lettin' the ole gal sing

[Tubac]

As you folks can tell, livin' in the desert for all these years has pretty much unhinged me.
My latest adventure was to make up some cartidges for my MH .44 SA open top.
I started with .41 mag cartridges cut down and fire formed. added 15 grains of German FFFG,
corn meal and some reworked .428 bullets. I loaded 24 rounds and went off into the desert.
The first six rounds were shot into the ground just to see if the gun would handle it. I plinked the next eighteen at cans and a piece of wood. Not particularly accurate but not bad for me.
The idea of shooting a 130 year old firearm that has "been there, done that" was really great.
Now to find a 'smith to fit on a sight.
Tubac

[Dr. Bob]

Tubac,

WAY cool.  Sitting here green with envy and with drool running down my chin!   A front sight might help a bit.

[Tubac]

Thanks for the kind words, Dr. Bob. I just gotta find a smith and a Mexican One Real silver piece.
I'd like to add, that before you do anything foolish like ole Tubac, please have the gun looked over.
 The only problem was that I couldn't get all the shells to eject. Four would fall out but two would stay 3/4 of the way in the cylinder. I thought I had good suction, but I guess not.

Tubac

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[gw]

Tubac----Nice M-H and congrats on having the "nads" to actually shoot it! My guess on the 2 chambers that hang up when you open it are:1) rim thickness may be slightly "off"
                                                                2) those 2 chambers may be slightly rougher than
                                                                    the others--very light honing may be the answer.
I shoot a second model pocket army but it is a 44wcf, or in M-H lingo, a  Calibre Wnchester 1873.
These are wonderful old guns with a character all their own, a reproduction of these will never have that! Good luck with your project and keep us informed on your progress.

[Tubac]

Thanks GW, I'm not going to shot her with any regularity, but it's nice to know that she still works.
I have some questions for you.
My bore mics out to .424, have you mic'ed your's?
How much powder do you use? Figuring that the originals were 20 gr. I lowered it to 15 gr.
What does the "crossbar" that looks like a Colt percussion wedge on the barrel do? I can't remove mine. I'm guessing it allows air to escape as the rod goes in ?
Do you have a photo of your's handy?
I agree about the originals, but I'd love to have a repro as a shooter.

Tubac
90 miles north of Tombstone 50 miles south of Tiger AZ

[gw]

Tubac---I've only 'slugged' the chambers on mine---.427"---normal for a 44-40. I think the last loads I made were around 28-29 grs. FFg.----They're plenty stout in this pistol.
The 'crossbar you refer to---mine has one just in front of the cylinder pin/gasring and another real close to the muzzle. I'm sure they act to lock the barrel to the 'frame rod' that they pivot on. Can't say I've tried to remove either one though.
    I'll try to get a photo on here when I can.

           

[gw]

Let me try this one more time, hopefully there are a couple of not-to-great photos of my Pocket Army here:








Even though it appears nickled, only traces of the original nickel remain, the rest is bare steel. The grips are replacements but the rest(save the bolt spring and trigger return spring) is original. If this isn't a 19th century "pocket pistol", what is???

[Tubac]

Thanks for the great photos, that's a really nice revolver.
I finally removed the wedge from the barrel, the gun has to be disasembled, but once the barrel is off, it just slides out. The arbor appears to ride on it. The wedge has an assembly number and it matches the assy. numbers on the rest of the gun.
take care,

Tubac