My New Pietta 1858 ( Initial Review )

[hylander]

Just received my brand new 1858 from Cabelas
Paid 199.99 with free shipping :smile:
Packaging was pathetic, little box inside a great big box with almost no protection, but arrived unscathed.
Finish of Frame and cylider: 100%
Finish of barrel: 90% , has a slightly dull finish, you can tell in the second photo.
Steel to Brass fit: 100%
Metel to wood fit: 100%
Trigger Pull: Crisp @ 4.25 lb. A bit to heavy, will have to work it down to 3.5 lb.
All cylinders Mic @ .450
I slugged the Bore, I used a .454 RB and it barly cut a ring, Lands measured .440
Grooves are very narrow so it is hard to measure as they are not straight across from each other,
Best I can tell they are .450 - .451
Action is very smooth and Lockup is tight
Timing seems perfect as best as I can tell by looking down the barrel.
Barrel is clocked corrct "Sights are Straight" ;)

Not quite as perfect as the Uberti I checked out, but for $150 less
I can live with the Finish not being perfect :wink:
Range Report to follow this weekend

Still covered in the Factory oil.
Sure is Purty

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/hylander7/Firearms/Modern/Handguns/Picture081.jpg

And after initial cleaning
Notice the finish of the barrel is a little dull.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/hylander7/Firearms/Modern/Handguns/Picture089.jpg

And the Initial Range Report

For my first outing I tried Pyrodex P and 777 fff
I used the Ox-Yoke Wonder Wad under the ball and no grease.
Also CCI #10 caps fit perfect. #11 caps would fall off when fired.
Groups where fired off the bench @ 10yds., it started raining to hard so I had to quit.
I did no cleaning of the Pistol and had no problems.
777 had alittle more kick, but not alot, both gave me lots of smoke 8-)
I like 30gr. load, that way I do not have to use a filler and it seems accurate enough.
I'm hitting 1.5" low and 1" left
In conclusion:
This is a Great Pistol :Fire: [smilie=w:

30gr. Pyrodex P

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/hylander7/Firearms/Modern/Handguns/Picture098.jpg

30gr. 777 fff
This is 5gr. over Max published load

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b193/hylander7/Firearms/Modern/Handguns/Picture099.jpg

[NickSS]

I bought three of them when they were selling for $99 each and it was the best money I ever spent on a handgun. I have put several thousand rounds through mine and they just keep on working and shooting just fine. I really do not know why Piatta puts shuch small holes in the cylinder as the bore is 451 in all of mine so I had all the chambers reamed to .452 and I use .454 balls in them. I get nice groups at 25 and 50 yards with them.

[Captain*Kirk]

Nice...Very nice!
I have an Armsport in stainless that happens to be one of my favorite BP revolvers.
You got a great price and a nice looker, to boot!

Armsport '58 Remmy
http://i785.photobucket.com/albums/yy140/Buellosaurusrex/Smokepoles/1858Rem.jpg

Not meaning to steal your thunder.

[JIMinPHX]

I think that a Pietta 58 is a great C&B revolver.

The ones that I've seen take a #10 cap, not a #11, but the M6 x 0.75 extra fine threads in the cylinder will accept either size nipple from Pietta. Most other brands of nipple do not fit.

Caps vary in size slightly by brand. I can't remember if CCI was the big one, or if it was Remington. Sometimes you need to try a few different ones before you find one that fits well. Sometimes not all the nipples on the same gun will have the same cap to nipple fit. Sometimes you need to adjust the nipple diameter a little. Other times, you just get lucky & everything just works. If you have trouble with caps not going off, the cap to nipple fit is the first place to look. The RWS brand caps that I have seen were a 10.75, which is not a true #11, but is often used as one on a gun with a loose fitting #11 nipple.

One of the nice things about the 58 Rem design, is that you can take the cylinder out & load it on the bench in a loading fixture. That is much easier than trying to load the cylinder in the gun. The bench loading fixtures are not that expensive.

Opinions will vary, but I like .454" round balls in those things. I've had my best accuracy from Hornady factory balls, but the ones that I cast out of a Lee mold did pretty well too as long as I loaded them with the sprue mark facing straight up.

I tried Pyrodex pellets, but found that the powder cavity, in the one I was fooling with, was just a bit smaller in diameter than the pellets were & that caused some problems. I went back to loose powder & haven't had a problem since.

For safety sake, I like to load wonder wads between the ball & the powder charge. They help to keep the gun from gumming up with muck too.

Congratulations on a nice purchase.

[wellfedirishman]

Hylander, I have a Pietta 1858 from Cabelas also (5.5" barrel) and it loves .454 lead balls and 30 grains of FFF Black Powder. Use plenty of grease over the ball to keep the fouling soft and easy to clean.

The Piettas are great guns for the $.

[hylander]

Range Report added to first post

[Captain*Kirk]

Nice shootin'!
Fine-tune that load a smidge and just tap that front sight, hold about half an inch high and....
ding!ding! You win the kewpie doll!

[JIMinPHX]

It's amazing how accurate those old time shootin irons can be. They are wonderfully comfortable to shoot too.

You will want to clean that thing when you are done shooting for the day. Black Powder residue is not friendly stuff if left to sit in a gun. You want to clean that thing with HOT soapy water, not the nitro solvent that you use for modern smokeless powders. Some people put them through the dishwasher. Once it's clean & dry, you will want to apply a lite coat of oil to prevent rust. I usually dress the bore with a bit of Bore Butter or Wonder Lube too. I also take out the nipples & grease up the threads with breach & nipple grease or Gorilla Grease. It's standard practice to grease the cylinder axle, the hand & the star too. If you take care of those things, they last a long time. If you don't, then they don't.