Remington reliability

[bigted]

New model Army's have a bit of a problem (for me anyway).

This problem keeps me at bay on owning more of these cool revolvers.

Problem 1 ... within two cylinder full , the cylinder pin seems to foul out and bind up the action.

Anybody found a work around for this problem?

Problem 2 ... the top grip front space to the trigger guard is too narrow for my ham hands and i get a nick on my second finger upon recoil.

Anybody have a solution to this?

I have colts and and they seem to be more reliable in these areas. If I could solve these two problems, i would buy another Remington in a heart beat.

[Petrol & Powder]

The binding problem is largely a function of the type of lube used and the method used to apply the lube.

I've had my best luck using greased felt wads under the ball. I like Bore Butter for a lube, mostly for the convenience and it works well, but I've used other types of lube with good results. If you're shooting long strings of fire a little extra lube on top of the ball helps to keep the fouling soft. The main problem with greased wads under the ball is the lube can contaminate the powder so you have to find the middle ground between enough lube in the felt to be effective without being too much. Hot weather makes this a challenge but essentially the wads should be discolored from the grease but not saturated to the point that you can see more grease than felt.

Another trick is to use wheel bearing grease, not oil, on the center pin. it stays in place a bit better than oil and it helps to seal the gap between the pin and the cylinder a bit better.

I use real 3F black powder exclusively.

As for your grip problem, Can't offer much there. Maybe a thicker grip would push the palm of you hand farther out and give you a little bit more room for your fingers ?



I prefer the Remington style cap & ball revolvers because I think it's a better overall design than the Colts. However, the open top Colts do seem to be a bit more tolerant of fouling.

[carbine]

The Rogers and Spencer repro has a bigger grip. Out of production I believe

[Battis]

I use the vegetable spray PAM on my Remington and Colt Paterson cylinder pins and it works great.

[Toymaker]

As noted by Petrol & Powder, the binding is an issue of the type of lube and its application.

In the load I use powder, fill the chamber with cream of wheat, pre-lubed felt wad, ball, seat and top off with Darr's lube (home made).

I lubricate the pin with a liberal amount of lithium white grease.

As for the knuckle buster trigger guard I accidently discovered a way to make it better. Doesn't stop it, but makes it better. One day, at my sloppy best, I got some of my lithium grease on the first joint of the second finger. Right where it usually gets hit. After a couple of shots I realized I wasn't getting smacked so instead of sighting I pointed it down range and watched the recoil. The trigger guard slid OVER the finger instead of smacking it. Now I get a little grease too. I wipe it off after every cylinder and reapply it after loading the next cylinder.

[Gray Fox]

I use high temperature synthetic red wheel bearing grease on the cylinder pins of my '58s and the arbors of Colts repros. It doesn't turn to liquid and run all over the gun and stays right where I need it to be for a long range session. Unless the wads are home made and very wet there should be no problem with powder contamination, especially during a range session. If you're planning on keeping it loaded and capped as a nightstand gun, if for some reason you can't have a modern firearm, just leave out the wads. If needed for that purpose you wouldn't be firing enough shots to worry about powder fouling anyway. GF

[shortlegs]

I have found that bore butter and petroleum based lubs when used together cause more fouling buildup. I use bore butter exclusively and cut way down on fouling. Holy black is hard to find in my area so I switched to 777 and love it. My rem 58 is as accurate as my gold cup, and more fun to shoot. I mix bees wax with bore butter for use in hot weather to keep the bore butter from melting and being so messy. Seems to cut down on fouling also. Heat bees wax just til it melts and stir in bore butter. Start with 1 part bees wax to 4 or 5 parts butter in hot weather , less wax in warm and just butter in cold.

[bob208]

on both colts and remingtons I use Crisco over the ball. that way when you shoot it the gun is self lubricating . I can shoot all day without binding. we got away from this because people don't want to get their hands dirty.

[ShooterAZ]

I also use the beeswax and bore butter mix, adjusting to the temperature. I use STP (sparingly) on the cylinder pin of my ROA. It doesn't seem to be affected by fouling and remains slick as a whistle after many cylinder loads.

[arcticap]

I load off the frame with a loading press so it's not much of a bother to put some new lube onto the cylinder pin and hole.
And I usually load & shoot 3 cylinders in a row.

I load APP 3F and only lube with mineral oil which burns off quickly, but I could probably fire 3 -4 cylinders without too much binding if I needed to.
APP does not recommend shooting it with grease and I've tried it with and without Bore Butter over the ball.
IMO it's an unnecessary mess if using APP.
But I was thinking about trying Vaseline as a pin lube. I've seen that a very small dollop of it can be used over balls too with a large syringe when loading with black powder.

I'm much happier to have bought a loading press, pre-measure the charges at home and place the charges in pill bottles for quicker loading at the range.
There's the Tower of Power loading press and Powder Inc also sells presses.--->>> http://www.biglube.com/BulletMolds.aspx?ItemID=1302742a-9e12-41e5-881f-f99340c6d9e6

I can also suggest a thin leather glove to protect your finger, or perhaps a flexible fabric bandaid over the area that gets hit by the trigger guard.
There's baseball batting gloves and some golf gloves than are thin leather & can fit skin tight if you find one that fits right.
I'm not sure if the thin disposable Nitrile medical type of glove would offer enough protection, but they might and they do fit skin tight and only cost pennies.
NAPA sells some similar disposable gloves that are used by mechanics which may be slightly thicker and more durable and which are sold by the box.

BTW, one difference between the ROA and Remington is that the ROA has a cylinder bushing that helps keep the powder residue away from the cylinder pin.
If someone were to adapt a similar bushing to a Remington frame that might help lessen the binding issue.
I think that it's been done before but it takes a lot of effort to make and install one.

[Bent Ramrod]

The only manufacturer who worried about the smoke from the chambers firing getting into the space between cylinder pin and cylinder and tying it up was issued US Patent 7,613 in 1850 for his efforts in preventing it. The other manufacturers seemed to treat the problem by pretending it did not exist.

A friend and I got into cap&ball revolvers about the same time, in the ‘70’s. I got an 1860 Colt, he got an 1858 Remington, both from Navy Arms. I could shoot 60 shots before the cylinder got draggy; he was doing good to get through two cylinderfuls before the gun stopped working entirely.

The Colt grip seemed to fit my hand better, and the hittability obtained thereby outweighed any theoretical accuracy differences between the open top and solid frame designs.

I keep a Visine eye dropper bottle filled with Ballistol/water to anoint the moving parts on my percussion Sharps replica when they get sticky. A drop or two, now and again, keeps the thing going through a reasonable shooting session. You could try the same thing on your cylinder pin and see if it helps.

[Tatume]

I use the vegetable spray PAM on my Remington and Colt Paterson cylinder pins and it works great.

I tried Pam once, and it locked the gun up tight. Never again!

[bedbugbilly]

For 50+ years, I've used one real bees wax toilet ring mixed with 1 pound of Crisco for my BP lube on all of my revolvers. I favor '51 Navies but I do have a Remy "Navy" (Pietta) that is an excellent shooter. I lube the cylinder pin on that with my BP lube as well as live over the balls and I can shoot many many cylinders without binding or issues.

The grip to trigger guard distance is another issue though as you are stuck with whatever it is. I have smaller hands so it's not an issue for me but I have had friends shoot it with larger hands and one of them had the same issue that you are having. I had a Rogers & Spencer at one time - a NIB vintage one and it had more space than the Remy - before I even got to shoot it a guy wanted it in the worst way and I sold it to him. I wish I had kept it!

[Battis]

"I tried Pam once, and it locked the gun up tight. Never again!"

Interesting. Not sure how that would happen- it's a lube.

[Tatume]

"I tried Pam once, and it locked the gun up tight. Never again!"

Interesting. Not sure how that would happen- it's a lube.

Actually, the primary non-stick ingredient of Pam is lecithin. Although lecithin is a fatty substance, it is not a conventional lubricant. In particular, it attracts water, and it dries out. When it dries it leaves behind a solid, which is why my revolver froze.

[Battis]

I've used it for a long time in my guns that have no grease groove on the cylinder pins - Remington and Colt Paterson. I also spray it down the barrels of BP guns, including a Vetterli. I do clean the sprayed parts off as soon as I get home. What works for some might not work for others.

[rodwha]

Pam was recommended to me for my NMA. It didn’t work for me either. Used it on pans. What has worked is Ballistol.

[Battis]

Maybe the laws of physics cease to exist on my guns. Bore Butter works better for me than Ballistol, but not as good as Pam. Spray it on the cylinder pin and that cylinder keeps on turning. Whatever works.

[Nobade]

Olive oil spray works better than Pam. Pietta Remingtons have bigger grips than originals. Load on a stand so you take the pin out each time and wipe it down. And kind of off topic but this is why I maintain the 1895 Nagant revolver is the best black powder revolver ever designed, since it keeps all the fouling in the barrel.

[Battis]

Olive oil spray works better than Pam...for you. Ballistol works better than Pam...for some. I have a Savage & North .36 that used a gas seal years before the Nagant, and it likes Pam. My Remington New Model .44 is an original but I use a Pietta cylinder when I shoot it. It also likes Pam. But, my ROA despises Pam.

My Savage & North went to pieces when I tried to take away the Pam.

[Battis]

Guess what my Bacon revolver likes?

[dondiego]

Lard?

[Battis]

Actually, I don't know. I haven't shot it yet - it needs a new mainspring fashioned. Any spring makers?

[Moleman-]

Generally only shoot my 1858 clone in the cooler months with pyrodex and just about any grease type lube works. Crisco, crisco-beeswax, white lithium, bore butter, I used lard for a long time. Forgot to bring any grease one time and was about a half hour away from home. Stopped at a local fishing store and got the only grease they had. Green boat trailer wheel bearing grease, worked fine but was harder to get it all off afterwards. Used to shoot with a guy that used pnut butter in a Ruger old army. If I shoot a lot occasionally I'll have to pull the cylinder and wipe/lube the pin, but usually only after shooting a good long time and by then the gun is filthy. Mine shoots more accurate with a bore butter felt wad under the ball, but that really only comes to play with the targets set out further.

[Nobade]

Olive oil spray works better than Pam...for you. Ballistol works better than Pam...for some. I have a Savage & North .36 that used a gas seal years before the Nagant, and it likes Pam. My Remington New Model .44 is an original but I use a Pietta cylinder when I shoot it. It also likes Pam. But, my ROA despises Pam.

My Savage & North went to pieces when I tried to take away the Pam.That's neat! I hadn't heard of those before. Wonder if that's where Nagant got the idea from?

[bigted]

Thanks for the comments and suggestions. Always bug's me about a good revolver i don't seem to make fit me. Guess we are all different and it takes different guns to make everybody's fit and comfort level.

[arcticap]

I wonder if removing the trigger guard would be such a bad idea?

The Paterson revolver didn't have a trigger guard.

[bigted]

I had also thought about removing the trigger guard. Think i will cut and modify my old Pietta brasser trigger guard. This way i would not ruin a pricey guard.

[indian joe]

I had also thought about removing the trigger guard. Think i will cut and modify my old Pietta brasser trigger guard. This way i would not ruin a pricey guard.

Wouldnt the back of the trigger hurt more than the guard when it bit ya ?
I have a colt clone with a squareback guard - its nice to shoot.