1851 endurance test

[bigted]

So decided to just see how many of my paper 36 cal cartridges the reworked 51 navy would consume with just powder, paper cartridga and the ball.

No lube of any kind. Just a gust of my rancid breath every cylinder full down the barrel and into the cylinder chambers.

Loads consist of J&B ciggerette paper cartridges filled with 15.5 grains of 3Fg old Ensford powder and a pure lead home cast round ball.

Began with snapping caps on all nipples. Then started loading and firing off a rest at the bench setting on a chair. Just enough time between cylindder fulls to huff into the barrel and cylinder. Also every shot is aimed at 25 yards and attention paid to ensure all shots arrived inside the 3 inch circle till accuracy falls off or binding occurs to stop the test.

30 shots in i still had a very big smile going. After 40 the grin was a permanant fixture. At 53 shot the accuracy fell to make hitting a 6 inch circle iffy. Still running fine tho.

After scrubbling out the barrel only i finnished off the 65th shot still running fine with no hangups in the action and aceptible accuracy except as mentioned at the roughly 50th shot.

I am amazed and very pleased ... next will be a 60 round test with lube over the rounds. More news then

[ssb73q]

Hi Ted, thanks for the report, it's very interesting.

What reworking did you do to your revolver?

Regards,
Richard

[mike116]

Yea Ted,    what has been done to the '51?   Is it a repro or 2nd or 3rd gen colt.   Have you set the arbor length or is stock out of the box?   what's the cylinder gap?     
You may have posted all this info before but I'm too lazy to look for it.

[bigted]

It is a Pietta began as a 61 sherriff but I slicked it up to include the action, cylinder, new 51 7.5 7nch barrel andcyl face.

Nothing too dramatic but just wanted to confirm or disprove the "no lube" thing. Been wanting to do this for awhile now.

Now to load 100 paper carts and lube the mouth to see if i get more or less accurate shots thru her.

[G Dog]

No lube of any kind.

Hi bigted - Did you use any lubricant on the arbor during your test?  If so, what did you use? 
That was a good test you ran, thanks for the info and looking forward to more results.

[bigted]

No lube except the ballistol i oil with when cleaned. Usually lube the arbor with sticky green synthetic grease. But with this test no grease and at the end getting the cylinder off the arbor was a bit tedious with all the fouling buildup on the arbor just ahead of the cylinder face.

What i wanted to discover is ... how long could a feller depend on the 51 in a prolonged fight. I will also do a test with lubed conicals as well as these plain paper cartridges.

My next test will be the same paper carts with a mix of bee wax and vasoline over the chamber lubed. Ive shot a ton of this lube in variety of BP arms and it rocks.

A side note ... i tried the lee lubed 200 grain bullets over 30 grains GOEX 3Fg powder in my rem 58 conversion cylinder for 45 Colt. Had to try em ... NEVER AGAIN ... WHAT A MESS

Back to the pietta 51 tho ... man i really like this revolver. Oh i also trimmed the heel of the grip to more Colt like profile along with the wood grips. Such a cool revolver.

[mike116]

So no lube whatsoever other than Ballistol at cleaning.   Good test to see how far the .36 will run.   I'll bet the thing will go well past 100 shots with lube behind the bullet.  I don't know about over the bullet lube,   I don't see it being as effective as under the bullet lube but many say it works as good or better.

[99whip]

I'll be curious to see what the impact of lube is during the next phase.  I haven't noticed much of a difference in whether lube is under or over the ball in terms of fouling, over the ball did improve accuracy though, IME.

Great test bigted.

[Mad Dog Stafford]

Very good effort and report big ted. Thanks

Plus one on this! 

[LonesomePigeon]

I agree good report. Every gun is different. My 2015 production Uberti 1851 Navy runs to the point I've never had to clean it during a session. On the other hand a Signature Series 1851 Navy I have goes for only about 3 cylinders worth before binding.

[ssb73q]

Hi Lonesome, fouling depends a lot on the propellant used. While I own most of the available propellants, I almost exclusively use Black Mz that lets me run all day without any fouling issue. It's fun to use real BP just for the reality of the day, but the subs do pretty well with many advantages over BP.

Regards,
Richard

[bigted]

Seems like "HERESY" talk to me     . Just kidding there ... Put the rope away.

I am in the camp of cyl gap is key. (Having said this i can not remember the gap ... Haveta check when i get home). Too much gap equals much fouling on the arbor and tons on the face ... Too little and the thing binds after a cylinder or two full. If memory serves a gap between .005 and .007 is sweet. Could be off a few thou but im in the neighborhood.

Another key IS the powder. Never shot swiss but this relative new ol E is doing GREAT in everything i have tried it in. Regular GOEX is pretty dirty. There is another powder that rivals ol E but can't member its name rite off. As for the aftermarket powder ... Gave up on it when pyrocrap was spose to be the hotrod thing. May need to try some of your black MZ (is this the correct name for it and who makes it pls).very fun test and LOTZA SHOOTING   

[ssb73q]

Hi Ted, a while back I did some testing of the different BP revolver propellants, see:

http://blackpowdersmoke.com/colt/index.php/topic,1356.msg11667.html#msg11667

IMO Olde Eynsford is very similar in performance to Swiss.

Regards,
Richard

[mazo kid]

Ted, great report. As far as Black MZ, I will pass on using it at twice the price of black powder.

[mike116]

Black MZ is only $10 per pound in my neck of the woods.  http://www.sportsmanswarehouse.com/sportsmans/Alliant-Black-MZ-Muzzleloader-Powder/productDetail/Powder-and-Primers/prod99999030268/cat100011#pr-header-back-to-top-link   Goex is $28 at Bass Pro Shops,  the only place in the state you can buy it.    I'm tempted to try some Black MZ at that price.