1860 army

[TheRodDoc]

Bought a 1860 yesterday at a local gun store. It is new in unopened box but has been sitting in his shop for awhile he said. $210.00 plus he gave me a box of 100 balls and one tin of rem #10 caps to go with it.

I was wondering about getting a shoulder stock for it. Does any one use one much? Is it worth buying one? Do they mark up the gun anywhere much when using it? And where to get one at good price.

Was also trying to figure out what year the gun was made. Only serial numbers on it. Uberti (A62xxx) And some small proof marks on barrel.
44 cal. for black powder only - uberti Under loading lever.

View attachment 134356

 

[WALKERs210]

Look for a square with two letters inside. The two letters will give the date from a chart somewhere here on THR.

 

[mykeal]

Italian black powder guns are marked as to the year they were proof tested. The date mark is a two letter code inside a square:

The square was not used on early guns, before 1975.
This is the decoder ring:

 

[TheRodDoc]

I found it. CB It can bairly be seen. very lightly stamped. had yo use a magnifying glass.

2007 Thanks

 

[rcflint]

stock

I have shoulder stocks for the 1860, 1861 and Remington. Mounted and shot them, it was fun, it is quite different, and they are pretty accurate. The stocks are lying in a cabinet, as there is no use for them in Cowboy Action Shooting. They look cool and I will hang on to them, but will rarely use them, I'm sure. They can mark the grips if the grips are too fat, but they don't mark the steel parts as the furniture is brass.

 

[TheRodDoc]

Thanks on the stock info.

Sounds like one might be fun to try. I have never used one. I suppose it would have to be one made by Uberti to fit the gun right.

 

[StrawHat]

I had one for an 1860 and found the point of impact changed when I used the stock. Enough to make me quit using it. Others report no difference. You might have better results.

 

[TheRodDoc]

Strawhat,

I guess that does make sense. Since the barrel wouldn't be recoiling up like if hand held.

I am noticing that they are a little hard to come by. The stocks made by Pietta are made to fit 3 or four screw models. they don't need to use the 4th screw at all. They seem to go over the 4th screw.

Finding a true colt style seems to be slim pickens. Uberti doesn't list one separate that i have found.
Found some pictures of originals and they were made with steel hardware. I might have to try making my own.

 

[madcratebuilder]

I was wondering about getting a shoulder stock for it. Does any one use one much? Is it worth buying one? Do they mark up the gun anywhere much when using it? And where to get one at good price.

Shoulder stocks are some what impractical. They can make a big improvement on the shooters accuracy. Pay attention to off hand placement and wear shooting glasses.

I recently added a 51 navy stock to this collection.

 

[arcticap]

If you notice the 2nd gun down in the photo, that stock design doesn't seem to require [much of] any metal hardware. It looks like it's made from just plain wood. If building something similar to that out of wood works, it would be much less complicated and costly to build since only woodworking skills are needed.
Try to work out incorporating the grip frame into the design if possible.

 

[rcflint]

Brass is much easier to cast and machine, regardless of what some originals were made of. True, there are enough dimentional differences between Pietta and Uberti to make the fitting difficult, or at least neceswsary. The Remington works with an extended hammer pivot screw, much as the skeleton framed Colt stock for the SAA.

Absolutely need to wear shooting glasses, and even a bandana face mask to protect your cheeks from cap fragments. The blowback is centered and close to your eyes, where a typical sidelock rifle throws the debris off to the right.

They are fun, and worth style points, even as a wall hanger.

You could rebuild a pistol barrel with a longer tube as a reline to make a carbine on a Colt's pattern. A Remington could do with a replacement barrerl from the carbine.

 

[TheRodDoc]

Do you think a longer stock that moves the revolver ahead closer to where it would be in hand shooting would work? Getting it away from your face.

I was sitting here holding the gun at arms lenght trying to visulize what it would look like and if it would be usable.

I think I would like one that detaches without tools.
It is no problem for me to make the original type steel hardware for that is what i do for a living. Shape steel to any shape you can think of using hammers and stakes and such.

 

[arcticap]

Here's another example of a conversion butt stock without much of any noticeable metal hardware. I don't know if it can easily interchange with the original pistol grip or not. There have been photos of other similar buttstocks posted here before but they aren't very easy to locate.
I'm only posting it for ha ha's anyway, since I don't even know how it's built or how hard or easy it is to fabricate compared to one with metal hardware.
But with this particular example, it appears that the grip frame is still wholly intact and attached to the [Walker] frame.

 

[TheRodDoc]

I started on my stock tonight. Got a couple parts cut out and one shaped roughly. It will be made in parts and tig welded together. welds will be finished smooth and invisible. Just making it to fit gun and me. No copy of any.

View attachment 134558

 

[BCRider]

You're obviously from a rifle shooting background moreso than a handgun shooting background. Otherwise your enthusiasm for a stock would not be so high. But hey, it takes lots of different folks to make the world an interesting place.

The key to using the gun with a shoulder stock is to resist the urge to put your support hand up in front of the cylinder gap like you would with a regular rifle. Doing so can only lead to some injury to your wrist. Although I've noticed that there were leather wrist bracers that some cowboys wore for whatever reason. A similar thick and hard leather bracer would be enough "armor" to avoid a wrist injury from the cylinder gap ejecta.

As for me I enjoy shooting them as handguns too much to worry about chasing down a shoulder stock.

 

[BHP FAN]

I love the look of a stocked revolver and have had at least five or six over the years, but they are all too short, putting your eyes and face at risk. Got rid of my last one when my brother had to dig a lead half ring out from just under my eye with my Leatherman pliers at the range.Good thing I was wearing glasses.

 

[TheRodDoc]

I like to shoot both rifle and hand gun. As far as handgun goes, I'm a pretty fair shot with one.
Been shooting them for 43 years. Just wanted a stock to play with and now the challenge of building my own. It will be longer. Gun almost in its normal position away from my face.

 

[madcratebuilder]

Nice work roddoc, I'm sure you well like the end results. I have several friends that always bug me to take them shooting with that "shoulder stock thing that smokes so much"

You should build one for the Walker/Dragoon frame, there is a market for that.

 

[1KPerDay]

That's cool, doc. Keep us informed as it progresses.

 

[BHP FAN]

nice...are you going to use the J bolt?