New Uberti 1860 Army .44

[PAPD1140]

I'm new to black powder guns and shooting and so I bought a Uberti 1860 Army 44.

(Always wanted one since I was a teenager and watched the Gray Ghost on a black and white TV way back when.........)

Haven't shot it as yet because of the weather, etc. I bought most of the needed accessories such as balls and powder, nipple wrench, powder flask, and a few other things. I would like to get a loading stand and maybe two new cylinders so that I could shoot more without reloading the only cylinder, etc.
Should I be thinking about buying some spare parts just in case...................? One more thing.........does the entire gun have to be taken apart each time I shoot it? Any and all info' would be appreciated!
Good Shootin'

 

[andrewstorm]

papd shooter 1860

Welcome papd,and ill start by saying that black powder is the purist form of the shooting sports although subtitutes can be cleaner and safer to store in the home or work shop,for a 1860 44 the pyrodex pistol pellets burn very clean,use them with 10 or 11 cci magnum caps, seal ball with grease patch ,lots of smoke,bang,and accuratcy......and easy for a first timer,enjoy

 

[mykeal]

Spare parts - in general, yes, if only to take advantage of spreading the shipping costs over several items and the convenience of having the parts when you need them. Murphy does shoot black powder, after all - if you have the parts, you won't need them.

Most likely part to break or wear out is the hand/spring assembly, with a trigger/bolt spring next and then a mainspring. I'd for sure get a full set of screws. Trigger, bolt and hammer maybe, but they get more expensive and rarely need replacement.

Teardown - you'll get lots of opinions on this. I do a complete teardown only every 4 or 5 range trips, or semi-annually if the gun is rarely used. A regular after-range session consists of removing grips, loading lever, cylinder and nipples, washing out the bore, chambers, nipple recesses and loading lever hole, wiping down the frame, hammer, recoil shield and cleaning out the nipples (just the cone, not the flash channel) with a pipe cleaner and water. If any screws are removed they and the nipple threads get a coat of anti-seize on installation. The gun gets a complete coat of Barricade in the chambers, bore and the entire exterior. Most of the time I also grease the cylinder arbor (pin).

 

[Acorn Mush]

Welcome to the forum papd.

Just a comment about the use of Pyrodex, either loose or in pellet form. Pyrodex residue is corrosive. You must clean all surfaces that have residue on them imediately following every shooting session. I can show you some heartbreaking pictures of what that residue will cause if not cleaned properly and in a timely manner.:banghead: If you use real black powder, I recommend Mykeal's cleaning method.

Also keep in mind the fact that Pyrodex pellets are an expensive fuel to feed your new revolver. You will get many more shots for your shooting dollar with the use of loose powder, either with real black or the subs. As an example, the Cabela's online catalog lists 30-grain Pyrodex pellets (box of 100) for $17.99 on sale, and 1-pound bottles of loose Pyrodex P for $19.99. My handy magic calculator tells me that you can expect to get in the neighborhood of 268 shots from the pound of loose Pyrodex (7000 grains per pound divided by 30 grains per shot equals 233 shots.) BUT, Pyrodex is LIGHTER than real black powder on a volume-for-volume basis, 15% lighter I think (somebody please correct me if I'm wrong), so that has to be taken into consideration. So now we have to figure 233 times 1.15 equals 268 shots you can get per pound of loose Pyrodex. Note: Pyrodex is designed as substitute for real black powder on a VOLUME-FOR VOLUME basis, not weight-for-weight.

The cost works out to about 18 cents per shot if you use pellets, and about 7-1/2 cents per shot for loose powder. Myself, being extremely economy-minded (as in cheap), I'll go with the loose powder every time.

I hope I haven't thoroughly confused you or anybody else by now. If so, I humbly beg your pardon and will rectify the matter if possible.

 

[rdstrain49]

Acorn is right on target. Bulk beats pellet hands down for several reasons. Plus I've never been able to get the pellets to work in my powder flask

 

[PAPD1140]

Thanks !

Thanks for all of the info' about shooting with black powder. And yes, I will be using black powder. Am hoping to go to the range,Fort Dix,NJ, tomorrow morning and give it a try. First time for everything! By the way, I bought the black powder rig from WesternStarLeather...what a nice rig it is! Keep the info' coming and thanks once again...