Pietta .44 conversion accuracy

[Kurtlez]

hey everybody, been floating around these forums for a few years and finally decided to join. I have a question about the Pietta .44 conversion cylinders. Anybody have experience with their accuracy? I’ve heard the 1 in 30 twist wouldn’t lend itself well to the heavier 255 grain rounds, especially in the higher than 700 FPS range. I’ve seen some cfe pistol loads that put it around 900+ fps without breaking 11,000 psi, and want to know what I’d expect from shooting rounds like that.

For the record, I’ve seen many peoples experiences on here who say that with the lower velocity rounds, it’s dead accurate. Just want to get an idea of where I’d be standing with 255 800+ fps rounds.

 

[paul harm]

I'm not sure, but if it were me I'd check to see how much pressure they'll handle. I believe it's just low pressure cowboy type loads like what BP would produce. Check with whom you're buying it from.

 

[Roger Laird]

I have a Pietta 1858 with conversion cylinder and have not much luck with accuracy with heavier bullets.My best accuracy comes in the 200-230 gr range.

 

[Kurtlez]

I have a Pietta 1858 with conversion cylinder and have not much luck with accuracy with heavier bullets.My best accuracy comes in the 200-230 gr range.View attachment 793000

Thank you for that! Great info

 

[Kurtlez]

I have a Pietta 1858 with conversion cylinder and have not much luck with accuracy with heavier bullets.My best accuracy comes in the 200-230 gr range.View attachment 793000

Would you happen to know what kind of velocities you were getting?

 

[Mizar]

Pietta still makes their .44 cal revolvers* with the slow 1 in 30" twist - maybe this is the reason for lack of accuracy with heavier than 230 gr bullets?

* The standard line, not the shooters model.

 

[Kurtlez]

Pietta still makes their .44 cal revolvers* with the slow 1 in 30" twist - maybe this is the reason for lack of accuracy with heavier than 230 gr bullets?

* The standard line, not the shooters model.

That’s what I’m thinking. Wanted to get some people’s results with using those heavier bullets

 

[Roger Laird]

Would you happen to know what kind of velocities you were getting?

Mid 800fps

 

[Navy Six 2]

FWIW, I just finished a Pietta 51 Navy .44 with Kirst cylinder. I also installed a Pietta 12" octagon Navy barrel that I got from Taylors. Don't know the twist rate on that one. Shooting less than a week ago, at 15 yds both my friend and I were breaking pieces of clay birds. The load was 25 grs. 2F Olde Enysford in a 45 Colt case. card wad, wool felt wad and a EPP-UG 45 which weighs about 160 grs. I picked that bullet because it was designed to emulate a round ball but contains a nice wide lube groove ( I filled it with Gatofeo #1 ) for blackpowder use. I wasn't able to put it on paper as I had the barrel/cylinder gap a little tight and we had to stop after 25 rounds, so I will have to open that up.
You didn't say what type of Pietta you would be shooting those loads in. Accuracy considerations aside, a Remington should hold up fine. But a steady diet of 800 fps + with a 255 gr bullet may be a little much for longevity in a Colt open top.

 

[whughett]

I have a Pietta 1858 with conversion cylinder and have not much luck with accuracy with heavier bullets.My best accuracy comes in the 200-230 gr range.View attachment 793000

Just started working with 200 grain Flat Nose bullets cast from a Lee 2 cavity mold, the 5.8 load of Trail Boss looked good in my Spencer, was going to hold there but seeing that little group makes me want to inch up to the max. The same bullet loaded over 35 grains of 3f wasn't good. 35 grains seemed the minimum for no filler or cards in the 45C with that bullet.

 

[Roger Laird]

Just started working with 200 grain Flat Nose bullets cast from a Lee 2 cavity mold, the 5.8 load of Trail Boss looked good in my Spencer, was going to hold there but seeing that little group makes me want to inch up to the max. The same bullet loaded over 35 grains of 3f wasn't good. 35 grains seemed the minimum for no filler or cards in the 45C with that bullet.

I would try bumping to 6-6.2 gr of the Trail Boss and shoot from a good solid rest as you work your way up.I have put around 4,000 rounds through my pietta 1858 with the 5" barrel

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

I have two Remingtons fitted with the original R&D six shot 45 Colt cylinders.

This is my old EuroArms Remmie that I bought back in 1975. I had the cylinder fitted to it about ten years ago.








I only shoot Black Powder loads through my Remmies.

Here is the pamphlet that came with one of the cylinders. It clearly states that only 'Cowboy Ammunition' should be used in the cylinder. Of course there is no SAAMI standard for 'Cowboy Ammunition' but it generally tends to be loaded down quite a bit. Forget the pamphlet's mention of 750 to 850 fps, because that is meaningless. As I am sure you are aware, depending on the powder chosen, pressure can vary widely with any given velocity,.






I can offer no advise regarding accuracy with heavy bullets. I can only warn you that you need to keep the pressure down.

For what it's worth, my Remmies with their R&D cylinders are the most accurate 45 Colt revolvers I own. More accurate than my Colts, Rugers, or Ubertis. I believe this is because the chambers are bored more tightly than any of the cylinders of those other brands. When loading 45 Colt ammo I always use one of my R&D cylinders as a cartridge gauge. Any round that will seat in the R&D cylinder is guaranteed to seat in the looser chambers of the Colts, Rugers, or Ubertis.

 

[Kurtlez]

Howdy

I have two Remingtons fitted with the original R&D six shot 45 Colt cylinders.

This is my old EuroArms Remmie that I bought back in 1975. I had the cylinder fitted to it about ten years ago.

View attachment 793208

View attachment 793209




I only shoot Black Powder loads through my Remmies.

Here is the pamphlet that came with one of the cylinders. It clearly states that only 'Cowboy Ammunition' should be used in the cylinder. Of course there is no SAAMI standard for 'Cowboy Ammunition' but it generally tends to be loaded down quite a bit. Forget the pamphlet's mention of 750 to 850 fps, because that is meaningless. As I am sure you are aware, depending on the powder chosen, pressure can vary widely with any given velocity,.

View attachment 793210




I can offer no advise regarding accuracy with heavy bullets. I can only warn you that you need to keep the pressure down.

For what it's worth, my Remmies with their R&D cylinders are the most accurate 45 Colt revolvers I own. More accurate than my Colts, Rugers, or Ubertis. I believe this is because the chambers are bored more tightly than any of the cylinders of those other brands. When loading 45 Colt ammo I always use one of my R&D cylinders as a cartridge gauge. Any round that will seat in the R&D cylinder is guaranteed to seat in the looser chambers of the Colts, Rugers, or Ubertis.

Great info, thanks for the replies. Definitely good to hear about those accuracy results

 

[Kurtlez]

I would try bumping to 6-6.2 gr of the Trail Boss and shoot from a good solid rest as you work your way up.I have put around 4,000 rounds through my pietta 1858 with the 5" barrel

I have the 5” model as well and it’s dead accurate with the light cap and ball rounds. Any luck with heavier rounds? And how’s your revolver holding up after that many rounds?

 

[Roger Laird]

I have the 5” model as well and it’s dead accurate with the light cap and ball rounds. Any luck with heavier rounds? And how’s your revolver holding up after that many rounds?

still working like a champ everything right and tight