howdy all
I thought I'd share this here, since there's Remingtons, Colts, and eventually a rifle... or two... or four!
I've had about 10 years of working with blackpowder. Basically within Rennaissance through the early 18th century...
lots of sails, cannon, and blunderbusses
basically I'm going to have this for anyone to see, however, although I have quite a bit of experience in blackpowder, I am no pro, or certified gunsmith. Therefore, everything is on
you, not me if you take what I write here as "advice." That ain't the point. It's more just a journal into the adventures of shooting black with cowboy guns and saving pet loads for each gun.
also, my guns... are "special." AKA, until this past weekend, none of them were what I'd qualify as "shooters."
I purchased most of my guns at pawn shops or gun shops, at discounted prices because of the condition they were in. On the outside, they look for the most part good. But trust me, inside they all needed their own little bits of work, some of them
still. I've restored cars, boats, and hand-built a wheel-lock pistol and a doglock as well. I ain't certified in any way, but this also ain't my first rodeo.
so seriously, don't take this as wholehearted advice. Just the ramblings and notes of a fellow dark-artist.
I have:
First off, a "new in box" Uberti 1847 Walker. I picked her up at a nice shop here in Arizona, and no fault to them on what's wrong with the gun. I honestly think they sell them thinking they'll mostly be "wall-hangers" and "gawkers." Mental note for me, that they don't really care about the tolerances on the guns they're willing to sell.
basically, her arbor appears to be too long. Doing the "Pettifogger" check, as I like to call it, I can't get the barrel anywhere near the lugs even, let alone the frame. Basically she's off by about an easy 1/8th of an inch.
beyond that, she's good. She's rough, missing her front sight, and there's a ding in her barrel, I'm thinking she was dropped at some point.
basically the surface rust was there when I got her, along with the dent in the barrel, so I was able to haggle the pricepoint a bit. I still think I payed too much, but so be it. She was my first, and I've learned alot from her.
As soon as I get a shop to work in, she's getting completely stripped back to bare metal, fully polished out, re-blued, and doing a real bone color case hardening on her frame, trigger and hammer. Until then, I've kept the rust to a stopping point almost now. I'm tearing into her tomorrow, soaking her in that Kano Kroil and seeing what I can do from there without making too much of a stink, or mess
but hopefully keep on preserving her.
however, there is no "pie shape" gap between the cylinder and barrel, it honestly just appears the arbor is too long, by that 1/8th of an inch. The wedge won't even go back into the gun now, thanks to that gap. The wedge was even boggered a bit when I got it out, that was my first hankering something wasn't quite right that I missed at the store:
I haven't tried the "hit it with a rubber mallet" yet, because honestly, she's been just cleaned up and sealed with bore butter since I got her, couldn't get her back together, and has been sitting safely ever since. I just found out today about the super tight tolerances on the Uberti Walkers as far as the arbor. But to be fair, she's been lubed, oiled, and sealed. She isn't rough or tight in any way anymore, and I still can't get that barrel down deep enough, even pressing down hard on the carpet.
A Pietta .44 caliber Colt Navyfound her in a pawn shop, and as soon as I asked to look into her, and the guy knew I knew more than him, he had his manager come over and talk with me.
Apparently I have a wee bit of a baby face, I blame being Irish. The guy thought I was way under 25 because he asked if I had a driver's liscense and was over 18. I reminded him the joys of cap and ball revolvers, and then said I was 27.
as I took her apart, I noticed she had been fired, and wasn't cleaned exceptionally well,
but was all there and went back together just fine.
I bought her, and her "case" for a song 4 years ago. Again, I took her home, cleaned her up and bore buttered her up and put her back in her case.
I think between the two, the "price point" evens out just nicely.
and finally:
an Armi San Marco "collector's set" "Officer's and Gentleman" Remingtons, a New Model Army, and a Pocket model.
Apparently they're "limited edition," and I picked them up for
1) the price - cheaper than one NMA new
2) they're Armi San Marcos.
basically, I've held, restored, and worked with real original New Model Army Remingtons. And as far as the "fit" basically the backstrap/hilt on the Armi San Marco is the closest to the real deal. It ain't perfect, but it's closer than the other Italians. That's just my opinion, take it as you like. To me, the other Italians are basically a solid framed Colt Single Action Army pretending to be a New Model Army Remington. It's a harsh opinion a wee bit, but it's what I feel. I think that's why the knuckle under the trigger guard gets wracked so bad with those "others."
why were they cheap?
unfortunately the gun shop was going out of business, and I know personally they had that set for sale for over five years on their shelves. I blame the "bling." Not going to lie, it ain't what I prefer. Give me some cold blue and color casing any day.
The arbor was seized up on both of them, and their hammer pull borders on the ridiculous side. Basically, now that I've gone into them, I think they've never been shot, and only ever sat "looking pretty."
now, them being ASM, and limited edition, they won't be my main match pistols. I'll take them out, but only for special occasions.
basically, right now, I can't get the arbors back
in! It's too tight! I soaked them with Kano Kroil for about two hours, just to get the arbors out. Most of the screws are a pain, so yeah, at this moment in time, they're still soaking.
it is funny though, like I said, I enjoy color case hardening and a cool well polished blue any day over the "pimp guns." They just aren't my thing. I like how even faux ivory grips, let alone the real thing, look on blued guns too. They pop more.
and yet, in their own way, they sure make an interesting set for sure:
all my friends who know me well, admire the guns, then chuckle for a bit and ask "you got these for a song didn't you?"
now, I've had the Walker and Navy since 2010, and the Remingtons for about two years. From 2008 until 2012 I was working on my undergrad and didn't exactly have time unfortunately to enjoy them. So I just kept them safe and clean.
my lady, God bless her, asked me about CAS and if we'd try it out. I was floored and ecstatic. Mind you, in the past two years, I've been working on stuff that's been... a pain. And it kind of burned me out of CAS for a bit. Her asking and prodding, brought me out of that dark pit.
funny how a woman can do that
this past weekend, we picked up this:
her brass-framed Armi San Marco Colt Navy in .44
yes, yes, history buffs cringe
now, ironically, until tonight, that was the
only gun I felt that was safe enough to shoot.
She's
CLEAN and after stoning, polishing, and only a small bit of timing, she's READY. Well, as far as she's going to get without the new nipples that are coming in.
Today, we went to a SASS affiliated store here in town. I LOVE him now. Great shop, good people, and the customers were just as much of a hoot to talk with as anyone. Apparently one went hunting with his wife for the first time, she made eye contact with the coyote and called it a "cute puppy." And he swears it would have eaten out of her hand.
He had EVERYTHING. Remington #10 caps, well in stock. Every kind of substitute you could think of. He can't sell blackpowder because of laws here in Az make it a pain. He had everything we needed.
flask - check
variable powder measure - check
nipple wrench and nipple pick inside - check - worked on all my guns too, the ASMs, Uberti, and Pietta. ALL of them. Thought that was awesome.
picked up literally everything we need to start sighting these babies in and getting their pet loads figured out.
and
Kano Kroil
typical Murphy's law, the stuff that's supposed to help anti-seize screws and basically anything metal... the lid was all seized up fast!
We had a good laugh at that, but nothing vice grips couldn't handle
I LOVE this stuff now. It loosened up my Remingtons. And it cleaned up my Pietta Navy's cylinder like a charm. It's all polished and purdy now. Not like new, but definitely well taken care of.
basically now, we're going to get some different charged paper cartridges, very excited and start honing them in.
as far as getting these guns "ready:"
I follow Pettifogger up until the coil springs. And I also followed Mike Beliveau's advice throughout GOTOW and his youtube channel. Between the two, and my knowledge of flintlocks, doglocks, and wheel-locks, I was able to get a gist to where they're well timed and good to go. Now it's just trial and error to dial in the loads. I don't do the coil spring adaption, because I like the hand the way it is, and two, I don't have a drill press. We're in an apartment for the moment.
now, we're ordering SlixShot nipples for all the guns. But we're going to go ahead and see how they shoot without them, just to develop a base to compare the SlixShot nipples to.
to be honest, caplock has never been my forte. But coming from the earlier forms of ignition, from matchlock, wheel, to flint, I feel like I have an idea. I think it's all about the tuning, just like with any flint lock.
we'll see!
hope this is good for everyone else, entertaining at least as we continue our journeys into the dark arts with cowboy guns. I want to thank Pettifogger and Mr. Beliveau for sharing their knowledge so all of us can have fun too.
and particularly to Leo Tanner. Something he said changed my life forever, for the better, back in 2008 when I just joined this little group.
1) he taught me the history of the west and how it wasn't won by 92 Winchesters with big loops and Colt Peacemakers
2) he gave me heartfelt advice that's definitely helped me out.
so, Leo, this is all your fault!