Uberti 1858 Remington .44 vs ASP Rogers & Spencer .44 BP revolvers

[JiriK]

I´m new to black powder shooting, but got the buying permit from local police for a black powder revolver.
Planning to shoot at 25m, Competition "Mariette" and maybe other events where this type of gun is allowed.

Brand new Feinwerkbau would be the best -I think- but I can´t afford it at the moment.
So I have looked for second hand guns.

Not interested in brass frame colt replicas etc. but steel framed 1858 remingtons or Rogers & Spencer revolvers.

I have found two candidates so far:
Uberti 1858 Remington. Comes with caps, powder, bullets.. Guy who is selling it bought it slightly used in 1998.
Gun looks used but should be in good shooting condition & accurate.

Armi San Paolo Rogers & Spencer replica. Shot very little & looks like new (in picture)
Little to no extras included.

Do you have experience with these manufacturers and their products?
I have quite big hands. I´m told that none of this era revolvers really fit anyone´s hand, but which one might be more user friendly, Uberti Remington or ASP R&S?

[tacfoley]

Welcome, Herra Jirik! Also, welcome to the world of black powder shooting. As you say, both of these pistols will be be more accurate, and for much longer, than the open-frame Colt replicas, and both are very good to shoot. Both are also quite large in the grip, and to be honest, either of them would be a good buy. Armi San Paolo are not well known here in UK, but over in the States, where they are sold as Euroarms, they are very popular in their Remington form, but not so much as a Rogers & Spencer. I have shot both - a lot - and have to say that I prefer the Remington model.

I'm assuming that you can buy black powder, and either have, or can easily buy, the correct ball mould for these pistols - .454" for the Remington, and either .451" or 454" for the R&S. Both will like a load of ca. 24gr - 30gr, in my experience, but half of the fun is finding out what YOUR particular gun likes to shoot best.

As for the grip size, as I noted, both have bigger grips than any Colt except the Walker, although they are still small by modern day standards - we are all a lot bigger than folks 150 years ago. There are, as far as I know, no larger grips available, unlike the Ruger Old Army, for which larger grips are easy to find from Pachmayr [rubber] or Herrett [wood].

Please give my best wishes to the lovely town of Turku, a place I used to visit a lot with my friends from Tapiola when I was younger.

tac

[lostcat]

Hi,
I have 3 Rem NMA. I would grab the R&S,
For larger grip and being less hold sensitive,also rems are much easier to find anytime.
A single BP pistol might be enough but a collection starts with 1 and personally I prefer the looks of the Rem.
Both should be happy with the same .454 RB and a NMA can be added later.
having seen the internals of a well used R&S that wasn't strip cleaned after each use,I'll be sticking with the complete strip method,only use the correct fitting screwdriver every time,but then everyone knows this,but it stills gnaws to see Rogered screws.
Good luck

[JiriK]

Today I saw two Armi San Paolo Rogers&Spencer revolvers and two Remington models made by Uberti and pietta.
Have to say, Rogers & Spencer fits much better in my hand.
Didn´t buy a gun yet.

[inproved]

Hi ..

When I Shot Black Powder Revolvers,after the Cartridge Pistol Ban of 1997..I found that the Rogers & Spencer Shot the Best, I shot the Feinewerkbau R&S I decided that for the difference in Price to a cheaper R&S example. It was not worth the extra money for the Feinewekbau example..I did shoot Cartridge Pistols as Competitor at 25m..I wore out a Smith & Wesson K38 Model 14 with Target Trigger and Hammer,Bowlers Hand Made Grips, Behelert Custom Rear Sight, and replaced this with a well modified Smith & Wesson 686 that was better because of the extra weight of the L Frame..So if I was making the choice for a Black Powder Revolver Again it would be a Cheap Rogers & Spencer,and no It did not have Target Sights.I Shot Classics as well so I well used to shooting properly..

I no longer have a FAC...
Regards...and Good Shooting ..

Inproved

[JiriK]

I bought the Armi San paolo Rogers & Spencer revolver and have been training BP shooting.

My first BP competition went well. Finished second in the "Mariette" revolver competition and fourth in the "Kuchenreuter" pistol competition last Sunday. Got score of 90pts in both events.
I don´t yet have a pistol for Kuchenreuter event. Shot the competition with Pedersoli Le Page .31 borrowed from a friend.
I´m thinking about buying a Feinwerkbau History no 1 pistol because I got to try one at the range and the grip felt like a good fit to my hand. Much better than the Le Page.

So, I have been shooting .457 projectiles from that revolver. Is that the correct size for this revolver, or should I try .454?

We pushed a lead ball through the barrel of the revolver. Came out with diameter of .449"
Then I pushed a lead ball in one chamber. That came out with diameter of .451"

[tacfoley]

So, I have been shooting .457 projectiles from that revolver. Is that the correct size for this revolver, or should I try .454?

We pushed a lead ball through the barrel of the revolver. Came out with diameter of .449"
Then I pushed a lead ball in one chamber. That came out with diameter of .451"

The .457" diameter ball is probably too big, and must need a good firm push to load. This will eventually strain the loading lever and its axis pin leading to early and unnecessary wear. It is better to try the .454" diameter ball. Most .44cal BP revolvers shoot a .451" diameter ball, anyway.

In reality, only the Ruger Old Army was designed from the onset to use such a large diameter projectile as the .457".

tac

[airgunnut]

this is what i did to my roger & spencer
http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/...ps14848554.jpg
http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3848c8be.jpg
the extensions are just glued on with wood glue, i can still remove the grips as the extensions are not fixed to the frame