Anyone Shooting 51 Navy U.S. Marshall Revolvers

[Tennessee Hoss]

Anyone got anything good , bad or otherwise to say about the '51 Navy U.S. Marshalls

http://www.fcsutler.com/fccwrevolvers.asp

scroll down - on the right side, the pretty one.



Hoss

[hellgate]

I had one about 4 or 5 years ago. It was a cutie but it shot way off to one side so I had a dovetail front sight installed. I also ground away enough metal at the rammer cutout so I could load conicals. It shot fine but the front sight had to be tapped way over to hit POA. I traded or sold it. I still liked the looks so much I bought another one after I had heard that Pietta had upgraded their quality control. They did. This newer one (had about 1 1/2 years) shoots to POA. All I had to do was to widen and deepen the rear sight notch on the hammer and it was much improved. It handles 20-30 grain charges without the blowback and does, indeed act like stainless even though it isn't. I'd get a second one if the price was right and it was an upgrade (recent) model. The two drawbacks I can name are:
-the grips do not match the SAA/'51/'61 Navy grips of the other manufacturers so the gun wants to point upward for me compared to my other navies of other makes.
-The rammer is so short you need to make a "cheater" (rammer extension) to slide over the rammer to keep from tearing up your hand while ramming balls home. I just took a 4-5" long 1" dowel (chair leg, shovel handle, etc.) and drilled a 3/8" (?) hole about 2" deep into the end and beveled the exterior edges. I just have to remember to bring it whenever I shoot the gun or loading can quickly get unpleasant. I like to carry it deer hunting as a finishing off gun or for porcupines.

[Mason Stillwell]

Well with me being from  North Carolina the only problem that I see is that it says YANK LOL

[The Elderly Kid]

But, as you Rebs used to say: "Uncle Sam is our most generous quartermaster."

[subgunner]

Just got one yesterday from Cabela's mail order. Fits real good in my hand, nice feel to the action. The great thing about get it from Cabela's is, they well take it back without any questions if you don't like it. It may be a little more money from them, but peace of mind is worth it. Just need to find Stag grips to put on it. And I'll be good to go.

[hellgate]

Usually I end up tinkering with the mainspring, nipples, etc after I get a new gun. Mine had a real nice, smooth enough action right out of the box. Other than deepening & widening the rear sight, I've done nothing to it.

[Cincy Slim]

I bought the companion piece; the "Old Silver" Pietta /Traditions .44 caliber 1851 "Navy" in polished steel wihtout the engraving and the regular length barrel. Seemed to be fit and finished better than the other blue steel Pietta revolvers I've bought recently. Action and accuracy was quite good. I cut a dove tail and installed a Uberti Remington style front sight blade. I did notice a couple of things...

(1) Traces of case color/hardening was visable on the face of the recoil shield in the cap groove. So the frame started off as a case colored unit and was extensively polished to the silver finish. Polished so much the Pieta maker's stamp is almost GONE.

(2) Loading lever is .36 cailiber "Navy" size so it leaves dents in .44 caliber balls. I use a Dick Dastardly cylinder loader so this really is not an issue for me.

(3) "Old Silver" is polished steel but NOT STAINLESS ! I found this out the hard way. I left mine in a foam lined case which trapped moisture in a damp basement. After TWO DAYS...RUST! RUST ! RUST!

I had no choice so "Old Silver" is now "Old Antique Blue". I followed some threads regarding antique finishing using phosphate rust remover, blueing compound and barrel hot browning solutions, lots of polishing and effort to make my former "Old Silver" look like a real "Old Colt" !

The polished steel is pretty but it is NOT STAINLESS.

Keep 'er dry and oily,

Slim

[Cincy Slim]

I was lookin' at this picture and had a thought...

http://www.fcsutler.com/p51coltnavyank.jpg

If this puppy is polished steel like my "Old Silver" and would take a blue treatment well...

A body could blue the thing then use some of those fingernail polishin' sticks from CVS/Walgreens to knock the blue off the raised parts leaving the blue only in the engraved areas. Man, that would look pretty cool !

One more thing, Cabela's offers extra cylinders for about 45 bucks a pop for these guns. It's a really good deal since that includes the stainless nipples. I'm pretty sure the cylinder itself is stainless. I have two or three of 'em and they work in any .44 caliber Pietta frame. The flutes look kinds funny but are nice to have when the cylinder gets draggy and clean up is a snap. Mine have never acted like they wanted to rust yet...

Slim

[hellgate]

If you think a metal part is stainless put a magnet to it. Polished steel will attract like blued steel. MOST SS won't be magnetic. The problem is that some SS alloys will attract a magnet. If you have a nickled or gold plated gun frame or cylinder put a magnet to it. Odds are it is BRASS if the magnet is not attracted to it. It is highly unlikely anyone would plate a SS part like a frame, barrel, or cylinder. I see plated guns advertised and suspect they are brass framed and the purchaser will eventually be disappointed to find his pretty gun shot loose after a bunch of heavy loads.

[litl rooster]

  I wish he'd <fcsutler> get them in .36 cal   I have been looking at em' for sometime now

[subgunner]

Would buy .a 36 cal in a heart beat.  ( fcsutler,hint hint )

[john boy]

Hoss:  I've had a brace of 51 Colt Navy US Marshal's (44's) since 2005 and flat a** adore them and  to boot IMHO, they are the sweetest shooting C&B's to come out of the Pietta factory to date - straight out of the box!.  Fit to finish is top notch too.  Haven't done much Plainsman with them but when I do ... balance - POA - POI (about 4" high @ 7yds) - Fun, Fun, Fun!

All metal parts are polished steel  - not stainless, except the brass trigger guard and strap
Had a bit of a problem with one when I bought  them, so I drove to Cabelas retail store in PA and inspected 6 that they had.  Serial's 50xxxx's were much better produced than 51xxx's ... and told Alessandro Pietta about it.

Here's a close up of one ...


EMF was running a sale on boxes and both have one:

[Cherokee Slim]

Hoss -  This pistol is what Last Kiss had on the table at the ROII class.  I found them cheapest at Florida Firearms, then Cabelas, at least in the short search I did.  I would love an excuse to buy one, or two, but they just don't fit Traditional category.  It sure does look sweet & feel good in the hand.
Cherokee Slim

[subgunner]

I sent Cabela's a e-mail to see if they can special order this pistol in .36 cal .  Model #PIYAUM36.  Will report if I hear anything back from them.

[subgunner]

Here the reply, I got back from Cabela's.

Dear Mr. xxxxxx
Thank you for contacting Cabela's for your recent inquiry. Unfortunately, we are unable to place special orders with F.LLI Pietta as they are in Italy .

If you would like for us to check on a different item, please feel free to contact us again either by email or by calling us at 1-800-237-8888.

Thank you again and we look forward to hearing from you again soon!

Sincerely,



Kyla Nelson
Cabela's Special Products Department
One Cabela Dr.
Sidney, NE 69160
Customer Service 1-800-237-8888
Fax: 308-254-6745

[Cincy Slim]

Howdy John Boy,

Yes sir that does look right at home in the presentation case ! 

Might want to try some fancy faux ivory grips to really dress 'em up. Cimarron has some with checkering and a big 'ole star in the middle that would look just about right with the "U.S. Marshall's" engraving theme !

I'm purdy sure the cylinder is stainless while the rest is polished carbon steel. I ordered a
pair of "U.S. Marshall's" spare cylinders from Cabela's. They fit all my Pietta .44s, come with good stainless nipples, clean-up real easy and show no sign of rust yet. I'll try the magnet test when I get home. Google "stainless steel" and you'll find there are a bunch of different stainless alloys, some are non magnetic others will show some attraction. But it's still a useful test.

Happy Trails,

Slim

[john boy]

Thanks Slim.  The boxes were on Special from EMF - 30 bucks a pop.  The boxes make nice storage cases.  Course I had to buy a complete set of accessories, flasks, etc to fill up the holes.  And the cylinders are steel too.  Magnet stuck like glue

[Cincy Slim]

Yep,

I went home for lunch and grabbed a blue steel cylinder and one for the "Marshall" revolver.

Both stuck to a big speaker magnet really well.

The shiny silver one is still easier to keep clean and, considering it comes with stainless nipples, a pretty good deal for only five bucks more than the standard blue one. (39.95 vs. 44.95 at Cabela's)

Cheers,

Slim

[Cimarron Lawman]

I assume the steel is soft. Are y'all getting a deep drag line on the cylinder?

Also, how can you tell that the nipples are stainless?

[john boy]

I assume the steel is soft. Are y'all getting a deep drag line on the cylinder?

Also, how can you tell that the nipples are stainless?

Can't speak for other's revolver(s) ... I have NO Bolt Drag on both of my revolvers - they index perfectly.  It drops exactly into the cylinder flutes on both guns.  That's one of the reasons why I handled the several at Cabalas and took the pair with the 50xxx serials

As for the nipples ... a magnet slides off them like a greased eel in a bucket of snot