Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Muzzleloaders BP Pistols ??????????????

A friend has some from Grandfarthers safe, wants to sell. kinda vague on info but here we go. .44 cal all four, marked Navy Arms Ridgefield NJ. also made in Italy. Two are Octagon barrels and etched and brass framed. Can send pictures if that helps. Any info. would help.

Thanks for your time, Fred

Google Navy Arms Ridgefield New Jersey Black Power Pistol 44 cal. and it shows quite a few models revolvers. There is one that show high bid of Absolute Auctions of $80

by pistol i assume you ar talking about revolvers. cap and ball?
depending on what models , such as 51 navy, 60 army etc. most brass framed are selling in the 225-350 range. many guy's are twitchy about the .44 cal pistols that in the original's were 36cal.
some get all warm and tingly about the bigger ball and more powder.
you may want to post a question about them with pictures on https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/. the cap and ball revolvers move quite fast in the classifieds over there.
you will get lots of free feed back over there. some of it will be under priced advice, and some will be worth what you pay.

Thanks

Personally, I’d consider any of the imports, especially the older ones, as pigs in a poke unless I could examine them. I’ve read that they often required fitting as they came, so not always plug and play like the Rugers. That’s assuming they’re unmolested of course.

Brass framed Colt open top revolvers are weak and shouldn't be shot a lot, but the Remington copies with a top strap are ok to shoot. Quality varied considerably back in those days.

brass frame open tops are weaker than their counterparts in steal. BUT they can be fired for years with sensible loads. the real problems arise from those shooters that want to turn their 1860 into a m29 magnum. i have had a couple for 40+ Years and they are still tight and uncracked.