I bought a Pietta-made repro of the Colt 1860 Army, marketed by Traditions, about a year ago.
I was surprised and delighted at the fit and finish. It's a good revolver and at $140 in the local gunshop it was a good price.
In the past year, I've heard other shooters comment that Pietta has significantly improved its quality. At the same time, I've also heard that Uberti has had quality problems. So, you pays your money and you takes your chances.
Before you fire that new revolver for the first time, go to your local gun store and buy some Iosso Bore Cleaner (in a tube) or J-B Bore Cleaning Compound (in a small, plastic jar).
These are very mildly abrasive pastes. Put some on a tight-fitting patch and work it back and forth in the bore until the patch becomes loose. Use about a dozen patches this way, worked back and forth in the bore.
This will markedly smooth the bore of your new revolver and remove all traces of preservatives. Finally, remove any vestige of paste from the bore with Ronson lighter fluid on a patch. Lighter fluid works well because it does not leave any deposits like other cleaners.
You could fire 500 balls through the bore and get the same effect, but this is cheaper. With a dry patch, you'll notice the bore is noticeably smoother.
Also, one of your first purchases should be a revolver loading stand. This holds the revolver upright for easier charging and use of the rammer.
You will find best accuracy with round balls of .454 or .457 inch. The larger balls give a wider bearing surface for the rifling to grip.
Black powder has proven most accurate in my own revolvers. Use FFFG granulation. I like Goex best.
Buy Wonder Wads made by Ox-Yoke in .44 caliber. Soak them in melted lard or Crisco for increased lubrication. The dry lubricant used on these wads hasn't impressed me.
I use a particularly good lubricant composed of 1 part canning paraffin (sold in grocery stores), 1 part mutton tallow (sold by Dixie Gun Works) and 1/2 part beeswax. All measures are by weight, NOT volume. I measure 200/200/100 grams of ingredients on a kitchen scale and melt them at low heat in a Mason jar, in 3 or 4 inches of boiling water. When all ingredients are melted, mix well with a clean stick or disposable chopstick.
Allow to cool at room temperature. Hastening cooling by placing in the refrigerator may cause the ingredients to separate.
To lubricate the wads, place a couple of Tablespoons of solid lubricant in a clean, tuna can and place on low heat. Add the wads. Stir the wads around so they thoroughly soak up the melted lubricant. Remove from heat and snap a plastic pet-lid over the can. It's easiest to keep your wads in this same can, with the plastic lid snapped tight.
Screw the lid down on the Mason jar. Store the jar and can in a cool, dry place.
This lubricant is very good for wads because the paraffin markedly stiffens the wads and improves its ability to scrape out fouling.
Continuing on ...
Charge each chamber with 30 grains (by volume) of FFFG black powder. Thumb a greased wad into each charged chamber. Now, seat the wad firmly on the powder but don't yet seat the ball.
After all chambers have wads seated on the powder, then seat the ball firmly on the wad. No lubricant over the ball is needed, if you use a well-lubricated wad.
Finally, cap the revolver with No. 10 or 11 caps. You will have to determine the correct size for your gun.
In my own 1860 Army, a No. 10 cap is too small. It won't fully seat down on the nipple. A No. 11 is a little loose. So I pinch the No. 11 caps together into an ellipitical shape and seat them on the nipple. The pinched caps stay on the nipple better.
Cap and ball revolvers of the Colt style must have their wedge tight in the frame to shoot accurately. If the wedge is so loose that you can remove it with your fingers, accuracy will suffer. A plastic-faced mallet will tap it in nicely, and not mar its surface.
With the above information, you will better enjoy your revolver. Accuracy with theses old revolvers, with lead balls, can be wonderful. Conical bullets typically are not nearly as accurate.
Have fun!
