new Norelco electric. I ditched the electric in 1989 and never looked back.

The enjoyment of a good, classic wetshave is very much akin to the enjoyment of reloading smokeless cartridges or shooting muzzleloaders.
You have a LOT more control over the finished product.
Some of the absolutely best shaving razors were made prior to WW2. I have a 1930s Neillite 400 all bakelite DE that has one side made more aggressive than the other, and it's probably the best shaver I own. Then again, I have about 30 old razors that are the best shavers I own.
For a new DE razor, you can't go wrong with a Merkur or Edwin Jagger. My Merkur slant gives a smoother shave in 2 passes than my Fusion gave in 4 passes.


Oh, and did I mention that a 350 grain round ball cast from wheelweights, backed up by 48 grains of fffg will blow through both sides of a 55 gallon steel drum and not even think about stopping?
Apparently, there's much more to the 20 gauge Howdah Pistol ballistics than meets the eye.

My buddy says I should get barrels for a Pedersoli 10 gauge and chop them down to the length of the Howdah barrels, so I can be like Doc Holliday.
No friggin' way. I shoot the Howdah for fun, and the 10 gauge is NOT likely to be fun out of a pistol.

As light as that Colonial pistol is, I don't think I want to go much over 30 grains of fffg with it.
I can't wait to get it and try it and the .36 cal navy out. I bet the navy is a sweet shooter. It holds and points so well.

I noticed the paperwork for the CVA colonial pistol said not to use white powder. I wonder why.

 

[Jaymo]

Paid 'em off and picked 'em up today. Too bad I'm sick and don't feel like shooting them.
The Colonial was dry as a bone. Had to wipe down all the metal with ballistol. Had to lube the lock parts the same way, too. Felt a bit crunchy when I cocked it, until I lubed it. Feels good now.
I'd like to strip the Colonial stock and give it an oil finish. I'm just not a big fan of varnish on gun wood.
What I'd like to do is get a maple blank and make a new stock for it. I like the weight of maple.
Then again, if I give it 10 good coats of oil, it'll be a bit heavier.
Looks like it was made in 1991 or later. The label on the box has a revision date of '91.

Gotta look up the proof date on the Pietta. It has a proof date of BZ.
The Pietta is very tight and I can tell I'm going to have to file the bolt thinner to fit the notches better.
Looks like the Pietta is a 2005 model.

 

[Oyeboten]

Hi Jaymo,



Nice to hear your mentions of Old Razors.


I started off shaving with a 1930s 'Rolls Razor', then went on to my Grand Pa's Straight Razor.


My dad thouht I was nuts, but the old Strop hanging in the Bathroom reminded him of when he was a kid, which was maybe some good some bad, so he sort of had mixed feelings about it, since the Strop was how spankings used to get delivered sometimes in his day.


Lol...



Later on, in my late teens, I went on to an early Gilette, Gold Plated, and had the little telescopin Box for keeping the Blades in.


You could still find endless NOS 1920's Gilette Blue Blades in junk stores then for like nothing, so I was always well stocked, and always used those.


I hate those plastic throw-away Razors, and they are worthless if you've gone a few days without too, but I will confess I had managed to reshuffle things a few times and my old Straight Razor and other Razors I used got lost in the shuffle, and I have been using the wretched plastic throw-away ones for some while now, instead.


With your mentions, I realize my loss with a keen sense of remorse now, and will set about righting it soon.


God Bless e-bay - if you need something out of the ordinary, by golly, someone there will have it.

 

[Jaymo]

Oyeboten, countryjoescollectiblestuff.com has lots of good, old safety razors for sale. I bought a pre-51 Gillette Tech and a 1962 Gillette Slim Adjustable, as well as a few other safety razors from him. Those old Gillette safety razors give a great shave. The old Gem safety razors use single edge razor blades and give great shaves too. I've bought my SE blades from the drug stores and from the internet.
Same goes with the DE blades for my Gillette and Gillette style safety razors.
I'm having good luck with the German made Wilkinson Sword DE blades from Walmart.

Back on topic, I looked up the article on gunsmithing the colt navy and will get to work on it soon. My Remington New Army revolvers are still my favorites, but I've always liked the Colts, too.