Pietta Colt 1851 Navy - is this normal?

[redcat]

Can't say what that oval is as I've not seen it before but your photograph shows a portion of the recoil shield ground away - perhaps to let spent caps fall out easier? Definitely looks like a CAS revolver.

Redcat

[dromia]

A post over on the US CAS forum or Colt Country forum my help with more opinions, some of which might even be definitive.

[kennyc]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4gkJaIQPZo

[sandy22]

Frankly an hour of me pulling a gun apart, grimacing at the filth, peering down the barrel, clicking my way through the action (dozens and dozens of times), then comparing it against other guns in the shop and doing the same thing with those is enough to drive anybody nuts and another half hour and I reckon he'd have given it to me just to get me out of his sight. :)

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=i2WQGxRNpBc

[DaveB]

I have that same model - mind you mine's a decade older, and the hammer looks nothing like that. It's dead flat across the face (more so than the other photo because mine has never been dry-fired!).

Does your hammer have the notch that engages with the safety pin on the cylinder?

My cylinder shows no sign of ever having had the pin. I half-wondered if the recess on the hammer was intended to mimic this function on an unloaded chamber - but couldn't see the point because ... it'd be on an unloaded chamber!

NO, mine never had the pins between chambers to secure the hammer nose from resting on a cap. The hammer has the notch for it though. On the other hand, my Uberti 1861 Navy Colts do have this feature. That's what you get when you pay a little more, I suspect.

[bradaz11]

I wonder if at some point it was modified to use shotgun primer nipples. That extra relief on the tip under the sight notch looks like it was done to clear something longer and fatter

Possibly but the existing nipples are regular Pietta and the threads in the cylinder are in good shape and standard.

it doesn't require retapping the nipple threads as the newly machined replacements will match the thread, and if the nipples aren't used, might explain why they are in good condition.

it may also have used a replacement cylinder with self contained firing pins, bit like the cartridge conversions, that allow you to shoot nitro, or set BP off more reliably

Shotgun primers require a firing pin which this hammer does not have.

Redcat

depends on the design, there are some that take pistol primers too, that unscrew, and have self contained firing pins.


I agree it looks like a cass gun

[Dark Skies]

Frankly an hour of me pulling a gun apart, grimacing at the filth, peering down the barrel, clicking my way through the action (dozens and dozens of times), then comparing it against other guns in the shop and doing the same thing with those is enough to drive anybody nuts and another half hour and I reckon he'd have given it to me just to get me out of his sight. :)

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=i2WQGxRNpBc

Pretty much! :)

[Dark Skies]

I wonder if at some point it was modified to use shotgun primer nipples. That extra relief on the tip under the sight notch looks like it was done to clear something longer and fatter

Possibly but the existing nipples are regular Pietta and the threads in the cylinder are in good shape and standard.

it doesn't require retapping the nipple threads as the newly machined replacements will match the thread, and if the nipples aren't used, might explain why they are in good condition.

it may also have used a replacement cylinder with self contained firing pins, bit like the cartridge conversions, that allow you to shoot nitro, or set BP off more reliably

Shotgun primers require a firing pin which this hammer does not have.

Redcat

depends on the design, there are some that take pistol primers too, that unscrew, and have self contained firing pins.


I agree it looks like a cass gun

I think you might be onto something here. Turns out I was wrong about the nipples - I had some replacements arrive today to compare them to. The flash hole is much larger than the Pietta item; you can fit a Tepe dental brush into it it's so large. You'd just about get a needle in the standard nipple ... maybe. The necks have a slightly straighter angle to the cone. Also the end that protrudes into the chamber isn't flat. The Pietta nipple is on the left.

[Sim G]

Firstly, the hammer is not original. It's a replacement and I suspect Uberti. The nipples are again replacement and possibly Tresco. As opposed to being a CAS revolver for comps, it looks like someone gas tried to solve the problem of caps falling into the action. This is ultimately down to caps that don't fit properly. I have my thoughts that whoever did this actually exacerbated the problem by changing the hammer!

The problem with Uberti hammers is that notch that the safety pins fit into. When the hammer strikes a cap, pressure has the cup flow back into the notch which then grabs the cap and as the hammer is recocked, it pulls the cap off the nipple and drops it into the action.

The CAS fix for this is to fill the notch with JB Weld and file flat when set.

[Dark Skies]

Firstly, the hammer is not original. It's a replacement and I suspect Uberti. The nipples are again replacement and possibly Tresco. As opposed to being a CAS revolver for comps, it looks like someone gas tried to solve the problem of caps falling into the action. This is ultimately down to caps that don't fit properly. I have my thoughts that whoever did this actually exacerbated the problem by changing the hammer!

The problem with Uberti hammers is that notch that the safety pins fit into. When the hammer strikes a cap, pressure has the cup flow back into the notch which then grabs the cap and as the hammer is recocked, it pulls the cap off the nipple and drops it into the action.

The CAS fix for this is to fill the notch with JB Weld and file flat when set.

I see where you're coming from regarding Uberti's hammer - it's similar but not quite the same. This is the Uberti London 1851's hammer face. It does have a similar recess but Uberti's isn't a complete unbroken circle - and it is quite a bit smaller.



I haven't actually had time to shoot my new toy so don't know if it's a cap sucker yet. If it isn't it would be interesting to know where the hammer came from as I'd like to put in a new service kit at some point and I'd want to put in a replacement hammer at the same time so everything worked together with a similar lifespan.

I have seen the fix for filling the safety pin slot with JB Weld. I know it's routine and accepted but it seemed a little bodgey too me. I wondered if I might put a little silver solder in there instead.