Got it!

[BP Hunter]

My 1851 .36 cal Navy just arrived from Cabelas today! What a beautiful piece. I WAS so excited to shoot it this weekend but was surprised not to find a nipple wrench. Don't these guns come with a nipple wrench? Anyway, I guess I have to order one from Cabelas. Gonna have to wait till next weekend.

I am planning to use triple 7 on the navy. This might be a silly question, but here goes: Do I have to remove the nipples after firing it even if I use triple 7? Can it wait till my nipple wrnech arrives?

 

[Old Dragoon]

You can fire the gun without removing the nipples from the cylinder. Most of us just remove the nipples 2 or 3 times a year after a thourough cleaning. Use pipe cleaners to clean and dry the nipples after you have cleaned the chambers. Then run patches thru the chambers after cleaning the nipples until they come back clean..
I use Olive oil on all the internal parts. Read some of the sticky's above and study them. and good luck with yout '51 navy.

I want one!

 

[gmatov]

You don't HAVE to remove the nipples. At least till you get the wrench.

I would, after firing it, and cleaning it in HOT water with some dish liquid, squirt the nipples inside and out with WD-40, or another penetrating oil to get some water displacing oil in the threads.

I don't know what you are using for lube, but if it is Bore Butter, while the parts are still hot, and I mean uncomfortable to the touch, put a glob in your palm and slather it all over everything, it will melt and flow into all the nooks and crannies.

Wipe it down after it cools, will shine like a babie's bottom, will not rust.

Cheers,

George

And congratulations. Stick around, tell us all and ask anything.

Edit: OD, you beat me by a minute. You ain't got a Navy? Sacrilege! You gotta get one.

What kinda olive oil you using, Extra Virgin or Pomace, the last pressing? Gotta admit, I don't like using my good stuff up. But then, out in California, it's probably cheaper than here. Pomace has a higher oleic acid content, don't know if that hurts steel.

 

[Old Dragoon]

Geaorge,
Sorry to say it is Virgin Olive oil from Costco and when I'm out of that I use the cheapo stuff.

Well a '51 navy is on my list if I quit buying '58 remingtons....

I'm about done. I'd like another '58 Euroarms to match the one I bought yesterday online then maybe move the Pietta's. If the Euroarms/Armi San Paolo feel as good to me as Smoking_Gun's did the day we went to shoot, And if they accept Kirst 44 Rem Uberti Konvertor cylinders it'll be a match made in heaven.

I finished the '58 Pietta 4 3/4 " Gunslinger tonight. I didn't like the rammer I had on it as it bent above the keeper on recoil due to my eneptness in figuring out the distance between the rammer and the latch... So I bought a used rammer online and rebuilt the rammer to my satisfaction. Pictures to follow.

 

[gmatov]

OD,

That's kinda why I told the guy you sent the linked rammer to, for his just a leetle bit too short barrel, that he should send you his newly cut rammer. I guess the point of cut would have benn wrong, anyhow, if you bent yours.

You making an actual link or a lap joint? If a link, I might have some chain repair links I could send you, darned hard steel, 'bout a 1/16 kerf and pin in place.
Just went to the garage, found 8 #25 chain repair links, great fit, but would make a 2 point toggle joint. Would fall down. Has to be a lap joint, or a mortise, tenon, single pivot, to stay straight. Sorry about that. Still, some craftsmanship to make a joint in a 1/4 inch, max, rammer handle. Kudos, bud. What you gonna do when you get some REAL machinery? Start from scratch? I been thinkin' about that.

Whoops, if you cut in the channel in the frame, a 2 point toggle wouldn't mattter. Stays straight. You want 'em, you got 'em. I got no use for them anymore.

Cheers,

George

pic attached, I hope.

Cheers,

George

edit: 2 places I called it a linked rammer, I know it's a linked cyl pin. I should engage brain before putting typing finger in motion.

 

[Old Dragoon]

BPHunter,
Sorry didn't mean to hijack your thread.

George.
The wings on the Cylinder pin keeps it from moving around in the hole and slot. You make the link Vertical to the plane of the pin, and you want the pin to break over so you can remove it. Lap joint or toggle will work. The joint has to fall within the frame before the cylinder. I have found that the correct measurement is 1.0625 back from the wings is a good place for the joint.

Yes, I'd like to try the toggle links, I'll email you with my snail mail address.

The cylinder jointed pins work great and they are a two point toggle. I just make the link from flat stock. The cylinder pin wasn't the problem,(they are problem free, so far...LOL) the rammer body was the problem and being the first one I made.

I had a couple Uh-Oh's near the keeper(above, and didn't leave enough meat in the metal and the body was too short by 1/16"). This allowed the keeper to move vertically under recoil and bent the top portion of the keeper slot. (look at the end of the rammer and how it nestles into the latch.)
The new rammer sets exactly like the original rammer does (fit to set in the hollow of the latch.) Taking 3 1/4" off the bbl of a '58 Rem increases the recoil as it does in others.


Prototype Rammer and gap between rammer and latch

Final Rammer nestled into recess in latch

 

[dwave]

Congradulations on getting your pistol. Make sure you get the pistol nipple wrench, I seen one that looked like it would be thin enough to fit, but I was wrong. The good news is that the wrench from Cabelas comes with 6 extra nipples so you will have a few spares around.

Tell us how you like shooting it.

 

[Old Dragoon]

George,
I PM'd you my address since I don't have your email.
Thanks
Charlie

 

[BP Tess]

Good to hear that you got your new revolver! I've had mine a little over a week or so. I got the 58 in a .44 from Cabelas. I love this gun. It's my first BP. I wanted to let you that I cleaned mine the way that George suggested. Really hot then goop it all with the butter. Soaked it right up and wiped off the extra after it cooled...absolutely no rust. I blow dried it real hot but placed it in the oven just a bit to keep hot...then butter bath. The guys here in this forum are so knowlegeable about their passion for BP shooting, I learn each and every day...SUMPTHIN' new! Have fun! Teresa

 

[BP Hunter]

thanks for all your answers. yes, these guys are really into the bp shooting. i, myself, have been hunting with bp for a while but have just gotten into bp revolvers. its a BLAST..literally. my first bp revolver was the ruger old army in 5.5" my wife got for me this christmas. it made ragged holes at 15 feet , straight from out of the box! i was so surprised how such a "prmitive" weapon can be so accurate.

great , then i'm ready for this weekend. now all i need to do is get myself some hornady .375 balls, wads and a #10 caps. still waiting for my loading stand to arrive form dixie.

ok, my next project will most probably be an 1858 5.5" barrel. must have one of each.

 

[dwave]

BP Hunter, did you get your gun from Cabelas? I ask because with my navy I ran across a problem with caps. #10's where to small, but #11's were way too big. If the #10's are too small, and 11's too big, I believe that a company makes an in between size like 10.75. Me personally, I used a rotary tool and shaved some of the metal off the nipple to make the 10's fit. I have seen nipples that use #11's and when I get the money I plan on getting them for my gun. I hope that you don't run across the problem that I did.

 

[Beartracker]

BPH, You may find that the .380 balls will work better for you. The .375 is what Cabelas calls for on the Navy Colt but sometimes they are a bit loose or will shoot loose. You just have to try them to find out. Make sure you grease up the arbor real well and the round slot that your cylinder stars ride in on the frame.
The best advice I can give you is to do a search at the top of this page for info on the 1851 Navy and you will find lot's of good info on the subject. You will learn little tricks to tuning and keeping your Colt running smooth and save yourself a lot of headachs by reading all you can before you shoot it the first time. You really need to stone the working parts on this revolver as well as any other BP revolver and you will see the articals that some of us have writen on the subject here and in other forms. Hope this helps and that you have a "BLAST" shooting your new Colt, Mike

 

[BP Hunter]

dwave,
i tried fitting the #11 caps and they fit quite lossely but tighten when pinched. i might just use them for now.
mike,
then the .380 balls it will be. i'm glad our local store, sporstmanswarehouse, has a good collection of bp accessories.
thanks
sean

 

[dwave]

For the 11's on mine you would have to pinch it quite a bit to get them to stay on, looks like you won't have the problem I did.

I definally agree with the .380 ball, I accuracy should be improved with them. It gives a little more surface area for the rifling to grab.

The 1851 is a great gun, but my only problem with it is when caps fall into the internals and jam up the works, but that seems rare for me and sometimes can be cleared by holding the gun upside down and shaking the cap out.

 

[Beartracker]

The CCI #10 caps should work great for that revolver. As mentioned above you can also get some German made 1075 caps.The reason that you will get different suggestions on the caps is that these Italian made revolvers are not always the same close tolerances from one to the other. One may love a size #10 cap and it may be to tight on another.
The loose #11 may cause more headachs for you than a tight fitting cap.They have a tendency to fall off on you and end up in the works between the hammer and the frame where you can't get at it with out taking apart the revolver.
One word of advice here is that if the hammer or cylinder should lock up on you or get to stiff DO NOT force the hammer back or closed. Take it apart your revolver and remove the spent cap or find out what the problem is.If you force it you could end up breaking or bending your hand and spring assembly or placing a big groove around your cylinder.
When you place the cap on the nipple make sure it's seated all the way down by shoving it on with a 3/8"x6" long doll rod with a piece of leather glued and trimed on one end. If you don't seat them all the way on your asking for a misfire or a cap falling off.
After you shoot it a few times you may want to get into the tuning process. Before you do you will want to buy a parts replacement kit for the 1851 Navy.
That way if you screw up or break a part you won't have to wait for a new one Mike

 

[Across The Pond]

Do I have to remove the nipples after firing it even if I use triple 7? Can it wait till my nipple wrnech arrives?

Here's a tip that I learned: take the nipples out (either before use, or after thorough cleaning) and before re-installation, wrap PTFE tape (it's sold here in the UK for sealing compression fittings in domestic water systems) around the thread. This makes it very important to line up the thread correctly on re-installation, but prevents much of the potentially corrosive fouling getting into the threads. In turn, this makes extracting the nipples easier next time.

Hope this is useful, congrats on the '51. A fine pistol, of course the London variant was the best.....

ATP