Looking for a .36 caliber revolver

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TruthTellers

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There's quite a few .36 cal black powder revolvers out there and I've nailed it down to three that I'm interested in:

Pietta 1858

1851 Navy (Don't care if either Uberti or Peitta)

Uberti 1862 Pocket/Police

I'd like some input on these. I'm leaning towards the 1862's for the reduced size and weight. Also, I don't care if they're brass framed or not. Normally I like a steel frame in case years later I want to get a conversion cylinder, but with the .36 revolver, I don't care to bother with the hollow base .38 Colt or .38 special baloney.
 
My choice would be either the Uberti 1851 Navy or 1861 Navy. Both are point shooters and "fit" the hand perfectly, unlike the '58 clones.

The 5 shot 1862 Pocket Navy and Pocket Police are not for beginners. You will need different nipple wrench and capper than will work on Dragoon/51/60/61 Colt's sized revolvers. But, once you get used to them, they are a hoot to shoot.

YM(and hand size)MV
 
Never seen a 36 caliber ROA.

I'd go with the '51 Navy or a '61 Navy. Good revolvers. And like Fingers said, the Uberti Pockets with their correct sized frames are real tricky.
 
The steel framed Pietta Belt Model is near indestructable and quite accurate as Pietta has making all the .36s that have passed through my hands .001 to .002 over groove diameter.

The Pietta Griswold & Gunnison is a natural pointer and just feels perfect in our hands as does the little Pocket Police.

We own and shoot them all including the Spiller & Burr, enjoying the point shooting ability of the Colts and the accuracy of the Remington and Spiller & Burr.

Start with the Pietta Griswold or Uberti Leech & Rigdon and then get the others later.
 
As much as I enjoy the little Pocket Police revolvers I have, I agree with Fingers and recommend you consider the Colt's style belt revolver. My personal favorite is the Improved Navy Model of 1861 but many seen to like the lesser 1851.

Kevin
 
The Pietta 1858 is well made and accurate, I have a pair, but I have large hands and prefer the Colt grips. They point better for me. The weight difference between the three is slight so I think it will be whichever points better in your hand. Also, as I've learned, keep the charges reasonable and those brass frame guns will last a long time.
 
Crawdad1 said:
Never seen a 36 caliber ROA.

I'd go with the '51 Navy or a '61 Navy. Good revolvers. And like Fingers said, the Uberti Pockets with their correct sized frames are real tricky.
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A gentleman in Springfield Missouri has a pair. Octagonal 5.5" barrels. Really sweet guns with a really sweet price tag.
 
Get a '51 Navy. One of the most iconic 19th century American handguns. They point beautifully, are typically VERY accurate, and are gorgeous. Here is my Cimarron (Uberti made) '51 Navy and it is all of the above:

rgvdfv.jpg

The gun below it is my new Harpers Ferry percussion conversion pistol. These were used at the very beginning of the Civil War, primarily in the South, and it's a big .54 caliber horse pistol. For fun, here is a picture of the muzzles of these guns:

tgvrfd.jpg

That .36 bore looks small, but don't be deceived. It was well known at the time, that the .36 round ball was a surprisingly efficient killer. OP, you'd do well to get yourself a '51 Navy Colt. I recommend Uberti, but many have had good luck with the current Piettas. You might also want to consider getting this gun overhauled by Goon's Gun Works. He did mine up real nice!

So, yeah, it's a '51 Navy all the way! :D
 
Nothing wrong with the 1862 pocket per say; they're a bit smaller and only have 5 shots. They can be a bit finicky about caps, but so can all BP guns...

For your first gun I'd recommend a full size, though. I think everyone should have an 1851 in their collection. Personally, I prefer my Cabela's 1851-type .44 over my 1851 .36, the barrel is a bit lighter and hits harder.
 
swathdiver said:
Well, the Belt Model .36 Cal 1858, is the same frame as your .44 1858, the barrel is 6-1/2 inches instead. So they share common parts and will be familiar to you.

The Colts are a different animal, well worth the experience!
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Yeah, like I said, I'm leaning towards the Colt's more as they come in smaller sizes and shorter barrels.
 
TruthTellers said:
Yeah, like I said, I'm leaning towards the Colt's more as they come in smaller sizes and shorter barrels.
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If you are looking for a smaller gun, the 1862 Police or Pocket Navy might be good guns for you. But, like I and others have said, you shouldn't be without a '51 Navy Colt, or "Revolving Belt Pistol of Naval Caliber" as some call it! :D

If you do get the smaller Police/Pocket Navy, don't worry about problems with it. If it does have issues with cap jams or something, Goons Gun Works can fix it by installing a cap rake and doing other modifications to increase reliability. I personally have been thinking about an 1862 Police myself.
 
So what's the problem with the Pocket Navy's? Everyone seems to be talking them down...
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Not talking them down, just saying they're a little tricky. Every thing is small, the nipples, the screws, the hand, everything is tiny. But, once you get use to that they are sweet to handle.


Also, by looking at your listed criteria, there are no brass framed '62 Pockets (ASM may have built some long ago but would be tough to find) and, currently, there are no conversion cylinders for them.
 
Crawdad1 said:
Not talking them down, just saying they're a little tricky. Every thing is small, the nipples, the screws, the hand, everything is tiny. But, once you get use to that they are sweet to handle.


Also, by looking at your listed criteria, there are no brass framed '62 Pockets (ASM may have built some long ago but would be tough to find) and, currently, there are no conversion cylinders for them.
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Is there a reason Taylor's hasn't made a conversion cylinder yet? Is the cylinder too small to fit five .38's?
 
A .36 and a .38 are not the same. The .38 Special uses a .357 or so bullet which will bounce on down the barrel of a .36 whose lands are .36 and grooves larger still.

BP .44s are the same size as modern .45s but much larger than modern .44s which are around .429.
 
swathdiver said:
A .36 and a .38 are not the same. The .38 Special uses a .357 or so bullet which will bounce on down the barrel of a .36 whose lands are .36 and grooves larger still.

BP .44s are the same size as modern .45s but much larger than modern .44s which are around .429.
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This is well documented, hence the reason I mentioned having to use hollow base bullets in the 1st post.

I was just wondering in general why there's no conversion cylinder for pocket navy's, while there are for 1851's.
 
Crawdad:

Not talking them down, just saying they're a little tricky. Every thing is small, the nipples, the screws, the hand, everything is tiny. But, once you get use to that they are sweet to handle.
Click to expand...

Everything Crawdad says about the 1848/1849 Pockets is true, especially the Pocket Navy in .36, in my experience. They are very small guns and one needs very small fingers, especially concerning the squareback trigger guards. I'll stick to 1851 Navies or larger from now on when shooting larger than .31 cal.

Thanks Crawdad!
 
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