finally got my 1860 army!

[shoebox1.1]

well ive been wanting a 1860 army and got a nice one! beautiful pietta pistol deep blue finish. the walnut grips are a "lil" dark but very nice. the fit n finish is very good, only complaint would be the wood grips aligning with the backstrap.. the wood is about .008 higher than the backstrap on the right side. im sure a wood file and a couple minutes would make it perfect but its no big deal. you can barely feel in on your palm. the timing and cyl lock up is INCREDIBLE! this thing was so tight i had to beat it apart with a mallet. i bet there isnt a 1/2 thou between the cyl and barrel. you cant see any light through there but it turns great. i have all my acessories except balls and wads. i will say this my old 1851 navy 36 seemed to be better balanced in my hand than this pistol.l its like the 1/2inch more steel hangs way out there and throws off the balance. i just need to get used to it. id post up a picture but our camera doesnt take good pics. cant wait to get to the range.

 

[nate45]

I've been thinking of getting one as well

Yours sounds nice, but If you don't mind my asking... What brand is it?

 

[Hawg]

He said Pietta. You need to check your gap. You need at least .004 and .006-.008 would be better. .010-.012 wouldn't be out of line. Too little and it'll bind from fouling. Don't drive the wedge in too far. On a new gun flush on the off side is about right.

 

[shoebox1.1]

thanks for the tip... the locating pins at the bottom are flush, the barrel wedge might be in too far but it looks ok. i figured i need to get this thing out on the range and break it in. i appriciate everyones help here.

 

[simonkenton]

Congratulations!
They really are beautiful pistols.
I have the same pistol. Pietta makes pretty nice guns.

Only one problem, two of my springs have broken. The hand and the main spring.
Mine is sold under the Traditions label.
I just called the 1800 Traditions number, they sent me new springs for free, no questions asked.

Actually the main spring was a bit too large. Caused a heavy hammer pull.
I ground 1/10 of an inch off it with my favorite gunsmithing tool, the belt sander.
Works great now.
It is fun gunsmithing these old guns, they are pretty simple, once you have taken them apart a couple times.

 

[Hawg]

thanks for the tip... the locating pins at the bottom are flush, the barrel wedge might be in too far but it looks ok. i figured i need to get this thing out on the range and break it in. i appriciate everyones help here.

The bottom of the frame will be flush no matter what the cylinder gap. If you get that wedge in too deep you're not going to get many shots off before it binds up. You won't get much more than four cylinders fired off with a good gap.

 

[shoebox1.1]

ill drive it back out then thanks again