[Mausermike]

I spent 2.5 hours at the range today with my "new" Pietta Navy in .36. I was pretty impressed: off the bench I was hitting clay targets out at 50 yds and change. Also, it seems to be sighted to shoot much lower at 25 yds than many of these are said to regulated for: just an inch or two. I put over 50 rds downrange, no sign of the gun quitting on me.

With the swaged Hornady .375 balls I was getting a nice little ring of lead shearing off each chamber. I'm relieved I don't need harder to find balls for it.

Question: I had quite a few failures to set my caps off. They always went off on the 2nd hit. The CCI #11 magnums I have are definitely too big for the nipples, so I was pinching them off. They were tending to get jammed up in the back cylinder/hammer area too.

Will it make a big difference if I change to #10s?

[Rachen]

Colt 1851 Navy Test Drive

Cool, do they offer it at my nearest Volkswagen dealer?:D


I think your issue with the caps is two things.

1. The caps you are using is too insensitive. The CCI ones have a reputation for being the hardest ones to get to reliably ignite. The Remington ones are a tad better. It will not make a difference if you want to swtich to number 10 caps or not. I would suggest you change the brand of caps you are using.
I use the German ones, and they never, ever fail me. Try some. Dixie has them in their catalog. They are really good. They are sensitive, and they burn real hot too, the best solution for igniting potential problem loads. To me, the German ones resemble the 19th Century caps the closest.

2. This would be very unlikely, that you may have a slightly weak mainspring. However, I would advise not to do anything with the gun itself until you have tried the different caps. If that fails, I guess you can then look for a replacement spring. However, try my cap suggestion first.

[Mausermike]

That would stink if I had a weak spring on a new gun.

I think I can get Remingtons locally, but the Dixie isn't an option - shipping hazmat across the border to Canada, unlikely. Your German caps, are they RWS?

[Rachen]

That would stink if I had a weak spring on a new gun.

I think I can get Remingtons locally, but the Dixie isn't an option - shipping hazmat across the border to Canada, unlikely. Your German caps, are they RWS?

Yes, they are RWS, made by Dynamit Nobel, certainly the best I ever used.

Regarding the Canada and Hazmat thing, give Dixie a call. They will be able to tell you about their procedures.

Of course, it would be the best if you can get RWS at your nearest location.

[Dorryn]

I could have created a new thread, but since its relevant to my own Colt 1851 Navy, I figured id just ask on this thread.

I inherited this gun from my grandfather, and have occasionally shot it. Its my wife's favorite pistol because of the low recoil, and frankly, she just has a blast loading it. When I got it, it came with a large supply of lead ball, as well as some .36 cal minie ball. I dont know where my grandfather got these, if he cast them himself or purchased them somewhere.

Anyone know where I can get more? Or does nobody sell .36 minie ball anymore/ever?

[StrawHat]

it came with a large supply of lead ball, as well as some .36 cal minie ball.

Minie as in hollow based bullet? Or as in conical bullet?

I have not seen a hollow based bullet for the 36 C&B but I have a Lyman and a Lee mold for the 36 conical.

Check out the bullet molds from those two manufacturers.

[Dorryn]

http://www.horsesoldier.com/catalog/r11525.JPEG

Same shape as these only in .36 cal.

I think I might even have the mold somewhere... but I dont cast and dont have the time/money/inclination to learn, so id prefer to purchase them if i can find them anywhere. If not, ill have to stick to ball.

[Bad Flynch]

Well, let's look at your cap problem.

There is a critical dimension: the hammer should fall on a properly seated cap, without crushing the nipple. Improperly seated caps are often the cause of misfires, because the first hammer fall simply seats the cap properly. You can eliminate this by rotating the cylinder and using the hammer to seat the caps. It is a little risky, because if you drop the hammer accidentally, the gun might fire (so keep the muzzle pointed down range while doing this). I regularly seat my caps that way, to make sure that the cap actually rests firmly on the nipple. Gentle is a good word here.

The wedge holds the barrel on and to a certain extent, the dimension between the breech face and the back end of the barrel is governed by wedge tension. If you don't have the wedge in far enuff, the cylinder will actually move back and forthe enuff to allow the hammer falls to strike the caps too lightly to set them off. Make sure that the wedge is in properly and, when in properly, that there is no fore-and-aft movement of the cylinder--at least not very much at all.

Now, on to other.

Conical bullets were common in days past, but not all conicals were Minié bullets. Shoot them if you like them. Typically, they weigh "about" what two regular lead balls of the same caliber would weigh.

As far as caps go--you only need magnum caps in a revolver if you are going to shoot Pyrodex, or one of those other faux powders. Real Black is very easy to light off. Many modern day caps are hotter than their predecessors because of the faux powders. Hot caps blow back more and foul the gun with cap crap more than do regular caps. Heavy loads tend to do the same, so maybe tone down your loads. Yes, RWS caps are very good. Large caps, like #11, that must be squeezed to fit a revolver can add to your misfire problem, so use #10s if they fit properly. Caps that are too small are a problem, too, and not all brands are the same for a given cap size, even though they bear the same number.