.44 Navys?

[ZVP]

The original Navy Model Colt was a .36 Caliber.
How or why did the clone guns come out being .44 calibers?
Was bigger is better it?
IN real life, the .36 appears to have been the caliber to have. It was definatelly a good manstopper One .36 Cal ball stopped many fights or aggressive actions.
The .36 is more economical to shoot both lead and powder are less than a .44. Owning both, I find that the .36 seems like a perfect revolver. Light, no recoil and fairly quiet on the ears.
I have had a lot of fun shooting my .36 Colt London model! Very accurate! I haven't found a good way to test penetration.
With all the attention to detail that the Italians have put into their revolvers, you'd think they'd get the caliber right...
Any ideas?

 

[desidog]

I think it was just to make sellers of "antique" or "original" .44 1851's out to be the crooks they are.

 

[mec]

People have been complaining about those brass frame "Navy" 44. for a long time. They actually do look like some of the transitional 1860 Armys. some of those had octagonal barrels, the old style loading levers and navy -sized grip. None had brass frames but some confederate models did. They are not a replica of anything but they do catch the "spirit" of the colt revolvers.

 

[ivankerley]

personally for me a navy should be of proper navy caliber whether it is a brasser or steel frame, I intend to own one some day and I'll get it in .36
that being said if somebody gave me one I likely wouldn't turn it down I'd just belly ache about it not being right while I shoot it
gene

 

[MCgunner]

I don't know, but mine's a .44 and a brasser to boot with a 5" barrel, too. Hell, at $119, why the heck not?

I do prefer shooting my '58 Remington (5.5" barrel) and my Ruger Old Army. So tell me why I should own an ROA? It isn't a civil war replica, let alone period correct. But, it is the best shooting cap and ball revolver I've ever shot, friggin' awesome accurate.

 

[Willie Sutton]

The very term "Revolver in the Navy Caliber" means by definition .36 caliber.

The very term "Revolver in the Army caliber" means by definition .44 Caliber.


There's no such thing as anything else. Any other names are simply nonsense gibberish.


mine's a .44 and a brasser

Pure fantasy piece. Not representative of anything, and is properly called "A Fantasy Revolver in the Army Caliber" I'm sure it's fun to shoot, but it's not properly called "anything" according to original Colt nomenclature other than that it's "In Army Caliber".


With all the attention to detail that the Italians have put into their revolvers, you'd think they'd get the caliber right...

Uberti does.

Pietta on the other hand has no problem making fantasy pieces and giving them silly names.


Willie

.

 

[Panzerschwein]

I would never be interested in a .44 Navy. In fact, I bought one for my father as a present BEFORE I was versed on Colt revolver lineage. Me and my siblings got him a 4" (or close) barreled .44 Navy with a brass frame: pretty much the least historically accurate Colt "Navy" you could buy! The maker was Pietta.

Looking back, we should have just gotten him either a Colt Navy or Colt Army in the appropriate configutation.

Personally, I see black powder revolver shooting as going back in time in a way, and I want to do it with an authentic gun. I'm wanting to buy a cap n' ball revolver very soon, and I will be getting one only in a historically accurate version. Nothing wrong with the fantasy guns, but they're just not for me.

 

[Old Fuff]

How and whay did it happen? Easy answer.

Some importer talking to an Italian maker ask, " Could you make a Navy style revolver with an Army .44 frame and cylinder, with a shorter barrel?" To this the maker said , "Sure... And Ill give you a special price if you will take a brass frame and buy at least (whatever number) of them."

Importers have a pretty good idea what people will buy, and relatively few buyers know exactly what Colt or Remington made. Short and shorter barrels are cool, as are big bores.

 

[elhombreconnonombre]

I actually like the brasser .44 open tops with round 7 1/2 " barrels, non-rebated unengraved, cylinder, non-stepped frame. They look good, handle well, and shoot well with light loads. Plus they come with a grip notch for my detachable hammer screw style shoulder stocks.

 

[Willie Sutton]

I would never be interested in a .44 Navy.

Once again: That's precisely like saying "I would never be interested in a Chevy Ford". It makes ZERO sense.


:banghead:


"NAVY" is a CALIBER DESIGNATION, a common 19th Century designation for .36 caliber.

It is not a description of ANY revolver design.

It was used by many manufacturers for many different revolvers of many different designs. As in "Remington Beals Revolver in the Navy Caliber" for example.

The only thing they had in common was the CALIBER.


Navy = .36

Army = .44


Simple enough?


Willie

.

 

[Jim Watson]

I actually like the brasser .44 open tops with round 7 1/2 " barrels, non-rebated unengraved, cylinder, non-stepped frame.

I never saw one of them. A brass Dragoon?

 

[elhombreconnonombre]

Well not exactly a "Dragoon" but an odd ball Traditions-imported Pietta "Reb fantasy revolver". It looks like a .44 cal G&G, that was never produced.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

I never saw one of them. A brass Dragoon?

I've seen what he's talking about. They are pretty cool.
They're still built on the smaller army/navy sized frame. At least the ones I've seen were.

 

[elhombreconnonombre]

Here is a pic of the Traditions revolver I mentioned. I think its pretty sweet.

 

[Fingers McGee]

Looks like a .36 G&G to me.

Only non rebated 44 repro I'm aware of is the Dance.

 

[Hellgate]

My absolutely most favorite "serious cowboy match" guns are a pair of 44 "Navies". They handle like navies and hit like armies. I originally got them for Cowboy Action matches back when we used to have a large number of pistol knock down targets. The 44 ball took down the fallers where the 36ers couldn't. Whether they are authentic or not, I don't care. They do exactly what I wanted them to do. You can hear the steel ring better with the 44s. The 36 caliber Navies are about equivalent to a .380 auto but the 44 is about like a 38 special in hitting power.

 

[elhombreconnonombre]

Fingers
It looks like a .36 G&G, but it definitely is a .44. I said it was an odd ball Pietta.

 

[Fingers McGee]

Do you have one of them; or are you just using the photo on the Traditions site? Wouldn't be the first time they got the pictures wrong. The Brass framed .36 Navy listing has a picture of the .44 model.

 

[Panzerschwein]

I would never be interested in a .44 Navy.

Once again: That's precisely like saying "I would never be interested in a Chevy Ford". It makes ZERO sense.


:banghead:


"NAVY" is a CALIBER DESIGNATION, a common 19th Century designation for .36 caliber.

It is not a description of ANY revolver design.

It was used by many manufacturers for many different revolvers of many different designs. As in "Remington Beals Revolver in the Navy Caliber" for example.

The only thing they had in common was the CALIBER.


Navy = .36

Army = .44


Simple enough?


Willie

.

Sigh...

Okay Willie, I would never be interested in what a manufacturer CALLED a Colt Navy if it were in .44 caliber. I KNOW that "Navy" mean .36, as in "the Navy caliber", and that "Army" means .44, as in "the Army caliber".

You can now sleep soundly tonight after you take your chill pill.

KIDDING! !

 

[kBob]

I would really like a .36 G&G so I could go up to "Griswoldville" in Georgia and bury it just long enough to dig it back up.

It would be fun to be able to say "Honestly, I dug it up at Griswoldville" and post pictures here for you guys to go pick up every flaw in the faux treasure!

I heard long ago that the main reason for the brass "navy .44s" was because....wait for it.....most non collector, shooting for fun, American customers wanted bigger than .36. When a non historian, non collector mildly interested in ACW Joe Snuffy wants a gun just to shoot, if you stick a .36 and a .44 out their they will likely go for the .44. We tend to think bigger is better.

I think they are great, because it lures in the unsuspecting into the trap that is BP revolvers that other wise may have passed by their first purchase.

If you don't like them don't buy them.

-kBob

 

[1KPerDay]

I have a pietta .44 "civilian" (navy lookalike) and it's one of my favorites... small grip frame, lovely octagonal barrel, but with a nice big hole in the barrel. Love it.

http://youtu.be/iRtX75HjU88?t=2m48s

 

[Crawdad1]

So what you're saying is you would not want the '51 Colt in the Army caliber. What you want is the '51 Colt in the historically correct Navy caliber.

OK, I get it.

 

[Panzerschwein]

It doesn't really matter anyway these days considering percussion caps are impossible to find.

 

[Crawdad1]

Good point!!!

 

[MCgunner]

Because they don't make a .46...though the ROA takes .457 ball, danged close. But, the ROA is trash, I suppose, since it wasn't around in the civil war. I'm a shooter. I had to take history in high school and college, but I was a shooter then and now. I was a wildlife and fisheries management major, BS. Only one history course IIRC to get that degree and they didn't mention Colt Navies that I recall.

Seriously, I like the "Navy" in .44 because the same mold works for my Pietta '58 Remmy. I wouldn't mind a steel frame .36 that I could convert to .38 special, though. Boy, but wouldn't THAT be period correct! Just about as correct as my .45ACP conversion I just got for the '58.... BWAAAAA, ha, ha, ha!!!!!