Pietta 1858 Remington Armys in .44 Questions.

[Bristow Kid]

I just purchased a pair of NIB in the white Pietta 1858 Armies in.44 cal.  Are these good guns?  What should I look at as possible problems?  What finish would you reccomend using?  I am sure I will have more but the guns won't be here for atleast 3 weeks so this will give me something to think about.  Thanks in advance for any and all help and advice.

Bristow Kid

[Justice Johnson]

BK, I have 6 pietta "58's , 2 standard, 1 casehardened (not so period correct), 1 target model (definately not period correct, but its great on jack rabbits) and 2 of the 5.5 barrel models (again not so period correct). The target model i got from cabelas about 15 years or so ago and i kept track of the rounds fired up to about 8000 or so and finally quit counting. all of the others have at least 3000 or so rounds through them, in short they have served my well. As for what to expect, all my remmies work well with TRM nipples and rem 11 caps. They tend to start out "tight" but break in nicely. Hope you enjoys them.

regards

Tombstone

[Bristow Kid]

Thanks for the info Tombstone.

[Mason Stillwell]

Hey Kid
I have a Pair of 58's in the White. Mine are Uberti.Although I think both company's make fine firearms.

I have shot my Lots of rounds with no problem and they are still in the WHITE.

Enjoy yer new pistole's.

They will as with any 58's eventually need a new bolt as these will wear out rather quickly

Mason

[sundance44`s]

Kid Cabelas sells a repair kit cheaper than anyone for the PIetta remmies .. its $21.99 and ya get a hammer a hammer spring , trigger spring , trigger , bolt , and a hand .  part number . UG-214052
If ya like the way your pistols look in the wihite , you could keep`em that way some of these pards on here do , they may have some advice for ya about doing that . If ya decide to blue them its not hard at all and they do make a blueing remover in case ya mess up and need to redo , Lots of good easy blueings out there .I know you`ll enjoy the Pietta remmies , i had 3 at one time and never a problem .

[Smokin Gun]

I think they look real good in the white, or Patina Old lookin' finnish...i'd leave um. Actions should be real good too, break um in find your accurate load. They'll do you right. Suggest 24gr to 28 gr of BP(30gr flask spout) They hold and shoot 40gr just fine but the range I metioned is very accurate. I have and Armi San Paolo, Uberti, and target Pietta 1858's, sold my standard one to  friend that was movin'. Wished I hadn't Piettas are very accurate and function well. Congrads on your choice.

[Bristow Kid]

If I leave them in the white.  Wont they be more prone to rust and other nasty stuff?

[sundance44`s]

Kid there is a way to season them so they won`t be prone to rust ..some of these pards on here can tell ya more .. something like strip them down and put the frame in a pan of cooking oil in the oven and heat on 200 untill the frame soakes the oil into the pores of the metal ..I`ll let some one thats done it elaborate on it . I hear this works well and the finish will have a nice patina as they age .

[Fox Creek Kid]

Sundance, "seasoning" is a myth and I got that straight from a PhD in metallurgy. Barrels are no longer made of iron as on an original Hawken rifle. More shooting laps the barrel hence making it smoother & easier to clean. 

[Bristow Kid]

FCK,

I think he is reffering to seasoning the outside of the guns.  The ones I purchased are in the white and I was looking for ways to finish them.  And what Sundance was talking about was seasoning the outside so they would be less prone to rusting.


If anyone knows what Sundance was reffering to please send me the information.  Sounds like what I am looking for to finish these guns.

Bristow Kid

[Justice Johnson]

Bk,

A few years back i stripped the blue and color case off of a pietta '51. I had somehow gotten a chemical reaction off of a rag that i wiped the gun down with, and it removed some blueing and case hardening. So i whipped out some metal polish and a soft felt wheel and i polished it, it looled so good, almost like nickle. Anyway i have had no rust, i just wipe the outside down with bore butter and wipe it dry. I only shoot the holy black andit does not seem to affect the metals finich or lack thereof.

regards

tombstone

[sundance44`s]

Kid i was referring to the out side finish ...but i won`t get into a brains argument wiff a PHD . ( i`d surely loose ) Some wise old fellow once told me if it makes ya feel better to do somethin that really doesn`t help a thing  ..go ahead ya ain`t gonna hurt nothin .

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

Sunnie44;  Ifn it don't help, how do you find out ifn it won't screw sumpin up?  I 'm a guessing you try it, and accept the result.

[sundance44`s]

Sir Charles i`m reffering to things i do and have been doing all my life with very good results ...and there`s a PHD somewhere that tells me i`m wasteing my time ...So i keep up my habbits ...even though i`m wasteing my time .( i wasn`t talking about seasoning a barrel .. but i do season my barrels on guns i shoot B/P with , and if a PHD says i`m wasteing my time ... its my time and i don`t mind wasteing it ..because it makes me feel better  ) 

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

Whew!  Tanks be ta God, I don't got one a dem pee haich dees.

[Bristow Kid]

Well since we are slipping off the topic a little.  I'll get us back on track.  What size balls or conicals should I get to shoot in my 58's?

[sundance44`s]

Kid with the Pietta remmie you `ll need .454 balls ...and remington brand # 10 caps will stay on with out pinching them to fit . AS for conicals don`t waste yer time ..get ya a conversion cylinder and shoot 45 LC bullets ...  its to hard loading the conicals and most of the time they`ll hit the forceing cone at an angle and just don`t fly too straight . ( thats my testing ..there`s probally a PHD out there that will agrue the point )
But i have good luck with the conversion cylinder loading my own bullets with B/P and subs . This makes the remmies the best of both worlds .

[Bristow Kid]

Sundance thanks again for the useful information.  I plan on getting the conversion's eventually.  But for right now I am gonna shoot them as they are.