It is difficult to pick out a favorite among the various percussion revolvers. On one level, I prefer the 51 Navies and the Dragoons because the history is a decade and more deeper. This one however, has several points that recommend it. I did not have to adjust elevation or windage- just widen the hammer groove for better visibility. It hits right on at reasonable ranges - from 50 feet to 30 yards or so. It is lugged for a shoulder stock but shoots low when the stock is attached.
The action is light and well-timed. Smoothness improved a bit with shooting and some very minor polishing on contact surfaces of the bolt and hand. I laid in a supply of replacement parts, knowing that the springs in particular tend to fatigue and break after a while. Recent Uberti Springs are showing very good service life. This one broke a hand spring fairly early in its career but I had no trouble fitting a hand-spring assembly and getting it running again.
I spent the weekend at a ranch in North West Texas and supplied my own camp meat from the local rabbits and a small fishing lake. I chose the 61 for this because of its excellent shooting qualities. My load was 22 Goex fffg and a .380 Warren/Ozark ball. These are not particularly consistent to size but the loading action seems to obviate any differences and groups are good.
I carried in a slim jim hoster
Prior to the trip, I removed the nipples and thoroughly degreased the chambers and nipples using patches, alcohol and light application of flame from a stove burner. There were no ignition problems over the next couple of days.
The rabbits were encountered at 21 feet and 40 feet or so -easy shots for the well-sighted revolver.
The mid-day festivities included shooting metal swingers at various distances and the Navy was a reliable hitter on the 30+ yard plates.
Throughout the weekend, I did cursory field cleaning- swabbing the bore with dry patches after every cylinder and lubricating the arbor. In the evenings, I wiped the gun clean with an oily rag and kept it loaded overnight. Thorough cleaning waited until late Sunday when I had returned home. There was no sign of rust.
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