Cap and Ball Reproductions

[sbkittrell]

Here are some reproduction cap and ball revolvers I have. The first is a Remington New Army. It is a Lyman, but actually was made by Uberti. I replaced the nipples with AMPCO bronze nipples on this one. The second is a CVA 1860 Colt Army. If you buy one of these you should know that the nipples are hard to find, so make sure they are in good shape. The 3rd is a Baby Dragoon made by......I don't know. The Baby Dragoon was given to me as a gift by a neighbor. I've never fired it, but I enjoy shooting the CVA and the Lyman. I only shoot GOEX in these. I never shoot more than 15 grains in the Colt Reproduction because of the brass frame. Both are fun to shoot, but the CVA has slightly larger grips and fits my hands better than the Lyman Remington.

[desdem12]

Very nice I think i need an 1860 repro as i don't have one yet

[Junk Yard Dog]

Nice revolvers, how come you ain't over at the 1858 Remington forum with these? http://1858remington.com/discuss/ I am Rock Island over there.

[sbkittrell]

First I've heard of that forum. Thank you. One of the revolvers I want to get someday is a full sized Dragoon. There is just something about those guns. I never really wanted a Walker, but a Dragoon would really be something. I guess it's the skull splitting mass of the thing. By the way a great website for black powder shooters is www.trackofthewolf.com. It's where I got the Lyman/Uberti Remington and also the antique 14 Gauge Belgian Double. Lots of great deals on firearms, accessories and other stuff. I got two holster for the CVA and Lyman for under 20.00 there too. I'm not sure if it's appropriate to post a link to a merchant's site here, so if it's not cool, let me know and I'll edit/delete that part of this post.

[Darryl]

What did you say about my Walkers?



Oh Oh, now you made Clint upset!


You will never pry my Walker out of my hands. It's just a brutal gun!

Nice pistolas!

Dolk

[Junk Yard Dog]

Been dealing with track of the wolf for years, good outfit.

[entropy]

Track of the Wolf is a neat place, I've been there a couple times. I had a 6" barreled Baby Dragoon just like that one, a friend of my Dad's owed him some money, and he gave him the '49 instead. I loved that lil' peashooter, but I "traded up" at a gun show many years back, to the 1851 brass frame .44 I have since shot loose. It too is a wall hanger; Skipper has it up in his mess. Come to think of it, none of my BP revolvers is fireable: Well, the 1860 is, but I plan on never firing it, as it is in a cased set my uncle built for my Grandpa. My brass framed 1851.36 (Gotta love 70's Armi San Marco!) has one of the chambers drilled way off center, unuseable. It is a five-shot, all I need to do is roll up a Twenty in that chamber....

Good thing my .50 single-shot percussion works!

[cyknight]

How about these babies??? Both FLLI. Pietta reproduction 1858 Texas Buffaloes. And they both shoot sweet. A man has to make the "white smoke" every one in awhile!

[sbkittrell]

Sweet. Brass frames are sexy, I don't care what people say about them.

[RudyN]

I have a pair of Italian made 1858 Remington reproductions which I use for Cowboy action shooting. They are pretty good, but I will be getting a pair of 1875 Remington cartridge revolvers so i won't have as big a mess to clean up after shooting.

[cyknight]

Sweet. Brass frames are sexy, I don't care what people say about them.

Thanks man! One was already finished, the other was as rough out of the mold as I've ever seen. Took a ton of work to smooth it out and get it polished. Looks nothing like it did when I got it. Sure is fun to shoot though!

[Junk Yard Dog]

The rough model was probably sold as a kit gun, the kits left some finishing work to be done, but you could still put the revolver together and shoot it without making it look nice. Nothing wrong with brass frame revolvers so long as you keep the loads on the lighter side, 22-25 grains of FFFG in a .44, a steady diet of heavy loads will cause the frame to take a battering and stretch out of shape, causing the revolver to become loose, and out of time. None of these brass frame models were "reb" revolvers in real life, the South did make some brass frame revolvers, but not copy's of Remington 1858's or Colt's, they are Italian creations for the US market.

[cyknight]

The rough model was probably sold as a kit gun, the kits left some finishing work to be done, but you could still put the revolver together and shoot it without making it look nice. Nothing wrong with brass frame revolvers so long as you keep the loads on the lighter side, 22-25 grains of FFFG in a .44, a steady diet of heavy loads will cause the frame to take a battering and stretch out of shape, causing the revolver to become loose, and out of time. None of these brass frame models were "reb" revolvers in real life, the South did make some brass frame revolvers, but not copy's of Remington 1858's or Colt's, they are Italian creations for the US market.

Quite right my friend! Both of mine were kit guns, nothing wrong with that, they shoot fine. It did take a lot of work to get the lighter gripped one to look good, but it was a labor of love. BTW, the manual for the FLLI. Pietta brass-frames states that the max. load is 14 grains of FFFG, so I usually shoot mine at either 12 or 13. Only did the max. load once. No problem with it, just didn't want to push things too far. The old long-toms are pretty accurate, and are a hoot to shoot.

[Junk Yard Dog]

14 grains would be the minimum load required for the ram to push the ball onto the powder and leave no gap, I have shot two Pietta brassers for many years, you are safe at 20 grains of real black powder, the subs are more powerful, another reason not to use them. You are safe at 25-30 grains also for now and then hunting rabbits or whatever, just not something to do all the time. The Pietta is a solid revolver, it's the ASM's and a few other small brands that had problems. I find that my Pietta brasser Colt .44's like 22 grains, they shoot very well with that load, but every revolver will have it's own sweet load, my Uberti '60 Army likes 30 grains, the Dragoon 45 grains. The manuals always give light loads so you learn to walk with them before you run, the originals were loaded by filling the chamber with powder leaving just enough space for the ball, that's if you didn't spend for the paper cartridges.

[cyknight]

14 grains would be the minimum load required for the ram to push the ball onto the powder and leave no gap, I have shot two Pietta brassers for many years, you are safe at 20 grains of real black powder, the subs are more powerful, another reason not to use them. You are safe at 25-30 grains also for now and then hunting rabbits or whatever, just not something to do all the time. The Pietta is a solid revolver, it's the ASM's and a few other small brands that had problems. I find that my Pietta brasser Colt .44's like 22 grains, they shoot very well with that load, but every revolver will have it's own sweet load, my Uberti '60 Army likes 30 grains, the Dragoon 45 grains. The manuals always give light loads so you learn to walk with them before you run, the originals were loaded by filling the chamber with powder leaving just enough space for the ball, that's if you didn't spend for the paper cartridges.

Thanks for that info. JYD! I have only used Goex, as that's what came with the shooting kit I bought. I don't shoot black powder much at all, but I'm leaning toward a little more often! Where's the best place to get "real black powder". And if you've used it, what would be the max. safe load of Goex behind a ball on a brass frame? Do you use patches between ball and powder, or just seat the ball onto the powder? My experience is fairly limited, so please elaborate if you would.

[Junk Yard Dog]

22 Grains would be all right in the brasser, I use a Wonder Wad under the ball to seal up the chamber to help prevent chain fires. With the Wonder Wad no lube is needed over the ball. Experiment with the charge, load some at 15, or 17, 20, and see if the shot groups tighten up on the target. As for Holy Black, I get mine, Goex, from Graf and sons. The law will allow you to order up to 50 pounds to your home without any license, but you can only use it for yourself, or pass it out to family members, you can not sell it. There is a Haz-Mat fee of $25 per shipment on top of ordinary shipping, the fee is the same if you buy one can or fifty, Grafs will let you mix powder brands, and grain sizes in the same load, but you can only ship BP with BP, no smokeless, no caps.
I have gone up to 30 grains in the brasser, I saw no improvement over 22 grains, the revolver will handle 30 grains, but a steady diet like that will cause it to shoot loose eventually

[Junk Yard Dog]

Forgot the link
http://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/cat ... oryId/3501

[cyknight]

22 Grains would be all right in the brasser, I use a Wonder Wad under the ball to seal up the chamber to help prevent chain fires. With the Wonder Wad no lube is needed over the ball. Experiment with the charge, load some at 15, or 17, 20, and see if the shot groups tighten up on the target. As for Holy Black, I get mine, Goex, from Graf and sons. The law will allow you to order up to 50 pounds to your home without any license, but you can only use it for yourself, or pass it out to family members, you can not sell it. There is a Haz-Mat fee of $25 per shipment on top of ordinary shipping, the fee is the same if you buy one can or fifty, Grafs will let you mix powder brands, and grain sizes in the same load, but you can only ship BP with BP, no smokeless, no caps.
I have gone up to 30 grains in the brasser, I saw no improvement over 22 grains, the revolver will handle 30 grains, but a steady diet like that will cause it to shoot loose eventually

I bet it would shoot loose over time! Thanks JYD for the info., again. When I get caught up on things a little bit, I'll drag out the Buffalo and do some playin'!