1858 Parts

[TCLouis]

I am in the possession of a couple of 1858s (European made of course).
Cylinders appear to be tight with 0.450" round balls (even my 445s sit on the face of the cylinder) . . . 0.450"Correct size???
Need a good nipple wrench for the limited space in a revolver cylinder, a couple of sets of nipples.
Are all the European made guns the same thread size and pitch?


I have never shot a BP revolver, so the adventure begins.

What about some of the 200 grain 0.451s I cast for other things?

Best source Track of the Wollf, others?

[john hayslip]

Try VTI gunparts.

[Battis]

I'd go with .454 roundballs (pure lead). .451 might be too small. .457 will be too big. Are you replacing the nipples, or there just aren't any?

[mikeym1a]

Did you try to slug the barrel to see what it wants? HHHmmmm????

[William Yanda]

"Need a good nipple wrench for the limited space in a revolver cylinder"

Got a Dremel with a cut off wheel?
Find a 1/4 inch drive socket which will fit the recess and modify to go over the nipple-or cone if you prefer. If I can do it.....
Bill

[Omnivore]

Did you try to slug the barrel to see what it wants? HHHmmmm????

Slugging the barrel is irrelevant-- The chambers determine the projectile size anyway. You would slug the bore only if you were interested in reaming the chambers to match the barrel, or just for general information. There's nothing actionable to be gained unless you want to ream the chambers. Most Italian 44 cal chambers run between about .447 and .450" and in any case a .454" ball will be about right. Some people use a .457" ball anyway, to get more bearing surface and starting pressure.

I second the suggestion of using a .454 ball. The oft recommended .451" is usually too small, IMO. The balls are not perfectly round, plus a little dent in the smaller ball, in the wrong place, could allow hot gas to blow into your adjacent chambers, causing a cross-fire. A larger ball will compensate for these little imperfections, ensuring a good seal. Usually that means you'll be cutting a little ring of lead upon seating. Some people chamfer the chamber mouths so no ring is cut. Either way works.

Bullets cast for use in metal cartridges will usually be difficult, to very difficult, to load. For cap and ball revolvers you want a "heel base" bullet. It has a rebated heel that inserts easily into the chamber, prior to ramming. They're far easier to load. Lee sells a 200 grain mold for the Italian revolvers, Buffalo Arms has at least one heel base bullet mold for 44 cal revolvers, Big Lube and Accurate Molds also sells them. You may also be able to find new old stock in the Buffalo Bullets (not the same company as Buffalo Arms) called a "Ball-ett" or some such, which is a swaged, semi hollow, heel base bullet expressly for cap and ball revolvers. You have a lot of choices. Not all the repros will accept a conical bullet, though, unless you first open up the frame's loading cutout.

Track of the Wolf, Dixie Gun Works, Taylor's, Cimarron, even Cabela's, and several others sell suitable nipple wrenches.

NOT all Italian repros take the same threads. A thread pitch gauge set is a very cheap item and everyone should have one. They will almost certainly be metric threads. I really like the Treso AMPCO nipples. You can check with Treso and they'll know which nipples you need. They tend to be a bit longer than the original repro nipples though, at least in my experience with outfitting three different revolvers.

[mikeym1a]

Slugging the barrel is irrelevant-- The chambers determine the projectile size anyway. You would slug the bore only if you were interested in reaming the chambers to match the barrel, or just for general information. There's nothing actionable to be gained unless you want to ream the chambers. Most Italian 44 cal chambers run between about .447 and .450" and in any case a .454" ball will be about right. Some people use a .457" ball anyway, to get more bearing surface and starting pressure.

I second the suggestion of using a .454 ball. The oft recommended .451" is usually too small, IMO. The balls are not perfectly round, plus a little dent in the smaller ball, in the wrong place, could allow hot gas to blow into your adjacent chambers, causing a cross-fire. A larger ball will compensate for these little imperfections, ensuring a good seal. Usually that means you'll be cutting a little ring of lead upon seating. Some people chamfer the chamber mouths so no ring is cut. Either way works.

Bullets cast for use in metal cartridges will usually be difficult, to very difficult, to load. For cap and ball revolvers you want a "heel base" bullet. It has a rebated heel that inserts easily into the chamber, prior to ramming. They're far easier to load. Lee sells a 200 grain mold for the Italian revolvers, Buffalo Arms has at least one heel base bullet mold for 44 cal revolvers, Big Lube and Accurate Molds also sells them. You may also be able to find new old stock in the Buffalo Bullets (not the same company as Buffalo Arms) called a "Ball-ett" or some such, which is a swaged, semi hollow, heel base bullet expressly for cap and ball revolvers. You have a lot of choices. Not all the repros will accept a conical bullet, though, unless you first open up the frame's loading cutout.

Track of the Wolf, Dixie Gun Works, Taylor's, Cimarron, even Cabela's, and several others sell suitable nipple wrenches.

NOT all Italian repros take the same threads. A thread pitch gauge set is a very cheap item and everyone should have one. They will almost certainly be metric threads. I really like the Treso AMPCO nipples. You can check with Treso and they'll know which nipples you need. They tend to be a bit longer than the original repro nipples though, at least in my experience with outfitting three different revolvers.

Ah! I bow to your superior knowledge. Thought I had heard that some cylinders were on the small side, contributing to undersized boolits. But I must be wrong...............

[Omnivore]

Thought I had heard that some cylinders were on the small side, contributing to undersized boolits. But I must be wrong...............

You heard right. And as I said; one could ream the chambers to match the barrel groove diameter, and that would be the only reason to slug the bore (to find out what size reamer to use).

TCLewis; I would have thought a .445" ball would drop right down into any 44 cal percussion revolver chamber with no resistance. Something does not compute. What is the maker of the gun?