1851 A.S.M. Confederate Navy

[txapacheguy]

While back in Texas over Christmas, I happened upon this pistol in a local gun shop and bought it before I did my homework... It has been neglected a bit, but I have been wanting a .36 caliber pistol in this model to add to my collection and this one had too much character to pass up. After a quick Google search, I figured out who made this gun, and that the company A.S.M., or Armi/Army San Marco is no longer in business. I am curious what this gun is worth, and if any of you guys have experience with this brand of pistol or knowledge of a source of replacement parts for it. Thanks in advance!!!

 

[scrat]

$100-150 depending on wear. would have to have you take off the cylinder see the back end of the revolver. then the arbor shaft plays an important part. gap has to be pretty good. the brass frames tend to stretch over time. so it all has to be checked. a new pietta in a .44 can be purchased now a days from cabelas for around 150 when they are on sale. i bought one a few years ago before xmas. they always have killer deals i got mine for around 150.00 with shipping included. the problem with ASM now a days is parts. only place that sells them is Deer Creek products and they are pretty hard to get a hold of most of the time. if your planning on shooting it i would get a set of internal parts and hone them down so that you have redily available replacement parts on hand. one of my favorite guns though. just love the 1851.

 

[scrat]

here are a couple of mine
Pietta 1851

ASM 1851

 

[scrat]

Deer Creek Products phone number 765 525 6181

 

[txapacheguy]

Thanks for the info. I have two of the Cabela's '51 Confederate Navy models in .44 caliber, and agree that you cannot beat their deals. I took the A.S.M. pistol apart this evening and determined that the hand spring is broken. It was replaced with a coiled spring through one of the holes at the back of the pistol where the frame screws on... I will check with Deer Creek tomorrow to look for a replacement, but I am hoping that a Pietta part will fit it. I am probably going to break down one of my Piettas today or tomorrow and check for compatibility between the two.

 

[scrat]

Thats what i was afraid of. You need to get a set. i bought a set for all of my revolvers. they come a tad bigger. So you need to hone them down. What i did was get the handspring. hone it down till it matches the original. Then try it in the gun and modify it until it works the same. then do the same with the bolt and everything else. until you are able to put in all the new parts in the gun and use them. then i put the new parts in a jar with a label of what gun they fit. so if a part breaks i have an exact replacement ready to go. if you dont do this then when and if a part breaks it will be a bit harder to match a broken part. i would also try the pietta if it works your lucky otherwise you may have to get a replacement and fit it to the gun. I would buy two for sure so once you get one of them just right make the other one to match it.

 

[txapacheguy]

I will probably do exactly what you are suggesting, both for the A.S.M., and for the Piettas. The hand from the Pietta will fit into the A.S.M., but is too long for the gun to function. It has the correct dimensions of width, thickness, and the lug that inserts into the hammer. I will probably get a few Pietta parts for it and modify them if I can't find an A.S.M. replacement... Thanks again for the info and advice!!!

 

[wobble]

Check Dixie Gun Works for parts for your relica gun. They seem to have stuff that others don't have.

 

[Hellgate]

The ASM Navies have the original SAA shaped grips. The Piettas have a way different grip with more flare at th bottom that causes me to hold high. The ASM is a natural pointer.

 

[madcratebuilder]

You can buy just the spring for the hand. You can make a spring from an old feeler gauge. You can drill a hole in the back of the frame and use a Ruger spring and plunger to keep tension on the hand. That mod eliminates ever having a hand spring break on you.

I haven't tried swapping parts between a ASM and Uberti with the holster frame Colts, but on the large frame Dragoons the small parts are very close and take a minimal amount of hand fitting.

 

[txapacheguy]

You can buy just the spring for the hand. You can make a spring from an old feeler gauge. You can drill a hole in the back of the frame and use a Ruger spring and plunger to keep tension on the hand. That mod eliminates ever having a hand spring break on you.

The pistol in question has had just that mod done on it. I think the mod was done poorly, and is causing the pistol to function poorly. I am going to try to do it right with a replacement hand and spring. If that does not work, I will go back to the coiled spring that is inserted through the frame currently. The prospect of replacing just the spring on the hand intrigues me though. How would one go about that???

 

[Hellgate]

I replaced the hand spring on my ASM '51 Navy 44 with a section of bobby pin. It is spring steel and actually an improvement on the wimpy original springs. I flared the crimp with a chisel and shaped the bobby pin portion and peened the metal back down to hole the new spring in place. So far, so good after about 3 two day annual matches.

 

[Tommygunn]

I once made a hand spring from metal I cut from a soda can.

Hey, it worked.

It was also colorful ... for a handspring.

 

[madcratebuilder]

The pistol in question has had just that mod done on it. I think the mod was done poorly, and is causing the pistol to function poorly. I am going to try to do it right with a replacement hand and spring. If that does not work, I will go back to the coiled spring that is inserted through the frame currently. The prospect of replacing just the spring on the hand intrigues me though. How would one go about that???

Did the revolver have a Ruger coil spring and plunger or did some one use a generic coil spring? You may need to shorten the coil spring to reduce pressure on the hand.

Use a hand slot stone to polish the hand slot, that can make a major improvement on how smooth the action is. Polish the back of the hand so the spring loaded plunger rides on a smooth surface.

 

[txapacheguy]

Did the revolver have a Ruger coil spring and plunger or did some one use a generic coil spring? You may need to shorten the coil spring to reduce pressure on the hand.

It looks like a generic coil spring. The spring is bent slightly, but is getting the job done... The back of the hand looks pretty chewed up from the poor fit of the spring, so I am hoping that when I get a new hand in there and fit it correctly, the pistol will cycle properly(did I mention the cylinder stops just short of where it should when I cock the pistol unless I pull the hammer past the "cocked" detent?) I will probably get one of those stones you recommend and try it out. Thanks for the info!!!

 

[madcratebuilder]

Here's a photo of the Ruger parts for the hand spring mod.
http://www.flints-shop.com/index.ph...r-hand-spring&tmpl=component&print=1&page=&op

If you decide to go with the original hand spring I would think about putting some JB in the hole that was drilled so the hand spring doesn't get hung up on it.

Take plenty of photos and post them.

Stoning the inside of the hand slot really makes an improvement to the feel of the action. More than I thought it would have. Something I'm getting done on all my SA revolvers.