Loading & Shooting The 1858 Remington

[arcticap]

I bought a beautiful used Pietta 1858 Remington cap & ball
revolver from a HuntingNet member last year and was finally
able to give it whirl.
I didn't shoot it right away because I ordered one of the new
Triple P Loaders that was only recently designed and put into
productionbyits inventor who makes them by hand one at a
time. It's an ingenious new cap & ball loading device that really
makes loading any cap & baller much easier to accomplish with
the cylinder removed from the frame and almost as much fun to
do as shooting the gun itself.




I also orderedtheoptional wad cutting attachments with it
to be able to cut my own over powder wads which can help
toprevent a chain fire and to save money on buying factory
made wool wads.



I've been saving up wax board from dairy and juice cartons
for this very purpose and everything worked great.It only
took a few minutes to cutsomewax board wadsto getready
to load up my2 cylinders with powder and ball.




First each chamber was loadedwith 35 grains of APP fffg
and then a wax boardwad was placed on top of itand
compressed firmly with the ram.





Next a .451 round ballwas rammed down, and for good
measure I then rammed another wad over the ball.




At the range, thePietta and the loads fired off great.
The 1858Remington model makes it very easy to
simply swap pre-loaded cylinders in and out of the
frametocontinue shooting, similar to swapping out
magazineson a modern pistol.
It was easy to shootthepistolfairly accurately at
about17yards. My son alsotook a few shotswith
itandonlya sighter shot or twoeachwere needed
before we were hittingthe orange targetcenter.This
8 inch target modelalso has a fully adjustable rear sight.





I found APP fffgto be acleanand smoothshooting
revolver powder. When in stock at my local Cabela's
itsprice has beenunder $14 per lb.
The #10 Remington caps fit on the nipples like a
glovewhich is important so they don't fall off under
fireand jam up theaction of the cylinder turning,
orcause a chainfire through an open nipple.
Thiswas a short range session but the experience
was valuable because AFAIK, this was the firstreport
aboutusing wax board as a new wad material which
wascompletely successful.
I onlyrecovered 4 of the over ball wads but their
condition shows just how well all of the wadsworked
to seal the chambers.








Here's the Triple P Loader website:

http://www.sixgunforfun.com/

[hunting junkie]

Nice detail in the story and pics and some good shooting.

[TNHagies]

Looks like a lot of fun-and a good shooter to boot. That's the Target model correct? I think cayguad has one of those as well.I think the Remington design is a lot better thanthe Colt version.

[cayugad]

I shoot the same revolver as you. And it is the same target model as you describe. I even shoot the same powder as I found clean up was much easier, and I could shoot longer.

My load is 30 grains of APP 3f, a felt wad, then the .451 ball and then I grease the cylinders to avoid the chain fires. I find this a lot of fun to shoot on a nice afternoon. Also the power of that load is surprising as well. That is a two inch spruce plank I was shooting through.

[arcticap]

Cabela's always has one revolver modelor another on sale,
andright now it'sthe 5.5 inch Remington model for $199:

http://tinyurl.com/pqc9c8

There's alsodrop in after marketcenterfire conversion cylinders
forthese .44's including for the .45Long Colt and .45 ACP.

Traditions has hadtheir brass frame .36 Colt Reb Revolver on sale
for a while now at $149.

http://www.traditionsfirearms.com/eshop/10Expand.asp?ProductCode=FR18511536

These are very affordable revolversthat can help folks avoid some
oftoday's high ammo prices.

[bronko22000]

Those are neat. And I've been tempted a time or two to get one. But haven't layed down the cash yet.

[Old/New]

Cool! [8D]

[rafsob]

Very informative report and one that is well received. I am really interested in that loadingtool. Do you have a website or any information on how to contact the company?

I have a Uberti Remmie '58 and love it. I shoot Goex fffg with the .451 ball and a wad. I also use lube over the ball to stop a chain fire. It can get a little messy in the hot summer here in Virginia, but who cares when you are having a good time. These are definitely fun guns and help to give us a chance to keep our cost down and still have fun.

[arcticap]

Thanks for the compliments!

Here's the Triple P Loader website:

http://www.sixgunforfun.com/

And there's also a very reputable company named Durofelt thatsells the best, most dense bulk wool felt in America that many BP shooters use to make their ownwool wads.
Here's the right page for muzzle loading felt, and prices include free shipping:

http://www.durofelt.com./image_26.html