1858 style New Army bore?

[Sparkitoff1]

I have a pistol that says NEW ARMY MODEL on it.  No makers name. It is an 8" barrel, steel frame but for the trigger platform. This was a gift and the giver said it was from either late 1970's or early 1980's. It came with a powder flask that is set on 28 grains and contains FFFg powder (seems to be Goex). 

There were no projectiles in the box.  I have used .454 balls and the accuracy is mediocre.  The balls do not shave lead upon loading. They load easily with mild pressure.

Do you think I can use (or at least try) .457 balls?  What are the +/- of using .457 over .454 based on this info?

 

[AndyinEverson]

I have used .457's in a Lyman made / imported 1858 Remington copy , from the 1980's with no problems.
The fact that you are not "Shaving" lead when loading the .454's has me thinking that you will okay to use .457's....
Andy

 

[hawkthrower]

I've helped several friends out with older Remington replica revolvers that.454 was not the "right" dia lead. I also have had a cylinder that was bored incorrectly - had to send it back - so you may want to get out something to measure the bores with and see what it "really" is...... then measure the barrel as well to see where things are. Forcing a larger dia ball into the cyl can stress the loading lever pins and shear them off (not fun!). Had one where conical bullets would not fit under the loading relief......It's all good... Shearing the lead is not always needed if the forcing cone and barrel bore are set right and within tolerances. adding a larger dia lead may not improve accuracy......

 

[Buck Conner1]

Hey guys, good replies for "Sparkitoff", we need more of you whether new or old timers to this sport helping others with questions. Thank you gentlemen.

Buck

 

[hawkthrower]

The objective for the lead in the barrel is -
1.To seal the pressure behind the lead to move it with the most force available.
2.To impress the lead into the rifling so as to impart a stabilizing spin as it passes through the barrel.

Tolerances at either end of the scale will affect the performance and accuracy...