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Everyone,


I was debating getting extra cylinders for my Pietta, 1858 Army, .44 cap and ball revolver.
I finally bought a micrometer and the cylinders (nominally) measured:
.436
.432
.437
.436
.436

The bore nominally measured .432

I don't know if getting other cylinders would be more regular in size (at work I'm expected to work
glass parts down to under +/- .001 of an inch or less). It was a Taylor & Company so they emphasize
quality.
By the way, its a hoot to shoot .440 balls with .30+ grains of Hodgen 777. With my old eyes the crude
front sight was just a blur but from a rest I did get 3 shots into 3" @ 25 yards. On my next outing I'll
take some Goex FFFg . I do have some .451 & .454 balls but I think they would be too tight. The .454
balls jammed on the first outing and I had to drill them out.

(I wonder if I should mic. my Ruger Blackhawk for comparison....).

Blessings,
LongBeard
 
Strange measurements for sure....most Remington .44 models will use a .451 round ball or a .454 round ball.
For your revolver ...I'd stick with the .440 round ball and melt the .451 and .454 , then mold your own .440 round ball with the lead from them.

28 grains of 3F might be a good load here.
Andy
 
Strange measurements for sure....most Remington .44 models will use a .451 round ball or a .454 round ball.
For your revolver ...I'd stick with the .440 round ball and melt the .451 and .454 , then mold your own .440 round ball with the lead form them.

28 grains of 3F might be a good load here.
Andy
I tried .454 balls first and one jammed in a cylinder bore and I had to drill all of them out. When I finally got a dial caliper I
measured and got those measurements. My .454 balls would be .022" too large- no wonder it jammed. My .440 balls
would be .008" larger, more in line with standards.

Blessings,
LB
 
Yuppers, Andy is SAGE!
Are you patching or seating dry? Not that it would make much difference, but the looser fitting ball could be paper patched to make work!
Extra Cylinders are always a nice addition to have around, and you can fine tune a spare with out messing around with an original ( if that matters to you) I usually have mine broached a little deeper ( If they will take) and at the same time, clean up the bores to a good uniform finish, sure makes seating projectiles nicer!
 
Yuppers, Andy is SAGE!
Are you patching or seating dry? Not that it would make much difference, but the looser fitting ball could be paper patched to make work!
Extra Cylinders are always a nice addition to have around, and you can fine tune a spare with out messing around with an original ( if that matters to you) I usually have mine broached a little deeper ( If they will take) and at the same time, clean up the bores to a good uniform finish, sure makes seating projectiles nicer!

On the first sets I loaded: powder,wad,ball and they slid in easily . On another set I went : powder,ball, lube
(and the accuracy improved) but it was hot enough outside my lube was starting to melt.

I don't know where to do it but, it would be nice to have all of the cylinders the same size (that and my eyesight would
explain wild flyers.

I think I will get some extra cylinders just for spares (with stainless steel nipples).

BTW: Does anyone know where to get a capper for the above mentioned revolver? My TDC straighline
capper sucks.

Blessings,
LB
 
Something to consider...
As I mentioned earlier...the measurements on your Pietta are unusual for a Remington .44 revolver...
They usually take a .451 or .454 round ball....with a chamber diameter of .446

So....
If you order a new cylinder...the chambers for that cylinder may be too large for your strangely undersized bore...and you might not be able to use the new / extra cylinder.
Andy
 
Hadn't caught that! Does seem odd to have an under bore gun tube, especially for a Pietta! That's weird, I wonder if it started out as a .36 bore and was overbored and the cylinder with it!
 
Hadn't caught that! Does seem odd to have an under bore gun tube, especially for a Pietta! That's weird, I wonder if it started out as a .36 bore and was overbored and the cylinder with it!
Yeah....odd for sure...and Yep maybe it was a .36 caliber
Pietta has a .367 chamber diameter for their .36 revolvers....but even that is oversized according to the OP measurements.
Andy
 
JMO&E, FWIW. Dump it, it's a Pietta. Personally my experience with Pietta is that they are cheaply made and break parts. Have had very good luck with my 2 Uberti Remington 1858 revolvers.. and a .454 ball or conical will fit tightly and not require that darn grease over the chambers. Have not tried wads.. Beeswax works good on conicals, but I don't try to lube my balls with it.. YMMV!
 

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