New Navy has arrived!

[LonesomePigeon]

I got a new 2015 Pietta 1858 Remington .36 cal and the rammer had very sharp edges. Such that it would sometimes bind on the chamber wall and not seat the balls all the way. It was easy to file it smooth and it's no longer a problem. I like the gun a lot though because it's super accurate, I know any misses are my fault.

[Hawg]

I got a new 2015 Pietta 1858 Remington .36 cal and the rammer had very sharp edges. Such that it would sometimes bind on the chamber wall and not seat the balls all the way.

Sounds like you weren't centering them.

[GaryC]

I finally had time to shoot her and take her apart for cleaning.  Fit/finish on the internal parts was very good.  The bolt fits the slots in the cylinder perfectly.  The only thing I did was stone the sides of the hammer lightly and sand the bearing surfaces of the hammer, bolt and trigger screws lightly with 400 grit sandpaper.  The surfaces inside the frame where anything rubs appeared to be smooth particularly in the channel for the hand and where the one side of the both rubs the frame opposite where the other side engages the hammer.  Other spots were pretty rough.  I may go back and do some more smoothing where you see fuzz from the q-tips but the action is smooth as it is now. 

I put 72 rounds through her at 15 yards.  Shoots 5 inches high with 16 grains 3F and a 130 grain Lee conical and about 2 inches high with a .380 cast ball, 22 grains 3F and a lube pill.  Also hits a bit to the right. I was aiming at the center of the yellow sticker in the center of the target. Should be obvious which target was which. I still need to open up the rear sight a bit.  Tried CCI 11 and CCI 10 caps.  The 10's are a bit tight and need a push with a stick to seat fully.  The CCI 11's won't stay on without pinching.  Remington 10's fragmented when popped on an empty chamber so I did not use them.  No problems with cap jams with CCI 10s.

Photos attached.  Hopefully they are clear.

One of the round ball groups.


Lee conical group.


Bg burr under the arbor seat






rough spot where the recoil shield meets the water table


Close of of same











What I took to the range yesterday.  The Uberti Wells Fargo, Uberti London Navy and the Pietta


 Here she is loaded and capped.

[Captainkirk]

Nice write up and photos, GaryC.
Congrats...according to the rules of the internet you are now an "expert".  Don't let it go to your head...
But seriously, you know your gun inside and out and can attack mechanical issues with a working man's knowledge because you understand the relation between the working parts and how they operate. You will find the more you tinker, the more clear it becomes.
Nice work, and nice shooting.

[LonesomePigeon]

"Sounds like you weren't centering them."

Hawg, that's true but I forgot to mention the face of the plunger had barely any concave-ness to it, which caused it to become uncentered when I tried to push the ball down, then the sharp edges would bite into the ball and bind. To fix it I took a globe shaped cutting tool on my dremel and cut some more concave-ness into the face of the plunger before smoothing out the edges by hand. The gun could still benefit from a trigger job but from a rest it's so accurate I can hardly believe it's not a Shooter's Model.