Would you be leery of a used BP revolver?

[bikertrash2001]

A good buddy of mine has a Pietta 1858 Remy 44 cal with the brass frame. It was given to him several years ago and he has no idea of it's past life. He gave it to me to look at and clean and I'm a little concerned about a few things. It definitely looks rode hard and put up wet. It has rust in the barrel and the cylinder bores. It's not crusty stalagmites or anything, but enough to leave a little pitting after cleaning. The action is still very smooth however. I have never owned any kind of revolver (I know, for shame) and I'm not sure about cylinder gap. When the gun is cocked or hammer down, the cylinder is locked up pretty good. When it in on half cock for loading, the cylinder has a fairly generous amount of play front to back. Is this normal or should you measure cylinder gap only when it's locked or hammer down?

 

Thanks

[Jonnin]

depends on the design how much wiggle is NORMAL when it is not "ready to fire".  The key is no wiggle when it is ready to fire, anything else, if it rotates properly when you hammer back and locks up to fire, its good to go.  Some designs, half cocked is between chambers on the cylinder, I think (??) so that may be another point to test.

 

Rust, well the last time I said some pitting was nothing to worry about the guy then posted a pic of a barrel eat clean through.  So the answer there is your gut feeling by observation.  If its pitted deep enough that you feel it could be unsound, then it probably is unsound.  if its just surface pitting, its just cosmetic and safe to fire. 

 

gas cutting is usually in magnum modern guns not so much in BP?  Not 100% sure on that, but I have mostly seen it in 357s and 44s.  Basically you can quite easily see that the metal is cut from hot gasses and that is a problem after a while.  And not an easily fixed problem.   A BP expert needs to chime in here but this, like the rust, should be something you can observe and make a common sense guess at.

 

If this is your "good buddy" why not borrow the gun and let a gunsmith check it out, usually you can get a quick thumbs up / thumbs down for either free or not much.  Cause it sounds like even if it is safe to shoot, it needs a little pro TLC.

Edited June 7, 2013 by Jonnin

[Guest tangojuliet]

i say use the british proofing method   :rofl:

[Garufa]

The thing is probably fine.  Gather some Pyrodex, balls, primers, crisco then load it up and shoot it.

 

Don't overthink it.

[roverboy]

I agree with Garufa on this. I've seen BP guns that had some rust/pitting and most will still shoot good as long as the pitting isn't really bad.

[bikertrash2001]

I believe that's what he 

 

The thing is probably fine.  Gather some Pyrodex, balls, primers, crisco then load it up and shoot it.

 

Don't overthink it.

 

I'm thinking that's kinda what he had in mind. I'll be the guinea pig. The rust really doesn't have a mechanical significance. I'll have to cruise Bass Pro tomorrow for powder and caps. He happened to have some balls. He had some pyrodex buts it's RS FFg. Don't I need FFFg?

 

Just measured the cylinder gap and it was .025.

 

Thanks Guys

Edited June 8, 2013 by bikertrash2001

[Mike.357]

some pitting in the cylinder and barrel is meaningless.   As long as the cylinder locks up you are GTG.

 

Try small loads, 15 grains or so and work it upwards until you get accuracy.

 

I have a steel framed '58 Pietta and it is a shooter.  I use 20 grains and have shot as much as 35 grains from it.  Use grits to get the ball closer to the edge of the cylinder and cover it with Crisco.  Fun as heck to shoot.

[Keyless]

I agree with several of the other . Some pitting shouldn't keep it from being safe to shoot as long as it is locking up properly.

 

You can also buy 45 long colt conversion cylinders for them from Midway . I keep thinking of ordering a cylinder for mine but never have. Not sure about using them in a brass frame .

[RichardR]

You should see the condition of my 1860 Colt Navy, she still shoots great though.

It started out looking brandnew when I built her from a CVA kit in the late 1980's, kept her looking like brandnew up until about 10 years ago when I decided to distress it out & make it look a bit more period (reenactor buddy talked me into it).

So I stripped all of the bluing, acid washed the shiny brass, quick rusted the steel, stripped off all of the finish & beat up the wood a bit.

I hated doing it because it was such an pretty looking reproduction piece, it just didn't look very authentic, I think she actually looks better now, not quite as purty but a lot of folks mistake her for an original instead of a reproduction now.

So yea I wouldn't hesitate to shoot it iffin the action was working & it still locked up good & wasn't rusted so much that it is "out of spec" so to speak, some surface pitting isn't going to hurt it at all.

[gregintenn]

From your description, I would laod and shoot it without fear.

 

You should use a finer powder than used in a rifle.

 

                                    http://www.pietta.us/pdf/Manuale_Avancarica_ENG.pdf

Here's the instructions.

 

I have one, and it's very accurate.

[Moped]

I agree with several of the other . Some pitting shouldn't keep it from being safe to shoot as long as it is locking up properly.

 

You can also buy 45 long colt conversion cylinders for them from Midway . I keep thinking of ordering a cylinder for mine but never have. Not sure about using them in a brass frame .

I'd love to have a conversion for my Pietta Remington '58!!!  I'd love to be able to shoot cowboy loads through it!!!

[QuietDan]

I agree with several of the other . Some pitting shouldn't keep it from being safe to shoot as long as it is locking up properly.

 

You can also buy 45 long colt conversion cylinders for them from Midway . I keep thinking of ordering a cylinder for mine but never have. Not sure about using them in a brass frame .

 

I purchased the 45 Colt conversion cylinder for my steel frame 1858 Pietta Remington. Awesome fun to shoot and a lot less to clean.

 

However, it explicitly states that it cannot be used in a brass frame pistol due to the pressures involved. Sorry for bearing bad news, but that's what it said.

[bikertrash2001]

Well, I tried it out and I still have all my fingers and nose. Glad I wear glasses though, got a little spit-back. I recon that's normal for the type? I was only using about 15g of Pyrodex and the ball set back quite a ways in the cylinder. Is it important to use filler to bring the ball up closer to the edge?

 

Thanks

[Garufa]

Is it important to use filler to bring the ball up closer to the edge?

 

Thanks

 

It's a good idea.  Cornmeal (or whatever course ground corn mix you have) is a popular favorite.

[bajabuc]

the operative word here is 'brass framed'  I've been looking on ebay...lots of Pietta brass frames...not so many steel.  There's a reason for that

[gregintenn]

It's a good idea.  Cornmeal (or whatever course ground corn mix you have) is a popular favorite.

I use pyrodex.

 

Been a while, but to the best of my recollection, the load called for in my instructions was level with the top of the cylinder. Mine is a steel frame however, so take it for what it is worth.

[Mike.357]

Greg i'd be curious how many grains you are using to get the ball to the edge of the cylinder.  I use a heap of cornmeal for filler.

 

Anyway getting the ball closer to the forcing cone will help reduce splatter and increase accuracy.

[gregintenn]

I just can't remember......neither can I remember where my instructions and box are. It did seem like a fairly stiff load, but it was scary accurate.

[Mike.357]

I put 30 grains in mine and still needed to top it off with grits.   No way am i filling it up and sticking a ball atop that much powder,  LOL

[bikertrash2001]

I put 30 grains in mine and still needed to top it off with grits.   No way am i filling it up and sticking a ball atop that much powder,  LOL

Are you using Pyrodex? I was only using a weighed 15g which was about 3 scoops of a .5cc Lee dipper. The weight vs. volume part of Pyrodex is a little confusing.

 

I sent the revolver back home to it's owner. If I were to get one, it would probably be steel. This poor little guy just had too many miles on it.

[ttocswob]

Are you using Pyrodex? I was only using a weighed 15g which was about 3 scoops of a .5cc Lee dipper. The weight vs. volume part of Pyrodex is a little confusing.

 

I sent the revolver back home to it's owner. If I were to get one, it would probably be steel. This poor little guy just had too many miles on it.

 

Pyrodex "P" weighs about 70% of an equivalent volume of FFFg black powder. Pyrodex RS varies only a little, and also works reasonably well in the .44

 

Your 15 grains by weight equals about 21.5 grains of black powder, a good safe load for even the brass framed Pietta.

 

A .38 special case filled to level is about 24 grains and works well for me.

 

 

Steel is the best way to go if you're spending any money. I got my Pietta cheap, but it's down and out right now with a broken loading ram screw. Balls cast to hard or something.

[Guest TnRebel]

I use 30 grn. of BLACK POWDER FFFgrn.  and cream of wheat as a filler ( makes for better smoke ) and if you get a clean ring of lead after seating the ball I don't use crisco for the brass frame I don't recommend more the 20 grns of black powder . 

[Timestepper]

Lots of good advice here and I'll agree with everyone else on brass vs. steel frame. (Shoot it, but keep the loads light.)

 

Since I hunt with my '58 Remington Buffalo (14"bbl), I use 35 grains fffG Goex and forgo the cornmeal, cream of wheat, etc... and use a pre-lubed felt wad. In a bad pinch you can also use a small chunk of <paper> wasp nest lubed with any number of oils and/or greases, both natural & synthetic. (Either way, it's no where near as messy or time consuming as Crisco.)