Oversized balls

[ZVP]

No more oversize .454" balls for me!
I shot some through my full sized '58 Remmie and just slightlly bent the loading lever cramming them in the cylinder.
Now I can't get the lever to stay up!!!
I am afraid that the lever or the base pin took some damage while trying to repair the impercieveablly bent laver. You can't even see a warp but one must be there!
Any ideas on how to fix this lever?
I have considered trying to lengthen the slot in the plunger pin to allwo greater purchase for the little plunger end on the stud. Ideas on that?

I tried the oversized balls in an atttempt to obtain a better gas seal in the cylinder to get better consistancy between shots. Guess I really blew it!
ZVP

 

[arcticap]

I didn't realize it before but there's a loading lever link connecting the ram and the lever.

It's part #47:

http://www.vtigunparts.com/store/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=67&cat=Pietta+1858+Remington%2C+Tiro

Check out the condition and alignment of all of the parts the best that you can.
Roll the round portion of the lever on a flat surface to see if it's out of round.
Spin & inspect the cylinder on the base pin to see if the gap is equal all around.
Check the lever link pins, screw, screw hole and lever link for damage.
And consider buying a loading press.
If you bent the lever then you wouldn't be the first person to do it.
Hopefully it's only the lever link which costs $3.
Good luck.

 

[jmfc606]

I just got a Pietta Rem old Army and in the manual it says use .454 balls. I bought a box but have not tried them yet.

 

[FreddyKruger]

store bought or cast your own? if you managed to bend the loading lever from .003 inch of soft lead then that is a worry.

Maybe its not the lever itself thats buggered, have you checked the screws, plunger, link and even the cylinder pin?

 

[44 Dave]

.451 mold

I have a .451 Lee mold that I am selling
This is almost new and has the new style of alignment pins.
Just got it and cast 100 balls, they load fine but just too loose for my old gun.

 

[Armored farmer]

My humble suggestion:

I think your lead was too hard when you cast the .454's. I had similar troubles when I accidentally cast some with WW lead.

my 2 cents worth

 

[loose noose]

Sounds like kbbailey is right on the money, I've got two Pietta 58 old army, and I cast my own using pure lead, and I've never had a problem, just get a nice little ring as they pretty well seal the cylinder (charge holes).

 

[BHP FAN]

chambers?

 

[d-a]

chambers?

probably .448-.449 if like most reproduction 58's

d-a

 

[Hellgate]

I also suspect the hard lead theory as a cause. I have used .457 dia balls in my guns that are normally loaded with the .454s and hardly noticed a difference in ramming effort since they were all dead soft lead. I once bought some round balls from a commercial caster and they were said to be soft but were truly hard lead for smokeless guns. I swear I put 2 years of aging on my 44 navies ramming those hard balls into the colts during one CAS match. I sold them at a loss to get rid of them before I bent a rammer or ruined a gun.

 

[loose noose]

BHP FAN, In the business we call them "charge holes" all 5 or 6 of em.

 

[Sam1911]

Wow...that shouldn't be a problem! I accidentally shot for part of one afternoon with a batch of 0.490" balls in my Remington '58 and aside from being a little stiff to load, and printing high on the target, there was no damage at all!

 

[Logan5579]

I got some wheelweight lead into my pure lead by accident one time (guy first told me the lead was pure, then when I cornered him about it he admitted it was WW), cast a bunch of .454 round balls and couldn't get them loaded without major pressure on the rammer. I gave up trying to cram em in after the third one. Sounds like impure lead may be the culprit here, the ones I made were to hard to use for the revolver so I chucked them in the pot the next time I went out to cast some BP rifle bullets.

 

[Armored farmer]

yea, I would try some new soft lead before I gave up on my mould. (MOLD)??

 

[Patocazador]

I think your lead was too hard when you cast the .454's. I had similar troubles when I accidentally cast some with WW lead.

Yes, I agree with kbbailey. Pure lead shouldn't/wouldn't have enough hardness/resistance to distort anything. If you can scratch the ball/bullet with your thumbnail and see it easily, that's what you want.