1861 Navy repro -- 38 spl blackpowder

wtroper

Last night I acquired an Italian repro of the old Navy colt that has been reworked into a cartridge revolver. It is chambered for 38 spl, but I was told to use only black powder in loading for it. This revolver was used in cowboy action shooting. Any thoughts on loads for it with either black powder or very light smokeless loads?

HandgunHTR52

When you say "reworked" do you mean that it has had one of these installed?

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=595243

If so, are you sure that it is .38 Special and not .38 Long Colt? The only .38 Special conversions that I know of are for the 1858 Navy. You don't say which Navy you have (the Colt was 1851 or 1861, the 1858 was Remington).

If it is a conversion cylinder, you are not limited to black powder as long as you keep the loads in the "Cowboy" pressure range.

wtroper

Handgunhtr --- No, it does not look like that cylinder. The cylinder now appears like one that one made for cartridges. A loading gate was installed, thus it loads like a normal single action. A "firing pin" was added to the hammer. Thus, the firing pin protrudes through the frame & strikes the primer.

While I am no expert in these guns, I think it was a replica of a '61 Navy. The work was done by a local gunsmith (who is now employed by the Home Security folks). He was a reputable individual who did various things for me over the years. I have faith in his work. The person from whom I purchased this one (and several more) had them made for his own use. And he used them in cowboy action shooting events. He is the one who told me to load only black powder in the 38 spls.

A part of my question involves whether a "light" load of smokeless would be suitable for a "black powder" firearm.

HandgunHTR52

If the gentleman who sold you the gun told you to only shoot BP in it, I would go with his recommendation. Or, I would call the gunsmith who did the work and ask him. The problem with loading smokeless powder in place of black powder is a pressure problem. If you go just a little high in the pressure department (i.e. using the wrong powder or too much powder) you may have a spectacular failure on your hands (or in your hands). Another thing to consider is that the 1861 does not have a top strap, so if it decides to come apart, that is one less piece of metal between you and the flying metal.

I would stick to the BP loads.

perry shooter

Try light loads of TRAIL BOSS powder it is made for low pressure loads I love and shoot a black powder flintlock but in cowboy shooting 40 rounds = a pistol that will be hard to function.

wtroper

Thanks Perry. If I understand correctly, a light, maybe even very light load of smokeless powder would be suitable for use in a weapon designed for black powder loads. I certainly have no interest in pushing these loads up at all. However, I would prefer to load a smokeless powder rather than black powder, if it is safe to do so.

DocBAE

[8]Safety First!
If it was made for black powder shoot black powder. Different pressure curves are different regardless of amount of powder used.

Gunslinger2005

Kenny Howell, at the R&D Gunshop, designed the conversion cylinder in the MidWay link. He also makes one with the integral loading gate too. You can check them out at his web site at http://www.randdgunshop.com/ .

Walt Kirst makes the Kirst Konverter, which also has a loading gate for 1851 and 1861 clones. You can check these out at fttp://www.kirstkonverter.com .

Both of these conversion cylinders are made from modern steel, but are designed for black powder or cow boy equivalent smokeless type loads. Keep in mind too that the 1861 Navy isn't a particularly strong action, and the steel used in these reproduction cap & ball revolvers probably is pretty soft. Don't push them too hard.

I have one of the R&D .45 Colt conversion cylinders for my Pietta 1858 Remington .44 cap & ball revolver. It's a lot of fun to shoot.