1858 and 1860 Balls - Pietta

I use .457" Hornady swaged balls in my Pietta Colts. They are a bit harder to load but I load off gun with a press so it doesn't matter. They fit tight and shoot well.

I finally got a ruger old army and it uses .457 balls so i bought a box just so i could shoot it a few times.

One of my colts i reamed the chamber on and for the first time i shot .457 balls in it and it was the best ive ever shot with a colt so far.

I then put .451 balls in a brass remmie ive been shooting .454s in and it shot better then i thought it would as well.

Ill have to say your just going to have to try all 3 and see wich it likes i guess.

I dont understand why the .451 shot better then the .454s but so far it seems it did.

I also use .457.

I use .454 in them and .457 in the ROA and .380 in my 36s.

I use .454 in all the Piettas. .457 in my Uberti Walker. That being said I'd just buy a couple of different sizes and experiment a bit...

I use .454 in them and .457 in the ROA

Click to expand...

Ditto. I don't shoot swaged, cast my own.

I use 454 balls in a Pietta, especially if they are Hornady, which don't seem to be as round as Speer balls. .457 work well in an Uberti, as a 454 will sometimes pull out with the rammer. Both brands work better in 36 with 380 balls.

That being said I'd just buy a couple of different sizes and experiment a bit...

Click to expand...

That's what I did a year or so ago and I'm still experimenting with my 1860 Army. A great way to spend days on end at the range and a cheap way also. It's even better when you hit her 'sweet' spot and start plastering things. Some, not all, but some hit that 'sweet' spot right away.

Good luck!!!

balls

well best thing is to shoot it and see what it likes best.
Measure the cylinder chamber.
Find the dimension. Slug the barrel
.451 might be just right. or .454
Unless the gun is badly oversizr from the factory no need to use .457.
Regardless what the barrel is, you ar going to dhave and swage that projectile down to whatever the cylinder is anyway.
You don't need an exessively tight pressure fit anyway.
On average depending on powder etc.
Assume roughly 900-950fps muzzle velocity.
Most round balls are going to weigh approx 140 graines after loading.
Your ft # of energy at the muzzle will be about 205 to 210
If you jump up to a 195 gr conical about 350
Too lazy to run the figures again.
General plinking and paper punching and small game more than enough
oomph

I have four Piettas in 44 caliber. They all do best with .454 balls. The smaller 451 size is okay but not as accurate. The ROAs definitely call for .457.

.457 Hornadys shave the proper lead ring in my Piettas. I haven't tried .454s yet.

1KPerDay said:

.457 Hornadys shave the proper lead ring in my Piettas. I haven't tried .454s yet.

Click to expand...

The .454's shave the lead ring in my Piettas as well. My personal experience is that I tend to shoot better with the .454's compared to the .457's.

Cool, thanks.

+1 for the .454 in the Pietta.
Shaves a nice ring off when seating and is extremely secure.
Accuracy is good too.

I do exactly the same as smokin joe does

I use .454 hand cast balls in both my 1858 Remingtons (Pietta's) as well as my Colt 1860's (Pietta's). both shave that little ring off and both are more accurate than I am. I've tried the Ruger, however, I never much cared for it, and sold it after less than a year, it also used the .454 hand cast balls, and was very accurate, but just didn't seem to be time period accurate enough for me.

Smokin'Joe said:

I use .457" Hornady swaged balls in my Pietta Colts. They are a bit harder to load but I load off gun with a press so it doesn't matter. They fit tight and shoot well.

Click to expand...

I load with a press and use .457's as well....

I have used .454s in my ROA, and it shot well; maybe the recoil was reduced a little, but I wouldn't swear to that. I've used 457s in my various other revolvers, and they shot at least as well as with .454s, though they load a little more stiffly. If I had a brass-framed revolver, i that might make me shy away from the larger balls. It's good to know that if all I have on hand are .454 or .457 balls, I can feed all my percussion .44s effectively.

Does anyone here have a link to a 'smith who can ream the chambers in my Italian revolvers to the same dimensions as those in my ROA?

round ball

you could also put a thicker pad of lube on ball. that will tighten them up.