Pietta LeMat revolver

[smithnframe]

Anyone familiar with these? I'm looking to acquire one .

[Ozark mike]

Yep 44 cal on top 20 ga on bottom confederates used em in the war of northern aggression on the hammer is a selector toggle to choose the 44 or 20 ga a brilliant piece of history. original ones were 36 and 42 with a 16 ga with nine shots from the revolver

[arcticap]

A lot of folks complain about how hard it is to cock the hammer and the trigger can also be heavy.
One person mentioned that he needed to use 2 hands to cock it.
The main spring is a bear and needs to be worked to be lightened.
But the risk is if it's lightened too much, then the bottom barrel may not fire.
And working the spring too much may weaken it and cause it to break sooner.
The loading lever is also known to be a weakness with the gun.
I learned about these issues by reading threads about it, and there's a youtube video.-->>> https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/lemat-adjusting.872928/#post-11608956

[dave951]

One other thing to consider, it's HEAVY.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

I've never fired one, but have examined them when displayed by proud owners. They are real works of art, and fascinating pieces of history. Glad that I didn't have to carry one around, but if you were on horseback it would solve that problem.

[Wayne Smith]

The loading lever is held in place by a bent piece of spring steel just hanging out there. It doesn't work well and is breakable. I have had one for years and broke the piece - e-mailed Pietta and they sent me a small package with a couple - gratis.

[sourdough]

If you live near a Cabela's store, you might give them a call to see if they have one. It is listed on their site, but Cabela's does not sell them online these days.

https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/pietta-lemat-cavalry-44-cal-black-powder-revolver

Regards,

Jim

[Hellgate]

Since you haven't gotten one yet I will repeat an oft stated opinion: The two happiest days of owning a LeMat are the day you get it and the day you sell it. Most opinions I have read on them is they are awkward to shoot and not user friendly compared to the Colt's & Remington revolvers. They were a favorite of Confederate officers.

[bedbugbilly]

I had a friend who got one when they first came out with them - it was an "oddity' so he just had to have one - in those days they even were expensive - IIRC he paid something like close to $800 for it and that was the full retail price at the time. We shot it some and he played with it for a while but soon grew tired of it - heavy, bulky and just a general PIA.

Hellgate describes it well about the "two days". My friend finally decided to get rid of his and to be honest, he had a heck of a time finding a buyer for it - even among re-enactors and skirmishers.

BUT - if you have your heart set on one - then go for it. Life is short and you just may be one of those folks that really like the LeMat and will shoot it frequently. It's an interesting design and has an interesting history to it. l have seen several in museums over the years and they are attention getters. And who knows - if you find it heavy and bulky, it may led you to get a horse and a good cavalry saddle! If you can, handle one first and check it over as to how it works and go from there. Good luck!

[sourdough]

heavy, bulky and just a general PITA.

The Pietta LeMat weighs about 4lbs. 2 oz., the same as any Model Dragoon. Heavy and bulky is the Walker at 4lbs. 9 oz. with a 9" barrel.

This biggest problem with the LeMat is that it is fairly fragile internally, as well as the rammer for the "shot" barrel. It has a very heavy trigger pull from the factory; some folks have lightened the mainspring to alleviate that but it poses problems when the hammer "device" is rotated to use the "shot" barrel, as the angle of the "device" does not work well with a light mainspring.

It is also a PITA to disassemble for cleaning. As has been stated previously, it is very expensive compared to a Walker or any Dragoon.

If you want a "big boom" that is of similar weight, this is my suggestion: Uberti Whitneyville Hartford ("Transitional Walker") Dragoon. It has the Walker gripframe/trigger guard with a shorter barrel and cylinder than the Walker. The Dragoon cylinder will accept a charge of 40 grains FFFg BP with a round ball.

Mine is shown here with an 1860 Army and an 1851 Navy "variant" for comparison:

https://i.ibb.co/S06mFd0/Uberti-Whitneyville-003.jpg (https://ibb.co/pZ1KYRZ)

Regards,

Jim

[Hellgate]

I am mostly in agreement with Sourdough other than the choice of Dragoons. If the Whitneyville is like a Walker it will have the strangely shaped mainspring of the Walker and be more difficult to assemble and disassemble for deep cleaning. The first, 2nd and 3rd Model Dragoons have the standard shaped simple leaf mainspring and are like other Colts to tear down. The 2nd Model has the cool square back trigger guard like the Whitneyville Dragoon and Walker.

[sourdough]

I am mostly in agreement with Sourdough other than the choice of Dragoons. If the Whitneyville is like a Walker it will have the strangely shaped mainspring of the Walker and be more difficult to assemble and disassemble for deep cleaning. The first, 2nd and 3rd Model Dragoons have the standard shaped simple leaf mainspring and are like other Colts to tear down.

You are correct insofar as the V-shaped mainspring (secured to the trigger guard with a pin) is the same as the Walker. The "flat" curved mainspring of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Model Dragoons, secured by a screw, is much easier to remove from under the hammer roller just by loosening it, allowing the spring tip to move sideways from under the hammer (and the reverse upon reassembly). On the face of it, the V-spring may look to be an obstacle, but I am a long-retired HVAC/R mechanic who has always made specialty tools for a certain situation. In this instance, I used a 6" pair of needle-nose visegrips which I ground smooth the teeth from the jaws and coated the jaws in liquid plastic (available at hobby shops). I use it to depress the spring just enough to clear the hammer roller and keep the tool on the trigger guard until I reassemble the revolver. Easy-squeezy (pun intended).


The 2nd Model has the cool square back trigger guard like the Whitneyville Dragoon and Walker.

The 1st Model also has the squareback TG. I just happen to like the gripframe profile of the Whitneyville Hartford, which is actually slimmer than the Dragoons that came afterward.

Regards,

Jim

[junkbug]

Tell us more about that 1851 "Variant" please.

Thanks

[sourdough]

It is a Pietta 1851 2nd Model Belt Dragoon .36 fantasy revolver.

I have an affliction known as "parts-changer syndrome".

It started out as a Pietta 1851 Navy (CM/2014). I replaced the octagon barrel and engraved cylinder with a part round/part octagon barrel and smooth cylinder from the Pietta Griswold & Gunnison. I replaced the plain-jane straight grained walnut grip with a European hardwood grip (better figure) that I got on Ebay. I got the squareback trigger guard from VTI.

Pietta 1851 Navy "type" revolvers are the Legos of the C&B world because the CNC-machined parts such as these are easily interchangeable.

Thanks for your interest!

Regards,

Jim

https://i.ibb.co/GMNM8fY/Pietta-Navy-Dragoon-36.jpg (https://ibb.co/3FQFj56)

[Ozark mike]

Now ya need to build a colt pocket so ya got a full set well minus a few. i may get a rem version

[sourdough]

Now ya need to build a colt pocket so ya got a full set well minus a few.

Oh, but I do have one! It is a Replica Arms El Paso Texas 1848 Pocket .31 5-shot 6" barrel manufactured by Armi San Marco (date code XIX/1963). ASM made some fairly historically correct revolvers back in the day: this one has the short frame/short forcing cone and squareback trigger guard. It is well used but it is just too small for my hand.

And I have several Confederate 1851 Navy "type" revolvers, but this thread has been hijacked a lot. I for one apologize.

Regards,

Jim

https://i.ibb.co/qySbqX2/1848-Pocket-31-Replica-Arms-ASM-001.jpg (https://ibb.co/3r3t6GP)

[Battis]

I was watching a YouTube show about old western TV shows. They did a segment on the show called JOHNNY RINGO that ran from 1959 - 1960. The show was part of what they then called the "Gimmick guns genre." Apparently several TV characters had "gimmick guns." Johnny Ringo's gimmick gun was a Lemat.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Ringo_(TV_series)

[derek45]

I watched these a few days ago...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgnRE1vOzIg


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5M-QQIOc5k