Pietta Sheriff Model 1862 44cal Cap and Ball Revolver

[CzyHorse]

I have a less than a lb of FFFg. So, with my limited supply of FFFg, I decided to test a few 'paper' cartridges with FFg and Pyrodex RS in the revolver.
I rolled up some cartridges back in early December, I finally got around to getting to the range today.

Pietta Sheriff Model 1862 44cal Cap&Ball. The Paper cartridge's in picture, 0.457 dia. round ball, ~22 grains by volume Pyrodex RS, rolled up then hand dipped in home made bullet lube.

With my shortage of percussion caps, I did not fire caps to clear nipples before reloading. I find egging the caps, carefully giving them a little squeeze and egg shaping them, has helped a lot to reduce my cap jams.

I used same volume of power for each type of powder, FFFg, FFg or Pyrodex RS. I checked and fished out any paper debris from chambers between rounds.
First & second cylinder where FFFg loads, they all shot fine, not much paper debris left in cylinders, a little smoke.
Third cylinder was FFg loads, they also shot fine, no hang fires, a bit more paper debris left in cylinder, noticeably more smoke than FFFg.
Fourth cylinder was Pyrodex RS, they also shot fine, no hang fires, noticeably more paper left in cylinders, about same amount of smoke as the FFg.

It was a good afternoon, no hang fires, no cap jams and best of all no chain fires.

 

[lone ranger]

How far are you shooting ?
what kind of groups with that light load ?

 

[CzyHorse]

30ft @ AR500 steel targets

 

[Alex McKr]

CzyHorse: Have you tried a .454" dia. ball? It's been my experience that these offer good accuracy and load easily. But, if you're getting good accuracy, the .457" will work.

 

[CzyHorse]

I'm getting reasonable accuracy, I'm hitting the gongs @ 30ft. I donated a Range Rabbit 'Heart Attack' gong to my club. The 3" center is my primary target.

I've tried heavier loads but was plagued with cap jams. Egging the percussion caps a little and using a 22gn by volume charge of FFFg Black Powder, cap jams have been few and far between. I'm still using the original Pietta nipples.

Using 0.457 ball's I get a nice little round ring of shaved lead off each cylinder. It's my understanding that you want to shave a little lead to get a cylinder seal to prevent chain fires. I don't put lube over the ball after seating. My paper cartridges are hand dipped in a home made lube. The Black Power fouling is soft and cleans up pretty easy.

 

[Alex McKr]

CzyHorse: I suspect that the stock Pietta nipples could be part of your problem. Ignition channel a bit on the large side....equals more blowback. More frequent cap jams. Have you considered switching to SLIX or Tresso nipples? Might allow a bit more latitude in powder charge. You might also consider "de-fanging" the hammer. By breaking the sharp edges of the pin slot on the hammer nose. This might reduce caps sticking and dropping into the action, too.

Otherwise, it sounds like you've got your '62 running pretty well. If you're consistently hitting a 3" target at 30 ft., that is reasonable accuracy for c&b.

Every review I've seen on the '62's rates them as very accurate, well balanced and easy handling revolvers. Been considering one these, myself.

Enjoy.

Al

 

[CzyHorse]

I agree, the ignition channel is rather huge in the Pietta's nipples. I don't bother to test fire the caps, you can see, by eye, if ignition channel is clear.
I've looked at replacing the nipples but balked at the pricing for 12, I have a pair of the 1862 revolvers.

I've broken the edge's on the hammers, it helped, was considering the JB weld treatment until I backed off on the 30ish grain (by volume) powder charges.
ATM the 1862's are 'fun' to shoot, reasonably consistent and accurate with the 'light' loads.

With my limited supply of FFFg, I'm going to try some 'duplex' loads next time I roll up some paper cartridges. I'm thinking 10gn (by volume) of FFFg topped off with 12-15 grains (by volume) of FFg or Pyrodex RS.
I'm getting consistent ignition with the paper cartridges, I fish out the left over paper between rounds. Most of the paper left overs are where the base is glued to the tube. Going to try a different type of Glue stick.

 

[Alex McKr]

CzyHorse: Sounds like you've got a good handle on the situation. One thing I've never done with any of my bp guns, is fire caps first to clear nipples. Never saw the need. Instead, I clean them out prior to loading, with isopropyl alcohol. Adopted this method sometime in the mid-1970's and never looked back. Works well and never had ignition problems. Perhaps this information may be useful.

I agree, if you're getting good accuracy and the guns are performing up to expectation, I see no need to increase the powder charge, either. By the way, the jb weld cap jam "fix" does work well.

Your idea for a duplex load seems workable. As you already know, Ffg and Pyrodex RS are going to burn a bit dirtier, that's all. Nothing that your lube can't handle, though. The first couple of cartridges will soon let you know what works.

Do you think you'll need 10 gr. Fffg? Maybe start at 5 grains, then possibly work up a bit? Perhaps you won't need so much faster burning powder to get a reeasonably clean burn. Plus,make your precious supply of Fffg go further. Don't know what paper you're using for cartridges but, going to a thinner paper for the base may also help reduce paper debris.

Also, have you tried CCI #11 caps, in place of your Remington #10's? The CCI caps seem easier to get and work pretty well on the Pietta nipples. For the most part. Might be worth a try.

Experimentation is half the fun with these guns, anyway.

Al

 

[Tudenom]

I have a set of nipples from Track of the Wolf on my Pietta 60 Armies and have 0 cap jams over several years of cowboy action shooting matches. I think they’re cheaper than slixshots even when you factor in shipping and exchange rates.

However, I do have problems with paper fibres plugging up the holes after 2 reloads when using cigarette paper cartridges. It might be that the flash holes are smaller to reduce the chance that gas will push the fired cap off. That might be the reason why they get plugged.

I’m using about 25 grains of fffg, seems to give good accuracy. I have a feeling that heavier loads are responsible for annoying things like loading levers coming open during firing.