I have the brass framed version of the Pietta "Buffalo", I made a shoulder stock for it and it is a tack driver, as well as a handy carbine. I can hit targets at 40 yards all day with it, using cigarette paper cartridges which make it faster to load. Mine was a kit somebody never finished, but I was happy to complete it. Taylor Arms makes a detachable stock but it costs more than I spent on the pistol in the first place! So how do I ever get nice things? I made my own!
I would like to pick up one of the brass frame Buffalos as well, at some point. I have always liked the looks of the brass Remingtons. A shoulder stock is on the wish list also, but I am not nearly handy enough to make one myself! I'll just have to wait to see if they ever become available again.
I used to drink that much coffee before going to the range… lol I have 3 8” barreled 1858 and almost bought the “Buffalo” model… darn it… I wish I had now. Another great video sir and thank you!
Excellent video sir. I have a question that so far no aficionados have been able to answer-- what can we do if we wish to become fully proficient with these firearms, which of course requires huge amounts of dry-fire practice? What can we do to mitigate damage to the pistol? Ideas--- electrical tape over the cones & hammer face? Some of those home-made soda can punched caps (minus the compound of course)? Maybe someone sells rubber or plastic round cap-like objects that fit over the cones? I found one store that sells something like that but they don't have tops, they're just open round rubber pieces. Maybe electrical tape over that?
Interesting. These like #10 caps usually... I just ordered a blued target model with 8" barrel. I had one previously and really liked it - had to sell to pay bills.... IMHO these are the next best thing to a Ruger New Army which is kind of the pinnacle of cap and ball revolvers. I love being able to adjust the sights to point of impact with a chosen load. This is the most practical choice - target or buffalo models for hunting.
Howdy do, big John! You look bigger than a bread box!! Nice test. What was the barrel/cylinder GAP? .004-.008 would be fine! Id like .006 myself unless cylinder binding becomes a problem. Also, a TEXT SUMMARY at end of video would be a big help to SEE the performance difference between the two barrel lengths! For caps falling off, try putting the cap INSIDE a 1/4" dia. section of plastic (tygon?) tubing. This works especially good on the Colt revolvers to eliminate cap jams! Of course you can reuse the plastic sections. There used to be a "12" brass framed Buffalo Remington" gun too years ago. Don't remember if it had adjustable sights though. If you couldn't shoot the bad guy into submission, you could always "beat him to death"!!! "Gesundheit"!
Pietta is still making the brass frame 12 inch barrel "Buffalo" revolver. In, fact, I picked one up a little while ago, because why not? I haven't had this thing out to the range since I made that video - almost a year ago, now. I have replaced the nipples so I hope there will be no more cap issues. My goal is to take the Buffalo out again with a few other revolvers and do a more thorough velocity comparison with guns of different barrel lengths. Gap on this one is a .004.
why 5 shots ? Percussion caps need full spring force to go off so load 6 , this isnt a 1873 colt with a pin against a primer on a cartridge, caps wouldnt even go off even if you smacked the back of the hammer as hard as you could with your hand, as they need a solid impact from the spring and hammer surface. I always load 6 but i guess thats just me, people fear what they dont understand. Also pinch your caps before you put them on, then cock the hammer and decock it on every cap and push the hammer against the cap to seat it fully unless youre not confident in your ability to do that.. Thats the proper way to do it. Out of the thousands of shots ive fired through my 4 BP revolvers.. ive had only 1 or 2 cap miss fires, and no caps leaving their seats, using 10-11 or rws 1075 caps
@@justinholoviak5357 Do these same people only load 5 rounds in 6-shot and 4 rounds in 5-shot pre Hillary Hole, pre floating firing pin vintage S&W revolvers? I've always loaded to full capacity. I load to full capacity and chamber a round with the hammer down on my 1911 .45s as well. If you drop the gun you already done lost the fight. If you fall off your horse you already broke your neck! Put the old wives tales and Fuddery to bed gentlemen. I'd load 6 and 5 rounds in my 1973 Colt Detective Special, 1977 S&W Model 49, 1977 S&W Model 10, 1955 S&W Model 36 without even giving a second though. Just remember...these days the kids and newcomers carry polymer striker fired 9mm pistols with no safety appendix carry IWB right next to their femoral artery and jewels. I don't think you are in that much danger with your revolver or 1911 in a 3:00 or 4:00 belt holster......
I would like to see what kind of accuracy it would get when shooting off of a bench rest. Your free hand shooting looks very shaky from your trembling hand. Shooting from a rest on a bench would improve your group allot.
I have one in blued steel. That front sight does like to dance around, doesn't it? A previous owner did a real hack job of fitting a Henry buttstock to it and it makes a fine carbine with 35 gr. of Triple 7 and a conical bullet at about 1,000 fps. If you pinch the caps sideways a little, it keeps them on the nipples better.
This thing is a bit too much for me to shoot one-handed! There used to be buttstocks made for these, but it looks like they have not been available for a loooong time! Would love to find one, though.
@@johnzx6r Hard as it may be to believe, I just got back from the local gun shop and they had just got in #10 Remington primers! I picked up 3 tins because I had less then 1 tin left. I also got a can of 3f 777 powder. They had no pyrodex so I thought I would give it a try. I have to say I was surprised they had anything. Last I looked they only had pellets for inline rifles. Other then that all the ammo was slim pickings.
That is a hunter's dream for blackpowder hogs. Nobody can hold a single hand still. The barrel amplifies movements. SlickShots are stainless and should hold better.
It is not easy holding this thing up with one hand! I just like to shoot single actions one handed - feels more "natural", I guess. I have replaced the nipples on this, but still haven't had a chance to try them out, yet.
I have a .45 Colt conversion cylinder, but for some reason I have still not tried it in this revolver, yet. I imagine it will work just fine on a whitetail.
Pfff... full chambers of swiss1 (true black powder made with 150 years old tools) on my 8inch rem58 give a way higher velocity: 1280ft/s (.457 oversized round balls). Very nice gun indeed... I’ll try to find one.
@@STRIGOY6666 I ONLY use full chambers of swiss1... BUT I don’t use my guns a lot (meant for testing and defense). I think that I would reduce the load for practicing at the range (they don’t like to much the smoke... fog... and thunder...). I have NO side effects with rem58... and these loads and bullets... THOUGH with the Walker, I would NOT recommend it (or just to have fun pranking friends...)... as the results are exactly what you described... ;) not useful for range/target practice nor defense... Rem58 is the way to go... (Of course I ONLY use PROOFED replicas and PURE black powder and lead, as intended... )
@@jeepsblackpowderandlights4305 There is only ONE black powder mill in Switzerland… : poudrerie d’Aubonne. (Seems sold under the Shuetzen trademark in the US…). Actually the Swiss1 is the finest grade (4Fg) and the Swiss4 is 1.1/2Fg… (you can look on the stickers on the bottles…). That’s why I only use Swiss1 (I tried 0b… for no better results…).
@@tuttoto so thr german company shuetzen sells swiss powder but uses their name in the us ? So am i shooting swiss powder then lol ? All i use is Shuetzen. Sorry spelling
@@johnzx6r I was comparing your results with the 8" barrel .44 Remington against the results of others using the .44 1851 Navy, which has a barrel length of 7.5"-- it is interesting that even that small 1/2 inch difference results in higher muzzle velocities out of the Remington than the Colt, using the same powder charge.
@@historyandhorseplaying7374 I haven't had a chance to chronograph a Colt model yet. Perhaps I'll do a video at some point comparing the Colt and Remington to see what kind of results I come up with.
only pureists care about true replicas. I have two brass 1858, one came with a stainless steel rammer, not blued lol.. i was weirded out at first pietta made a mistake, but now i love it. Its still a remingtons 1858, brass or stainless or not
Holy Hannah, that is a monstrous barrel. I think I’d shoot this using a rest. I know I’d shake like the first time I saw my wife naked. Cool video. Thanks man
Well, I don't care - that is why I bought it! But some people seem to get themselves wrapped around the axle because a firearm isn't "historically correct" enough for them.
The trigger on this particular revolver is pretty gritty. It has a very distinct hitch to it so it is not a smooth pull at all. Also the caps kept falling off of the nipples. Most of the caps I tried seemed to be either too tight or too loose. Since then I have installed some aftermarket nipples but haven't tried them out, yet.
@@johnzx6rGoex is a notoriously bad powder. Triple 7 or Swiss N°1 are far superior. You could reach .357 Magnum level ft-lbs of energy with 45 grains of triple 7 black powder
That long barrel makes that pietta intimidating clint eastwood style.
Yes it does! I can't believe I made that video over a year ago now, and haven't shot that thing since! I'll have to do something about that...
I have the brass framed version of the Pietta "Buffalo", I made a shoulder stock for it and it is a tack driver, as well as a handy carbine.
I can hit targets at 40 yards all day with it, using cigarette paper cartridges which make it faster to load. Mine was a kit somebody never finished, but I was happy to complete it.
Taylor Arms makes a detachable stock but it costs more than I spent on the pistol in the first place!
So how do I ever get nice things? I made my own!
I would like to pick up one of the brass frame Buffalos as well, at some point. I have always liked the looks of the brass Remingtons. A shoulder stock is on the wish list also, but I am not nearly handy enough to make one myself! I'll just have to wait to see if they ever become available again.
I used to drink that much coffee before going to the range… lol
I have 3 8” barreled 1858 and almost bought the “Buffalo” model… darn it… I wish I had now.
Another great video sir and thank you!
Thanks! It was probably not the greatest idea to try to shoot that thing only one handed. Not the most practical way to do it!
@@johnzx6r it’s about the fun sir… any time shooting is better than worrying about what others think
Excellent video sir. I have a question that so far no aficionados have been able to answer-- what can we do if we wish to become fully proficient with these firearms, which of course requires huge amounts of dry-fire practice? What can we do to mitigate damage to the pistol? Ideas--- electrical tape over the cones & hammer face? Some of those home-made soda can punched caps (minus the compound of course)? Maybe someone sells rubber or plastic round cap-like objects that fit over the cones? I found one store that sells something like that but they don't have tops, they're just open round rubber pieces. Maybe electrical tape over that?
Try the English Kerr conical bullet from eras gone he sells molds for them.
I have the Johnston & Dow mold from him, just haven't had the chance to cast any up yet.
@@johnzx6r very cool.
Interesting. These like #10 caps usually... I just ordered a blued target model with 8" barrel. I had one previously and really liked it - had to sell to pay bills.... IMHO these are the next best thing to a Ruger New Army which is kind of the pinnacle of cap and ball revolvers. I love being able to adjust the sights to point of impact with a chosen load. This is the most practical choice - target or buffalo models for hunting.
These generally shoot pretty well. The rear sights aren't the best - they can be a bit fiddly - but once dialed in they seem pretty solid.
I had the same issue with the caps I swapped out the nipples and same thing I resorted to slightly crimping the base of my primers so they stay on.
Howdy do, big John! You look bigger than a bread box!! Nice test. What was the barrel/cylinder GAP? .004-.008 would be fine! Id like .006 myself unless cylinder binding becomes a problem. Also, a TEXT SUMMARY at end of video would be a big help to SEE the performance difference between the two barrel lengths! For caps falling off, try putting the cap INSIDE a 1/4" dia. section of plastic (tygon?) tubing. This works especially good on the Colt revolvers to eliminate cap jams! Of course you can reuse the plastic sections. There used to be a "12" brass framed Buffalo Remington" gun too years ago. Don't remember if it had adjustable sights though. If you couldn't shoot the bad guy into submission, you could always "beat him to death"!!! "Gesundheit"!
Pietta is still making the brass frame 12 inch barrel "Buffalo" revolver. In, fact, I picked one up a little while ago, because why not?
I haven't had this thing out to the range since I made that video - almost a year ago, now. I have replaced the nipples so I hope there will be no more cap issues.
My goal is to take the Buffalo out again with a few other revolvers and do a more thorough velocity comparison with guns of different barrel lengths.
Gap on this one is a .004.
why 5 shots ? Percussion caps need full spring force to go off so load 6 , this isnt a 1873 colt with a pin against a primer on a cartridge, caps wouldnt even go off even if you smacked the back of the hammer as hard as you could with your hand, as they need a solid impact from the spring and hammer surface. I always load 6 but i guess thats just me, people fear what they dont understand. Also pinch your caps before you put them on, then cock the hammer and decock it on every cap and push the hammer against the cap to seat it fully unless youre not confident in your ability to do that.. Thats the proper way to do it. Out of the thousands of shots ive fired through my 4 BP revolvers.. ive had only 1 or 2 cap miss fires, and no caps leaving their seats, using 10-11 or rws 1075 caps
Thank you for that. I know this is 2 years ago but thanks. Newbie here
@@justinholoviak5357
Do these same people only load 5 rounds in 6-shot and 4 rounds in 5-shot pre Hillary Hole, pre floating firing pin vintage S&W revolvers? I've always loaded to full capacity. I load to full capacity and chamber a round with the hammer down on my 1911 .45s as well. If you drop the gun you already done lost the fight. If you fall off your horse you already broke your neck!
Put the old wives tales and Fuddery to bed gentlemen. I'd load 6 and 5 rounds in my 1973 Colt Detective Special, 1977 S&W Model 49, 1977 S&W Model 10, 1955 S&W Model 36 without even giving a second though. Just remember...these days the kids and newcomers carry polymer striker fired 9mm pistols with no safety appendix carry IWB right next to their femoral artery and jewels. I don't think you are in that much danger with your revolver or 1911 in a 3:00 or 4:00 belt holster......
LOOKS LIKE U NEED A DRINK, U GOTS THE SHAKES !
Yeah that thing is a heavy beast. Couple that with a heavy trigger pull and it makes for an interesting experience.
I would like to see what kind of accuracy it would get when shooting off of a bench rest. Your free hand shooting looks very shaky from your trembling hand. Shooting from a rest on a bench would improve your group allot.
One of these days I'll try to get around to benching it.
That’s a whole lot of barrel to be shooting one handed ..!
Using a rest for shooting would definentely improve your wobbly aim and shooting accuracy!
Yeah, this was far too unwieldy to shoot only one handed.
I have that same model gun .but my is a brass frame and I found number 10 caps work the best
I don't think I had any #10's at the time. Since the video, I've replaced the nipples anyway with ones made for #11 caps.
Looks good, might be a 75yd tack driver
I have one in blued steel. That front sight does like to dance around, doesn't it? A previous owner did a real hack job of fitting a Henry buttstock to it and it makes a fine carbine with 35 gr. of Triple 7 and a conical bullet at about 1,000 fps. If you pinch the caps sideways a little, it keeps them on the nipples better.
This thing is a bit too much for me to shoot one-handed!
There used to be buttstocks made for these, but it looks like they have not been available for a loooong time! Would love to find one, though.
Nice looking pistol
Buffalo is a synonym for "pistol whip". The longer, the better. Bison is a play on buffalo.
I have had luck with Remington #10 caps.
Rem. #10's seem to work with most revolvers. Unfortunately, they have been impossible for me to find lately.
@@johnzx6r Hard as it may be to believe, I just got back from the local gun shop and they had just got in #10 Remington primers! I picked up 3 tins because I had less then 1 tin left. I also got a can of 3f 777 powder. They had no pyrodex so I thought I would give it a try. I have to say I was surprised they had anything. Last I looked they only had pellets for inline rifles. Other then that all the ammo was slim pickings.
Mine also takes #10, they even stay on!
I am wondering what the velocity differences are between the 8 inch and the 12-inch barrels. ?
With 25gr of #f Goex black powder, I get between 150 - 170 more fps in velocity in the 12 inch over the 8 inch barrel.
They call is a buffalo model because the extra velocity gained from the barrel will knock down a buffalo as opposed to a calvary horse.
What was the load you used? I ever could catch it on this tiny phone speaker
That is a hunter's dream for blackpowder hogs. Nobody can hold a single hand still. The barrel amplifies movements. SlickShots are stainless and should hold better.
It is not easy holding this thing up with one hand! I just like to shoot single actions one handed - feels more "natural", I guess. I have replaced the nipples on this, but still haven't had a chance to try them out, yet.
I have a Walker replica it too is hard to one hand.
I'm going to get one of the Pietta Buffalo New Model Army revolvers for whitetail deer but I'm going to purchase a 45 LC conversion cylinder
I have a .45 Colt conversion cylinder, but for some reason I have still not tried it in this revolver, yet. I imagine it will work just fine on a whitetail.
Combien de poudre avez vous mis pour le chronographe,merci ?
25 grains of 3F
👍
Pfff... full chambers of swiss1 (true black powder made with 150 years old tools) on my 8inch rem58 give a way higher velocity: 1280ft/s (.457 oversized round balls).
Very nice gun indeed... I’ll try to find one.
@@STRIGOY6666 I ONLY use full chambers of swiss1... BUT I don’t use my guns a lot (meant for testing and defense). I think that I would reduce the load for practicing at the range (they don’t like to much the smoke... fog... and thunder...).
I have NO side effects with rem58... and these loads and bullets... THOUGH with the Walker, I would NOT recommend it (or just to have fun pranking friends...)... as the results are exactly what you described... ;) not useful for range/target practice nor defense...
Rem58 is the way to go...
(Of course I ONLY use PROOFED replicas and PURE black powder and lead, as intended... )
swiss 1, would this be the same powder in Shuetszen ? Also you load 1FG ? Thats cannon powder.. why ?
@@jeepsblackpowderandlights4305 There is only ONE black powder mill in Switzerland… : poudrerie d’Aubonne. (Seems sold under the Shuetzen trademark in the US…).
Actually the Swiss1 is the finest grade (4Fg) and the Swiss4 is 1.1/2Fg… (you can look on the stickers on the bottles…).
That’s why I only use Swiss1 (I tried 0b… for no better results…).
@@tuttoto so thr german company shuetzen sells swiss powder but uses their name in the us ? So am i shooting swiss powder then lol ? All i use is Shuetzen. Sorry spelling
@@jeepsblackpowderandlights4305 Check by yourself… it is a mill created in 1853… near the Swiss city of Aubonne (it is on Shuetzen website…).
Super 🇵🇱
Where can I order this in Stainless Steel ??? I have NEVER seen any for sale before !!!!
I haven't seen any new production ones for sale in quite a while. They occasionally pop up on the second-hand market.
Midway USA gun shops. I got my "8 stainless just 2 weeks ago.
What powder charge over the chorno?
25gr Goex 3F
@@johnzx6r I was comparing your results with the 8" barrel .44 Remington against the results of others using the .44 1851 Navy, which has a barrel length of 7.5"-- it is interesting that even that small 1/2 inch difference results in higher muzzle velocities out of the Remington than the Colt, using the same powder charge.
@@historyandhorseplaying7374 I haven't had a chance to chronograph a Colt model yet. Perhaps I'll do a video at some point comparing the Colt and Remington to see what kind of results I come up with.
It's not a true replica but it is still fun to shoot I bet, if it goes bang and smells like gun powder it has got to be fun!
It is fun to shoot - draws a lot of attention at the range!
only pureists care about true replicas. I have two brass 1858, one came with a stainless steel rammer, not blued lol.. i was weirded out at first pietta made a mistake, but now i love it. Its still a remingtons 1858, brass or stainless or not
@@jeepsblackpowderandlights4305 exactly
Holy Hannah, that is a monstrous barrel. I think I’d shoot this using a rest. I know I’d shake like the first time I saw my wife naked. Cool video. Thanks man
Good lard man if it shoots good then who cares if they made one in the 1800’s .
Well, I don't care - that is why I bought it! But some people seem to get themselves wrapped around the axle because a firearm isn't "historically correct" enough for them.
@@johnzx6r You got that right .
Why not use 35 grains of 777
I have never tried 777. Someday I'll give it a whirl.
Hmmm seen one in a pawn shop for 389...
Not a bad price, actually, in today's climate.
Geez man...I've never seen so many misfires or someone shaking like a leaf like that. User error is most certainly at play here without question.
What did he mean by the trigger isn't good he's losing a cap
The trigger on this particular revolver is pretty gritty. It has a very distinct hitch to it so it is not a smooth pull at all.
Also the caps kept falling off of the nipples. Most of the caps I tried seemed to be either too tight or too loose. Since then I have installed some aftermarket nipples but haven't tried them out, yet.
comically large barrel
Yeah, it is pretty ridiculous.
When you run out of shots, You still have a good club.
Longer barrel = more velocity + longer sighting plane. Which helps to see sighting error which helps most shooters improve accuracy.
@@Mike-xi4zt Pretty much.
@@Mike-xi4zt yet the longer barrel coupled with the extra weight makes it more unwieldy, decreasing it’s accuracy if you’re using it with out a rest
What was the load you used? I ever could catch it on this tiny phone speaker
I was using 25 grains of Goex 3F black powder with a Hornady .454 round ball.
@@johnzx6r thanks
@@johnzx6rGoex is a notoriously bad powder. Triple 7 or Swiss N°1 are far superior. You could reach .357 Magnum level ft-lbs of energy with 45 grains of triple 7 black powder
@@ayugoslav5554 Yeah, Goex is kind of weak compared to some other powders, but I have a bunch of it so that is what I use mostly.