1858 brass .44 pistol

[49FMarlin]

Picked this up today at a local gun-shop,
185.00
looks like its never been fired in the cylinder-bores and barrel

what mold would i buy from midway to cast my own balls,?
what powder is best? (can i use my swiss 1Fg ?)
do i need to use a wad between powder and ball? if so what size ?

thanks
john

[Outpost75]

Use pure lead and a round ball large enough to you shave a wee ring of lead of its circumference in seating. The Pietta revolver I had needed .454 balls.

The brass frames don't hold up to high volume shooting with heavy charges and will loosen up. For this reason some makers drill the chambers in a bottle shape with reduced diameter towards the nipple threads to limit how much powder the chambers will hold. If yours are done this way, measure a charge to fill the chambers to within 1/4" of the top and then press the ball in with the rammer. You should be able to feel compression at the end of the rammer stroke. If you chambers are straight walled, then limit the powder charge in a .44 to about 25-28 grains of 2Fg with a round ball. Your Swiss 1F will work, but is not ideal. The lubricated Buffalo Bore or Ox Yoke originals wads work well, otherwise just fill the chambers, compress the charge and apply Crisco over the ball.

I use GoJo or Fast Orange waterless hand cleaner, the SMOOTH variety WITHOUT pumice, to clean the gun and my hands at the range. Works well and no rust.

Cap & ball revolvers are fun.

[dlbarr]

I have a Pietta '58 just like that one, brass frame and all. It shoots .454 RBs, mold from LEE. Go here http://www.durofelt.com/image_26.html and buy a roll of felt for $18...it'll last you a looong time. Or buy 2 rolls, which will last you close to forever.

Outpost is right, the brass frames will tend to stretch if heavy loads are used. I think I load something like 12gr of 3fg which is plenty for plinking fun or killing small game within 50 ft. Yep, C&B revolvers are fun.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

FG powder will indeed produce reduced pressure and velocity than the much finer ones usually used in revolvers. But with the brass frame it may be just what you need. You can have a lot of fun with the performance it will provide.

The use of a lubed felt wad isn't particularly necessary. In particular I think it is liable to become cup-shaped, and hence reduce its diameter, when used with a round ball. With a flat based bullet that shouldn't be a problem, and with the brass frame taking up some of the powder space may be no disadvantage.

With an elongated bullet, if you have that tapering chamber, you should make sure that the taper doesn't extend close enough two the mouth to swage down the bullet base, and/or impose excessive difficulty in ramming. My favourite would be the Lee mould with a rear band which should be a close fit in the chamber, while only the following bands have to shed that tiny ring of lead.

It is worth measuring the chamber diameters before you buy a mould or a lot of bullets. I once saw a very good original revolver which had a shootable but not really good bore, and perfect chambers. It turned out that some member of the intellectual classes had reamed the chambers. It wasn't enough to be harmful with the right bullet. But a normal bullet would have been loose in the chambers, imposing a risk of flashovers or the bullet emerging under recoil and impeding rotation.

[bbailey7821]

Interesting find. I'll bet everyone's right about the .454 balls. I can't tell from the picture, but I believe I have it's twin. I run 15g's of FFFg in mine.

[Driver man]

I shoot 21grains FFFg with a 457 pure lead round ball , I use semolina as a packer and petroleum jelly (vaselene) over the top. This is in a replica made by Uberti and is extremely accurate.