Have a never fired Uberti Black Powder Navy 44 ...
Learning the basics here ...
With this model what size ball is common for this gun .
Planning on slugging the bore but are we good with the 1 to 2 thou over ,, give or take. ?
Input would be appreciated .
It is much easier to fool people ,
than to convince them they have been fooled !
If you can read this , thank a teacher ...
If you can read this in English , .. thank a Vet !
My Pietta Navy .44 uses .454 balls
The Italian repro's I have are all over the place. Make sure you have a large enough slug to correctly read bore, I have two ASM's in pile that are .465" groove. Pin gauges are easy to use for cylinder, if not a vernier dial will get you real close. When you get your real numbers and maybe become discouraged, know that there are many in the same boat. Get real numbers and then you can move on with confidence and then make your decisions.
https://www.uberti-usa.com/sites/def..._revolvers.pdf
On a BP revolver the ball needs to be couple of thousands larger than the cylinder. Per the manual .454 or 457 are recommend for round balls and .454 with conical. I would recommend starting with 457 pure lead round balls. You want a slight amount of shaving when you seat the ball. Too hard of alloy you can damage the loading arm. Round balls are easier to learn on and they shoot to POI better.
No point in slugging the barrel at this point. It is what it is. For Cap and Ball revolvers you select your ball size based on the cylinder size. Cylinders can be reamed to better match the barrel but that is something you don't have to worry about at this point. Some people love shooting C & B revolvers. Most owners rarely shoot them. If you are going to shoot it a lot and you have an oversize barrel reaming the cylinder is worthwhile.
Last edited by M-Tecs; 04-19-2020 at 11:09 PM.
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Thank you all for your input ...looking forward to playing with this free toy !
Thanks M-tec's for the factory pdf. ..to the point.
It is much easier to fool people ,
than to convince them they have been fooled !
If you can read this , thank a teacher ...
If you can read this in English , .. thank a Vet !
My ASM is the best of the bunch we have had, its right on spec and shoots real good.Originally Posted by Gtek
A couple of others (Navy arms Walker and a 1860 army) both have the deep rifling measures .462 groove - I reamed cylinders on both those to .462 and use a .464 ball - now both shoot good with full charges.
Try some cornmeal or semolina filler under the ball or some good thick wadding maybe those ASM shoot ok - the problem seems to be you only got about half rifling depth engagement of the ball and a heap of gas cutting happening - I think the filler stops that.
kerect ........unless ya gonna do something about it.
If it aint broke dont fix it - is certinly a good policy
A gun with .454 cylinder and .464 groove - might shoot ok - it might! .......but if it dont then that 10thou discrepancy between cylinder and bore size just might have somethin to do with why it dont
These cap guns if they are set up right can be seriously accurate - once you have had one that shoots nice then another that will only throw a shotgun splatter pattern can be disappointing ------1) figure out a load that works 2) sell it and get another one 3) fix the problem
option 1 is the simplest ---option 2 is attractive in the US - they are cheap - no trouble buying one (permits, licenses etc) if you are an aussie then option 3 comes into play - a new one is double price and we have a lot of trouble with permits waiting time all that stuff
The OP in this post stated he had never fired Uberti Black Powder Navy 44. In the post about old cans he stated he has zero knowledge about BP. Lets get him safely shooting what he has. He may like really enjoy shooting them or he may not.
Nothing wrong with slugging the bore but totally not needed to do before he shoots it to see if he is even interested in pursuing BP C&P shooting. Most of the folks I know that own them shoot them once or twice. I love my mine but I don't shoot them more then a couple of times a year.
Last edited by M-Tecs; 04-20-2020 at 12:07 AM.
2nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. - "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
"Before you argue with someone, ask yourself, is that person even mentally mature enough to grasp the concept of different perspectives? Because if not, there’s absolutely no point."
– Amber Veal
"The Highest form of ignorance is when your reject something you don't know anything about".
- Wayne Dyer
Agreed completely. Most of us are aficionados... someone comes along looking for basic how to information and we immediately set about instructing them in the finer points of picking fly specks out of the pepper. Load up with 30 grains of black powder or substitute, ram a .457 ball, cap with a #10 cap and bang away. Clean with soap and water, dry and oil. Easy...
All the reproductions bp pistols I have seen dosent matter brand, all have cylinder’s smaller than bore diameter. Most are in the .004 to .008 range smaller. The only pistols that I have seen are the special target pistols. They run .002 to .000 smaller. They sell for around 800$ and up .Dixie gun works has there pistols with the cylinder and Bore diameter and riffling depth listed in the specs . I always wondered why the cylinder was smaller than the bore diameter. I never could understand why the companies did this. The old colts and Remingtons’s I believe also where built like this also. What is the reason from some of are more knowledgeable members? My 1851 colt navy 36 repo is also like this but shoots great. I got it over 35 years ago
What Woodnbow said.
Jnied, I never checked any C&B revolver I've owned such as you obviously have. I had no idea the discrepancy so later this morning I'll be checking a couple of mine. A possible answer to your comment/observation/question might be that pure lead over BP bumps up to groove diameter quite easily and, I'm drawing from experience of shooting regular muzzleloaders and a PILE of BP cartridge rifles and handguns. I do not know if that is equally true in C&B revolvers but it makes sense....to me anyway. A few revolvers I've owned were sufficiently accurate for head shots on skwerls at 25 yards once I made a new front sight and filed it in. I didn't hit 'em in the head every time but the targets and a lot of skwerls always said the revolver was capable. As usual, the fly in the ointment was the guy pulling the trigger.
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I thank your correct I also think they obutrate from the soft lead. I have hade over 9 bp pistols so far and they all where like that. I like my first the best.my 1851 repo 36 1851 navy bought in Bransen mo in the early 80’s With my grass cutting money.. Always very accurate
That's a nice set of instructions.
As stated above ... till ya get a good grounded experience shooting your revolver ... I recommend staying with the basics of cap-n-ball loading and shooting.
Get pure lead .454 balls ... like Hornaday roundballs.
Get SPG blackpowder lube.
Get cci or remington #10 magnum caps.
Get GOEX 3Fg real blackpowder.
Basic supply's and keep it simple. Biggest thing is to ensure a bang and fire n smoke with every yank of the trigger.
Place the hammer on half cock.
De-oil the cylinders with rubbing alcohol and a Qtip.
Cap every nipple and snap the caps to clear any excess oil.
Load 30 grains of the 3F powder in a chamber.
Install a .454 pure lead ball on top of the chamber.
Rotate the cylinder so the ball is under the rammer.
Using the rammer, ram the ball firmly down onto the powder.
Repeat for all six chambers.
Now take your knife blade and smear your SPG lube over the balls on the front of your cylinder.
Now cap all six nipples with the number 10 caps.
Now you have a fully loaded cap-n-ball revolver. It is now just as dangerous as any firearm ... so always point in a safe direction.
Cock your revolver and take aim and squeeze the trigger. Repeat six times.
Reload and keep shooting till it begins to get sticky. Take a old tooth brush and brush off the cylinder face to clear off the fouling to enable continuing your shooting.
Cleaning;
Remove the wedge after placing on half cock again.
Separate the barrel from the frame.
Remove the cylinder from the frame.
Have a bowl of warm to hot water with a drop or two of dish washing soap (I use Dawn).
Place the barrel and cylinder in the warm water to soak.
Take your old tooth brush and dip in the water/soap and begin cleaning your frame, hammer, arbor and all fouling from all the nooks and crannys.
Take an old towel and dry the frame assembly.
Take a good quality gun oil (I use Rem oil in a spray can) and spray in every recess and all over till it drips out of every hole and recess ... set the frame aside.
Pick up the barrel and brush all surfaces till fouling is washed off.
Clean the bore with a bristle brush till clean ... followed by clean patchs till clean n dry.
Spray oil on, in and all over till it drips ... set aside.
Take your cylinder and scrub with the tooth brush till all nooks n crannys are fouling clear.
Take your bore brush and work over every chamber till fouling is gone.
Swab with clean patchs till dry and clean.
Spray down with your oil everywhere till it drips.
Now reassemble and wipe down the oily revolver.
Easy peasy. Fun for miles my friend. This is as basic as I could explain. Doing this will enter you into an addictive and fulfilling pastime that gives and gives.
Good luck and report back with your impressions and questions
This. I shoot mine for fun. And they are actually pretty accurate. All I know is it’s a 44.
I’m not being nitpicky but it is my understanding that Uberti never made .44 Navies. I’ve never seen anything but the authentic .36 Navies out of Uberti. I suspect he has a Pietta, ASM, or Euroarms gun. All of the .44 Italian reproductions I have owned took the .454 ball.
Hellgate in Orygun
With 16+revolvers, I've been called the Imelda Marcos of cap&ball.
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Sure they did.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/atta...5&d=1568176733
That's a Uberti? With a brass frame?
Yep, sure is.
Interesting. Two more questions: is there a date code on the other side? Is the barrel round?
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