New To Me Pietta 44 Pistol, What Now??

[kend]

Never owned one before, hell I ain't never shot one before! I did a quick search but didn't turn up what I need...how do i load it? I have the pistol, what else do I need? I see 3 different diameter balls in Midways catalog, which one? I'm thinking I'll use Pyrodex Pistol, or should I use something else? Where do I get dies for it?

Thanks

that last part was a joke....

[starmac]

Dies???? Not sure what you are talking about. What ever you do don't by 44 cal balls like I did. lol It seemed like you could fit two of them in the holes. I bought some 451 balls and they seem to be the right size.

You mentioned dies, yours doesn't have the cartridge cylinder in it does it?

[hylander]

Never owned one before, hell I ain't never shot one before! I did a quick search but didn't turn up what I need...how do i load it? I have the pistol, what else do I need? I see 3 different diameter balls in Midways catalog, which one? I'm thinking I'll use Pyrodex Pistol, or should I use something else? Where do I get dies for it?

Thanks

that last part was a joke....

What Model ?
Pietta recommends .454 balls for the 1858 and that is what I use.
For powder I use 777 in FFF, but Pyro P will work fine.

You also need Over the powder wads, like Ox yoke or similar, no need to get messy using greases.
A Powder measure, Flask and #10 caps
If you do not have a manual, read up

http://www.pietta.us/pdf/Manuale_Avancarica_ENG.pdf

[kend]

Starmac, the dies comment was a joke, see the last line of the post.....

How do I tell which model this thing is? Do all of these things use a #10 cap? What's the difference between a 10 and 11?

Thanks

[hylander]

Starmac, the dies comment was a joke, see the last line of the post.....

How do I tell which model this thing is? Do all of these things use a #10 cap? What's the difference between a 10 and 11?

Thanks

Most use #10 caps,
Got any Pics ?

[starmac]

LOL That last line be some fine print, you should know us rednecks never read the fine print, especially when our eyes get older. lol

[starmac]

Number 10 caps are unattainable here right now, but you can pinch # 11's and they will work.

[Dframe]

Loading is straight foreward. Fire a couple of caps on the nipples to burn or blast away any oil. Pour powder into the front of the cylinder. An empty 45 ACP case makes a good starting load dipper. Place a ball on the cylinder and use the rammer to push it down into the cylinder. place a glob of bore butter or crisco over the top of the ball. An alternative is to use lubricated felt wads under the ball and omit the over ball lube. take to the line and press percussion caps onto the nipples and fire. Generally a ball should be a very tight fit in the cylinder and most will shave a tiny ring of lead when pushed in. Avoid putting so much powder in the cylinder that a ball can't be pushed in far enough to easily clear the back of the barrel to allow cylinder rotation.

[Omnivore]

What's the difference between a 10 and 11?
Size. Number 10s fit a bit tighter than #11s, but you'll also find that different brands fit a bit different in the same number. For example, I have a Pietta Remington 44 and the CCI 11s fit a bit too loose, the CCI #10s fit a bit too tight, and the Remington #10s fit about right. You have a good fit when they all go "pop" when you pull the trigger and none of them fall off before you have a chance to fire them. Your individual gun may prefer one particular cap. Some times the individual nipples may not even fit exactly the same as each other, especially if you got the gun used and one or more nipples have been replaced. Some shooters have taken to removing nipples, spinning them on a power drill and using a small file or sand paper to adjust the fit. Then after you screw them up and they fit nothing properly, you buy a new set of Treso nipples. ;)

Be sure to clean the gun properly after shooting. You won't get more than a few cylinders full of shots off before the gun starts to tie up from the powder fouling. Good lubrication of the cylinder arbor helps keep the fouling soft and the gun running. I figure about 50 shots is plenty before the cylinder must be removed, the arbor wiped clean and re-lubed, so you can resume firing. The powder you use will in part determine how this works out for you. Some over-the-ball grease, such as Bore Butter, may help prolong your shooting before the cylinder gets too hard to turn. Don't force the hammer back if it's getting hard to turn-- that's really hard on the cylinder pawl, or "hand" and it isn't necessary.

Loading is, as was said, straight forward, or "straight backward" being as it's a front-stuffer. Balls of .454" diameter are probably about right, but the other two sizes, .451" and .457" will also work. Your chambers are most likely in the vicinity of .449" and you want a good press-to-seal fit.

Pyrodex is good, and slightly more powerful than real black powder, but it is also slightly harder to ignite. Most shooters will tell you they have a bit better ignition success rate using real black. Swiss brand black powder is more energetic than Goex in the same granulation, or so goes the common wisdom (and several chronograph reports I've seen), being similar in energy to Pyrodex P in equal volume and the Swiss still has the easier ignition. If your shots are going off like "Ka-bang" instead of simply "Bang" like a modern gun, you're getting some ignition delay. I had a fair amount of Ka-bangs when I was using Pyrodex, but some people have good results with it.

Check back over the old threads here, and use the search function, and you'll find probably 100 times more information on loading, cleaning, and tweeking these pistols than you want or need.

How about a photo, so we know what you have?

[GunSlingerNM]

Everything Omni said and also get a decent nipple wrench. Cash Manufacturing makes the best that I have come across. Problem with ones you find at Cabella's or Bass Pro sold by Traditions is that the steel is too soft and rounds off or breaks on first use. You will be surprised at how accurate the cap and ball revolvers shoot.
Have fun and welcome to the addiction.

[John Allen]

Another thing not mentioned is never seize the nipples this way you will not get stuck. You can also make your own lube with beeswax and olive oil.

[Mike 56]

like others have said you need a good nipple wrench. The best nipple wrench is one that you make. Get a 3/16 1/4 drive socket even a cheap one will work. Cut a slot across the top of the socket wide enough for a small file to fit. Using a file to open the slot wide enough to fit the nipples. This only takes a few minutes to do and is much better than store bought nipple wrenches. You can use a allen wrench, 1/4 nut driver or 14 drive socket wrench for a handle.

poor mans start up kit

Powder handling: you are using pyrodex the mouth the container is big if have a Lee dipper set use the chart that comes with the set you can dip powder right out of the Pyrodex container.
Plan B: buy a cheap plastic Katchup or mustard bottle to use for a flask for measures you can use shell cases 45acp 30gr, 38sp 23gr, 30 carbine 20gr.

lube: buy a small can of Crisco to put over the loaded balls and lube the cylinder pin.

cleaning: pistol cleaning rod, jag and 45 cal brush or 45 cal bore snake and gun oil.

Caps: #10 Remington or #11 CCi.

bullets .454 or .457 balls

Thats about all you need to get shooting.

[rodwha]

Loading and shooting:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0MUpBA6JHo

Cleaning (Pt 1):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ui5uXl33n8g