.36 round ball for SD/HD?

If you know the gun and know how to properly load it to leave loaded and have proper fitting caps it is almost as reliable as a modern gun. The only problems you might have is a cap getting stuck in the safety slot in the hammer. That can be filled in so it would be a non issue. The other is a fragment of cap falling into the innards locking it up. Some people claim to have a lot of those. I never had one lock a gun up. The first shot will be as reliable as anything else and for a defense gun that is the one that counts. A .36 ball in front of 25 grains of powder is nothing to sneeze at. Or you could use a conical for more penetration.
If a .36 navy was all I had I would definitely use it and not feel under gunned.
 
I have a 1861 Navy .36 cal ball remake. It was shot at full load at a railroad tie to test penetration. A .357 Mag was shot next to it. The ball had greater penetration! I would never use it for home self defense as it make lots of noise, muzzle and chamber flash, and smoke! Black powder is also somewhat unstable in humidity and proper loading. For home defense, varmint hunting, etc, I'd prefer a modern revolver, .22 mag minimum. Black powder is kewl, but more for range fun...and cleanup is a hassle!
 
Thanks for the awesome replies guys, I've been away from the computer for a week or so now, but I went back and read every comment.

Largely, I now feel better if it came down to defending myself with the gun. From this thread I gathered mostly mixed emotions on the subject, and observed passionate feelings for one way or the other.

This was/is a good discussion on the subject. I learned a lot! I feel now that if my others guns do "take a _" as it were, that my Colt navy would probably see the day through. I realize it's no real match to a modern handgun, but was under no impression that it was before I made this thread, but also that it is and can be a very deadly weapon if employed properly.

Thanks for your help again guys! Keep it going if you want, this is good information.

-M12Win
 
Black powder is also somewhat unstable in humidity
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Not really but it is sensitive to extreme temperature changes in a loaded gun, like if you take it from a warm house in the winter to very cold temps outside.

cleanup is a hassle!
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I find it easier to clean than smokeless plus you don't need expensive solvents.
 
I have killed quite a few deer with the roundball and black powder. And I still like the round ball. At the under a 100yds with the 54 cal, the roundball loaded heavy will usually flatten out like a dime or nickel. The closer it is the more devastating it can be.

I believe Elmer Keith said that the .36 loaded full with a soft lead round ball killed or maimed better then the .38 special would at close range. from the wounds I have seen on deer, even with the 45 cal on deer, I don't think the issue has anything to do with stopping power at inside the house ranges with the .36 cal cap and ball. Reliability is the issue, and if it's loaded right and capped right, and shot enough to work the bugs out, it will be a weapon to recon with.

And at really close range, with black powder, the victim's clothes will probably be on fire after the first shot, also, and the boom will surprise you.

The problem is for repeat shots, sometimes the spent, exploded caps or pieces can fall down in various places and lock up the gun. This can be minimized by turning up the gun when cocking for the next round, which does slow done the process a little but can still be done pretty fast. The old timers knew this.

There are far better weapons today, but if that's all I had, I wouldn't feel too disadvantaged in the home. The only other problem associated with these replicas is the quality. Some are quite good, some are quite poor.
 
Not a realistic comparison in rifle balls & pistol balls. :)

Last week I did some load testing with a Uberti 7.5-inch Navy.

18, 20, and 22 grains of powder, Swiss Supreme, 3F.
.380 home cast balls, Lee mould, Remington & CCI 11 caps.

Accuracy at 25 yards & chronographing at 15 feet.

Fastest was 22 grains & Remington cap, at 942 FPS.

Could hold inside 4 inches off a rest, but not much inside.

The CCI caps had 3 failures to ignite, Remingtons none.

There were several times when an exploded cap tied up cylinder rotation.

That right there is one major issue that'd keep me from betting my life on one of these, if I had a choice of a better system. :)
Denis
 
To use an analogy involving ships, the German ship Bismarck was, once upon a time, such a fearsome battleship songs were written about her. Today, a modern picket frigate wouldn't break a sweat sending her under.

It's a whimsical thought to use it as a backup, but I honestly think you'd be better off with a good baseball bat or knife in the unlikely event your Glock goes down.
 
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