No matter how much care you take with a black powder revolver, it is wasted if that revolver is not properly fitted. Most important for sure ignition is the the fit of the arbor and wedge. An example-
"El Californio was long in the arbor, further complicating matters. So I unscrewed the arbor and turned the shoulder back until I achieved an additional half turn into the frame. This set the whole barrel back a substantial distance and other accommodations were needed. I removed 0.011″ from the bottom of the barrel assembly, to set the wedge hole back the proper distance for the shortened arbor. I ordered a hardened Uberti wedge, which required lengthening the wedge opening in the arbor at the front. This is done a few file strokes at a time until the wedge just slipped through the off-side of the frame. This of course set the cylinder back, just a little too far, and I had to file back the corresponding cylinder boss in the frame. Then the cylinder hand wanted to bind up, making cocking difficult and retarding forward motion of the hammer. This was corrected by careful file work on the arbor and frame window. The barrel assembly and cylinder’s relocation 0.011″ to the rear insures the hammer will fire a cap without fail. I reset the arbor in the frame with a generous dose of Loctite Red; and installed the barrel assembly and wedge to keep everything aligned while the Loctite set."
http://www.thesixgunjournal.net/el-californio-the-italian-1860-army/Properly fitted and maintained, they will fire each and every time the trigger is pulled. The 51's were excellent revolvers. In my opinion, the ultimate evolution of Colt's black powder revolvers came with the 1860.
You can rest assured if I was kicking an old black mustang around the countryside between 1860 and 1872, there would be a brace of ’60 Colts at my side. The last 1860’s were offered in 1873 and many originals are still shootable, some 140 years later. Colt’s reputation, military contracts and future in the marketplace were riding on every gun. Colt understood what parts needed to be hardened, how they needed to be fitted and how to balance the design to keep it from kicking itself apart.
