new Pietta 1858 Remington?

[BullRunBear]

Just ordered a Pietta steel frame 1858 Remington with 8" barrel on sale at Cabelas for $190. Seemed like a good deal. All my other C&B revolvers are Colts, except for an old ROA which is in a class by itself. I've handled Remingtons but never fired any. I have large hands and prefered the bigger grips on the Colts. However, I've seen so many posts from people who like the Remingtons, I thought I should have an example.

Do the smaller grips help those with smaller to average size hands? I will be introducing the daughters, ages 8 and 11, of some good friends to BP shooting this summer. I have ML rifles appropriate for their size but the Colt grips are a bit big for them. Also, I introduce folks to BP shooting, and firearms generally, whenever possible and wondered if the Remington might suit them better. I love my ROA but it's kinda bulky for some new comers.

Any impressions about accuracy and recoil with the 1858 Pietta, or any suggestions, would be appreciated. It will be for paper punching at 50 yards maximum. I have both # 10 and # 11 caps available and normally use a Ted Cash revolver capper.

I've heard about the overly tight nipples in the Piettas and have some Liquid Wrench standing by for the first cleaning.

I use .457 balls in the other guns. Does anyone use that size in their 1858 Pietta? Not critical but it would be nice to standardize ball size if possible.

Figured I would start with 25 grs of Goex FFF and see what the new gun likes for a load.

My recent Piettas have been fine guns so I'm not concerned about the Pietta vs. Uberti situation.

Thanks for any information.

Jeff

 

[madcratebuilder]

The Pietta Remington grip is about the same length as the 51 Colt, mine is wider near the top. I have two early Remington clones that have a narrower grip that feel a bit smaller than the 51 Colt style.

Pietta recommended .451 rb and I use .454. You could try the .457's and see how hard it is to seat them, as I recall they took more pressure than I was comfortable with.

The trigger on mine had considerable creep out of the box. That was an easy fix and I stoned the hand slot and hand while doing a general cleanup inside. Stoning the hand slot and hand made a noticeable improvement on all four of my Remingtons. Well worth the cost of a hand slot stone from Midway.

 

[mykeal]

The Remington's grips are not significantly smaller than the mid-size Colts (1851, 1860, etc). If the Colts are too big for your youngsters then the Remington will probably be also. What you need for the young ones is one of the Pocket revolvers: 1862 Pocket Navy or Pocket Police. They have much smaller grip frames and I would think they'd be just right for a pre-teen.

Agree with madcratebuilder about the .457's; they're probably larger than necessary for the Remington but should work ok.

Accuracy will be very good once you've worked up your load; I'd start with 20, but then I'll use any excuse to shoot more.

Remington No. 10 caps seem to be the most popular for the 1858 Remington NMA, and the Ted Cash capper will work ok.

You should enjoy the Remington. It's not my personal favorite but it has many very devoted fans so it's clearly a fine gun.

 

[Mike OTDP]

A few tips....

Tuck the pinky finger under the grip. This positions the gun much better.

.457 will work OK.

For the kids, I'd start with a 15 grain charge.

 

[spartywrx]

I've got one and I love it. You definately paid less than me, so good job on that.

I use .454 balls, 30gr of FFFg Pyrodex, and pinched #11 Remingtons. The #10's should work better but are scarce around me. I haven't found a capper or a nipple wrench that work well with it.

As for accuracy, I'm more accurate with my 1858 than with my XD9sc Unfortunately the 1858 does not conceal at all.

My girlfriend who can be recoil shy at times love the Remmy. I down load it a bit to 25gr. Its her favorite, but of course guess who does all the loading. I just got one of those little loading stands that you place the cylinder on and ram the ball in, which speeds things up considerably.

 

[BullRunBear]

Guys,

Thanks for the feedback. Looks like the grip size on the Remington won't be a problem. We just had dinner with our friends and saw the girls for the first time in several months. OMG! They have grown so much! I was planning to set up a rest for the rifles. Won't have to now. I will still use reduced loads, of course. They'll be shooting at steel plates at about 40 feet.

As to smoothing the trigger, it's time I learned to do so. I'll place that order for the stones this week. Sounds like this will be fun and I always enjoy working up good loads. I have .451, .454 and .457 balls on hand.

Once I get to the range with the new toy, I'll send in a range report.

Thanks again.

Jeff

 

[bwsmith2850]

Funny you should mention that. I had my Pietta 1858 out for the first time last weekend and my 8 and 11 year old both shot it. The 8 year old had trouble supporting the weight but neither had trouble with the recoil. My oldest was able to knock over some pins.They can't wait to go out again. I had 30gr of Pioneer BP substitute with .454 ball and traditions wads.

I'm away from home so I can't upload the pix but they are here

 

[colonelhogan44]

I have always just loaded the cylinder to the top with powder, seated a .457 round ball and blasted away. Recoil is a bit stout, though. Maybe it's stupid, but it has always worked for me.

 

[Tommygunn]

Well, it isn't stupid -- as long as you're using 3F you won't overload the gun. You might not be getting the best accuracy. But if you just like the smoke, then, hey, HAVE A BLAST!!!

 

[Hellgate]

The Euroarms Remingtons have decidedly smaller grips and frames. The kids might like them better as they are nice and lightweight.