Need help - New Uberti Remington

[goon]

I just got this Uberti 1858 the other day and finally made it to the range today. So far, I have two issues. First is that pawl sticks out from the back of the frame ever so slightly. It catches on the cylinder and makes getting the cylinder back in after cleaning very difficult. Should it be flush with the frame when the hammer is down?
Second, I only got off 12 shots today. The cylinder binds up very badly and it seems to be due to fouling. Caps are being blown apart but I don't think that's the problem because they just seem to fall out as the hammer is cocked for the next shot. But the cylinder was so bound up after the first six shots that after reloading and firing a couple more, I had to start turning the cylinder by hand. What can I do to make this problem go away?

 

[Wildfire]

Cylinder Too tight.

Hey :
That drift pin that holds the barrel on is too far in. Your cylinder is too tight.

Not sure what you mean by "Paul" the hand should not stop the cylinder from being reinstalled. 1/2 Cock ?????

 

[mykeal]

First is that pawl sticks out from the back of the frame ever so slightly. It catches on the cylinder and makes getting the cylinder back in after cleaning very difficult. Should it be flush with the frame when the hammer is down?

The name for that pawl is the hand. Yes, it should protrude from the recoil shield with the hammer down. However, the hammer should be at half cock for removing and installing the cylinder. It will be necessary to rotate the cylinder clockwise slightly when installing it.

The cylinder binds up very badly and it seems to be due to fouling. ...What can I do to make this problem go away?

There is no drift pin holding the cylinder in place on a 58 Remington. Your problem is indeed due to fouling; it's a common problem with the 58 Remington. First, use either lubed felt wads between the powder and the ball in each chamber or cover the ball with Crisco, Bore Butter or a similar lube material (aka 'grease'). Many people believe the use of 'grease' is to prevent chain fires, and while it does provide some minor measure of insurance against such an event, a proper fitting ball is the best prevention. Using a good ball lubricant in the form of the lubed wad or chamber mouth sealer actually keeps the black powder combustion byproducts (fouling) soft and will allow many more shots before the buildup interferes with revolver action. Second, before shooting, and perhaps even during a long session, cleaning the cylinder arbor (the removable pin the cylinder rotates on) and keeping it liberally lubed with the same material will help prolong the amount of time the gun will operate without binding.

 

[arcticap]

It's tricky for everyone to learn how to insert them efficiently. There was a video posted showing how it can be swapped out in as little as 12 seconds with practice. There's also some tips in this thread:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=270203&highlight=insert

It should get better over time as it wears in. Use extra lubrication and wipe it during the reloading process to keep it clean.

Shoot with one of the cleaner powders like 777 until it breaks in and loosens up.

 

[goon]

OK - thanks guys. I did have lube on the first cylinder full but since the balls were shaving off on the chambers, I figured it wasn't necessary for the second set. Guess I was incorrect. I did lube the arbor with T/C bore butter before shooting, but I guess not enough.
I also found that CCI no.10 are the best fit for my gun (for anyone else who searches for stuff on Remingtons later). And surprisingly, Goex FFFg doesn't smoke nearly as much as I thought it would.

 

[BCRider]

After I saw the YouTube clips of Clint Eastwood swapping cylinders on the Remington I HAD to practice. I can't say that I got as good as him but as mentioned by MyKeal if I rolled the cylinder into position with a bit of a clockwise twist it would push the hand back out of the way. But I still can't do the swap while maintaining the patented Eastwood scowl because it's so slick when it works well that I can't help but break into a huge grin.... And I'm sure the scowl is part of the secret to doing a cylinder swap so smoothly....

As for your cylinder jamming up perhaps instead of lubing the arbor pin with bore butter try using Ballistol or even vegtable oil. I shot my own two Uberti Remingtons in my first season of CAS events without any issues at all other than light strikes on some of the caps. No jamming of the works at all. And until I discovered a local shop that carried Ballistol I relied on using Canola oil for both my shooting day lube as well as short term storage lube between events. Using the Canola I was able to shoot the six stages for each day without any sign of the cylinders getting tight from fouling. That's 30 shots and the guns always felt as smooth and easy to turn the cylinders at the end of the day as they had at the beginning or darn close to it. Certainly if they had tightened up at all it wasn't enough for me to feel it.

 

[madcratebuilder]

Some have good luck with spraying PAM cooking spray on the cylinder pin and cylinder face of the Remingtons, it's something you could try. Otherwise keep the base pin lubed and lubing the rb's keeps the fouling soft.

Insert the cylinder with the revolver at half cock, turning it clockwise so the ratchet catches the hand and moves it up and in as the cylinder moves into the frame.

 

[Hellgate]

I put a drop of olive oil or Ballistol at the front of the cylinder where it contacts the frame and then I hold the gun up and jiggle the cylinder to work the oil down onto the cylinder pin. I do this between each 6 shot shooting session. The oil frees up the cylinder and takes about 10 seconds to do. I use automotive grease on the cylinder pin and the back of the frame where the cylinder rubs.

 

[GENTLEMAN OF THE CHARCOAL]

I don't know who made that video which I'm not going to watch, but cylinders in regard to a '58 Remington can be changed in a hell of a lot less than 12 seconds. I can do it myself using a fully loaded and capped cylinder and be back at full battery and ready to pull the trigger in less than 12 seconds. AND I"M A LITTLE SLOW COMPARED TO SOME PEOPLE I'VD BEEN AROUND IN MY LIFE....

 

[sltm1]

When you say the front of the cylinder is binding, if it's scraping metal, you need to adjust the gap, if not, it's just fouling. Windex in a small spray bottle keeps the fouling down between cylinders. Also, how difficult is it to remove the cylinder pin? I used Winchester breech grease on mine and it helped some.

 

[goon]

The pin came right out after firing. I had it lubed with bore butter. And as soon as I shifted the pin out about an inch, then put it back in, the cylinder freed up. I also looked at the gap between the cylinder and the barrel. Eventhough it was bound up, I could still see daylight through the gap so I don't think fouling there was the problem.
And on the cylinder, thanks for the tip. It is much easier to get in now that I know how to do it right. Guess maybe I should have read the instruction manual...

 

[ATAShooter]

The cylinder pin fouling and binding is exactly why I quit shooting mine. Yep, about 12 shots and she starts getting tight. I just finally said to hell with it.:banghead:

 

[messerist]

I clean and lube the cylinder pin on my Remington while I'm shooting. Not after every cylinder, but about every three or four. I also use Crisco over the ball and it helps keep the fouling soft and easily removable. Good luck with your Remington. I think they are great guns!

 

[BHP FAN]

I can go forever with mine.Just by pulling the pin after every cylinder full,and wiping it down,it's not that complex.

 

[Hellgate]

Just a little sense of perspective for those who have been frustrated by the fact that often a C&B won't shoot all day. They were a major improvement over their predecessors, the single shot caplock pistol. With the revolvers, all of a sudden you had SIX SHOTS to fire before drawing your fighting knife. If you needed more than six shots then you packed a second loaded revolver. Most C&B six shooters were expected to be shot empty and some other weapon used the finish things if needed but geeze, SIX BOOMS ought to be enough for any problem dontcha think? So, as designed, if the gun went 6 rounds with out a foul up or jam it was considered a successful design. You would go clean and recharge after the fracas. Some confederate irregular cavalrymen carried 4-6 revolvers. The sword was a last resort for them. The 1873 SAA and Rogers & Spencer revolvers incorporated a cylinder bushing that covered part of the cylinder pin below the cylinder gap to prevent just the fouling you are seeing on the Remington.

I have 8 Remington C&Bs. All but one of the Euroarms guns (5) will shoot a 50-60 round match without fouling up. The two Ubertis and the one Euro merely need a drop of oil on the front of the cylinder between reloadings to keep going all day. Why this is I don't know. You cannot over lubricate a C&B. I put a lube wad under the ball and grease on top of the ball. I also grease the cylinder pin and back of the cylinder with automotive grease. My hands can get messy but the guns work fine. I do not bother to pull the pin between reloadings as it will cause my hands and sleeves to become a blackened mess. I have not found that necessary.
I suspect the new Uberti has tight tolerances that will loosen up a bit with use. In the meantime a drop of oil on the front of the cylinder over the cylinder pin at each recharging will do wonders.

 

[mykeal]

Well said, Hellgate. However, I have one dissenting observation: the saber was not the last resort of the cavalryman - it was his primary weapon. The rifle/carbine, and then the '6-gun', were to get him close enough to use that slashing instrument if need be. The dragoon, on the other hand, fought dismounted and used tactics based on firearms rather than the sword.

 

[azyogi]

Does anybody use cast iron skillets, or dutch ovens. These work much better, ie food not sticking to them, once they are 'cured'. Some of the cleaning methods I have read about here are in effect ways to 'cure' the metal of the barrel and cylinder. I 'cure' mine on a hot AZ summer day by stripping it down covering it with bore butter and setting it in the sun. When my buddies I have addicted to BP... ahh introduced to cap and ball revolvers buy there own the first thing they notice is my guns run longer than new guns. I think this as something to do with what I call 'curing'. Note: stainless guns are by their nature easier to clean but they don't 'cure' worth a durn.

 

[mykeal]

Huh. Your guns are made out of cast iron? Wow.

 

[azyogi]

no steel split even tween blue and stainless, but the princple is the same, once the oil penetrates it leaves a non stick coating

 

[vulture]

Getting the cylinder back in, there is a point as the hammer comes down when the hand is completely back into it's slot in the frame. I start my cylinder replacement with the hammer at half cock so the cylinder stop is down out of the way, then as I slip it across I drop the hammer and let the stop come up into it's notch in the cylinder, reach up and push back on the cylinder pin as I adjust the cylinder alignment with my other hand, if I do it right the cylinder slides right into place with little or no problems, but it does take practice.

 

[goon]

The first time I had my Remington out I wasn't that happy with it really. Just seems to be too quirky for my tastes and I even put it up for sale. But I just had it out again today and with the advice of keeping the cylinder pin well greased, I found operation much smoother. I've also found that tipping the gun to the right as I cock it helps eliminate cap jams. Last, with a .454 RB and 30 grains of Goex FFFg mine shoots just high of POA at 25 yards. I walked a milk jug around at that range and hit much more often than I missed, which isn't bad considering that I haven't shot pretty much all winter. So I've decided I'm gonna hang on to her for awhile.

Having said that, I noticed today as I was reloading that my loading lever latch worked loose from the dovetail and fell out. It fits tightly enough that it can only work out to the side, so for today I just scotch taped it in and kept shooting. The only way I know to fix something like this is use a center punch to raise metal on the object (I've done this with sights) and in the dovetail to tighten up the fit, then reinstall. Is there any other way to fix this?
I bet Cimarron would fix it for me without any issues, but I don't want to ship my gun back across the entire US just to have something so minor fixed.

 

[Hellgate]

Clean off the dovetail & latch with degreaser and put a tiny bit of epoxy on the lever latch and that will hold it. No need to mar the metal with a punch.

 

[goon]

Thanks. I left a voicemail with Cimarron and will follow up with them Monday. I'm hoping they'll just send me another one so I can fit it to the dovetail correctly. It's like a 12 cent part...