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Question about a Spiller and Burr Replica


Tequila Shooter

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Was thinking of getting a Pietta Spiller and Burr, right now they're on backorder.  I haven't handled one and in the pictures the grip looks different than an 1873 SAA, are they?  Also anyone know if they have more issues than other cap and ball pistols?  As always thanks for the help.

 

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Brass framed cap guns are not very highly regarded, usually.  They have had a history of springing the frame. With the top strap, the S&B design might hold up fairly well, if reasonable loads are used.    Grip looks very close to a Remington 58 to me.

 

With the lack of a fouling-diverting forcing cone (as almost all other cap guns have), I would suspect this gun will be VERY hard to keep operating for more than just 2 or three cylinders full.   The rear of the barrel is flat and very close to the cylinder face on the S&B.  Only the Texas Paterson and the LeMat (pretty famous for fouling up) out of revolvers I've seen used in SASS matches forgo the fouling-diverting outer conical section of the barrel and place the cylinder face against the flat barrel breech.

 

Haven't a chance to fire one myself, though, so this is speculation based on cap guns I HAVE shot and tinkered with.   GJ

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I have one of the earliest Italian imported Spiller & Burr replicas. Got it from an outfit called "Jane's Gun Shop" (so-marked).  I was and am not very much into BP cap-and-ball revolvers, so never used it to the point of malfunction.  However, in my limited usage, I found it one of the most accurate percussion revolver replicas.  The Spiller & Burr was a Confederate knock-off of the Whitney Navy. One reason the grip frame appears similar to a Remington, is because the original Whitney Navy was designed by Fordyce Beals, who also designed a bunch of the Remington guns.  I owned an original one of these, and found it comfortable to handle, but with BP, I was lucky to get off six rounds and a couple more without the gun jamming from fouling!  OTOH, the Spiller & Burr replica would function smoothly through at least three cylinder-fulls before it was necessary to clean it!  As I mentioned, my S&B was an early one, and I have no idea of the Italian manufacturer, so I can't guarantee the quality of the Pietta by comparison.  IMHO, both the Whitney Navy and the S&B balance more like a Colt's M1851 Navy than a Remmy, which is why the S&B appealed to me in the first place.  I don't know how much the S&B replicas are going for, but if the price is right, I'd go ahead and get one.

  As a side note, I think Ruger mis-named the Old Army cap-and-ball.  They should have called it the "Super Whitney"!  Why? Take a look at the rammer/cylinder arbor pin assembly on both. 

Stay well, Pard

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  When you receive any cap & ball revolver, the first thing you should do is field strip the revolver, and clean/de-grease all of the factory oil/lubricant off of the revolver.  I am not sure, but I suspect that the factory uses a petroleum based oil/lubricant, when they box them up, and ship them out.  Remove all of this, and re-oil/lube the revolver with a non-petroleum based oil/lubricant, especially the cylinder pin.  On a non-Colt design cap & ball revolver, some have even cut some "grease grooves" in the cylinder pin, like the Colt cylinder pin/arbor has, to help, they believe, reduce fouling on the pin.   

  A popular Pard, that we all know, recommended the cleaning of the factory oil/lube, and going over the revolver with a non-petroleum based oil/lube, on his youtube site, and he stated he got upwards of 50 shots out of his Spiller & Burr, before it began to bind up. 

  I do not own a Spiller & Burr, but I have several cap & ball revolvers, including the New Model Remington of 1863 (erroneously called the model 1858), which, with their thin cylinder pin, fouls up faster than any of my Colt designed revolvers.  Yet, when I started replacing the petroleum based oil/lubricant, with non-petroleum based lubricant, I was able to shoot many more rounds without having to stop and clean the cylinder/base pin.  It seems, black powder, and petroleum based oil/lubricants, do not do well together at all.  When I first started shooting black powder, in 1965, we were not told this, and I spent many an hour cleaning/cussing my base pins, when they would bind up the cylinder....sometimes after only shooting two cylinders.   

  I tend to avoid brass framed revolvers, because they have a less-than-good reputation the longer you shoot them, but...if I was ever inclined to purchase one, I would go with the Spiller & Burr, since it has the top strap, and that should make it a lot stronger frame, and design, than the brass framed Colt open-top design. 

 

My Two Bits.

W.K.

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