Fire a Colt 1850?

[fishnbob]

I got out my old Colt the other day and was wondering about shooting it. My father in law passed it on to me and I've never done anything but keep it in the safe. The history on it says it was made around 1863 and went to the Union Army as a service revolver. It seems tight and I was wondering if I should lightly load it and fire it and then take it down and clean it? I saw a gun expert on TV the other night and he loaded one like mine and packed grease in the end of the cylinders to keep it from firing more than one cylinder. I've never heard anything like that before. Each cylinder is sealed by the projectile, how can that be possible? Any comments would be appreciated by you BP shooters. My only experience with BP is in rifles, especially the newer in line models.

Thanks, Bob:coffeecom

[Beagle333]

pic of 1851
http://www.castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=44275&d=1336663047
********************

and 1860
http://www.castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=44276&d=1336663061

[Beagle333]

As for firing it, that is a matter of personal preference. Some people like "safe queens" (I am one) and others won't own it if they ain't shot it.

If you are going to fire it, and with a light load, you will need some sort of filler to get good compression of the powder, because the loading lever plunger may not be long enough to compress only half a load under a ball. This is easily solved with either a felt wad or simply adding corn meal or cream of wheat as a filler. I like corn meal myself, it's cheap and handy. In my light loads, I put the selected amount powder in and fill the rest of the cylinder almost to the top with corn meal. As for the grease, I use a homemade beeswax/olive oil lube, but it isn't absolutely necessary if you use a wad or filler, since you already have a double barrier (ball + filler) between loose sparks and powder charge. But if you like, you can just use Crisco smeared over the ball for an extra ounce of prevention since this isn't going to be a regular shooter.

[405]

I got out my old Colt the other day and was wondering about shooting it. My father in law passed it on to me and I've never done anything but keep it in the safe. The history on it says it was made around 1863 and went to the Union Army as a service revolver. It seems tight and I was wondering if I should lightly load it and fire it and then take it down and clean it? I saw a gun expert on TV the other night and he loaded one like mine and packed grease in the end of the cylinders to keep it from firing more than one cylinder. I've never heard anything like that before. Each cylinder is sealed by the projectile, how can that be possible? Any comments would be appreciated by you BP shooters. My only experience with BP is in rifles, especially the newer in line models.

Thanks, Bob:coffeecom

First, B333 is exactly right you need to identify what you have. M1850 does not sound right.

Second, get a book like one of the Lyman BP or muzzleloader books. Do some research on loading, shooting and maintenance of the cap & ball revolver.

Third, find someone locally who knows about these and get some opinions on the condition and value of your revolver. It could be quite valuable and not worth the risk or degradation of shooting it anymore (no matter whether it is in shootable condition or not). If it has pretty good condition it will be valuable. If so, I wouldn't shoot it. I'd get a relatively cheap Italian copy and use and abuse that.

[KCSO]

If the gun is in sound condition and the nipples ate tight and good threads you can fire it with any load you would use in a repro. BUT make sure the nipples are in good shape and the nipple threads are not rusted out as they can chanin fire through the nipples too. Had one do that one time and it is NOT a fun event.

[M-Tecs]

Colt 1860 armies in good enough condition to shoot start at about $3,000 and go way up for ones in better condition. I would have it appraised first than decide if I want to risk devaluing it by firing it.

[waksupi]

That was my thoughts, too. Awful expensive toy. I'd put it away, and get a modern revolver for a couple hundred bucks to shoot.

[bob208]

let the old soldier rest. it could be just one shot away from a split cylinder.it is worth too much.get a reproduction and shoot that.

[Omnivore]

Definitely get a repro to learn to load, shoot, take down, and clean the thing, and get it all back together without buggering screws or making other mistakes, even if you intend to shoot the original at some point.

Much better to learn on a 200 to 300 dollar gun than on a fifteen hundred+ dollar piece of history. Become an expert on the repro before you even think of firing the original. I mean take out the repro at least a dozen times, cleaning it as many times, understanding every detail of how it's put together, how it works, and pitfalls of take-down and cleaning, lubing and maintenance, and how easily it corrodes etc. (the original will corrode more easily because of its more pitted finish).

You'll thank us later.

And; yeah, I'd fire it. Eventually.

[fishnbob]

Definitely get a repro to learn to load, shoot, take down, and clean the thing, and get it all back together without buggering screws or making other mistakes, even if you intend to shoot the original at some point.

Much better to learn on a 200 to 300 dollar gun than on a fifteen hundred+ dollar piece of history. Become an expert on the repro before you even think of firing the original. I mean take out the repro at least a dozen times, cleaning it as many times, understanding every detail of how it's put together, how it works, and pitfalls of take-down and cleaning, lubing and maintenance, and how easily it corrodes etc. (the original will corrode more easily because of its more pitted finish).

You'll thank us later.

And; yeah, I'd fire it. Eventually.

I am going to thank all of you now. I saw this scenerio on Pawnstars and Rick says they are worth more if they will fire. I think y'all are right about taking a chance on screwing it up. The cylinder is roll engraved with a Naval Battle scene and it is too nice to mess up. I think the patent date is 1850, I'll check it with a magnifying glass. The Colt expert (collector) that looked at it told my Father in Law that it was made in '62 or '63 and went to a Union soldier. It was found in a trunk bought at auction by my wifes Dad from an old home adjacent the Appomattox National Historical Park aka 'the Surrender Grounds'. The story goes that a union soldier gave it to the residents that owned the house where he stayed for a couple of weeks around April, 1865. I wish I had the documentation to prove exactly who it came from. It also has a Heiser holster that it was in and that's a collectable also. Besides, this gives me a reason to buy another gun.;-)

[Bullet Caster]

^great story. Wish you had more of the story. I guess I'm just like all the rest. Go and get yourself a repro like mine.http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_211414efb8083c3396.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=3148)

Mine is a L'Pietra, yeah an Italian model and it is a lot of fun to shoot. I also use Crisco on the end of the cylinder to prevent chain-fires but as was stated above, you can get chain fires from the nipples too.

Make sure the nipples are able to be taken off and reinstalled. I had shot my repro several times before I decided to check the nipples. I found that 3 of 'em weren't tightened all the way. Just glad I never got a chain fire from it.

Since my repro is over 15 years old I decided to take off all the bluing so it would match my .45 Colt Uberti. Go and have some fun. BC

[405]

fishnbob,
You might be able narrow the model # down a little. With naval scene on cylinder... if it is 44 cal (you should be able to measure close enough) it likely a model 1860. If it is 36 cal and the bolster and rear part of the barrel are rounded just above where the ball ram fits through (similar to the m1860) it is likely a model 1861. If it is 36 cal and the bolster and rear part of the barrel is flat sided just above where the ball ram fits though it is likely a model 1851. Find anyone who knows Colt cap & ball revolvers and they would know instantly. Also, since you can describe the naval scene easily (nice clear scene) that is usually an indication of better condition and is very desirable.

[troy_mclure]

Instead of messy grease/crisco at the end of the cylinder use a lubed wad between the Balkans powder. It's tons cleaner to shoot.