new Pietta 1851 Navy owner with some questions!

anti · April 14, 2014, 11:18 PM

Hi, guys, new poster here...

I recently picked up a Pietta 1851 off of Cabela's for $250 with the free accessory kit; just couldn't pass it up since it ships straight to your door.

Anyway, I haven't shot it yet since I barely received my SliX-shot nipples in the mail earlier today, but while I was reassembling it after installing the new nipples on the cylinder I noticed the barrel doesn't exactly line up with the frame all that well. I have to give the muzzle a slight smack in order for the two little pins to go into the holes under the barrel. Also, in that same area at the bottom where the barrel meets the frame by the two little pins, it's not quite even. The barrel contour is about 0.5 mm or maybe a bit more higher than the frame. I took a flashlight and checked to see if there was any misalignment where the barrel meets the front of the cylinders, but it looks to be in line, surprisingly. I would have freaked out if I were able to see into the cylinders from that perspective.

I'm not expecting a perfect fit for $250, but I'm concerned about safety. I'm sure it'd be fine to shoot, but I'm wondering if this is a recurring problem with these replica revolvers? Any of you Pietta guys ever seen this before?

Thank you!

leo96150 · April 14, 2014, 11:53 PM

Both Pietta 51 Navies that I just bought (not from Cabela's) needed to have the arbor hole in the barrel assemblies cleaned up so that the arbor would fit properly. I wrapped 800 wet or dry sandpaper around a wooden dowel and honed out the hole until the arbor slipped in without resistance. You may find that a burr in that hole is causing the arbor to force the frame out of alignment.

anti · April 15, 2014, 12:02 AM

Thanks so much for the quick reply, leo! I'll definitely take a look at it the next time I take it apart for cleaning. We should have some sandpaper in the garage somewhere...

Oh, and is there anywhere in the hole in particular that tends to have the burrs? And it should be okay to shoot for now, right?

anti · April 15, 2014, 01:02 AM

Oh, and I'm not sure if anyone else here has found these pages yet, but they contain a lot of helpful info on tuning Pietta-made Colt revolvers. They're both in .pdf format and contain tons of helpful info.

http://www.theopenrange.net/articles...a_Part_One.pdf

http://www.theopenrange.net/articles...a_Part_Two.pdf

Doc Hoy · April 15, 2014, 05:57 AM

Welcome to the forum.

Good place to come for answers.

You might want to read through the sticky at the top under the title "So you want to buy ...."

Carefully try Leo's technique for easing the fit of the barrel to the frame.

It would eventually wear in, but nothing wrong with advancing the schedule with the abrasive paper.

An important part of the fix between barrel and frame is the gap between the cylinder and the barrel.

I think the open road articles mention this.

Should be somewhere around .008

Quentin2 · April 15, 2014, 05:39 PM

My new Pietta 1851 "Confederate" Navy has the same issue where the frame pins fit very tight into the barrel housing holes. I also have to slap the muzzle to get it to seat. The pins are very close to entering the holes but just slightly off. Since the tips are rounded slightly they do enter with a palm strike to the muzzle.

I've disassembled mine a few times and notice it's much better now. I also noticed the frame to barrel fit to be slightly off but like yours the cylinder to barrel alignment seems perfect.

44 Dave · April 15, 2014, 08:10 PM

The arbor and arbor hole are most likely OK, just burr or slight distortion at the wedge slot. Try to just clean those areas and not alter the arbor size.
The reason the tightness "shoots out" is the high spots get leveled off.

anti · April 15, 2014, 08:33 PM

Alright, good to know this is a somewhat common issue with these replicas. I'll check it out and if it's not too bad I'll just leave it alone and let it shoot itself loose like stated above.

Thanks!

April 14, 2014, 11:18 PM	#1
anti Junior Member Join Date: April 14, 2014 Posts: 7	new Pietta 1851 Navy owner with some questions! Hi, guys, new poster here... I recently picked up a Pietta 1851 off of Cabela's for $250 with the free accessory kit; just couldn't pass it up since it ships straight to your door. Anyway, I haven't shot it yet since I barely received my SliX-shot nipples in the mail earlier today, but while I was reassembling it after installing the new nipples on the cylinder I noticed the barrel doesn't exactly line up with the frame all that well. I have to give the muzzle a slight smack in order for the two little pins to go into the holes under the barrel. Also, in that same area at the bottom where the barrel meets the frame by the two little pins, it's not quite even. The barrel contour is about 0.5 mm or maybe a bit more higher than the frame. I took a flashlight and checked to see if there was any misalignment where the barrel meets the front of the cylinders, but it looks to be in line, surprisingly. I would have freaked out if I were able to see into the cylinders from that perspective. I'm not expecting a perfect fit for $250, but I'm concerned about safety. I'm sure it'd be fine to shoot, but I'm wondering if this is a recurring problem with these replica revolvers? Any of you Pietta guys ever seen this before? Thank you! Last edited by anti; April 14, 2014 at 11:40 PM.

April 15, 2014, 05:57 AM	#5
Doc Hoy Senior Member Join Date: October 24, 2008 Location: Naples, Fl Posts: 5,440	Anti Welcome to the forum. Good place to come for answers. You might want to read through the sticky at the top under the title "So you want to buy ...." Carefully try Leo's technique for easing the fit of the barrel to the frame. It would eventually wear in, but nothing wrong with advancing the schedule with the abrasive paper. An important part of the fix between barrel and frame is the gap between the cylinder and the barrel. I think the open road articles mention this. Should be somewhere around .008 __________________ Seek truth. Relax. Take a breath.

April 14, 2014, 11:53 PM	#2
leo96150 Member Join Date: January 7, 2013 Posts: 32	Both Pietta 51 Navies that I just bought (not from Cabela's) needed to have the arbor hole in the barrel assemblies cleaned up so that the arbor would fit properly. I wrapped 800 wet or dry sandpaper around a wooden dowel and honed out the hole until the arbor slipped in without resistance. You may find that a burr in that hole is causing the arbor to force the frame out of alignment.

April 15, 2014, 12:02 AM	#3
anti Junior Member Join Date: April 14, 2014 Posts: 7	Thanks so much for the quick reply, leo! I'll definitely take a look at it the next time I take it apart for cleaning. We should have some sandpaper in the garage somewhere... Oh, and is there anywhere in the hole in particular that tends to have the burrs? And it should be okay to shoot for now, right?

April 15, 2014, 01:02 AM	#4
anti Junior Member Join Date: April 14, 2014 Posts: 7	Oh, and I'm not sure if anyone else here has found these pages yet, but they contain a lot of helpful info on tuning Pietta-made Colt revolvers. They're both in .pdf format and contain tons of helpful info. http://www.theopenrange.net/articles...a_Part_One.pdf http://www.theopenrange.net/articles...a_Part_Two.pdf

April 15, 2014, 05:39 PM	#6
Quentin2 Senior Member Join Date: June 18, 2009 Location: NorthWest USA Posts: 1,996	My new Pietta 1851 "Confederate" Navy has the same issue where the frame pins fit very tight into the barrel housing holes. I also have to slap the muzzle to get it to seat. The pins are very close to entering the holes but just slightly off. Since the tips are rounded slightly they do enter with a palm strike to the muzzle. I've disassembled mine a few times and notice it's much better now. I also noticed the frame to barrel fit to be slightly off but like yours the cylinder to barrel alignment seems perfect.

April 15, 2014, 08:10 PM	#7
44 Dave Senior Member Join Date: February 24, 2013 Posts: 584	The arbor and arbor hole are most likely OK, just burr or slight distortion at the wedge slot. Try to just clean those areas and not alter the arbor size. The reason the tightness "shoots out" is the high spots get leveled off.

April 15, 2014, 08:33 PM	#8
anti Junior Member Join Date: April 14, 2014 Posts: 7	Alright, good to know this is a somewhat common issue with these replicas. I'll check it out and if it's not too bad I'll just leave it alone and let it shoot itself loose like stated above. Thanks!