New Colt 1860; need help! :-)

[jbullard1]

Mark
I know none of the officers around here will ticket you for a C&B revolver on private land, Just do not take it on a WMA or National forest.

Would be nice if they amend the regs to include handguns to go along with the 45/70's during primitive season

[mark davidson]

Jerry,
   I made that very point to the guy in Jackson yesterday. I told him that I might want to go to a WMA every now and then and that some of those guys are very narrow minded. He agreed that it would be good to take a look at getting the law amended to include bp pistols. It may never happen but it is a good idea. I think a good argument could be made in court that a true BP handgun is well within the "spirit" of the law if not the "letter" of the law. Also, MS law allows weapons of design prior to 1900 which includes the darned centerfire stuff. Certainly my Colt predates our new dated law by half a century. I would hope that either an officer or a judge would recognize that. It is strange to add that the game and fish guy said that my question had NEVER come up before EVER!  I guess that just shows how few of "us" there really are! :-)

[Bigsmoke]

Mark,
The only practical way of alleviating the Col. Colt's famous, pattented disappearing rear sight is to cut a dove tail in the top of the barrel, just ahead of the forcing cone, and install a rear sight there.
Drawbacks are it could possibly hang up on a holster when drawing it, you just deastically reduced the value of the pistol and it does look a bit funky.
I did that once with a Walker and it worked out OK.
To your questions, the little screw's purpose is to hold the wedge in case it works loose.  I never took it out when disassembling a pistol, just let the wedge flop there.  And yes, popping the wedge with a piece of wood is a good way to knock it out.  That doesn't mar the finish the way a screwdriver will.  A piece of brass rod works pretty good also.  When you reassemble the pistol you will need to be cautious as well.  If you drive the wedge in too tight, it can lock the cylinder up so it won't turn.  If you drive the wedge in almost too tight, carbon could build between the forcing cone and the cylinder face and lock it up.  If you don't drive the wedge in tight enough, it could possibly work free and the barrel could come loose.
When you have the barrel off and the cylinder off, it is a good idea to wipe down the arbor and grease it well.  Keeps things spinning the way they should.
Finding #10 caps was always a problem.  Mainly because I just do not like CCI's.  So, I usually used RWS #1075 Red Label caps and just squeezed the sides into a little oval shape and they stuck on just fine.  My personal favorite was the RWS Green Label #1055 which had a slightly longer skirt and it gripped better.  Sadly, they quit making them long ago.  Remington #10's are the next best thing, in my opinion.  They get a bad rap from a lot of poeple, but I have never had a problem with them, unlike CCI's.  And some people like Fords while others prefer Chevies.  And so the story goes.

[Pitchy]

Your welcome, the issue is during the ML season some states say it has to be loaded down the barrel to be legal for hunting during that season.
20-30 grains in a 1860 is way under powered imo for deer and only asking for the possability of losing a animal wounded.
Other than maybe a follow up head shot at very close range.

[mark davidson]

Pitchy, Loading down the barrel is not an issue here in MS. Remember our illustrious G&F dept. allows breech loading centerfire metalic cartriges like the .45-70 during our "primitive" weapons season.  The real issue here is that our legal description of allowable weapons in primitive weapons season uses language that defines shoulder fired weapons only and does not address the handgun issue at all. I know 30 grains in a handgun is pretty weak for deer but would make a handy finishing touch/fast follow up if needed. I figure at close range(archery range) a well placed ball through the lungs should do the trick.

John, Thanks again for some good information. I had actually already thought about the dovetail rear sight option. Just shooting the pistol I have will drop its value by close to half. I am sure the sight would devalue it further but I could care less about its final value. It is worthless and worse than worthless if I cannot use it and hit what I shoot at with it reliably. I either gotta sell it before I shoot it or bite the bullet and take the value loss and plan to keep it forever.

I do have one question before I shoot this thing. Would a single shot more traditional style MLing pistol in a big caliber like .62 not generate a LOT more energy and killing power?  I suppose the tradeoff is six shots versus one sho nuff thump.  I may end up selling the 1860 Army new in the box and purchase a big bore single shot. Whatchall think?

[R.M.]

By the sound of it, a big single shot pistol would meet your needs/wants better.

[Pitchy]

Pitchy, Loading down the barrel is not an issue here in MS. Remember our illustrious G&F dept. allows breech loading centerfire metalic cartriges like the .45-70 during our "primitive" weapons season. The real issue here is that our legal description of allowable weapons in primitive weapons season uses language that defines shoulder fired weapons only and does not address the handgun issue at all. I know 30 grains in a handgun is pretty weak for deer but would make a handy finishing touch/fast follow up if needed. I figure at close range(archery range) a well placed ball through the lungs should do the trick.

Understand about the laws.
If it were me i`d sell the Colt if I didn`t care about its collector value and buy a replica Walker and have money left over for some supplies. A Walker with a max load of 60 grains if I remember right equals a 44 mag in power.
Or like others said a single shot muzzle loader in  50 or 54 would work nicely.
Myself i`ve owned two Walkers and wish i still had one, heck like Gus you colud alway bust the deer over the head with it.  

[jbullard1]

I been wanting a Walker for a while
and also a 62 cal smooth bore flintlock hand cannon with a 12" barrel

[mark davidson]

Ya'll are right. I already had my eye on a big bore single shot before I traded for the 1860 Army. I do think a big single shot would meet my performance needs better and they are super cool as well. The Walker sounds like it might be the best of both worlds. I would want a real Colt though. No disrespect intended to any of you who have some other brand but I love Colts, period. In this whole black powder thing, nostalgia is one of the most driving forces for me which is why I went flintlock right off the bat with my rifle. I know Ruger and Uberti and many others make fine replica guns for less money, but seeing C-O-L-T  on the darn thing every time I unholster it just increases the enjoyment for me many fold! Guess I'm weird that way. After all I spend way more time admiring it in my lap in the woods than I do actually shooting it. That whole feeling of having it a certain way matters in the overall experience almost as much as how it shoots. If that were not the case I suspect many of us would not be shooting black powder guns at all.

[Bigsmoke]

Then there is the dirty, ugly little secret.

Under license from Colt Mfg, Colt Black Powder Arms (a separate company) assembled Uberti parts in NYC and called them Colts.

Are they Colts?  Well, yeah, sort of.

Are they Uberti's?  Yeah, well sort of.

I guess there is enough US labor in them to qualify for Made in USA, but the parts started out in Italy.  

But they still say Colt and not Uberti.

[Mitch]

get a big bore flint pistol-or at least in the same caliber as your longarm...I have 20g fowler and 20g pistol-in my opinion, it makes good sense, and it's just cool!!

[jbullard1]

get a big bore flint pistol-or at least in the same caliber as your longarm...I have 20g fowler and 20g pistol-in my opinion, it makes good sense, and it's just cool!!

 :shock:
So with my BraveHeart being a  flintlock 12 gauge I need a 12 gauge flint pistol
Man that is awesome  

[mark davidson]

OOOH, OUCH...Bigsmoke!! :-)  So my Colt is really not all horse!!!  Bummer! So now that my bubble is burst I will just have to read the lable and pretend. :-) Doesn't surprise me a bit really.  The problem here is that you well meaning fellers are costing me money. Maybe I will have to keep the Colt(clone) ...AND....begin saving for a big bore single shot . Boy will my wife be proud of all of us! :-)

[Mitch]

12g pistol would be cool!! I load my 20g pistol with 35gr of 3f-no real noticeable recoil and it'll punch thru a 2x4 at 20yds...

[Bigsmoke]

Mark - Welcome to this wonderful thing we have going.  Like the old potato chip commercial says, paraphrased - bet you can't own just one.  Just wondering, is your 1860 cut for a shoulder stock?  It will have a couple of little divots cut out of the bottom of the cylinder backing plate and a notch at the bottom of the grip frame.  If it is... it could be a shoulder held firearm.  Hmmmm.... What a concept.  Just remember not to hold it under the barrel, unless you like burnt, singed fingers (your own!!)

Mitch, I bet the 20 ga is just sweet with 35 gr Fffg in it.  I bet there is no noticable recoil, either.  You ever turn up the volume on it or just run sweet loads through it?

A .72 or 12 ga pistol?  That gives me goose bumps just thinking about it.  That would make quite the Howdah Pistol, would it not?  I guess Pedersoli is making one in 20 ga.  That'd be a start.  Or pick up an old 12 ga S x S and cut a lot of barrel off and reshape the stock.