cap n ball revolvers....your choice and why??

saskgunowner101

saskgunowner101

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Decided to take up muzzle loading recently, and even though it's a modern inline I really get a kick out of it. Anyways, it got me thinking about getting a cap n ball revolver of some sort. Any thoughts or opinions on XX model versus XY model appreciated.

I thought the Remington 1858 seemed nice, but also some of the Colts as well. I've only looked at Marstars website so far, so any leads would be great.:)
 
Colt pocket - just because they're so darn cool!

Other than that, I like the 1858 remingtons myself. They aren't the prettiest guns out there, but they're build like tanks and seem to work well. In general avoid brass frames and you're set.
 
I got a rem 1858 .44, and a colt 1851 in .36 Both are Pietta from Marstar, steel frames. I really like the way the colt points. The remington is a bit easier to take apart than the colt. I couldnt decide on one so I got both. They are quite fun to shoot.
 
I have Uberti , Pietta, Armi San Paolo and Armi San Marco cap and ball revolvers, Uberti makes a Pocket Model 1849 but it has a 4 inch barrel and is therefore "Prohibited" in Canada. Try Shooter's Choice in Alberta (I think) for Uberti's in stock. As far as quality goes I can't really see much difference between new Pietta's and Uberti's although the grips on my 1851 Uberti are really nice. Another way to go would be a Ruger Old Army ...very well built and tough... this would be great for .44 Cal.
Here is a link to Uberti's offerings:
http://www.uberti.com/
 
The Ruger Old Army is the most solid out there, prolly outlast any other 2 or 3, different barrel length and stainless options, cartridge cylinder aftermarket options as well. Not as historically correct as others, but hell for stout!!!
 
Remington's were always a better design over colt. The top strap keeps the barrel and cylinder in line and helps prevent flash over to the other cylinders when firing. You like your fingers attached to your hand don't you? .....it only took colt up to the peacemaker to put a top strap on like remington did from the beginning.
 
In my limited experience with cap and ball I have not heard of any brand that is total garbage, in fact there are very few gun makers that even make them. The reason is that not that many people want to mess around at the range loading ammo. I have had problems with all the makers that I mentioned but so far none stand out as being inferior.
You may want to consider cartridge conversions if you don't want to work on your guns to make them actually shoot reliably.
 
I have a pietta brass frame .36 it shoots great and havent had an issue with it. That comment about avoiding brass frames is silly, I have never had and issue with mine.

Mclean
 
I think the main problem people have with Brass is an old wives tale. That was true in it's day. Back in the civil war days the metal was far inferior to what it is today, even the steel. I have really never hear of anyone that had problems with brass unless of course they had been shooting above maximum loads. Even so, I would avoid the max load in any BP that you want to shoot for a while. I have a Pietta 1851 Navy and LOVE it.
 
Ah well that makes more sense then, I picked up my 1851 off of a buddy for 150 bucks, couldnt resist. The guns was a little beat up brass tarnished and te screw forthe barrel lug was pretty rough. But it cleaned up real nice!

I want an original now something terrible!
 
Remington NMA (what many call the 1858, actually an 1863). Colt 1860 Army.

Both great guns. The repros out there are very good. I have been shooting mainly Uberti's, but I have heard nothing but good things about Pietta's.
 
Olof said:
Remington NMA (what many call the 1858, actually an 1863). Colt 1860 Army.

Both great guns. The repros out there are very good. I have been shooting mainly Uberti's, but I have heard nothing but good things about Pietta's.
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unlax, chill; you won't get ANYWHERE near that level of performance anyway, even from the walkers- the best we can do is a light 357- somewhere between a 38 spcl and a 357- and that's with a ruger old army, which is what i shoot-
 
I have seen 2 brass frame .44's shoot their arbor pins loose... I have no idea how many shots this took, but I would say it was a lot... Both guns were Uberti's, although they were older ones not current production... One of them was repaired by have a custom made arbor with larger threads and boring and re-threading the arbor pin hole in the frame...

I think if one catches this condition early enough by checking for loosnes in the arbor to the frame every time it is shot it could be easily remedied by using some high strenght red stud and bearing retainer loctite...

I have never seen a frame issue with brass frame Remington copies though....
 
My current cap and balls are a pair of Walker's... One is from a limited run of Uberti's made years ago for Navy Arm or Dixie in .475" caliber and the other is a .44 Armi San Marco.

The Uberti is a much better gun in my opinion as the fit and finish can't even be compared to the ASM.

I have had to swage and reform the wedge for the Uberti once as it had shot loose from a constant diet of 60 grs of FFg with a 200 gr LBT conical...

The ASM has had to be retimed once and has broken both the hand and trigger/bolt springs at one point....

The loading lever retainer springs on both of these pistols are problematic but is easily solved by a wrap of electrical tape to keep the rammers from dropping under recoil....
 
the majority of the b/p revolvers are 7.5 or so based on what the "original " was- remember, even the colt saa was originally a 7.5; then people found it to be too clumsy in a draw situation, and that's why they started to shorten the barrels-you can get "sherriff's models" down to 3 or 4 inches- these are missing certain features, or use "shortened " loading components, down to the point of not having any, where you load the cylinder out of the revolver, then rotate it in
 
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