Starter Cap & Ball pistol sets

[Citiboy289]

Am considering trying Cap and ball pistol shooting, Saw calbeas had starter sets , was wondering if they are any good or what someone would recommend , I really want to get a set with everything in it , flask ect , so I am not running around trying to get what I need , Thanks in advance

[stantheman86]

For starting out I would at least recommend an 1858 Remington repro. They tend to be more solid, as repros, as far as the mechanics and for a new shooter they seem like the better option. IMO I would avoid the brass frame guns, they are not really made for any kind of real shooting and it seems Pietta doesn't put as much QC into these because they don't expect them to be used as heavy shooters.

Most of what Cabelas sells is the Piettas, and all of those that I had went out of time and peened the barrel slot. I only buy Colt repros, so you may have better luck with the 1858 Remingtons. Pietta does not seem to have the Colts "down" yet and all of mine developed problems after only a little shooting.

I got started back in the 90's, being off and on over the years with the "BP bug" and all I can say is I've had several Piettas and Ubertis, and all I have to this day is my Uberti's.

[TFoley]

In defence of Pietta, and due to the growing level of quality that we are seeing here in UK with regard to their products, in particular the Model 1858 Army, I would still give them a hard look before discounting them altogether. Most of the twenty or so in our club are Pietta-made, and all seem to be pretty good to me. I was forced to shoot one last weekend at a friendly in-house comp, as I had run out of .457 ball for my ROA, and not only did it have a good trigger, but I won.

Just make sure that it one of the latest models, and check it in store before you hand over your $$$ - put it on half-cock and see the movement of the cylinder, then on full-cock and check it out again - there should be very little if any movement at all.

A pack of .451 round ball to get you going as well, don't forget, as the majority of .44s are about this size.

tac
tac

[Jimbo453]

You can buy a stand alone starter kit to go with any brand of revolver It all comes down to how much money you have to spend
Very often you can get a complete CVA kit with the revolver for around $200. and that could go as high as $1000. for a remake Colt all comes down to how much you want to spend ( and you still after all these years only get what you pay for ) we all started somewhere and most didnt start with the top off the line Guns . you could think about buying a used revolver after all the first time you fire it now its used
Good luck and welcome to the Dark Side
Jim

[RH7777]

All of Cabela's BP come with a starter kit.

I have read pros and cons about Pietta vs. Uberti for years.

My experience.

All of the Pietta Colt repros will have peen stretch marks and timing problems after awhile. THe brass frames are to be avoided, all of mine had issues.

The 1858 is a different type and some of the Piettas seem to last OK.

Pietta BP Colt repros are natural pointers and fit well in the hand, well balanced. A pleasure to shoot.

Do a side by side comparison of the grips of a Ubertie 1851 and a Pietta 1851 Colt repro and the differences can be seen. Pietta fits and balances much better, but the metal is softer and they do not last as long, from my experience.

Uberti BP is about all I now buy.

The steel seems to be of a better qualilty, NO peening in back of the wedges, ever. NO cylinder pin problems with Uberti, and NO timing problems EVER.

Uberti Colt repros are a little different, the grips are designed different and it takes a very astute shooter to notice this.

For looks and wall hangers the Piettas are great.

For shooters, I now stick with Uberti only.

Lots of controversy on this subject. It should be noted that the 1858 Remingtons seem to last from both mfgr. but the Colt repros have timing and peening problems in Pietta. Not in Uberti.

Cabelas has cheap starter models with kits.

I have also gravitated towards .36 cal. instead of the .44.
After learning that almost all BP revolvers from the 1800s were in .36 or smaller cal.

.36 cal are easier to shoot and are deadly accurate. I have several made by Uberti and enjoy shooting them.

[gunsgunsguns]

Just what I've experienced, but I much prefer the Colt to Remington models. My Remington was small to my grip, seemed to make it forwardly unbalanced. Biggest complaint was the cylinder pin
though, once fouled with black powder residue, it was extremely hard to pull out. Tapping out the pin could easily bend it's length. One of the few weapons I've ever gotten rid of. I have about six reproduction Colt's of different model or caliber. Love the grip, natural pointers and easier to break down for cleaning. Wish the Italian makers would up their quality a little more, they are most always beautiful, but internally soft, or weak and often just cheap. They win for only game in town most times, but it would be nice if they made them for shooting instead of looking.

[madcratebuilder]

The "starter kit's" usually have a plastic flask and cheap nipple wrench, I would avoid them. Youy can do much better for about the same money buying the individual items. You need a flask, powder measure, nipple wrench, a wrench with a built in nipple pick is a good idea. You can find a nice flask for cheap on evil bay.

The 1858 Remington is probably the best revolver to start with as it's more user friendly. The open top Colts are known for wedge problems. This is normally the result of a short arbor. The arbor needs to bottom out in the barrel lug, this is almost never the case with Italian revolvers. It leads to wedge and barrel gap problems. Quality control is about the same with the two major makers, Pietta and Uberti. Uberti revolvers tend to be more authentic.

Brass frame revolvers are fine if you keep the powder charge at reasonable levels, otherwise you well peen the recoil shield. I have brassers that have fired close to a thousand rounds with no peening. I just keep the maximum powder charge at less than half the caliber size, 22grs for a .44 and 18 grs for a .36. For steel frame revolvers the half caliber size would be the starting load and work up from their.

[RH7777]

I would be interested in understanding this better.

Would it be possible to get a picture or diagram of what you are refering to. Barrel lug and Arbor and where the gap is.

I don't understand what parts have the poor fit.

I and others believed it was a softer metal problem, not a fitting problem.



My Uberti Colt repros have never had the peening problem in the rear of the wedge, like the Pietta.

Also several of my older Piettas have loose cylinder pins. Steel frame.

I like the Pietta brass framed 1851 Colts. THey fit the hand perfectly and are natural pointers. Cabelas has them for under $200 which is a good deal, if I can shoot them without developing problems.

I don't shoot them any longer because of past problems with just a few rounds through them.

If there is a way to correct for the problems, I would be interested in giving it a try.

[Austen]

Haven't tried the Pietta, but I have been shooting a Uberti Colt 1860 for over 25 years, and have had no problems other than one broken trigger spring.
The 1851 Colt Navy has the same size grip as the Colt SAA which cramps some people's hands. Even though I have small hands, I find the longer grip of the Colt 1860 Army much more comfortable. Apparently Elmer Keith used to fit the 1860 army grip to Colt SAAs, to get a better grip.