ASM Remington Copy

[ThomasT]

My bud offered to give me a brass framed ASM Remington 44 caliber revolver. Actually he gave it to me before after I fitted a new hand in it for him. I felt bad about taking it since he wouldn't let me pay him for it so I gave it back. Now he has offered it to me again if I want it.

It says ASM (Armi San Marco) under the loading lever and was imported by Richland Arms. Its a nice gun that if it was ever fired it wasn't fired much.

I already know that brass frames supposedly will not stand up to a long string of heavy loads without frame stretching and that brass was never used in the original guns.

Does that matter to me? Not at all. I would be shooting midrange loads and not many of those. Not original or as some have referred to them "Fantasy Guns" makes me no difference. None of the BP guns I own now are close to original Hawkens and and Kentucky rifles and Kentucky pistol.

So what do you all think of these guns?

 

[AlexanderA]

Since it's free, the price is right. I would accept it and then give it away to someone else.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Keep loads light.

 

[paul harm]

Sounds like a good deal. I'd measure the opening in the frame and shoot whatever you like and re-measure every so often to see if it's starting to open up. If so, just drop the charges down a bit. I bought a engraved nickel plated NMA and believe it's brass underneath. Should check it with a magnet but haven't. Anyways, I have no intention of selling it because it might have a brass frame. I don't plan on shooting more than 25 or 28grs and don't think that'll be a problem. At my age and with all the guns I own, shooting one too much ain't gonna be a problem. I'll let the next owner worry about it.

 

[ThomasT]

If I fired 200 shots the whole time I owned it I would be surprised. I like the single shots better than the revolvers. So I am thinking about it. The reason I gave it back to him was I didn't like the weight or the balance of the gun. But I do like that the government doesn't consider these as firearms so they are under the radar as far as regulations go.

I bought a .454 mold at the time I owned it but never cast any balls with it. So balls would be no problem. I need to do a casting run anyway.

 

[noelf2]

Sounds like a good deal. I'd measure the opening in the frame and shoot whatever you like and re-measure every so often to see if it's starting to open up.......

That might not show you issues like the cylinder peening the recoil shield, which can also open up the barrel cylinder gap.

 

[ThomasT]

My bud just came by and brought me the Remington 44 even though I never told him I wanted it. Now I need to cast some 454 balls for it. I already have the mold and lead I bought a while back. I don't believe this gun has ever been fired from the looks of it. Pictures.

 

[Ephraim Kibbey]

Its beautiful Ratshooter.

If you plan on dirtying it up, it appears to have the earlier short style front sight so it may shoot a bit above POA.

 

[ThomasT]

Thanks Ephriam. I sort of thought all BP revolvers shot high so you may be correct. But I won't know until I fire it. But the more I handle it the more I like it. It was a generous gift from a very good friend.

 

[WestKentucky]

Thanks Ephriam. I sort of thought all BP revolvers shot high so you may be correct. But I won't know until I fire it. But the more I handle it the more I like it. It was a generous gift from a very good friend.

That right there tells the whole story. He gave it to you because he wanted you to have it. You will enjoy it because of the connection to your friend. Sounds like a really nice situation.

 

[ThomasT]

we give each other stuff back and forth. He gave me a S&W model 10 with a 6" barrel that I really liked and I gave him back a Ruger MkI target pistol he used to pay for some work I did for him many years ago. I knew he really wanted that pistol back so now he has it. I also gave him a H&A target rifle I picked up at a gunshow. He has given me a few knives and I have returned the favor. We also made a pact that if either one goes in the hospital again we will bring the sick person food to eat so you don't have to eat that @&$%*! they serve for food at the hospital. That may be our best gift to each other.

 

[72coupe]

If the brasser look bothers you, Birchwood-Casey makes a solution that turns brass black.

 

[expat_alaska]

We also made a pact that if either one goes in the hospital again we will bring the sick person food to eat so you don't have to eat that @&$%*! they serve for food at the hospital. That may be our best gift to each other.

I have to laugh. Yes, hospital food used to be the pits a few decades ago, and I worked as a refrigeration mechanic for 40 years at 4 hospitals before I retired.in 2007. I was hospitalized for PE's in 2014 (blood clots in the lungs) and the hospital made sure I ate well, and the food was good as most hospitals these days try to cater individually to the patient, and when the patient wants to eat they deliver within 15 minutes. I ordered a tuna sandwich one night and it must have been a whole can of albacore on sourdough bread. I could not eat all of it, it was so much. It is not like the old days when the dietary department delivered a food cart to the floor and you just got something somewhat palatable. Those days are over in my neck of the woods. I sincerely hope it is not for you.

Jim

 

[expat_alaska]

If the brasser look bothers you, Birchwood-Casey makes a solution that turns brass black.

It still does not make the brass stronger.

Jim

 

[ThomasT]

I have to laugh. Yes, hospital food used to be the pits a few decades ago, and I worked as a refrigeration mechanic for 40 years at 4 hospitals before I retired in 2007. I was hospitalized for PE's in 2014 (blood clots in the lungs) and the hospital made sure I ate well, and the food was good as most hospitals these days try to cater individually to the patient, and when the patient wants to eat they deliver within 15 minutes.

Expat the last time I was in the hospital I had Pneumonia and since I have a mild case of diabetes they put me on a low carb diet. That was the worst crap I ever tried to eat. Thankfully my wife and son were supplying me with real food. One day I nearly rebeled. I was dressed and headed to the cafateria to get something to eat when the nurse came in. I was in the process of removing that needle they like to stick in your vein. They managed to find me a breakfast burrito after that. And not a low carb one either.

If the brasser look bothers you, Birchwood-Casey makes a solution that turns brass black.

The brass color doesn't bother me at all. Matter of fact I like it. But I know some don't.

 

[45 Dragoon]

Ratshooter, just make sure the balls you use aren't too much over sized, that's how I bent my brass Remie! Remies aren't as strong as many folks think. It's good to have good friends!!

Mike

 

[ThomasT]

Thanks for the advice Mike. I measured the cylinder and it shows .450. My mold is listed as a .454. You think thats too big?

By the way in what manner did you "bend" it?

 

[45 Dragoon]

I'm not sure but .454" is probably the max I'd go.

When I bent mine, I didn't know anything compared to what I know now so . . .
I just remember the balls being excessively hard to ram down (couldn't tell you what size they were). Next thing I knew was the front of the cylinder was rubbing against the frame. Held it out and looked at it and it was a trapezoid instead of a rectangle. Emptied it, took it home, threw it away!! That was in the late 1980's. Didn't own another one till 2014/15! A steel framed 5 1/2" Pietta with a 6 shot .45C R&D cyl. part time carry gun.
Now that I'm replacing my old El Patron Comp, it's going to be with an 1875 5 1/2" Outlaw (.45C of course!) with an extra .45 acp cyl. With a totally coil/torsion sprung action (hand, trigger and bolt), it will be a light-weight Ruger!! (Only tougher!!!)

Mike

 

[Eyrie G. Dogg]

Hi Ratshooter - It’s a nice gift, accept it in good conscience. Shoot it and have fun. The added upside is that you will never have to admit that you actually spent money on a brass Remington.

Use light powder loads only and if they shave a good 360-ring use .451, or if not, .454 will be fine. I’d use 20-22 grains in that but no more, if I wished it to last awhile.

I don’t use conical bullets in my one brass frame, but others do in their guns. As everyone knows, what chargings brass frames will comfortably handle (for the gun) is an interesting and perennial dust-up among owner/shooter friends.

If the front-underside of the top strap just above the barrel threads is uncolored/unpatinaed then it’s probably never been fired.

In one of his vidyas, Mile Bellevue was using 30 grains of Goex 3Fg in a new Pietta Brass .44 Remington. In the comments section I asked him if that was a little stout and he replied "It will handle it". Interestingly, he did not say for how long.

 

[45 Dragoon]

EGD, he may not have answered because it mostly depends on the "end shake" or for/aft cylinder play of the particular revolver. The more e.s., the shorter the life with Max loads. It's the same with brass Colt pattern open tops. The cylinders act as slide hammers and eventually destroy the frames. Open tops are easier to adjust for this condition by closing the barrel/cyl clearance down to the .0025-.003" range. Set up correctly, the brass open tops can handle "normal" loads meaning, you don't have to use light loads only. Remies would need a barrel set-back which is a much more involved process.

Mike

 

[ThomasT]

I would feel lucky to ever shoot a gun to destruction. Even a brass framed one. I like the single shot pistol much more than the revolvers. i would like to have a Lyman great Plains pistol. All I have now are a couple of CVAs in .45 caliber.