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I recently picked up that old 1851 and have kind of gotten interested in various BP revolvers again. I have an original Remington 44 that I need to go shoot again, but I kind of hate to shoot it too much, so I’m thinking I need another 44. I love the feel of the 1860 grip so that’s a top contender as well as a NMA. I also love the sleek looks of the 60, so part of me is just saying to grab an 1861 to just deal with 36 cal all around.

Anyways, the one semi local shop that has anything black powder is about 90% Hawkins style hunting rifles along with modern inclines. About the only pistols they have are brass framed traditions ‘kits’ that come with balls, powder measure and cleaning patches, all of which I already have. With being able to order C&B revolvers and have them shipped directly, I’m looking for suggestions for a place with the best selection and prices. I know ‘best: is subjective but any opinions are greatly appreciated!

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https://facebook.com/M2bKydex/

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Dixie Gun Works used to be the go-to for black powder anything, and their catalogue arrival was always an occasion.

No idea if that's still true.

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I’m pretty sure they still have the phone book sized catalogs. I need to see what it takes to get a new one on the way here. I have one from probably early 90’s and it’s chock full of good info in the back. Plus all kinds of good ideas come from thumbing through the pages!

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https://facebook.com/M2bKydex/

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https://www.emf-company.com/

If you watch, there will be sales. The other place is MidwayUSA. They have a wide variety of black powder pistols and you can find sales there at times if you watch.

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Ele era velho.
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Ele era feio.

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Good to know you can order directly from them. I’d rather order straight from Uberti or Cimmaron. I’ll have to look to see of that’s an option.

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https://facebook.com/M2bKydex/

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https://www.midwayusa.com/black-powder-pistols-and-revolvers/br?Availability=Available&...

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But honestly I’ve become very unimpressed with their packing, shipping, and customer service lately.

I’ve made two ordered with Powder Valley recently and they have performed excellent, so they will be getting more of my business in the future!

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https://facebook.com/M2bKydex/

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Ele era velho.
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Midway was one of the best options, but after my last dealing with them I have been lookin for other options as well. It seems that most of the other places only carry a couple of Pietta revolvers

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Might look at
https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/

They have plenty in the classified

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Seems if you look at the fine print in each description. Midway tell you that you cannot return it back to them. So if it has a crooked sight or a big barrel/cylinder gap or is overall a dud, I guess it would have to be returned to Pietta/Uberti.

This wouldn't be a problem if Midway would open all of them up and check them out and filter out the duds.

I bought my last 1851 and Uberti from Dixie last spring. Perfect right out of the box. Sights dead on...............Bob

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fixed. I am probably gonna remodel it somehow anyway.

I am thinking of buying a Wells Fargo .31 .. Midway has some on sale .. and reboring the chambers to take a .33 or .34 ball ... opening up the barrel throat and then let them squeeze down to .31 in the bore. It would make a hard shooting little popper.

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Ele era velho.
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Those little pocket pistols are sure cute poppers. The mods you propose will be fascinating to watch. What's the difference between the 1848 Baby Dragoon and the 1849 Wells Fargo? The pics they show look identical, but the "regular price" is substantially different. I suspect the "Baby Dragoon" might actually come with a square backed trigger guard, but that's just a wild guess.

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about the originals there were a lot of minor variations among the same model. The Wells Fargo guns don't have a loading ram and have a rounded trigger guard. To me that's the only difference I can see.

I have messed with the idea of an oversize ball and shrinking it to make the small short barrel guns shoot harder. And it works. I have a home-made single shot that I screw the barrel out, drop in a .375" ball, fill up the rest of the chamber with powder and screw it back into the frame. Put a cap on it and BANG. Shrinks the ball to about .360" and shoots pretty hard. I have 3 different smooth bore barrels for it .. 2" 3" and 4".

My old .44 Remington 1858 copy had a .445" barrel and I reamed the throat and the chambers and used .456"/.457" round ball. Shrinking the ball that much really increased the velocity. Accuracy was excellent.

[image]

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Ele era velho.
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Ele era feio.

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The Wells Fargo guns don't have a loading ram and have a rounded trigger guard.

That's what was niggling at the back of what passes for my memory... Midway's got a pic of a Wells Fargo posted as a "Baby Dragoon" - which probably should have a loading ram on it.

I was thinking of your accounts of using that old Remington when reading your ideas for the Wells Fargo pistol. Someday I'd like to pick up one of the pocket pistols to play with. But there's a LOT I'd like to play with and not much time to play when we travel north. SO, it's fun to read of others doing so.

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I drifted over to Taylor & CO - and they show the Baby Dragoon and Well Fargo both sans loading lever, but include the 1849 Pocket with a loading lever. The Baby Dragoon has a blurry picture but the copy reads that it has "round bolt notches" (can't confirm via the blurry pic, at least not with my eyes on my monitor). The Wells Fargo is shown with "normal" bolt notches. So three similar pistols with the only clear difference being the loading lever on the 1849 Pocket.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colt_Pocket_Percussion_Revolvers

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That was some good reading, Jim! Also noted that the first set of References was our on Mike Cumpston! I was just reading his book a few weeks back.

I think one issue with any of these is that y have been given names by users and collectors over the past 150 years that don’t match up tot eh original Colt model designations and then you have those somehow being translated to the Italian makers who will sometimes combine various features of different revolvers and then make up names of their own!

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Is he still around? I lost track of him some years ago. We were on several hunts together and attended the same shoots.

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Ele era velho.
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See my post above about my last dealings with Midway.

I also have bought 3 black powder revolvers from them and although the revolvers were fine the factory boxes were destroyed because of the horrible packaging . They just put them in a big box with bullets, dies, and whatever else I ordered. There might have been one or two air pillows in with the mess that got popped in shipping. None of the revolvers had any noticeable damage but that was more by luck than anything. If they would have been damaged I now know how poorly midway would have handled it if they would have.

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The phrase below is on every cap-n-ball description you see at Midway.

"Due to safety considerations and legal/regulatory reasons Black Powder Firearms may not be returned."

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but a couple years ago I was gifted an 1860 model. It came in a Traditions box, but was blued and case hardened and built by Pietta. It was a little rough in the action when it arrived, but repeated cycling smoothed it out nicely. Didn't have access to stones or anything to try and do a proper job so simply cycled it a few hundred times (it's addictive!) and then finally got a chance to get out to the range and shoot it. Following the range trip it got a complete disassembly and cleaning then a proper reassembly and wipe down. Never had the chance to put it on paper but it shot well and no problems with caps jamming or hanging on the hammer like some folks describe. I've no idea if Traditions boxes other brands or not, but this single example of a Pietta has been a real blast to play with when up north.

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All of the Traditions I have seen have been Pietta. I haven’t been impressed with their products in the past but their newer stuff seems to be of better quality.

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https://facebook.com/M2bKydex/

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has a good trigger pull, and did not need any polishing to slick it up. I was impressed by it. I think you can get a rough one from any company at times. The 1848 3rd Model Dragoon by Uberti was the roughest I have ever encountered. I had to use files to open up the channel the cylinder hand runs in. It had casting boogers in it and bound up the action. I was quite amazed at how rough it was. But the 1862 Pocket Police from Taylor's (made by Uberti) is absolutely perfect.

I always figure if a got a good deal on one I can slick it up, no harm, no foul.

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I have ordered some from Cabeles when I need a specific one for gunleather. I agree the 1860 Army is the best looking of the cap n' ball revolvers. I have a 1861 navy with fluted cylinders... also a graceful looking revolver.

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Of the Troops & For the Troops

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Being good friends with ladies that own Taylor’s & Co, I would look at them. Neither them or Cimarron make anything. They’re just importers. I “believe” Uberti and Pietta are the only makers now. I think Armi San Marco was absorbed by one of those two. Do NOT quote me on that, though.

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:-)

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https://www.buffaloarms.com/firearms-consignments/cowboy-firearms-44-muzzle-loaders-vin...

Dave has always been top notch, I have a few custom diameter size and lube dies from him.

Dave Beeman

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