R&D 45 conversion problem? Wedge disappears!!

[Dalton Masterson]

Howdy all. Today I took out my Pietta 1851 .44 with R&D conversion for some practice. I am using 45 Schofield, 200gr and full case of APP. Very mild load.
Well, I was shooting gunfighter style, and the last round didnt go off in the 51. I looked at it, and the barrel is hanging on the end of the arbor, the cylinder is pushed forward, and there is no wedge pin. I looked all over, and couldnt find the wedge.
That got me thinking, that last time I shot this combo, I got home and had no wedge. Thought I just dropped it on the ground when emptying the cylinder.
What do you suppose is wrong? Anybody else having this problem? DM

[Flint]

The Pietta wedge spring has a very poor hook on the end, it is ramped enough to pull out easily.  The barrel side of the hook should be square to the barrel so it won't pull out without an assist with a wooden malley or such.  Uberti springs have a bewtter hook.  Also make sure there's enough tension on the wedge spring to engage the edge of the barrel slot.  I presume the screw is there and not chipped to allow the wedgew to pass by it unmolested...............

[Adirondack Jack]

The Pietta wedge spring has a very poor hook on the end, it is ramped enough to pull out easily.  The barrel side of the hook should be square to the barrel so it won't pull out without an assist with a wooden malley or such.  Uberti springs have a bewtter hook.  Also make sure there's enough tension on the wedge spring to engage the edge of the barrel slot.  I presume the screw is there and not chipped to allow the wedgew to pass by it unmolested...............

I was gonna say "because Pietta wedges suck", but the above illuminates it so much better.  Buy two more.

[Dalton Masterson]

I had never had that problem before, with 15+years of shooting just cap and ball. Guess that says something about pressures in a cartridge, huh. DM

[Adirondack Jack]

Could be something to do with the length of the conversion cylinder and how it fits the gun.  Miht be the wedge isn't seating like it did with the C&B cylinder???

As to cartridge VS ball,  Pressure itself isn't that much an issue, but you will get more "pull" on the barrel when a 200 hits it compared to a RB.

[Sgt. Jake]

    Dalton   Have the same setup as you,my best guess is Flint is spot on.I know when mine was new in 95 there was no hook on the spring ,just sorta tapered up .I filed a lip for it to seat on the off side of the barrel.In my experince Pietta wedges are all oversizedand require fitting . A pard of mine had a pair of them and these were from two years ago production,both required the same treatment to the wedges, I also want my wedges fit so I can finger seat and unseat them. With the modification to the hook,so its not just a blob,you can feel it and hear it snap in place on the off side of the barrel. One of the other shortcomingsof most manufactures of colt type reproductions ,is that the arbors are to short, So there is nothing for the end of the arbor to seat aginst. The correct wat to lengthen the arbor is to drill a #.8 or 10 hole and tap for a cap head screw, BUT the one thing the Itialian manufactures have leared to harden properly is the arbors. What I have used is stainless metric wave washers,from the hardware store,I usualy need between 3 to4 . Then I measurer and file one if needed for a perfect fit. I use a silicon glue to the bottom of the arbor hole in the barrel,not the end of the arbor,easy to loose that way. when you have something for the arbor to seat against and the wedge is fit properly,things are good.     Adios  Sgt. Jake