Pietta brass frame loads

[planetmobius]

A buddy just gave me a pair of brass framed Pietta 44 revolvers for some work I did for him. I expected nothing but he insisted that I take the guns. They have never been fired and I'm not crazy about the brass frames at all. What loads can I shoot in these guns to insure a long life without stretching the frames? Can I even expect a long life?

 

[mykeal]

15 to 20 (max) grains/volume of fffg real black powder under a round ball. Wads, grease, corn meal filler, etc. between powder and ball are optional.

And yes, you can.

 

[Snaggletooth]

Brass frame

I dont believe that the frame stretched.. Ive seen brassies that were used to consistently shoot 25 or 30 grain loads with an imprint of the rear end of the cylinder imprinted into the shield. This causes more of a gap between the cylinder and the forcing cone. Have a ball shooting 15 to 20 grains.

 

[Prairie Dawg]

In my experience, brass-framed Colt repros "shoot loose", which means the arbor (cylinder pin) loosens in the frame, making the gun useless.

I agree, 15 up to 20 grains is a nice light load.
Heavy enough to punch paper or ring steel & make lots of smoke.
--Dawg

 

[unknwn]

Using these so called "light" -or- "moderate" loads, how many rounds would be expected before the gun loosens up and becomes "useless" ?
What is the recommendation for .36 caliber open top brass frame '51 so far as light-to-middlin' load of Goex or equivalent?

 

[arcticap]

The OP didn't mention whether the 2 new brass frame .44 Piettas are Remingtons, Colts or a mix.
If one is a Remington having a top strap over the cylinder, then it may be able to handle an extra 5 grains of powder (up to 25 grains) depending on the powder. 777 is probably one of the powders that should be kept under 20 grains and if Pyrodex P then maybe only load 22 grains. These powders are more potent than Goex and American Pioneer powder.
Or if the OP would rather shoot stout loads, he could sell them and buy a steel frame revolver. But once they've been fired they will be worth less.
No one really knows how long a brass frame revolver can last. Probably at least 5000 rounds if they're Remingtons, and maybe even double or triple that number if pampered. Remingtons can sometimes be fixed back up by installing bushings or they can always be sold for parts.

 

[Prairie Dawg]

12-15 grains FFFg in a 36 will usually get the job done if punching paper or ringing steel.
In my experience cap guns are more accurate with lighter loads.
When shooting target competitions in the 80s with our 36s, most of the folks I shot with shot only 12 grains in a .36, 17 grains in a .44..
Just my experience.
--Dawg

 

[planetmobius]

They are both open top Colt designs. I'm not versed well enough in C&B revolvers to tell you which particular model.

 

[Hellgate]

The raised ring of metal on the recoil shield gets battered inward and creates an imprint of the back of the cylinder which creates an enlarged cylinder gap. On brasser Remingtons it is a nice outline of the cylinder. If one were to place a steel washer in that area the life of the guns would increase greatly. I concur with everyone else that 20grs FFFg is the max for 44 brassers which is what I shoot in my two. So far, no stretching with a hundred rounds or so in one, the other is fairly new.

 

[arcticap]

They are both open top Colt designs.

One has to wonder how much stress is created when using the gun's ramming lever during ramming.
With a brass frame gun, it's possible that loading off the frame using a loading press could save some wear and tear that might otherwise be associated with firing it.
And ramming oversize or harder alloy balls would create even more stress.

 

[unknwn]

I have always felt that the lateral and draw types of stresses put against the arbor on the open top guns is much more damaging than actually firing them.
I bought a cylinder loading press for just that reason. The fact that stuffing conicals into the cylinders -straight- and without the resultant damage to the slug by starting it even the slightest degree of crooked, was enough for me to spend the sixty dollars on this one:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170890107626
So after I work over my open tops for optimium arbor length which will result in a proper wedge fit, I expect that I will take the cylinders off my '51 and my '60 for loading, brass frame or steel, rain or shine.

 

[planetmobius]

I've decided that brass is not for me. They are on consignment at my local gun shop.

 

[kBob]

Just out of satuable curtiosity......what are you going to get for those guns from the LGS guy?

Did you consider offering them to any of the folks that don't mind brass around here?

-kBob

 

[Foto Joe]

Brass frame guns (Colts pattern) aren't for everybody, personally I've got one and it is by far my favorite shooter. Will it last forever? Probably not, but while it does it's a lot of fun to shoot and in my opinion a good beginner gun. I also use my "Fake" Navy as a project gun to experiment with so I don't risk screwing up a gun that costs twice as much.

Shoot what you like and you'll be a lot happier about the performance.

 

[ZVP]

I have been shooting the heck out of a Brass framed re3volver for 2 years with no problems at all. Of course I keep the loads to reasonable levels of 18 to 20 gr of Pyrodex.
I expect that with this treatment the revolver should last as long as my intrest in it does.
Do not worry.
ZVP

 

[V1ROT8]

Been shooting one of my brass framed revolvers for almost three years. No problems at all for me. Fun shooting.

 

[V1ROT8]

Since these were new I imagine more than a few of us would have been interested in these revolvers if the price was competitive.