UBERTI/Remington '1858' New Model Army .44"

 This used repro front-stuffer revolver was advertised at a good price because it had been shot for the last 30 years and was looking its age - but "had never let me down". 

My new Italian Jobbie is actually in sound condition with a decent unpitted bore and sharp lands to the rifling grooves - but small dings and some rust pitting & scratches on the outside - it might clean-up OK with some work and a little 'cold blue'.

UBERTI-Remington 1858 - above image from the on-line PNZ For Sale Advert.

If you look at this pic you will see that for my first job I have opened up the clearance slots at each cap nipple from the original tight square slit to a wider rounded access so that I can use my 'Snail Capper' to load the percussion caps onto the cones ..

- Trying to use my fingers to push those wee caps securely into that original tight "letter box" was a real faff for my old pinkies with my degenerated eyesight 😮

I have also started to polish-out the parting-line inside the brass trigger-guard for a smoother access and better finish and it is looking tanfastic already .. BUT of course I would never customize any original antique shooter .. that would be rude. - But a good scrub & polish works well on us old timers now and then.

- On the first Sunday of this new year three of us entertained 30-some mixed Kiwi-Aussie Venture Scouts and their leaders to around 5 hours pistol shooting 'two-twos' in the sun - and I did manage to fire off a first '1858' cylinder load of lead balls with beeswax tallow grease onto a steel plate. Very FUN. - Light loads of your actual gun powder, only 24 grains, dropped into each chamber behind HORNADY .454" lead balls to test for function and point of impact.

Life is GOOD despite the nuisance of political-legislative nonsense. - but I ended the day cleaning the stripped sixgun at home in hot soapy water with a sun burned head - Yeah where was my hat!

We mostly used Glock G44 rim-fire semi-autos with hundreds of rounds going down range from hot barrels but mine decided it didn't like cycling the Remington bulk pack ammo .. fortunately there was other stuff (CCI) available at the range.

A. Uberti is now a part of the Italian Beretta-Benelli organisation (as is Pietta) .. the interested will watch this linked video tour of the beautiful BERETTA factory complex:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWXGbgB2UWM

Stay Happy,

Marty K.

I asked Rod about finish repairs using cold blue ..

Cold blue solutions are not wonderful when used with modern synthetic gun oils.  There are a couple of tricks to ensure cold blues work better. The first is getting a totally clean surface (no oils including fingers) using a good degreaser like acetone, followed by enough boiling water to rinse and heat the part so it dries quickly. Wearing cotton gloves, apply the cold blue evenly with a clean cotton patch to the still hot part. Allow to dry fully before carding off with the finest grade steel wool while wearing the gloves. Rinse with cold water to check colour. Repeat the whole process to darken it. Artist's oil (refined linseed) can be purchased cheaply at any art supplies shop and is perfect to apply to the blued part. It dries to durable film in a few hours in a warm place. The oil is also perfect for gunstocks. Note that warm parts take the blue much better. Canola oil will have a similar effect to the artist's oil but will not achieve the same durable film. Plant based oils are not suitable for any parts that require lubrication to assist normal function (bolts, trigger mechanisms, etc.).

Cheers

Rod