Been curious for some time now about whether and to what extent our ancestors could have relied upon their blackpowder revolvers for self-defense at home or on the trail. Obviously, they had to - for most folks, percussion cap or flintlock ignition was pretty much the only game in town until after the Civil War. But how long could a ranch hand, storekeeper or buffalo hunter leave a pistol or revolver charged and ready for action before it became even less reliable than such arms already were?
To find out, three months ago I cleaned and dessicated a Pietta 1860 Colt Army replica and stuffed it with .451" 180 grain Buffalo Bullets over veggie wad-topped full charges (about 25-30 grains) of FFFg blackpowder, capped the nipples with Remington #10 percussion caps, and stuck it on a display stand atop my dresser to await the day of reckoning.
This basic research was aimed at finding out where the guardrails might have been back when Wild Bill packed a brace of Colt Navy .36's on his hips. (It's been said of Hickock that he practiced daily, so his guns didn't lay around loaded for anywhere near 3 months.)
Yesterday, I took the Pietta out to the desert and fired it. The results were underwhelming.
Chambers 1-3 fired on the first lick. Chamber 4 was a miss. Chamber 5 lit off, then Chamber 6 missed. A second hammer blow on Chamber 4's cap did the trick. Chamber 6 failed to ignite after 3 more hammer strikes and was re-capped. The new cap set it off. So, 1/3 of the chambers failed to fire on the first go-round. Not a confidence-builder.
I wouldn't get too upset over those results if it meant taking an extra crack at a forest grouse or a squirrel, and on the target range it's no big deal ... but two out of three is not very good odds when the s**t hits the fan around a bad guy who's about to do you in.
Bottom line: Thank God for inside-primed metallic cartridges and modern firearms! The old charcoal-burning front stuffers are fun to play and hunt with, but for modern-day social interactions with evil-doers, I'll take a .380 that goes bang! 8 for 8 over a blackpowder big bore that goes click! 2 times out of 6. Not only that, but the .380 would get the nod every day of the week, and twice on Sunday!
To find out, three months ago I cleaned and dessicated a Pietta 1860 Colt Army replica and stuffed it with .451" 180 grain Buffalo Bullets over veggie wad-topped full charges (about 25-30 grains) of FFFg blackpowder, capped the nipples with Remington #10 percussion caps, and stuck it on a display stand atop my dresser to await the day of reckoning.
This basic research was aimed at finding out where the guardrails might have been back when Wild Bill packed a brace of Colt Navy .36's on his hips. (It's been said of Hickock that he practiced daily, so his guns didn't lay around loaded for anywhere near 3 months.)
Yesterday, I took the Pietta out to the desert and fired it. The results were underwhelming.
Chambers 1-3 fired on the first lick. Chamber 4 was a miss. Chamber 5 lit off, then Chamber 6 missed. A second hammer blow on Chamber 4's cap did the trick. Chamber 6 failed to ignite after 3 more hammer strikes and was re-capped. The new cap set it off. So, 1/3 of the chambers failed to fire on the first go-round. Not a confidence-builder.
I wouldn't get too upset over those results if it meant taking an extra crack at a forest grouse or a squirrel, and on the target range it's no big deal ... but two out of three is not very good odds when the s**t hits the fan around a bad guy who's about to do you in.
Bottom line: Thank God for inside-primed metallic cartridges and modern firearms! The old charcoal-burning front stuffers are fun to play and hunt with, but for modern-day social interactions with evil-doers, I'll take a .380 that goes bang! 8 for 8 over a blackpowder big bore that goes click! 2 times out of 6. Not only that, but the .380 would get the nod every day of the week, and twice on Sunday!
