I've Bought My First Black Powder Revolver - Need Some Tips

nc native

First Sergeant
Joined
Aug 30, 2011
Location
NC Piedmont
A couple of weeks ago, I bought me a Pietta 1851 Navy .36 black powder revolver. It has
the steel frame with brass trigger guard and I love the feel and balance. I've got several
firearms and have been shooting most of my life but this is my first venture into the world
of black powder.

The first issue I'm having is getting that wedge out so I can disassemble my revolver. It seems
to be in there pretty tight and I know better than to use a metal tap or tool to remove it. I
also would appreciate some advice about methods used to clean it up after shooting. (I get a
feeling black powder is going to teach me how to clean a gun if I didn't know before) What
are some of your favorite loads when it comes to powder volume? I'm looking for some advice
from some of you black powder pros.
 
Flashback 30+ years ago!

I thought the wedge on my new .36 came all the way out! It didn't. Or at least it wasn't supposed to until my knuckle headed brain got a hold of it. Keep that in mind. You may need to use a wooden or leather mallet on that brand new wedge to get it loose. And make sure you're tapping it loose and not tighter.

And welcome to the wonderful world of black powder!

d
 
The Colt had a screw that secured the wedge. You have to loosen---not remove the screw---in order to tap the wedge out.

On my first outing with my brother's "borrowed" Navy Arms Colt, I over-stuffed a chamber and could not rotate the cylinder. I tried to remove the wedge and discovered those Italian screws had very fine slots in the head. I almost ruined the screw. When I got back to my garage, I filed down a standard screw driver to fit the slot.

I hope this helps. It may be totally irrelavent as this was 40 years ago.
 
I
also would appreciate some advice about methods used to clean it up after shooting. (I get a
feeling black powder is going to teach me how to clean a gun if I didn't know before)

I thought I would follow up with a Reply so you would get a Notification.

You are darn right. Clean it very good and don't wait. Of course, a spray of WD-40 will help postpone any corrosion for awhile.
The problem with a revolver is that there are so many crevices. Remove the nipples and set them aside as they can wait(or be replaced). Then get a toothbrush and scrub all the recessed surfaces for all 6 nipples. I use soap and water; the primer residue is a little harder to remove than the burnt BP.
I used to disassemble my pistol entirely---I mean every screw in the frame that holds the hammer and springs and mechanism. You may not need to do this but you should practise and make any special tools you might need. As I recall the Colt was easy---remove the Grips and you could clean any residue that traveled down the Hammer and into the grip area.
I began to skip the complete tear-down and then one day I took out my Ruger and I could not cock the Hammer at all. Luckily it was easy to clean and get back into working condition.
You can tell a good BP shooter if he has owned a rifle for 10 or 15 years and all the blue is in tact (except maybe around the drum/nipple) and the bore is shiny.
 
We taught our kids how to shoot using black powder,it wax fun for a couple of hours then dad had 4 or 5 hours of cleaning three pistols.we had a Hawken rifle also but that was easy to clean compared to the handguns.
 
Happy Shooting.

Ruger.jpg
 
This is my blackpowder pistol, it was manufactured in Italy,and has a stamp of Hawes firearms Los Angeles California, not sure how old it is, but I keep it clean and it fires nicely. It was a wreck when I first got it, it wasn't maintained properly and I had my reservations at first, but after a lot of time and some tlc I have no problems with it. My wedge was stuck,and I sprayed a little crc in it and used a small brass hammer to unlodge it. I clean it regularly to ensure that it is safe, and haven't had a misfire yet.
20160703_151423.jpg
 
You may need to try different brands of caps to find out which work best. Some take a 10, some a 11. I gave found that caps are mot consistant in size between brands. You can get away with that on a rifle , but it can cause problems on a revolver. Too small and they are hard to get off. Too large and they can jam the revolver. Also, some have a tendency to split, also jamming. Between the two, i would prefer the smaller, i would rather have to pry them off than to have constant jamming
 
May I suggest something in firing the revolver. If you ever look at paintings from the time of the great pistoleros of the immediate post Civil War Era some artists were painting them with them holding the pistol, between shots, cocking the hammer for the next one. You may notice that the subject is holding the pistol up, pointed straight into the air. This was a common way to cock a black powder arm. Some shooters continued to cock the arm in this way even when metallic cartridges replaced the cap and ball arm. The purpose of this is to prevent disintegrated, fired cap materials from falling into the action and jamming the cylinder but instead, falling backwards and down away from the cylinder. It works quite effectively to prevent those, to us annoying, to them fatal, misfires.
 
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I use Chrisco for the grease packing, it's cheap and doesn't smell bad
Buy a extra cylinder if you can as well as a loading tool if you are going to shoot a lot

I used the pryodex as I got it cheap and it didn't seem like I needed to clean it as much afterwards even though I still did a deep clean after every time at the range, but it isn't as corrosive as real bp.

Most are mine are .44 and have made my own "paper cartridges" for it but these can be tricky to get a full burn out of.
I used cigarette rolling paper ad have shot both round balls and pointed bullets I made myself.

Welcome to the fun world of black powder shooting
 
Keep it clean....correct the front sight, if needed, by lowering it a bit with a file. Check POI frequently 'til it is right. Dixie Gunworks sells a little kit that lets you make your own caps out of aluminum soda cans and red roll caps... they're soft enough to fit a wide variety of nipples. Don't store your revolver in a holster... if you don't have a wooden box for it, make one or buy one. Shoot that Iron, and remember....range is commonly thought to be short...inside fifty yards. Yet, the military standard laid down for firearms at Harpers Ferry at its inception as a US Arsenal was and remained for much of the 19th century...." with a six-o-clock hold on the belt buckle area of a man-sized target, at any range between two and two HUNDRED yards, the projectile MUST strike said target..." Note that no differentiation was made between rifles and pistols, nor for revolvers when they became practical....my first percussion revolver, an 1858 Remington, made by Euroarms, would put six in a dinner-plate at two-hundred yards, on my good days....point being, don't underestimate those old-styled pieces...have fun. :smile:
 
This is my blackpowder pistol, it was manufactured in Italy,and has a stamp of Hawes firearms Los Angeles California, not sure how old it is, but I keep it clean and it fires nicely. It was a wreck when I first got it, it wasn't maintained properly and I had my reservations at first, but after a lot of time and some tlc I have no problems with it. My wedge was stuck,and I sprayed a little crc in it and used a small brass hammer to unlodge it. I clean it regularly to ensure that it is safe, and haven't had a misfire yet. View attachment 104949
Just wondering why people haven't mentioned that handy little tool, the wedge puller. I read that the Thompson Centre wedge puller is a useful tool but I'm not sure if it fits the Pietta 1851.
 
I have a Pietta 1851 reproduction chambered in .44. After I loosen the screw in my wedge a gentle tap with a rubber mallet brings it right out.

I started using Ballistol a few years back and absolutely love the way it cleans and keeps mine looking like new. Deer Creek Gun Store in Marietta Georgia turned me on to this stuff and I've used it ever since.

I typically give any black powder gun a good hot bath with dish washing detergent and blow it dry with an air hose and a good wipe down with Ballistol. I do use Goex with all black powder guns and have never had a problem.

I can speak from experience, you can gain a lot of knowledge from these guys and gals on this forum. They are a great bunch that will steer you in the right direction.

Happy Shooting!
 
I have a Pietta 1851 reproduction chambered in .44. After I loosen the screw in my wedge a gentle tap with a rubber mallet brings it right out.

I started using Ballistol a few years back and absolutely love the way it cleans and keeps mine looking like new. Deer Creek Gun Store in Marietta Georgia turned me on to this stuff and I've used it ever since.

I typically give any black powder gun a good hot bath with dish washing detergent and blow it dry with an air hose and a good wipe down with Ballistol. I do use Goex with all black powder guns and have never had a problem.

I can speak from experience, you can gain a lot of knowledge from these guys and gals on this forum. They are a great bunch that will steer you in the right direction.

Happy Shooting!

This guy seems to have a good method..www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nlj3e9bO7R0
 
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