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View Full Version : Pietta Griswold & Gunnison .36 caliber revolver



destrux
07-29-2015, 02:10 AM
Picked up one of these on sale recently at Cabela's for $175. I've been itching for one since getting into the Hell on Wheels series on AMC.

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/07/29/af0dc526c0efa029043859b4f11d41b2.jpg

The grips were not fitted to the frame all that well, I had to take about 1/16" off the top to get the grip frame to line up with the screw holes without any force being applied. They fit perfect now though. I also cleaned about teaspoon full of brass shavings out of the inside of the action. Guess this one missed the parts washer. I also ran a 1.0mm drill bit through the flash holes (this is the size Pietta bores them to, I was simply deburring them) and found one flash hole was blocked with a burr.

The cylinder gap was decent though (0.08") and the timing and lock-up was good, and the barrel wedge was fitted properly. The exterior finish is very nice too. The bluing is very deep.

I've already started casting 130gr Lee conicals for it, which over a load of 17gr of Pyrodex P come out of the muzzle at 590fps average. I thought that was a little weak, but I'm unfamiliar with .36 caliber guns and what to expect. I did notice that quite a bit of powder was extruded into my grease cookie, so I plan to try lubed felt wads under the bullet instead to see if the velocity improves a bit.

It is a lot of fun to shoot though. The trigger is very nice, with only a 1 pound break, it makes it very easy to shoot accurately. I was shooting 2.5" groups at 25 yards. It would be excellent for small game hunting with just a bit more practice.

I've always been the type to clean my BP guns with soap and water or windex or Hoppes BP cleaner... but this time I'm going to try just cleaning it with oil (soy or olive) and lubricating the arbor and rear of the cylinder with my home made beeswax based lube that I also use for wads and grease cookies. Actually, for the past few weeks I've been shooting it and cleaning it this way and so far no sign of rust and no ignition issues from cleaning the cylinder bores with oil (I do mop them with q-tip to remove excess oil from the flash hole though). It has made cleaning a lot easier and faster. I've been using a pure soybean oil aerosol spray called "simply soy" that's sold as biodegradable WD40 alternative. I've actually been using it for the past few years at work; it's the best penetrating oil I've ever used for getting rusted fasteners out (and it smells like carnival food when it gets hot). After the initial cleaning I did warm the gun up with a propane torch (only warmed it) to sweat the moisture out of the metal and then sprayed it with the soy oil so it could take it into the pores of the steel. That's a fairly important step in this oil-only cleaning regimen from what I understand, to drive the water out of the metal and get oil deep into it.

I will post pictures tomorrow. I don't have any on this PC.

Omnivore
07-29-2015, 05:07 PM
Eight thousandths is a pretty huge cylinder gap in my opinion, but it's certainly better than the .015" one of my Pietta 44s came with. In reality you don't need more than about three or four thousandths.

Your 2.5" groups at 25 are excellent though, especially considering the price of the gun, so there's no real need to try to "improve" the gun in that regard.

How does it hit, relative to point of aim? For hunting small game I'd think you'd want it dead on at around 25 paces.

Your load could be considered a bit hot for a brass frame though. I'd like to know how it holds up over time. Keep close tabs on that Cylinder gap. If it starts to open up it could be that the brass recoil ring is being peened back, or the brass arbor threads are stretching.

Propane generates a lot of moisture as it burns. I put my guns, disassembled, in the oven at around 150F for a while to dry them, but then if you have a gas oven you'd not be gaining anything. Mine's electric.

destrux
07-29-2015, 11:00 PM
It's about three inches high at 25, right on at 50. Point of aim is right on. When I bought it I pulled every one they had in stock out of the box and bought the one with the tightest gap. They didn't seem to mind me doing that at all. Some of them were very loose.

I might go back down to a 15gr load just because the velocity was only 30fps less. Doesn't seem worth the extra powder for the minimal gain.

Does anyone happen to know if pyrodex goes bad or gets weak? The stuff I'm using was opened about 17 years ago but it's still over half full.

Good point about the propane. I don't think the moisture lingers in the hot metal though. It stays too hot to handle for a few minutes after I remove the flame.

Maven
07-30-2015, 08:43 AM
destrux, Look at this thread, which applies to Pyrodex P as well: http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/295967/post/new/#NEW

Btw, I too have an older plastic bottle of Pyro. P, but have seen no degradation of performance in my BP revolvers.

Bob in St. Louis
10-25-2018, 10:33 PM
*Bump*
Hope nobody minds if I bump an old thread.
Unfortunately, this particular pistol has so many names attached to it, that searching (either here, or on the internet) results in a mind-boggling return.
That being said, I only have a couple questions, I hope it's ok if I piggyback on this thread?
I just bought one of these from a co-worker for $50! He's not fired it since he bought it in the mid 90s. He even included the original metal can of powder!

Here are my questions:
- It seems 20 grains of GOEX fffg is "about right"?
- I'd like to replace the nipples with the stainless versions that operate more efficiently. What size wrench is that?
- I've not seen the "correct" type of wad. Some use lubed, some are dry. What is the "why" behind the reason?

Thanks in advance, and again.. I hope nobody minds if I revive an old thread. This seemed the most "proper", and if nothing else, it will become the one folks with this pistol find most.
Thank you!
Bob

Der Gebirgsjager
10-26-2018, 12:04 PM
Dixie Gun Works lists a Pietta brass frame .36 cal. Navy revolver and lists a load of 15 gr. FFFg. They show 18 gr. FFFg for the steel framed versions.
I have an old Pyrodex data sheet that shows a weighed charge of 21 gr. of Pyrodex P, but it does not specify brass or steel frame. It is kind of unusual to find weighed charges for Pyrodex as it is usually used volume for volume, so that's the way I would go, using a 15 gr. FFFg scoop for a brass frame.

Nipple wrenches are just a very few standard sizes and usually aren't designated with a number, just something like "nipple wrench for black powder revolvers, fits most Italian replicas". Dixie's catalog shows more than one brand, and one stock number is NW0901 "Fits all revolvers except Walkers and Dragoons."

Your question about lubed/dry wads is just about worthy of an entire thread by itself. The short version is that a wad prevents cross firing of the charge holes. A lubed wad acts, to some extent, like the lube on the base of a centerfire cast bullet, helping to lube and reduce fouling in the bore on it's way out.

Bob in St. Louis
10-26-2018, 04:42 PM
Excellent, thank you.. thank you..!!

Maven
10-26-2018, 07:06 PM
Bob, If you're going to replace the nipples, take a look at these: https://www.badmanbullets.com/OnlineStore/proddetail.php?prod=SliXshot-Black-Powder-Nipples. I installed a set on my Ruger Old Army revolver because neither the factory nor the Uncle Mike's replacement nipples gave reliable ignition [because of poor cap-to-nipple fit]. The Slix Shot nipples have made the gun 100% reliable and a pleasure to shoot!

bedbugbilly
10-26-2018, 08:41 PM
Nice looking! Being a brasses, just don't give it a steady diet of stout loads. You can stretch the brass - the cylinder will batter the recoil shield over time and the cylinder pin can loosen up - this is over time and stout loads. Using moderate loads, you should be just fine.

I have sot '51 Navy revolvers for 55 years and have only had one with a brass frame - and old Navy Arms "Sherjff" model and it was a good shooter. In my '51 steel frame, I usually use 18 gr 3F black powder and 375 or 380 round ball - depending on the revolver. Your's should be a great shooter and loads of fun! Congrats on your new "baby" - let us knowhow she shoots with conicals.

Bob in St. Louis
10-26-2018, 09:11 PM
Great information, thanks folks!
Yes indeed, those SlixShots are on my shot list of things to buy. I keep hearing about how great they are, so I feel I 'must' get them.
Good point about not running hot loads all the time. The 15-18 fffg sounds like the way to go, until I want to show off, then I'll move to 20-21ish.

Bob in St. Louis
11-04-2018, 09:07 PM
I fired the gun twice with the new nipples and both caps fell off.
I'm calling it operator error, because I forgot to buy the specific caps they call for. I have a couple types, but not the right ones.
Note; The mods I had to do on the wrench to get it to fit into the 'well' of the cylinder on three of the nipples.

https://scontent-ort2-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/45347951_427976317734824_3951844927113003008_n.jpg ?_nc_cat=110&_nc_ht=scontent-ort2-2.xx&oh=74428b9cea777ac00b6c71e542cc0706&oe=5C7345A5

Tackleberry41
11-10-2018, 09:59 AM
I tried several nipple wrenches, best one I found was a 1/4 in socket that would fit and ground slots in it.