Bigdog57
Member
Finally had the time to shoot my newest cap&ball revolvers at the range.
A cool sunny morning, perfect weather! Range wasn't busy. Had two buddies there too.
So I unpacked my four newest.
Top is the brand spanking new Pietta Colt 1860 Army .44cal.
Next is the Pietta Colt 1851 Navy "Civilian Model" in .44cal.
Third is the Pietta Colt 1851 Navy standard model in .44cal.
To the right is the Pietta Colt 1851 Navy Sheriff Model .36cal., nickel plated and white PVC grips.
I shot the little .36 1851 Navy Sheriff first. Distance is fifteen yards. Grouping wasn't great. I am a bit disappointed. Don't know if the short barrel is causing this, or something else.
Two cylinders full, twelve shots:
I next shot the 1851 Navy that Pietta calls their "Civilian Model", with the backstrap in nickel plate. Very much mo' better! I was shocked! This is SIX shots, with two holes each having two balls through them! Up close I could see the elongation of the holes. Had that one not gone wide, I may have had a coronary!
Shot the standard 1851 Navy .44cal., but had a much wider group, but a lot tighter than the .36cal. did. Pretty much as I usually shoot.
I shot the Civilian Model again offhand. Previous shooting was with the butts rested. So, in offhand shooting, the Civilian Model shot very similar to the rested Standard Model. I am pleased with it.
Finally shot the brand new 1860 Army. I was running out of time, and had already brought my target backer in during COLD range. So I just put two cylinders into my buddy's target with .22LR holes. The 1860 Army was acting cantankerous, with a few caps fired but the powder not going off. Had to recap and shoot again. The Remington #11 caps had performed flawlessly in the 1851 Navies. But the 1851s did this at first. I expect it will straighten out with more use. Accuracy looked very promising. I also realized the 1860 Army is the "Military Model" I saw mentioned here some time back with the two screws added for the optional butt stock! Did not catch that when I ordered it from Cabelas. I had no problem with the screws rubbing my fingers.
The 1851 Navy Standard Model and the Sheriff .36 are both wearing new Slix Shot nipples, the Civilian Model .44 has the Pietta nipples, as does the 1860 Army. I plan to put the SS nipples on ALL my C&B revolvers.
So, I had a lot of fun, found one gun shooting FANTASTIC, and nw it's time to break them down and clean them. I use Triple Seven powder, and the crud is much less than with Pyrodex. The Nickel gun cleans up very nicely and fast.
Here's the loading of the 1860 Army, showing my adjustable powder measure with a 30 grain charge of 777:
And the fifteen yard targets, seen from the bench:
A cool sunny morning, perfect weather! Range wasn't busy. Had two buddies there too.
So I unpacked my four newest.
Top is the brand spanking new Pietta Colt 1860 Army .44cal.
Next is the Pietta Colt 1851 Navy "Civilian Model" in .44cal.
Third is the Pietta Colt 1851 Navy standard model in .44cal.
To the right is the Pietta Colt 1851 Navy Sheriff Model .36cal., nickel plated and white PVC grips.
I shot the little .36 1851 Navy Sheriff first. Distance is fifteen yards. Grouping wasn't great. I am a bit disappointed. Don't know if the short barrel is causing this, or something else.
Two cylinders full, twelve shots:
I next shot the 1851 Navy that Pietta calls their "Civilian Model", with the backstrap in nickel plate. Very much mo' better! I was shocked! This is SIX shots, with two holes each having two balls through them! Up close I could see the elongation of the holes. Had that one not gone wide, I may have had a coronary!
Shot the standard 1851 Navy .44cal., but had a much wider group, but a lot tighter than the .36cal. did. Pretty much as I usually shoot.
I shot the Civilian Model again offhand. Previous shooting was with the butts rested. So, in offhand shooting, the Civilian Model shot very similar to the rested Standard Model. I am pleased with it.
Finally shot the brand new 1860 Army. I was running out of time, and had already brought my target backer in during COLD range. So I just put two cylinders into my buddy's target with .22LR holes. The 1860 Army was acting cantankerous, with a few caps fired but the powder not going off. Had to recap and shoot again. The Remington #11 caps had performed flawlessly in the 1851 Navies. But the 1851s did this at first. I expect it will straighten out with more use. Accuracy looked very promising. I also realized the 1860 Army is the "Military Model" I saw mentioned here some time back with the two screws added for the optional butt stock! Did not catch that when I ordered it from Cabelas. I had no problem with the screws rubbing my fingers.
The 1851 Navy Standard Model and the Sheriff .36 are both wearing new Slix Shot nipples, the Civilian Model .44 has the Pietta nipples, as does the 1860 Army. I plan to put the SS nipples on ALL my C&B revolvers.
So, I had a lot of fun, found one gun shooting FANTASTIC, and nw it's time to break them down and clean them. I use Triple Seven powder, and the crud is much less than with Pyrodex. The Nickel gun cleans up very nicely and fast.
Here's the loading of the 1860 Army, showing my adjustable powder measure with a 30 grain charge of 777:
And the fifteen yard targets, seen from the bench:
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