A good buddy who runs the local public range asked me to help out a 14 yr. old kid whose grandpa bought him a new cap 'n ball as I have shot cap 'n ball for years. Well, the gun was a brand spanking new EMF Hartford '51 Navy in the nonauthentic .44 cal. Being a traditionalist I winced at this. First surprise: quality was excellent! Timing dead nuts on and locked up like a Mercedes door! Wedge was fit superbly and (incredible for a Pietta!) the wedge and barrel removed easily! This was a really well put together cap 'n ball! I showed the kid all the ins & outs of loading, shooting & cleaning. We didn't group the gun as the kid will probably shoot it only once more in his life! He had the attention span of an autistic chimp! :roll: Also, #10 Remington caps fit like a glove and nary one cap fragmented and jammed the gun! That's almost unheard of on a new revolver with factory nipples! Final note: I've handled 4-5 new Piettas recently, all being '58's, with the exception of this one, and they were all as good as this one! Pietta must have really cleaned up their act! I told the kid he didn't know how lucky he was! :wink:
