Pietta 1851 Navy .36

Marcel B.

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I have my mind wrapped around one of my other all-time favorite guns, the 1851 Navy .36 cal. (.375) cap and ball revolver.

The Pietta looks pretty nice and almost all reviews are very positive and the price is very attractive!

Anyone here have one?

I have put the hints out to my wife and I am FAR from subtle, LOL! Then we were watching "The Frisco Kid" this evening and I said "Hey Babe, Look! They're shooting 1851 Navy revolvers!" They were, LOL!

For $250 at Cabelas it is looking good!

(I wish they had a wooden cased pair with consecutive numbers, LOL!)
 
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I have an 1851 and an 1862 Sheriffs model by Pietta. I am extremely pleased with the fit and finish on both of them. They have so far proven to me to be a solid and accurate firearm that handle and point as well as you want. My interests with BP revolver shooting started back in 1980 with a Ruger Old Army (which I still have). If you acquire the Pietta, I hope you get as much enjoyment out of it as I have with the ones I have.

Safe Shooting.
 
I bought a 1851 Pietta but in .44. The fit on the grips was very poor. Uncomfortable to hold due to protruding edges. I had to refit and refinish them. Its great now and it shoots well also.
The 1858 Pietta I bought a few years ago has perfect fit and finish. The ejection rod on my Uberti 1875 broke but the fit and finish is ok.
 
I sent a Uberti 1860 back as 4 of 6 cylinders did not line up with the bore and it had casting flaws in the trigger guard.

My Pietta copy of Colts 1873 is excellent.
 
It's been my experience that there's little to choose between my Uberti guns and Pietta guns as well. Individual examples of course can come with all sorts of warts.

If your goal is to shoot it regularly then stick with the steel main frame. Brass is blingy but even with the lower recoil of a .36 it can eventually stretch and ruin the gun unless you run with fairly minimal loads.

You'll likely find like the rest of us that some work on the front sight is needed. As delivered they use a rather short front sight which is zeroed for out around 100 yards or something silly. So you either need to do a little metal working to make and install a taller front pin style brass sight or you need to use a 6 o'clock hold on a target. If you use the gun for shooting at Evil Roy cowboy targets you pretty much need to aim it at Roy's 'nads to get a hit at mid chest.

Despite all this if you're the sort that will enjoy the pace of loading and shooting a BP revolver I'm sure you'll find that the Pietta Navy is a good playmate.
 
Where does one find the BP revolvers? I've looked a lot of places, Marstar has some. I saw Cabelas mentioned?? I've seen nothing on their canadian site. Is it possible to order from their american site?
 
For Uberti's try Shooter's Choice in Waterloo On.
They are distributed in Canada by Stoeger who also handle Beretta so can be ordered by any dealer that has Beretta.
 
Wolverine Arms also keeps a good stock of Uberti in stock. I think they are in Alberta or Manitoba. I bought several 1858 Remington Targets made by Pietta, which I purchased through Marstar. Extremely pleased with the revolvers and the service from Marstar. Adjustable sights are nice to have. Also purchased a used Uberti 1851 Navy. I would have to rate the quality between it and the Pietta's as very similar. If I would of bought it new, I would of more than likely purchased a new Pietta from Marstar in the Navy.
All my are steel frame. A brass frame definitely must be used with reduced loads, in order to keep the gun tight. I have done all the handgun sports on the smokeless side. Black powder is incredibly fun to do. Good luck, you will not regret it.
 
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