Nipple indent mark on 1858 Remington hammer?

[His lordship.]

I bought a new Uberti Remington 1858 revolver and have had it to the range twice, have put 100 rounds through it so far.  I noticed when I was cleaning it that there appears to be an impression on the hammer face from the nipple ring, as though I was dry firing it.  I never dry fire a cap and ball gun, or most .22 rim fires for that matter.  I did not notice this when the gun was new, may not have paid attention to that area when the gun was taken out of the box.  It may have been that way from the factory, I used to have an EMF version of the Remington years ago but cannot remember details as I sold it in 1997.

I have used CCI, Remington, and RWS caps on this gun so far, all size #11.

I also have a 5 year old 1851 Uberti Colt, there is a slight indent on the hammer face, but the designs are too different to compare properly.  Is this normal for the nipple to indent the hammer so pronounced, or is the hammer defective (too soft) and will I need to think about getting new parts down the road?

When Dixie Gun Works sent me my first 1858 Remington it was defective and I had to exchange it for the present one, which they were nice enough to do so quickly.  However, on the defective gun the hammer was misaligned and someone had cocked and released the hammer so many times that the hammer had made an indent into the frame, the case hardening was so strong that there were no marks what so ever on the hammer, just a deep gouge into the gun's frame.  This impressed me on the integrity of case hardening.   

Thanks.

[madcratebuilder]

Most Italian revolvers have a clearance problem between the hammer nose and the nipples.  You want a few thousandth clearance their when the cylinder is all the way forward.  It's hard to check on the 1858's.  If you can move the cylinder back and forth (barrel gap) and see the hammer move you need more clearance.  Personally I would dress the nipples and not the hammer nose.

Even with hammer clearance you well get a ring on the nose from striking the caps but it should not be a indentation.

[mcwoodduck]

Mine has the ring and the notch, has had it for years from shooting a dry firing    OOPS
but mine still works and goes bang on command.

[Flint]

As mentioned, the hammer should not quite touch an uncapped nipple face.  The color case hardening is a thin skin, and the softer metal behind it will emboss from the nipple face, making a ring.

The Ruger Old Army is set up to miss contact by a few thousanths to prevent damage to the hammer and nipples, and theoretically would allow dry firing.

If the ring embossed on your hammer is a full circle, (of even depth) the face angle is correct, if it is hitting only on the top, (most likely), the face angle of the hammer nose is wrong and should be corrected.  This is most often the case with a Pietta Remington, which also tend to strike too deep.

If you do modify the hammer, do so with the nipple brand you expect to use, don't set it up with factory nipples, then change to Treso/Ampco or SS, change out the nipples first, then tune the fit.

Another note, if you have spare cylinders, make sure they are all fitted to the hammer face.  I have found some cylinders of different age to vary in the depth of the nipple seat, and had to tune the revolver to the deepest cylinder, and let the shallower cylinders get struck too hard.

Do not shorten the nipples, it's hard to get them all the same, and they must be so, and they may not fit the caps properly after shortening them.  A hammer can be replaced if necessary, or the hammer or frame relieved a bit to let the hammer nose in a bit more if too much was taken off.

Treso/Ampco nipples are bronze and can be damaged by dry firing or too deep a hammer stroke.  Stainless Steel nipples are more likely to damage the hammer.  In either case, the best setup is for the hammer to not quite touch the face of an uncapped nipple.