Pietta .45LC 5.5" w/ brass backstrap and trigger guard

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freedomintheskies

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Hey,
Just ordered one of these nice looking revolvers from Marstar and want to hear about some other peoples' opinions and experiences. I plan on building my own ammo for it and I also look forward to recipies for loads that are accurate but will not be too hard on the piece...

Not planning on doing any CASS stuff, but always enjoyed the classic lines of the SA Colt revolver... I grew up in the era where it was cool to play cowboys and indians and nobody created a stink over Native rights or oppressive rule by the invading homesteaders... Anyways, I just like the gun and would like to hear from others that enjoy them too....
 
I have a Uberti with the "antique" finish 5-1/2 inch barrel .45 Colt and I am working on a milder than factory load using a cast 200 grain round nose flat point bullet with 6.7 grains of Unique propelling it. The flat point is good for punching a nice hole in the paper which is easier to see than the ragged hole that round bullets make. This is a work in progress as the accuracy so far is not that good compared to my 1911s .45ACP using Berry's 230 grain copper plated bullets motivated by 4.6 grains of Unique.
I am going to try the heavier bullet for the .45 Colt and see what difference this makes and have a mould on the way to cast my own 230 grain bullets for both the .45 Colt and .45ACP.
How about some pictures when your gun shows up...never get tired of looking at these things.:D
Here are a couple of pics of my guns:

New45Colt013.jpg

New45ColtatrangeSept25005.jpg
 
Sounds like we have the same gun:

PT-SA73-261-L.jpg


I liked the way it looked and felt. Nothing but nice light loads in the great 45 Colt - I save the stiff loads for my Ruger.
 
Andy said:
Sounds like we have the same gun:

PT-SA73-261-L.jpg


I liked the way it looked and felt. Nothing but nice light loads in the great 45 Colt - I save the stiff loads for my Ruger.
Click to expand...

Yep, I liked the brass trigger guard and backstrap too. I also wanted the case hardened blue finish and so I had to opt for the "more expensive to feed" .45LC.
PT-SA73-081-L.jpg

Skinny- Nice guns, mate! Please let me know how your load recipes work out. Do you think there are any considerations for copper plated bullets compared to lead as far as powder load goes?
 
Okay; Took it to the range today for it's first shoot. I began with a 15 yard target. Not much luck! I did'nt hit a darned thing! So, I moved up to 10 yards and began at least hitting paper. The big front blade sight and the narrow groove in the top of the frame do not a good sight make!!! I found the recoil to be about the same as a .45ACP and quite managable. The grip is small though and my little finger was left to it's own devices on the bottom of the revolvers' grip. It did'nt seem uncomfortable though. By the time I fired 35 rounds, I was running out of light, so packed up and headed for the bunkhouse.
... Back at the ranch, I began cleaning the gun and found that the hammer screw had backed out a full 4 turns! Hmmm... I think that some Loctite is required to prevent this from happening again.
Once I can figure out how to load some pix, I will put some up. It's a good looking revolver!
 
Just came back from the range and tested the 230 grain round nose bullets using 4.7 grains of Unique. They are way more accurate than the 200 grain flat point,I was getting 3 inch groups at 15 yards. I had a squib load that had no powder in it..:eek: the primer had enough power to drive the bullet half way down the barrel and I had to pound it out. Looking at the bullet after I can see where the rifling has engaged the base of the bullet this may be why it is so accurate. The .45 Colt case is large and there is a lot of room for an over-charge so I have to be very careful when loading.
 
9d46rh.jpg


My uberti remington 1875 outlaw in .357 magnum, I only shoot .38's out of it though.

Love it... great trigger, only thing you will notice with most of these old guys is they tend to shoot high at close ranges.
 
You are sposed to wrap your pinky finger under the grip. slow hammer fall leads to loose groups .breath out , hold your breath , squeese the trigger , allow the gun to rise naturally.
 
The pictures aren't bad for someone using the basic on camera flash. The grouping of the props isn't bad but I'd suggest prop the gun up a little with something from behind which you won't see or use a holster for proping the gun up so that you can use a lower angle to get more of the whiskey bottle label readable. Also the stuff around the edges like the edge of the table and the glasses in the background really kills it.

Photography can be almost as much fun as the actual shooting of the new gun. Remember that it's very much like painting with light in terms of how you set up the items and lighting. Capturing the actual moment at the push of the shutter release (do they still call it that?) is almost an afterthought.

Congrats on the new gun. To complete the picture you need to get some leather for it... :D

With a fixed sights gun like this you're going to find that each bullet weight will have a specific charge of whatever powder you're using that results in just the right combination of recoil and bullet speed to hit right at the POA. I gather you're into reloading. If you're not the cost of .45Colt will soon drive you to start :D Keep records of each bullet weight and try different powders. You'll likely find a few combos which work especially well with the gun.

As mentioned already the correct way for a guy with medium or larger hands to hold the gun is with the pinky under the base of the grips. When shooting the gun will push back and roll a little in the grip. The pinky comes in handy for relocating the gun in your grip for the next shot.

You can get bullet weights all the way down to 180 gns. But these are so light that you're using almost no powder and they aren't especially accurate when shot from my buddy's Vaqueros. He's loading and shooting 200 gn rounds for CAS now and the gun is working better for accuracy and it just plain feels more like he's shooting something worthwhile. For a bit more thump jump up to 240 or 250gn bullets and the proper amount of powder to make 'em hit where the gun aims.

My own .38 Pietta was a touch gritty and grabby on the trigger when new. But it smoothed out nicely from simply shooting it over the first few hundred rounds. I've only had the entire gun apart a few times so I could clean out the action. It takes about 600 or more rounds but eventually the powder and stuff does work its way back and into the guts of the gun. So swabbing out the insides every couple of thousand rounds isn't a bad idea.
 
Yes, the pix were not all that great. I just whipped off a couple with my crackberry...
I bought some winchester ammo that marked the target exactly at point of aim and the gun is quite accurate after all. I finally got my reloading bits and pieces for .45LC and have a few hundred rounds loaded. I will tune then for best performance. Any suggestions for Trail Boss powder with 250gr copper plated bullets or 255 gr lead flat nose bullets? -Just looking for point of aim accuracy, not velocity...
 
It all depends on what amount of powder equates to which bullet. My method when facing a new load for new bullets or new powder is to make up about 10 of each in .4 gn steps from just above the lowest starting load up to somewhat under the max load. Then I shoot them and see which works. Keep notes as you go. If one is a hair under and the next a hair over I'll fine tune a few more test batches of 10 each in that range.

There's really not any other way to do it unless you're getting advice from others which shoot that bullet and powder.
 
Just got this a few days ago ...haven't had it to the range yet.
Uberti 1873 cap and ball... black powder, takes a .454 ball. To load: the cylinder is removed and put in a press and loaded with powder and ball and capped with Lube to prevent chainfires.

NewgunsApril92011006-1.jpg

NewgunsApril92011005-1.jpg


I have shot black powder reloads in .45 cal ...the case is filled to near the top leaving enough room to seat the ball here is a picture of it being shot:

RangeJan82011010001_0003.jpg
 
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