Thinking of Black Powder - Remington 1858

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Must have been watching too many episodes of Hell on Wheels...
Thinking of a Remington 1858 New Army reproduction. Do like the idea of getting a military spec high capacity firearm mail order.
Also like the fact that with the Remington you can swap out the cylinders easily.
Uberti of Pietta?
Have read that the build quality of Uberti is better. Would appreciate some comments, especially on cleaning techniques.

Re: Thinking of Black Powder - Remington 1858

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PeterBlack wrote:Also like the fact that with the Remington you can swap out the cylinders easily.
Uberti of Pietta?
Have read that the build quality of Uberti is better. Would appreciate some comments, especially on cleaning techniques.
Uberi vs. Pietta is sort of the Glock vs. 1911 of the Cap & Ball world.. or perhaps like starting an oil thread on a classic car forum. LOL

I've only been involved in cap & ball for a couple of years, but my understanding is that Pietta has upped their game in a big way over the last few years, and there's little difference between the two. I own several Pietta's and have been happy with fir & finish right out of the box. That doesn't mean however, there isn't room for some improvement, if you so desire (see: my Setting up the 1860 thread). If you're just fun plinking, pull it out of the box, wipe it down, load and shoot.

The only Uberti I have is the "revolving carbine", which is essentially the 1858 New Army with a long barrel and shoulder stock. I also have a regular Pietta 1858 New Army, and I would say to the naked eye, the actions, fit & finish, etc are indistinguishable from one another.

Personally, I recommend Pietta to 1st timers, due to the low cost of entry, ease of acquisition since they are readily available at Cabela's, and most folks are just plinking with it a couple times per year.

Anecdotally, I believe it's mostly the Cowboy Action competitors that lay down the extra cash for the Uberti's.

Cleaning is not such a big deal as many would have you believe. Plain hot water or with a touch of dish soap is all you need, and a wipe-down with Ballistol afterwards is all it takes. There are literally hundreds of YouTube video's on the subject. Two I highly recommend are the channels for "blackoracle69" and "duelist1954"

most of all, Have fun!
Brian in StL

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Re: Thinking of Black Powder - Remington 1858

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I had a chance to examine two Piettas-- one older and one new out of the box-- side by side recently. The there wasn't much difference in the finish, which was OK on both. But mechanically the newer gun was 'sweeter;' better trigger pull, smoother action. Ubertis used to be significantly nicer, but given that the new gun I examined was just as nice as Ubertis I've seen lately I'm not sure that I'd spend the extra money. My new gun was purchased from Cabella's for $199 -- A lot less expensive than a comparable Uberti.

Yes, I intend to get a Kirst Gated Cartridge Conversion.
"Aim for their foil beanies! It's the only way to be sure..."
https://tinkertalksguns.wordpress.com
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Re: Thinking of Black Powder - Remington 1858

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I have a .36 Navy copy from the early 70's that I shot once, and enjoyed. Cleaned it with dish soap. It's messier than using cartridges, and a bit of a hassle. Crisco to prevent chain fires, so I remember the smell of popcorn. It's a neat revolver to play with.

on edit, an old pic of the old guy.

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CDFingers
Crazy cat peekin' through a lace bandana
like a one-eyed Cheshire, like a diamond-eyed Jack

Re: Thinking of Black Powder - Remington 1858

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These things are such a crapshoot. Sometimes you're at Cabelas going through 4 of them before one is mechanically functioning much less properly finished.

All things being equal, I'd rather have an Uberti than a Pietta because the front sight is dovetailed for windage adjustments. That would be buying them blind through the mail, I would only order from Taylors website. They get the pick of the litter.

If you have a local bigbox store nearby, then I would probably buy a Pietta because that is what they will be carrying (including Bass Pro and the Traditions brand) and you can go through and find one that works. If you need windage adjustments later, then you ought to be able to get a front sight dovetailed for under 50 bucks.

If you think you're interested in a conversion cylinder for centerfire rounds, then I'd just get an already converted model 1858 from Taylors and forgo the blackpowder option.

Re: Thinking of Black Powder - Remington 1858

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curtism1234 wrote:These things are such a crapshoot. Sometimes you're at Cabelas going through 4 of them before one is mechanically functioning much less properly finished.

All things being equal, I'd rather have an Uberti than a Pietta because the front sight is dovetailed for windage adjustments. That would be buying them blind through the mail, I would only order from Taylors website. They get the pick of the litter.
I've never had that problem with Cabela's here in StL.. Though the ones on display are usually worked over pretty well. If they're out of stock, don't ever let them sell you a display unit!

FWIW, EMF is running a sale on Piettas right now, and they go through each one and fit the bolt & confirm timing, etc. Steel 1858 New Army $215: http://www.emf-company.com/store/pc/185 ... l-c167.htm

Cabela's has them listed for $270
http://www.cabelas.com/product/shooting ... _567338580

You know what you gotta do cowboy...
Brian in StL

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Re: Thinking of Black Powder - Remington 1858

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curtism1234 wrote: If you think you're interested in a conversion cylinder for centerfire rounds, then I'd just get an already converted model 1858 from Taylors and forgo the blackpowder option.
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I would too, except this one came to me with no cash out-of pocket. That means that I'm happy to spend the $325 for the Kirst rather than the $500+ for a Cimmaron or Taylor's. The big advantage to the 'factory' conversions from Uberti is that they will shoot modern jacketed ammunition. The word is that the forcing cones on the black-powder guns can split if you use jacketed bullets- not something I want to take a chance on. The other reason of course is that the factory conversion holds six rounds, and the Kirst only holds five.
"Aim for their foil beanies! It's the only way to be sure..."
https://tinkertalksguns.wordpress.com
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Re: Thinking of Black Powder - Remington 1858

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Just something to consider on the Krist cylinder since this is expensive: There is one firing pin so if it breaks you're out of commission. Krist is not a young man so his lifetime warranty may prove to be worthless. The same thing can be said for the R&D / Howell cylinders - except they have firing pins for each chamber. If that company goes under, you can break a couple and still be functioning.

I don't know if a gunsmith can repair these things or if they are proprietary secrets???

Re: Thinking of Black Powder - Remington 1858

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Just a thought on conversions.
While they are neat and interesting from a historical viewpoint , they were a stop gap measure so to speak.
I love to shoot cap and ball revolvers.
But if i wanted to shoot a metallic cartridge ,I would shoot a gun made for those, not a conversion.
Just my opinion and it might not even be worth the 2 cents LOL
Andy
Follow me, I am the Infantry.

Re: Thinking of Black Powder - Remington 1858

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curtism1234 wrote:Just something to consider on the Krist cylinder since this is expensive: There is one firing pin so if it breaks you're out of commission. Krist is not a young man so his lifetime warranty may prove to be worthless. The same thing can be said for the R&D / Howell cylinders - except they have firing pins for each chamber. If that company goes under, you can break a couple and still be functioning.

I don't know if a gunsmith can repair these things or if they are proprietary secrets???
I have the skills and tools to pretty much replicate any parts that break, so I am not too worried about it. A firing pin is pretty basic, after all. I can see where it might be a concern for others though.
"Aim for their foil beanies! It's the only way to be sure..."
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Re: Thinking of Black Powder - Remington 1858

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I also watched too many episodes of Hell on Wheels back to back and was left alone in Cabelas with a credit card. I am now the proud owner of an 1860 army colt clone by pietta. It's currently my favorite pistol to shoot and I may get a conversion cylinder soon just so I can take it winter shooting (indoors). I did a bunch of messing with it to find the right variety of caps and nipples that would get 100% ignition every time. Now its happy with Track of the wolf after market nipples and remington branded caps. At this point I need another one and a holster rig and I'm going to cowboy shoots with it.

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