Pietta 1851 Colt .44 caliber "Old Silver"

[Cincinnati Slim]

Howdy,

Despite nasty ice storms and a MLK Holiday the USPS got my Pietta 1851 "Old Silver" to Cincy today. Left Impact Guns in Utah Friday !

I had heard prices for Italian imports were set to go up, their price was the best on the "net" and now they are Out-of-stock so I guess I made my move at the right time. Looks like a durn good deal, was less than $ 250.00 delivered.

Except for the springs it's ALL stainless/polished steel including hammer, trigger, triggerguard and screws. I'll be taking a magnet to the various pieces tonite to see what's really stainless or just polished. Seems well finished and the grips are right purdy. No thick red varnish like a lot of Italian imports, nice grain figure and very good fit to frame and backstrap. Action is pretty tight and barrel to cylinder gap is way too small so I'll be doing a little tinkering to get things running smoother. 

I'll let y'all know how she shoots once I get out to the range...

Happy Trails,

Cincinnati Slim

p.s. my spare Pietta 1860 Army cylinders interchange fine with this "Navy"
I know a .44 caliber 1851 ain't histerically kerrect but It sure makes my life easier ! I got that Pietta 1860/1851 parts kit from Cabela's so I'm covered w/regards to spares.

[Cincinnati Slim]

Howdy, Just got back from the range w/"Old Silver"

Went pretty well. I installed a set of TRM nipples before going. I had torn her down last night and cleaned up the factory mystery oil and lubed with Ballistol. I shaved a little off the arbor wedge so it would project jest a little on the right side. A quick whack of the soft face dead blow mallet knocks 'er right out now. There were some machining marks on the rear of the barrel which I also cleaned up. It would not hold full cock on one of the chambers; there was an accumulation of polishing compound in the bolt notch. After clean-up all is well. Trigger pull is light and pretty crisp and timing is good with absolutley NO overtravel of the hammer.

Loaded with .454 round ball, 30 Gr. Goex fff, Remington #11 caps, wonder wads. No misfires, no recoil to speak of
( I'm used to 5 1/2 inch barrels, this is a full length tube) Front sight is TINY but not hard to see. At 15 yards, shooting two-handed, got real nice 2 inch groups wihtout much trouble. Longer barrel does help here. Point of Impact was about 3-4 inches high and just a little left.

I think the little "acorn" brass bead sight has to go. I have a dovetail cutting fixture/file ordered from Midway. I'll do some more shooting to determine what size front sight I need to order to get POI=POA at 20 yards. Barrel to cylinder gap is WAY TOO SMALL so I'm going to take a little more off the rear of the barrel. Not a lot, maybe .003-.004.
That'll give me enough clearance for the R&D .45 Colt conversion cylinder I already have. That cylinder measures about .002 longer than the factory percussion cylinders. I have four other Pietta percussion cylinders and their dimentions are very, very close and interchange freely between this and another Pietta I have.

Any real gripes ? For this price, not really. I know a .44 "Navy" is not historically correct. The loading rammer is sized for a .36 caliber and makes a dent on the .44 caliber ball. I prefer to use a cylinder loader anyway so this is not really an issue for me.

Is it really true stainless? Not sure, a magnet sticks to it but harder stainless alloys can be magnetic.
(Martinetic I believe is the term) I'm not gonna bury it in the backyard to find out...

This thing is purdy, shoots good and ain't too pricey, so what's not to like ?

I'll post a pix when i get a chance...

Slim