44 Navy Model. Need help

[retread]

Picked up the 44 Navy. Needed cleaning and some real TLC but is coming around. I can not find a maker any way on it. I also can't figure out how to remove the cylinder for cleaning. Any help or advice would be appreciated.

Jay

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First picture shows the original box it came in but there are no markings on it either.

[jcren]

Pull the wedge that is in front/center of the cylinder (tap the right side flush and pull out the left), and pull the barrel and fron of the frame off. The brass is one half and the blued is another held together by that wedge.

[Winger Ed.]

It might help to identify the maker if you dig around for pictures of them that tell the maker,
and see if your proof marks jive up with known arms makers.
Uberti might be a good start.

[bigted]

No Uberti I know of is a 44 navy ... let alone a brass frame. Uberti makes pretty close likeness of the walker 44 's dragoons 44's 1860 army 44, 1851 navy 36 and the police 36's and 31 pockets. All historic and very close to the correct dimensions of the original article.

My guess is Pietta. Does it have " black powder only " on the left side of the barrel?

[Minerat]

May be a CVA kit gun. Look at the markings on the cylinder maybe something on there that will give you a hint.

[retread]

No Uberti I know of is a 44 navy ... let alone a brass frame. Uberti makes pretty close likeness of the walker 44 's dragoons 44's 1860 army 44, 1851 navy 36 and the police 36's and 31 pockets. All historic and very close to the correct dimensions of the original article.

My guess is Pietta. Does it have " black powder only " on the left side of the barrel?

Yes, it does say Black Powder only.

[Rojelio]

No Uberti I know of is a 44 navy ... let alone a brass frame. Uberti makes pretty close likeness of the walker 44 's dragoons 44's 1860 army 44, 1851 navy 36 and the police 36's and 31 pockets. All historic and very close to the correct dimensions of the original article.

My guess is Pietta. Does it have " black powder only " on the left side of the barrel? IMAG0473.jpg (55.6 KB)

[Battis]

Is the barrel round?

[smithnframe]

Probably a Pietta!

[dondiego]

You don't need to pull that wedge all of the way out. Only to the screw stop. Use the loading lever on the cylinder face and gently push the 2 pieces apart. The cylinder will slide right off of the pin. Remove the nipples and add some antisieze grease.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

You don't need to pull that wedge all of the way out. Only to the screw stop. Use the loading lever on the cylinder face and gently push the 2 pieces apart. The cylinder will slide right off of the pin. Remove the nipples and add some antisieze grease.

Exactly what dondiego said. When pushing with the ram portion of the loading lever it naturally has to be on the surface between the cylinder holes and you'll probably have to place the gun on half cock so that the cylinder will turn a bit to allow the ram to hit between the cylinder chambers. The only .44 Navy that I've ever encountered is made by Pietta. I have one, but the frame is steel. It's not unlikely that they made a brass frame model for sale by another company such as CVA.

[Gtek]

First thing is find you a couple wooden clothes pins and pop them apart and that's what you drive your wedges out with. Non marring and cheap, hard to beat! Next, the Roman numeral on RH side, look up Italian date codes and this will tell you DOM. Looks like an EMF box (maybe) and this would be a Brescia, look under barrel at back of octagon transition into loading arm area on bottom aft flat. May look like a little cluster of three circles but is a DGG. Barrel off- wedge out to left, half cock, rotate cylinder to between holes and use loading lever to dismount barrel assembly.

[KCSO]

Put the gun on half cock after you tap out the wedge and use the loading lever to pop off the barrel then the cylinder comes right off.

[mazo kid]

Now that you know how to disassemble the gun, clean, oil it and put it together. With a brass frame, you will want to keep your powder charges around 18 grains. Yeah, it will hold more powder, but it will also shoot loose quicker.

[indian joe]

Exactly what dondiego said. When pushing with the ram portion of the loading lever it naturally has to be on the surface between the cylinder holes and you'll probably have to place the gun on half cock so that the cylinder will turn a bit to allow the ram to hit between the cylinder chambers. The only .44 Navy that I've ever encountered is made by Pietta. I have one, but the frame is steel. It's not unlikely that they made a brass frame model for sale by another company such as CVA.

I have a 44 navy made by Army San Marco, but a steel frame - its a top shooter!!

[Der Gebirgsjager]

I have a 44 navy made by Army San Marco, but a steel frame - its a top shooter!!

I really like mine also. I don't know why they didn't actually make them "back in the day" like 1851, but I guess they were eclipsed by the 1860 Army. But the 1851 was such a nice design and shape, and in .44 it seems like the best of both worlds.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Say, retread, that box the revolver is shown in -- is that the original box? Any writing on it? It looks very much like an Armi Jaeger box with the wood grained print cardboard.

[indian joe]

Now that you know how to disassemble the gun, clean, oil it and put it together. With a brass frame, you will want to keep your powder charges around 18 grains. Yeah, it will hold more powder, but it will also shoot loose quicker.

you are right of course but it will take the average weekend plinker a fair long time to wear one of these down even with full loads, and cause him to have a serious amount of fun along the way - FFg powder helps steady things down a bit without the complication of "fillers" in the load.

[retread]

Say, retread, that box the revolver is shown in -- is that the original box? Any writing on it? It looks very much like an Armi Jaeger box with the wood grained print cardboard.
Yes it is original but the label on the end is partial missing. I can see 44 and Black Powder but that is all.

[retread]

Thanks for the instructions fellow. Got it all broke down and cleaned. Looks grat other that some minor pitting on the top of the barrel. Cylinder and bore look real goo. Action operates smoothly and locks up tight. Any mold recommendations?

[45 Dragoon]

Get the short arbor fixed and then set the barrel/ cyl clearance at .003" (max, smaller is better) and then you can shoot "normal" loads without any problems.

Mike

[Gtek]

"Got it all broke down and cleaned" Does that mean ALL the way down and clean? Spring, trigger, bolt, hammer out and clean? With the usual untouched barrel to cylinder fit found on these it will create a special kind of goo that will magically migrate into frame over time and with frequent shooting or term storage one should become familiar with in there also.

[retread]

What diameter ball for these 44's? If I slug the barrel do I size the ball the same as I would regularly with modern cast? I see that Lee has them in a bunch of sizes which makes me wonder. I have a 36 that I use a .375 ball.

[indian joe]

[QUOTE=45 Dragoon;4725491]Get the short arbor fixed and then set the barrel/ cyl clearance at .003" (max, smaller is better) and then you can shoot "normal" loads without any problems.


yeah good advice from Mike

[indian joe]

What diameter ball for these 44's? If I slug the barrel do I size the ball the same as I would regularly with modern cast? I see that Lee has them in a bunch of sizes which makes me wonder. I have a 36 that I use a .375 ball.

Measure your cylinder, you want enough bigger ball to get a good seal in the chambers - My ASM likes a .451, a lot of em go better with .454 - I reckon ya want a ball at east 3 to 5 thou over cylinder size. Set up right these cheap ball guns will shoot as good as most centerfire pistols.
Then slug the barrel if you dont get it shooting nice - might need some semolina or cornmeal filler to take up the windage if cylinder is small compared to bore - some are .

[retread]

Thanks for the recommendations and advice. It is very much appreciated!

Jay

[bob208]

I have a Remington 1858 in a box like that it is a early navy arms made by asm. don't worry about shooting the brass frame. you will go through many kegs of powder to do that. but do use pure lead only. pushing hard balls into the cylinder will wreck the gun.

[indian joe]

Thanks for the instructions fellow. Got it all broke down and cleaned. Looks grat other that some minor pitting on the top of the barrel. Cylinder and bore look real goo. Action operates smoothly and locks up tight. Any mold recommendations?

Shoot roundball in it!!! ---Brass frame ---If ya start in with conicals you WILL loosen it up pronto!

[charlie b]

In case you don't know...when seating the ball you should get an even shaving of lead all around the bullet. If you don't, go up in size. Many .44's used .451 round balls, but, there were a few out there that needed .454.

And do learn how to take apart the internals. If you shoot a lot with it the primer residue will get into the lock mechanism.

[pakmc]

also think about using a .457 ball. that's what I use on my two bp .44's ones a 1851 and the other is a 1860. two fg powder or 777 are the powders that I use in these guns. with a cork/rubber patch under the bullet.

[Wayne Smith]

EuroArms is also a possibility - I have a Rogers and Spencer in a similar box.

[Surculus]

You've probably figured out by now that the brass frame 1851 in .44cal is one of Pietta's "fantasy" guns that never existed historically, but satisfy all the requirements for the U.S. "antique" classification that means you can buy it thru the mail, etc. [unless you live in some benighted domain like New Jersey... frickin' buncha Tories!].