There's no such thing as an "1858 Remington" Pistol

[Tsalagidave]

I was speaking with a Frontier Historian by the name of Garrett Roberts and he brought up an excellent point; there's no such thing as an 1858 Remington Pistol. I'd love to take credit for this discussion but he's the one who came out with it before I did so the credit goes to him.  There are a lot of reenactorisms in this hobby and they really should be dispelled one-by-one. Here are a few other nonsensical quotes about firearms of our period that need to be done away with.

* Civil War casualties were high because the technology of Minie Rifles outpaced Military Tactics - False!
* Colt Revolving Rifles were unusually dangerous to handle and wounded the shooter's hands all the time - False!
* The first American Weapon to carry the name "American Minie Rifle" was the m.1855 Harper's Ferry Model - False!
* You should grease the loaded chambers on your Colt's Revolver - False!

...but today, we are talking the "1858 Remington". It's the wrong name and was never officially called that until after its heyday, well into the 20th century.

Although patented in 1858, Remington's early model of the iconic pistol was regularly produced in both .36 & .44 from 1861-1862.  It was known as the Remington Beals Revolver.
The best known variant (also commonly produced in .36 & .44) is called the New Model Remington and was made from 1863-75.

Have a look at the picture below of both models.  At first they look alike, but have a closer look. There are major differences in the front sight; the loading levers are entirely different; the handle on the cylinder pin is a shorter nub on the early model; the frame is markedly different and the cylinder on the Remington Beals model lacks the safety stops between the nipples for the hammer to rest in.

Sometimes, it's the little things but I'd like the members to chime in on historic firearm misnomers that grind their gears in the way that it only would affect a dedicated historian.

-Dave

[Abilene]

Well, sure.  It's like Remington "Outlaw" revolvers and .45 "Long Colt".  Nobody called it that back then, but everybody knows what that means now.  There are a small minority of people who know the difference with the ".58's" but the makers will never change to the proper nomenclature because it would confuse too many people. 

[Tsalagidave]

I completely agree Abilene.  Now that it's well branded, why scrap a perfectly good marketing campaign and start over from scratch?

You brought up excellent examples of period weapons and ammunition that have been completely rebadged into vernacular that would have been foreign to the people of back then. Excellent examples.

-Dave

[Niederlander]

There are lots of this type of thing:  .30-30 instead of .30 W.C.F, .30-40 Krag instead of .30 Army, "Steel Jacketed" bullets (almost always false), "Progressive" instead of Communist, and the list goes on...??.

[Tsalagidave]

LOL! I was nodding along reading until I reached the last part and thought..."That's right! my buddy here is a deplorable free-market economist, bacon-eating, pistol-packing, vet-loving, horse riding, trail-blazing believer in God, Guns, Guts, and America!...Just like me.

-Dave

[LonesomePigeon]

Nice comparasion of the Beals vs New Model Army. It doesn't really bother me that the repros are called "1858 Remington's", some of them don't really qualify as a Beal's or a NMA anyway, since they contain a mixture of features. 

[Tascosa Joe]

I guess the real difference between a progressive and a communist is access to a firing squad.

[Tsalagidave]

I guess the real difference between a progressive and a communist is access to a firing squad.

Maybe, however the "Progressive" NDSAP seemed to not have a shortage of execution details whenever they needed it.

-Dave

[Tsalagidave]

Nice comparasion of the Beals vs New Model Army. It doesn't really bother me that the repros are called "1858 Remington's", some of them don't really qualify as a Beal's or a NMA anyway, since they contain a mixture of features.

True, the little inaccuracies in overall design are another one of my pet hates. A modern remake can come real close to an original without being an all-out counterfeit (I'm thinking Colt Black Powder Series.)

That said, if we are forsaking modern technology for a more primitive technology, I prefer to preserve the correct nomenclature of the period as well.

For example, when using my 1850's era Colt pistols, I never call it an "1851 Navy" or "1849 pocket" etc. Instead, I will say

* .44 - Colt's Dragoon Pistol, Dragoon Repeating Pistol, Dragoon Revolving Pistol, Colt's Saddle Pistol, Colt "Battery"
* .36 - Colt's Navy Pistol, Colt's Belt Revolver, Navy Repeating Pistol, "Navy Six"[/li][/list]
* .31 (.28) - Colt's Pocket Pistol, Colt's Pocket Revolver[/li][/list]


Just because I feel this way doesn't mean I expect others to do so as well but many folks out there hold the same opine and this is just a nod to the purists of period vernacular.

Thanks

-Dave

[Kent Shootwell]

Even worse is when the original manufacturers dubbed their product in a confusing manner. What is called a 1874 Sharps came out in 1871! Yet when Sharps came up with the hammerless Borchart they call it a 1878 and began calling their hammer model the 1874. 

[Mogorilla]

Ha!  Hey no jokes about communism unless everyone gets them.

Primarily only shooting cap and ball, I do refer to mine shorthanded as Navy, Army, Dance, Pepperbox, and Knucklebumper (I.E. Remington).   

[Coffinmaker]

I'm with Mogo.  "Period" anything bugs me.  I have expressed in the past, the cryptic term "Period Correct" should be erased from the lexicon of English usage.

Especially since I champion the cause of "Never Never Land."  Most ALL of my Cap Guns are built on Pietta frames.  I believe I have mentioned once or twice in the past, I have a strong distaste for Uberti.  Most of my guns are Never Never.  Pietta .44 Cal 1851s.  Pietta .44 51s because I like .44s and octagonal barrels.  Ergo, I get real excited when some rube says   Hey!!  Never was, and shouldn't be."

Dave likes to use the "olde" descriptors for Colt's repeating Revolvers.  Atz cool.  He doesn't jump up and yell .... hey that ain't right 'cause somebody else doesn't.  There is Plenty of room for everybody in this "FANTASY" game we play.  EVERYBODY!!

Of course, I would tend to point out, the "Colt Black Powder Series" were only "just close" 'cause they was built from Uberti parts.

The most annoying of all though are the scribes.  Self proclaimed know it all's whom scribble out their drivel, in magazines, month after month, without actually learning anything themselves about the subject matter at hand.  Just as annoying are the PARROTS.  Repeat anything.  No matter how silly.  Where was I, oh yea

Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Programming.  (I hate the wurd "Clone")

[Tsalagidave]

I think you made some good points there Coffinmaker. People do "costumed" or "Cos-play" hobbies for many reasons.  Some do the "Never Never" impressions and others focus on replicating historic authenticity as close as reasonably possible. That said, I would think it's silly for me to look down my nose at someone just because I thought that I was better at playing "dress-up" than they were. Their goals in this hobby are just different from mine.

The Never-Never guns that you an other shooters buy help keep the vendors who cater to all our hobbies in business. I want more people buying their various wares so that we all can have greater access to a broader selection of gear. For what it's worth, I used to have a brass-framed Remington revolver. It is not historically authentic at all but I had a lot of fun shooting it and learned the basics of black powder shooting from the time I had it.

Good discussion everyone, keep it coming.

-Dave

[Tsalagidave]

On a related note, since SASS includes everything from historic reenactment to fantasy Cos-play, I have always wondered if it's okay to just do an event as a modern rancher.

I always wanted to show up in a work hat, Cavender's shirt, Wranglers, and my Ariat rancher's boots with a 20th century Arvo Ojala rig. Just the modern living version of a culture that never died.

-Dave

[LonesomePigeon]

A few weeks ago I saw a guy at the grocery store wearing a buckskin jacket with fringes and everything. He said he made it himself. He didn't seem to know anything at all about mountain men, just likes making stuff out of buckskin.

[Books OToole]

There is no such thing as a Smith & Wesson "lemon squeezer" either.

Books

[Tsalagidave]

LOL! Honestly, I have no idea how far back the "Lemon Squeezer" nickname goes back. Never saw the research but I am certain, it was never coined by the S&W marketing team.

-Dave

[Niederlander]

One more political thing and then I'm done:  "The Congress Person from New York" instead of "The Village Idiot"...??.Now back to regular programming!

[Tsalagidave]

One more political thing and then I'm done:  "The Congress Person from New York" instead of "The Village Idiot"...??.Now back to regular programming!

Noted.  I left the village idiots behind in California for the common sense of Arizona. We'll have plenty to discuss at the next campfire.

-Dave

[Oregon Bill]

I want to hear more about how the Colt revolving rifles were safe to use. Randolph Marcy sure recommended them for cross-Plains travel.