Colt Cap and Ball Navy Revolver

[stretchpdx]

Turns out this was made in the 1960's.
Thanks for the help Bill !
Gary

Read More

 

[BillM]

An antique? By what definition? It's Italian, mid 60's. That's
1960's.

You might want to take a look here:

<broken link removed>

 

[stretchpdx]

Hi BillM.
The top of the barrel marked EIG NAVY

 

[stretchpdx]

That's just what I was looking for. Thanks Bill. So it's not original Colt at all.

Gary

An antique? By what definition? It's Italian, mid 60's. That's
1960's.

You might want to take a look here:

<broken link removed>

 

[BillM]

That's just what I was looking for. Thanks Bill. So it's not original Colt at all.

Gary

Nope. Looks like a nice 51 Navy though. The brass framed ones are maybe
not quite as tough as the steel frames, but in 36 cal you will shoot a lot before you see a difference. Sweet guns, and in my hands the 51's just
seem to point the way they should.

Bill

 

[tac]

That's just what I was looking for. Thanks Bill. So it's not original Colt at all.

Gary

Nope. With PN stamps it was never going to be old - PN = Pulvero nero = black powder. When the real thing was made

a. they were not proofed.

b. 'Made in Italy. - pretty much of a give-away...

d. 'Black powder only'...another anachronism - when the real thing was made there was nothing else.

e. serial number - the real deal had serial numbers from 98,000 - 133,000.

and lastly - XXII is the date code for 1966.

tac

 

[madcratebuilder]

Lot of those EIG's floating around.

EIG was the importer, not sure if they are still around. The revolver could be made by any number of Italian makers. Look for name under the loading lever.
Keep your loads light because of the brass frame, 16-18gr would be fine, shave a ring and tight caps, your good to go.
The 51 Navy is maybe the best pointing revolver Colt ever made, it was Bill Hickok's favorite.

 

[dennisf]

When reading the posts, I remembered having one of these from years ago (inherited). I may have shot it a couple of times in the 80's, but not really in to the black powder stuff. It needs to be cleaned up again just for looks.
It has Navy Arms Co. Ridgefield, NJ; The stamp under the load lever is EAP and has the other symbols noted in the posts. It does have a serial number.
To break it down, doesn't the pin come out in front of the cylinder to remove the cylinder and that's about all for cleaning? Looks like my father in law had trouble getting that wedge out.
What would I use to scrub out the cylinders and bore if I don't have BP cleaning stuff?
What are these worth in trade or sale. I don't have much of the other stuff to use it.

 

[Yester]

Nope. With PN stamps it was never going to be old - PN = Pulvero nero = black powder. When the real thing was made

a. they were not proofed.

b. 'Made in Italy. - pretty much of a give-away...

d. 'Black powder only'...another anachronism - when the real thing was made there was nothing else.

e. serial number - the real deal had serial numbers from 98,000 - 133,000.

and lastly - XXII is the date code for 1966.

tac

What happened to "c"

 

[tac]

What happened to "c"

Just checkin' to see if you'd read it, is all.

Best

tac, over here

 

[tac]

When reading the posts, I remembered having one of these from years ago (inherited). I may have shot it a couple of times in the 80's, but not really in to the black powder stuff. It needs to be cleaned up again just for looks.
It has Navy Arms Co. Ridgefield, NJ; The stamp under the load lever is EAP and has the other symbols noted in the posts. It does have a serial number.
To break it down, doesn't the pin come out in front of the cylinder to remove the cylinder and that's about all for cleaning? Looks like my father in law had trouble getting that wedge out.
What would I use to scrub out the cylinders and bore if I don't have BP cleaning stuff?
What are these worth in trade or sale. I don't have much of the other stuff to use it.

To dismantle any of the Colts, you need to

a. Ensure that it is actually empty by looking into the chambers - five or six, depending on the model.

b. Using the butt of a hammer handle, or a wooden/plastic mallet, gently tap out the barrel wedge from theright hand side as you hold the pistol pointing away from you. It SHOULD come out easily after a little initial resistance, and is prevented from dropping out by the little screw on the left-hand side.

c. Pull the barrel assembly straight off the barrel axis pin, and then the cylinder.

You will be able to clean the crud off by using near boiling water and an old toothbrush - same for the bore - presuming you have at least got a bore brush. After cleanig and rinsing in water as hot as you can stand, putthem bits to one side - they'll dry either from their onw heat, or from the help of a hair dryer....

As for the cylinder, if you do not have a nipple wrench, DON'T try and remove the nipples with pliers - you'll most certainly damage them.

Make sure the hole down the centre is bright and shiny - as well as the chambers.

Unless you are feeling confident, this as as much as you should get into a teardown.

Assemble the arm in the reverse - apply a good quality grease to the cylinder axis pin - this helps prevent the arm from jamming up after a few shots from fouling. Lightly oil the barrel wedge. Slide the cylinder back on the pin, and align the two odd-sized pegs on the frame with the holes in the barrel section, and them push the wedge home with finger pressure only until it does not move any more.

It MAY be necessary to use a very small amount of carefull-aplied force to get the wedge all the way back in, but remember that the further in the wedge is pushed, the tighter the two pieces of the gun will be pulled together - there has to be SOME movement of the cylinder t oenable it to rotate.

I usually spray mine all over with either Ballistol or WD40 at this point, and work the action [without dropping the hammer] until it feels slick in cocking and releasing.

Others may have different experiences. Please listen to them as well, as I have been shooting BP handguns only since 1965.

Best of luck

tac, over here

PS - value of your pistol, is around $100 or so at most. Less if the crud turns out to be rust.