1863 Remington Pocket Army

Well, I have two, a blued steel frame Pietta version and a brass frame one made a long time ago by Armi San Marco.
"Are they worth the $300 ....." Well, this is a subjective question. Due to the fact our dollar is worth 1/3 less than it was just three or four years ago, all theses Italian made guns now cost us more. The small .31 caliber guns are as well made as any of their larger counterparts, but will be a little trickier to handle due to their smaller size. They may not be as accurate.
Remember they were intended as pocket pistols. For defense purposes, close up.
So if you're willing to pay that $$$ for a Colt 1851 and like the idea of the smaller .31, then I'd say yes it's worth it, keeping the above in mind.
Only you can really decide if $300.00 is too much to pay for a BP revolver in the final analysis though.

I too have been wanting one of those .31 caliber Remmys. If I do decide I NEED one, then I probably will get the brass framed version that Dixie Gun Works sells. It's only $200, but then again I'm kind of a cheapskate.

Part of what attracts me to those is the fact that I can have something larger caliber than my .22s, but still small enough to load with 2 grains of Triple Seven or Pyrodex to shoot indoors. That would be a pretty nice little snake gun for when I go fishing, I could just stick it in my pocket and go.

On Thursday I shot my NAA .22 Magnum at 100 yards at a bad-guy silhouette, I hit maybe twice out of five shots, that's pretty good! I know that the bullets I was using tend to keyhole at longer ranges, and they did. I just think that a .31 Remmy would be similar to shoot, I think they are a tad bigger and they might be easier to aim at those ranges. Not to mention it's got a longer barrel than the NAA, instead of having a 1 5/8ths barrel isn't it something like 3 1/2 inches?

I'm also considering getting a .36 Remington for hunting squirrels and rabbits, that might be fun! Maybe I should take my city-slicker dad along, you should have seen the face he made when I told him you can eat rabbit! He's still getting used to the idea of hunting, but I think after a few trips he will want to come along with!

~Levi

If you get one.... go steel frame. Either Kirst or R&D make a 32 cal conversion cylinder, so you can double your fun from the little gun.

Just to add to the ideas, if you like the Colts, there are replicas of the Colts Pocket revolvers available. In 31, there are the various Baby Dragoons and Wells Fargo models. And the same pocket sized frame is available in 36 caliber as the Pocket Police or the Pocket Navy. In 36, they were 5 shots originally. [Someone makes what they call a pocket police but it is 6 shot and merely a short barreled 1861.] If you like the look of the Colt, these are the way to go. The Colts also have a proper trigger guard on them.

I recently bought a brass frame Pietta '63 used from a THR member. I am happy with the gun and the deal as are my kids. If anything it appears smaller than a Ruger Bearcat. It has not be a match pistol for me being minute of 6 gallon bucket at seven yards, but I am using single aught buck for bullets and bore butter for lube and loading off the gun with a mallet then snugging up with the rammer when the cylinder is back in the gun. This is to reduce stress on the rammer which is reportedly the weak link in this system.

As to the Pietta interpetation my only dissapointment is that the safety knotches on the cylinder are wholly cosmetic and the hammer does not in anyway engage them when lowered between nipples. I am cosidering tryig to extend one knotch to see if I can get engagement but am reluctant to do so as there just isnot a whole lot of room to do so and I fear that making the cut might incress the chances of a chain fire as it might reduce the web between chambers and nipples.

I carried it to church a few weeks back in an interior coat pocket(not loaded) to show someone, but he was not there and no one seemed to notice the little booger.

This month and the next two months' play money will within the hour go to my truck mechanic so nothing new in BP for a while so I will play with the new to me Remmie some more. Oh and I could find no ".31cal" revolver ball (.323 or so) locally and that is why I am using Single aught Buck, I had to buy a box of 3 inch 12 gauge shells to salvage for what I got so it is sort of expensive to shoot at the moment.....but fun. I recently found I can cut perfect "shirt board" wads using a fired 8mm Mauser case as a punch and plan to try the same on some wool felt if I can find some locally.

I am letting the Brass frame tarnish as I like it like that.

I finally got my decent camera back on line....just intime for the hard drive to fail on the machine that will take its memory chips. SOmeday.......

-kBob

Straw Hat,

Last week I was emailing another old f...feller and discussing the 62 Police and dang if he hasn't ordered one from Dixie. The same Uberti Mike (Duelist1954) reviewed on You Tube. I am awaiting ether his cursing at me or thanking me for talking him into it. His only other BP revolver isan 1860 Army so this is to be a little sister. I think it was meantioning the small size and my kids as he has kids about the same age. After I am through making up the money I lost on truck repairs today I am starting to think I should get serious about something on the Baby Dragoon Frame.....although a brass '49 is more in my price range than a new Uberti 62!

An insurance agent frind has a '49 in a shadow box in his office..1864 production and seems functional. A customer just gave it to him. Before he boxed it I examined it and the timing was good and it looked good, but he has said he will not fire it. I also offered him three times what he paid for it, but he quickly figured out that three time nuthin' is still nuthin'. Dang them insurence agents are familure with math!

-kBob

kBob ...Straw Hat,

Last week I was emailing another old f...feller and discussing the 62 Police and dang if he hasn't ordered one from Dixie. The same Uberti Mike (Duelist1954) reviewed on You Tube. I am awaiting ether his cursing at me or thanking me for talking him into it. His only other BP revolver isan 1860 Army so this is to be a little sister. I think it was meantioning the small size and my kids as he has kids about the same age. After I am through making up the money I lost on truck repairs today I am starting to think I should get serious about something on the Baby Dragoon Frame.....although a brass '49 is more in my price range than a new Uberti 62! -kBob

Click to expand...

It is easy to see the relationship between the 1862 and the 1860.



As for the caps sticking, there are ways to deal with that and it should be dealt with. Liffe is too short to have to deal with that frustration. The old revovlers were not prone to it and neither should the new ones.

kBob ...An insurance agent frind has a '49 in a shadow box in his office..1864 production and seems functional. A customer just gave it to him. Before he boxed it I examined it and the timing was good and it looked good, but he has said he will not fire it. I also offered him three times what he paid for it, but he quickly figured out that three time nuthin' is still nuthin'. Dang them insurence agents are familure with math!

-kBob

Click to expand...

Maybe just buy a new one and offer to trade him for it?

Hey Dan,

That little Remington sure is a pocket model, but it ain't no Army! Army models are in .44 caliber.
Cabelas doesn't call it an Army model either....
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Shoo...=SBC;MMcat104792580;cat104701680;cat104503680

Straw Hat,

Guy he spoke to at Dixie encouraged him to use Remington #10s unfortunately all he can find are CCI in his part of Montana.

I meantioned filling the safety notch in the hammer to him or the verticle pin trick. I also meantioned just pointing skyward before you thumb that sucker back.

He is a real modern military/ class III kinda guy so getting him to go black is an acheivemnt in itself.

DO you recall who posted those measurement comparisons of caps last year or so or what they were under? I am just not good with the THR search function.

-kBob

See reply #32 in the thread below by Makos, a.k.a. Makos_Goods on THR:

http://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index.php/topic,35422.25.html

No problem Dan. It's still a bad-ass little revolver. I just didn't want anyone getting the impression it was in .44.

articap,

Thanks, just what I needed.

BTW I just had a Bearcat out with a Remmie63 and the 63 is significantly smaller.


-kBob

LOL, just found this thread pining for mine to arrive from Dixie. I went with the steel framed one although my heart wanted the brass frame. More for the looks than the thirty dollar savings. I did not even bother with a holster. If it doesn't fit in my old 'convertible' JayPee J frame high ride admin holster then we'll find a bandanna to make a pocket fold for it.
My little Pietta likely won't arrive today. But as a kindness to our mailman we watch out for him when a package might arrive as it lets him stay in his little wrong side of the road buggy...
I'm excited about mine as a kit gun and companion piece for my belt revolvers ( Pietta 1858, 1851, and 1860).
I had thought about it too, I could have a Uberti Remington Navy, or the Pietta 1858 Navy for this money. There was also the Colt Pocket, Colt Walker, Various Dragoons, and 1861 and 1862 models.
At the end of the day, I went with the Steel frame and vowed to collect the other two variants in time. Small and practical seemed to rule the day, and I pulled the trigger on mine last Friday morning.
So waiting for the sound of the mail truck I sit

With 3F powder the balls bounce off the steel frames of the target and come flying back at us. With 4F powder, the guns are quite effective at doin' what they did as in the old days.

I will check out some 4f powder. My girl, Dreama Sue, arrived today. Have to say after handling it a bit, cleaning it up and loading four it is definitely worth the money.

The first 1863 I got from Dixie had casting flaws in the frame. I called and sent it back. A new one arrived shortly .. good people at Dixie. however, I can't say the same about the inspectors at Pietta for not catching such an obvious flaw.

As far as the gun is concerned, it is great. No issues whatsoever in functioning. I also got a conversion cylinder and some Starline cases. What a hoot!

so how much powder does the 63 Remington in 4f real black use??

I don't use 4F in mine; I save it for my flintlock priming. I used 15 gr. of 3F.

What was advertised as a 12 grain spout actually dispenses by volume 9 grains of 4F Olde Eynsford if memory serves. No room for a wad either so we grease over the balls on our Palmetto version.

swathdriver do you use a oversize ball to help seal the chamber and what size?

How much meat is there between chambers?

One thing I've read is that these have incredibly small chambers compared to the bore. Is there enough meat to ream the chambers to get close enough to bore?

Something I also noticed was oversized balls did a much better job in one instance:

http://poconoshooting.com/blackpowderballistics.html

Maybe the additional bearing surface gave more for obturation? If so I wonder how reaming the chambers any amount would do.

Does Olde E make a 4F variant? I've only bought from Grafs and they don't list it.