1851 Navy & beginner

Mizar said:

Rodwha, if I remember correctly, a Belgian company made those Colt branded replicas - Centaure models, made in Fabriques d’Armes Unies de Liège.

Click to expand...

From what little I've read on forums it was Uberti that made the guns for Colt.

Mizar, seems that you know a lot about tools

Click to expand...

I'm afraid it's quite the contrary actually...
You can use almost any common hex-head bit handle, because those bits are the most widespread size - 1/4".

1861 said:

I'm not trying that. I'm just curious, what would only a few grains of powder do, what would be the final result.

Click to expand...

Well, as I mentioned if you go too low and use filler you risk there not being enough pressure to push the ball out the barrel. There's quite a lot of friction when the ball enters and moves down the barrel. If the charge is too small the pressure that leaks out the cylinder gap will leave too little to do the job.

If you use that small an amount with no filler and a large air gap created by the rammer not being able to seat the ball deep enough then there will be more of a sudden "explosion" when the powder burns. The peak pressure generated before the ball can begin to move and make the chamber larger will rely on how much powder you use and the volume created by the ball position. Better to not try.

If you're going for LESS powder than between 10 to 12 grains then work DOWN in increments and if at all in doubt pull the wedge and check the barrel for stuck balls. Really though there should not be any need to go for less than 8 to 10gns with a suitable amount of filler added over the powder. I can't see the gun being more accurate with less than this range. And frankly with anything less than 8 I'd start to worry about the ball making it out the barrel each and every time. But there may be some rise in short distance accuracy with as little as 8gns. But the grin factor shooting with that small a charge will certainly go down. Less smoke, noise and kick. But if it turns out to be more accurate at that charge then perhaps the targets will make you smile as compensation.

The maximum charge will be limited by how much you can put in and still seat the ball so that the nose of the ball is at or slightly below the front face of the chamber. I'm guessing that this will max out at around the 20 to 24 grains point give or take a few..

That's a great pair of fine replicas. You're well on your way towards a collection of iconic handguns from the old west. Every so often I think about getting a Schofield to add to my own collection.

You considering moving on to the rifles in the future as well? And I guess my next question is when will you be adding the 1858 Remington New Model Army to your collection?

1861;

You are obviously very well organized, methodical, and I suspect a bit fussy about messes. It's going to be fun hearing how you react to getting yourself and your gun all sooty and dirty with black powder fouling!!

That should do the job fine. But if you want to be on the safe side, measure the bits hex heads with a caliper - they should be 6,3 mm (1/4").

A simple fix you could try is to screw or silver-solder a piece of brass onto the base of the grip then glue pieces of wood to cover, This would not only extend the grip. it will improve the gun's overall balance.

J-Bar said:

1861;

You are obviously very well organized, methodical, and I suspect a bit fussy about messes. It's going to be fun hearing how you react to getting yourself and your gun all sooty and dirty with black powder fouling!!

Click to expand...

On that note, I'd recommend bringing a rag along with you in the gun case to the range. BP guns get covered in fouling. Don't want to mess up that pretty case.

1861 - maybe you already answered this, do you have a formal range that you can shoot at or land in the country?

1861 said:

I can't import gun parts from America. I CAN'T import them from ANY country in the world EXCEPT from FRANCE. France has the most liberal gun laws regarding the black powder firearms. The only difference between buying a black powder gun in France and buying a bread and milk in France, is that you have to show (with any document) that you're at least 18 years old when buying a black powder gun. I ordered the 1851 Navy online from France almost like I order CDs all the time from any country. It came in 6 days, my postman delivered it to my door. Viva la France.

But THANKS Crawdad1, that will be helpful, I'll try to find those same parts here in Europe or maybe contact those US webshops anyway

Click to expand...

Hello, can you give a link to this web shop.

Bengt

Might also want to include some heavy duty soap. I keep a small refillable bottle of orange goop in my shooting box.

I wouldn't use less than 12 grains of powder in the .36. I tried 10 grains in my .36 and the ball wouldn't even reach 50 feet.

Kaeto said:

I wouldn't use less than 12 grains of powder in the .36. I tried 10 grains in my .36 and the ball wouldn't even reach 50 feet.

Click to expand...

Well, there we go. I shoot .44Cal balls so I wasn't sure. Good to read a solid report on the load issue.

It's the nature of these guns to soot up. Part of the fun in fact. Instead of fussing with cleaning at the range simply wrap the sooty gun in a light cloth such as an old (or new since "we" are so fussy ) to protect the lining of the case from the fouling until you get it home and clean the gun properly.

On the cleaning side of things I don't recall if I mentioned it before so I'll type it again. The water you wash the gun parts in wants to be warm but not overly hot. I found that with super hot water that if the parts are left in it for more than a quick dunk that some slight flash rusting could occur. So now I clean only one part at a time and only make the water warm enough to be like a pleasant dip in the tub. Some dish or laundry detergent in the water is there to aid with cutting through the oil. It's not needed for the fouling itself. But the oil needs to be cleaned away as well since it will have fouling mixed in it. So warm soapy water.

The screwdriver kits you've purchased have very few flat blade tips. And I suspect that you will find that they don't really fit any of the screws on the gun other than by good luck. That is why I was suggesting the Wheeler or similar gunsmithing kit which would be primarily made up with flat blade tips in a wide variety of sizes and ready to use. The Bosch kit will come in handy for other uses but when I look at the picture I only see four flat driver tips. And likely you'll find that you need to dress them down to suit the screws of your gun.

The other kit with the handle looks like it has a couple of more tips. But it's still got way more other styles. It's not a bad kit but such kits are pretty easy to find. Not so with the kits that are mostly flat blade tips in a variety of widths and thicknesses.

If you're willing to do the work and have the skills you can re-grind flat or other shape screw drivers to suit. But what you want is a fairly small diameter to form the hollow ground shape that we want. And that takes a light touch and skill to achieve the proper final shape and not overheat and anneal the tip of the driver by too much. So again I'd strongly suggest that a proper GUNSMITHING screw driver kit is the way to go.