Good Enough for Wild Bill Hickok

[Dump1567]

I picked this up in a local shop for $150. It has a few battle scars, but I don't think it was ever fired. I've owned black powders handguns in the past & and wanted to get another.

Based on my research, this is a 1972 model 1851 Navy in 36 cal. built by Armi San Paolo (marked Euroarms Brescia). Don't know much more than that, other than it would be considered a Confederate model since it has a brass frame.

After getting rid of all my Black powder HG's a few years ago, luckily I kept everything I needed to get this up and running.

 

[30-30remchester]

Wild Bill's 36 Navy's served him well over the years. It was the ancient equivalent of our much disliked 380 ACP.

 

[Iggy]

28 grains of 3f and you won't stretch the frame.

 

[spad124]

The 1851 is one of the most elegant revolvers ever made. I still have the Navy Arms 1851 (Pietta made) I bought some 30 years ago. It's just a good, functional, revolver- just the way Col. Colt intended. As I recall it's accuracy improved quite a bit after I shot off one "fouling" cylinder.

 

[jag312]

Here is a Colt 1851 Navy, factory engraved, and presented to Capt. John C. Lowery of the 107th Illinois Infantry, Company E during the Civil War.

Among other actions, the 107th was involved in the siege of Atlanta, July 22 to August 25, 1864. When history was being made, this Colt was at the side of Captain Lowery.

 

[walter o]

Don't forget that Bill also carried a S&W #2 army .

 

[dougb1946]

Don't forget that Bill also carried a S&W #2 army .

And he cheated. He shot at a target every day.

 

[DWalt]

And he cheated. He shot at a target every day.

True or not I have no idea, but I have also read that he fired his 1851s every day, then cleaned and reloaded them. Seems a little OCD to me, but I guess he needed to have a high level of confidence that they would go "Bang" every time he pulled the trigger. I had an Italian replica 1851 like yours over 40 years ago and used it to shoot rats at the dump. Seems like I paid about $25 for it at the time. I apparently sold it to someone, but my memory on that point is gone. I still have a replica 1860 Army (.44) and an 1858 Remington Navy (.36), both by Pietta. I still shoot them occasionally, very well-made guns.

 

[JASuro]

Beautiful and well preserved.

 

[RobertJ.]

Nice find!

I bought one at a garage sale years ago, for 20 bucks. It was seized up tight, and the owner didn't know what to do with it besides sell it. I took it apart, cleaned it, and it worked great.

Like I said, that was YEARS ago. I'm way too lazy for black powder anything these days!

 

[PALADIN85020]

Don't forget that Bill also carried a S&W #2 army .

Wasn't that the gun he had on him when he was shot and killed from behind during a card game in a saloon in Deadwood, Dakota Territory on August 2, 1876?

Legend has it that he was holding aces and eights, since known as the "dead man's hand."

John

 

[Wee Hooker]

1851 Navies are my favorite Cap and Ball Revolvers. They are very sweetly balanced and light in recoil. Most references will tell you to keep your loads under 20gr for these brass framed .36 cal pistols.
FWIW, my pair of 1851's get fed a diet of 17 gr of FFF.

 

[JayFramer]

Very nice! The rebs made them in a brass frame since steel was hard to come by. They also made them in .44 caliber and had a shortened one called "the sherriff" model if I recall. I used to have one and it was a good gun, made by Piatro of Italy. It and a zuoave or hawkins rifle would be ideal for a reenactor.