Hey guys I need some help with what this is? Its 36cal. Seems to be in good shape. The guy I got it from said it was make in 1971. I traded 1000 pcs of 9mm brass for it. I guess I could not go wrong even if it did not shoot. Action is smoot and seems to work great. Fit and finish of metal is very good but the wood is not as good.
1851 Navy??? Looks very similar to one I have seen. Balls would be .375 diameter. Powder charge ?? Someone will chime in. Many made by Uberti and Pietta during those years up to now. Fun to shoot. Chore to clean (compared to smokeless pistols) History buffs will correct me, I believe this saw much use in the Civil War, and accounted for many causalties, so it is not a toy. When President Pimp outlaws guns, a BP revolver is better than a brick, IMHO.
Been paddlin' upstream all my life, don't see no reason to turn around now.
Looks more like 1862 pocket Navy
The 1851s had a different shaped loading cutout just forward of the cylinder.
Looks like a '51 to me but the frame has a strange color?- or maybe the photo lighting caused that.
Yep, many were carried in the Civil War. And many of those as private purchase/ownership arms. The common standard Federal issues were Colt '60s and Remington '58s. Wild Bill was famous for carrying a pair of '51s cross draw.
Seems like a good trade for the 9mm brass. Stay with round balls as posted and fairly light BP loads. Management and cleaning will be the biggest challenge.
Last edited by fouronesix; 01-15-2013 at 12:33 AM.
Trust but verify the honeyguide
It is a brass framed Italian copy of a Colt revolver. Looks like an 1851 Colt Navy to me. It could also be a Euroarms/Armi San Paulo or Armi San Marco gun. The markings XX7 means it was made in 1971. Look under the rammer, along the side of the barrel, or on the other side of the frame for a maker's mark and tell us what you see. In the picture next to the XX7 are the Italian proof house marks.
I would recommend not exceeding 20 grains of powder measured by VOLUME. Stay away from Triple 7 powder as it is more powerful and has a higher pressure curve than black powder or Pyrodex. Brass frames are more easily damaged by heavy loads and hard ramming of the balls into the chambers. Use SOFT lead balls or .375 or .380. Conical bullets must be cast and are heavier but will stress the brass frame more than the lighter round ball ammo so stick with the balls only.
Hellgate in Orygun
With 16+revolvers, I've been called the Imelda Marcos of cap&ball.
If you do not subscribe to a newspaper you are uninformed. If you do subscribe to a newspaper you are misinformed. Mark Twain
”We know they are lying, they know they are lying, they know we know they are lying, we know they know we know they are lying, yet they are still lying.” –Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn
Great info thanks. Are these good shooters? Just wondering if I should buy a mold and cast for it. Light loads would be fine with me. I have been wanting to try a cap and ball revolver.
5 or 6 shot ?
They are more "fun" than a conventional revolver. At least to me. Very accurate, no recoil. I love the smell of burned powder.
They clean up easily, you just have to clean the entire thing. Hot water evaporates fast. Make sure you use a lube when you are done.
You use the ramrod to push off the barrel for cleaning. Put the end on a cylinder bridge and push it off.
They are great.
it is a six shot
Does it say Navy arms any where on it.It looks like mine.
Fly
Good deal! I wish I could get one for 1000 rnds of brass. Even if your gun has a brass frame it should stand up to moderate loads. These can be great little guns and are a lot of fun.
Young guys should hang out with old guys; old guys know stuff.
I shot one much like the one pictured for many years as my limited time fire / revolver at Friendship. As stated above, pure lead only many had a streched frame from trying to ram hard lead. Mine is worn out from a lot of shooting but still sits in the locker from a time where I could shoot better than now.
Don't buy nuthing you can't take home
Joel 3:10
I ordered a .375 lee mold for it. I have some stick on wheel weights. What would be a good powder charge of GOEX FFF. Im thinking somewhere in the 12-15gr range. Is that too light?
20 grains is about tops, for a .36.
Fly
CVA and Traditions imported allot of them. I bought one from a friend thinking I could fix it. It had a loose frame I found out latter on from overcharging. I asked what loads he ran, he said he didn't know, he just filled up the cylinder. Like Fly said 20gr tops and probably won't need that much for good shooting.
Aim small, miss small!
What is the minimum that you would load. Im not interested in heavy loads anyway.
The minimum load is any that allows the ball to be seated firmly on the powder or a filler (wad(s), cream of wheat, corn meal, etc.) and expel the ball from the barrel. So, you could load 5 grs powder, add cream of wheat (COW) and seat the ball. I've read but not used it, that cornmeal is more compressible than COW. For snake loads I've put 10grs powder, #9 shot and a card wad over the shot. They work great in the 36 Navy.
Hellgate in Orygun
With 16+revolvers, I've been called the Imelda Marcos of cap&ball.
If you do not subscribe to a newspaper you are uninformed. If you do subscribe to a newspaper you are misinformed. Mark Twain
”We know they are lying, they know they are lying, they know we know they are lying, we know they know we know they are lying, yet they are still lying.” –Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn
NOTHING more fun than a cap and ball revolver. You can get a cylinder loading press from powderinc.com to load the cylinder OFF the gun and save stress on the brass frame. Only takes a second to knock the wedge out, slide the barrel off, then slide the cylinder off the arbor (cylinder pin) pistol should be on half cock while doing this. Also this way you can wipe and relube the arbor between shooting. The arbor tends to get gummed up. Yep the vets over at TFL taught me well.
WARNING!!!..........shooting cap and ball revolvers is VERY addictive and will cause you to WANT more of them, more doo dads for shooting, etc!!!!
OOPS! For the snake load I left out the part where I PUT A CARD WAD OVER THE POWDER then the #9 shot (#12 is better) then the second thinner card wad over the shot.
Hellgate in Orygun
With 16+revolvers, I've been called the Imelda Marcos of cap&ball.
If you do not subscribe to a newspaper you are uninformed. If you do subscribe to a newspaper you are misinformed. Mark Twain
”We know they are lying, they know they are lying, they know we know they are lying, we know they know we know they are lying, yet they are still lying.” –Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn
Looks like a repro of the Confederate version (brass frame) of the 1851 Navy revolver. The South started producing brass frame revolvers due to the shortage of steel. They are notorious for shooting loose. I have one that looks just like yours. Mine is a very cheaply made revolver. I bought it new when I was in high school as a kit and it holds a lot of sentimental value to me. I was warned from the beginning that stout charges were a no no. So, I have always used light loads in mine, but it still has crappy cylinder timing. I just cock it slowly and then double check and adjust the cylinder lineup if necessary before firing. Still fun to shoot. A thousand pieces of 9mm brass for a revolver is a great trade any day in my book. Haven't thought about snake loads in it Hellgate. Gonna have to try that, thanks.
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