Caliber of choice?
- Thread starter ZVP
- Start date
OK, My intent was not to disparage anyone. I simply pointed out that the practice of rolling a pistol to the right and elevating it is a very slow method of shooting a percussion revolver.
There are very simple fixes as Fingers stated that allow you to treat the percussion gun as a modern revolver and not have to go through the gymnastics.
There are very simple fixes as Fingers stated that allow you to treat the percussion gun as a modern revolver and not have to go through the gymnastics.
For the beginner, I'd suggest a Remington in .44 caliber, made by Uberti, and with a steel frame. Here's why:
1. The sights are better defined. More hits promote confidence. As much as I love my Colts too, beginners are often frustrated by the Colt's meager sights.
2. Lead balls are readily available in .454 and .457 inch. Though many sources suggest .451 inch balls, it's best to use .454 or .457. Similarly, though many sources suggest .375 inch balls, it's best to use .378 or .380 inch balls. Finding the larger .36-caliber balls on a local store shelf is nearly impossible, but the larger .44 balls from Hornady and Speer are common on shelves.
3. The Remington design has fewer parts for cleaning.
4. Arguments that the Remington, having a solid frame, is stronger than the Colt are moot. We're talking black powder pressures. Hodgdon 777 is probably the "strongest" black powder substitute you can buy commercially, but it is also useable in a Colt 1860, Dragoon or Walker, all of .44 caliber.
The Colt design is amply strong for sane black powder, Pyrodex or 777 charges.
5. The Remington is available in stainless steel. No one makes a Colt design in stainless steel, anymore. They were offered a short time by Colt in the early 1980s, but to my knowledge no stainless steel Colt designs have been offered since.
Newcomers are often lazy about cleaning their revolvers. It's why you see so many new-looking cap and ball revolvers with rusted bores and chambers, sitting in pawn shops.
Stainless steel will rust, make no mistake, but it takes much longer than carbon steel. Stainless steel is more forgiving about negligence.
6. The Remington design can be had with modern, adjustable target sights. The Colt cannot, Some folks may not care so much about authenticity, but prefer greater accuracy. For them, the Remington is the best choice.
The above said, I still love my Colt pattern revolvers. They point better, are not so bulky, lighter on the belt and are just as accurate as the Remington if fed a proper diet.
I shoot both designs, with equal enjoyment. But for the beginner, I'd suggest an Uberti 1858 Remington .44 in stainless steel, with perhaps modern adjustable sights. Or not, if the newbie wants authenticity.
1. The sights are better defined. More hits promote confidence. As much as I love my Colts too, beginners are often frustrated by the Colt's meager sights.
2. Lead balls are readily available in .454 and .457 inch. Though many sources suggest .451 inch balls, it's best to use .454 or .457. Similarly, though many sources suggest .375 inch balls, it's best to use .378 or .380 inch balls. Finding the larger .36-caliber balls on a local store shelf is nearly impossible, but the larger .44 balls from Hornady and Speer are common on shelves.
3. The Remington design has fewer parts for cleaning.
4. Arguments that the Remington, having a solid frame, is stronger than the Colt are moot. We're talking black powder pressures. Hodgdon 777 is probably the "strongest" black powder substitute you can buy commercially, but it is also useable in a Colt 1860, Dragoon or Walker, all of .44 caliber.
The Colt design is amply strong for sane black powder, Pyrodex or 777 charges.
5. The Remington is available in stainless steel. No one makes a Colt design in stainless steel, anymore. They were offered a short time by Colt in the early 1980s, but to my knowledge no stainless steel Colt designs have been offered since.
Newcomers are often lazy about cleaning their revolvers. It's why you see so many new-looking cap and ball revolvers with rusted bores and chambers, sitting in pawn shops.
Stainless steel will rust, make no mistake, but it takes much longer than carbon steel. Stainless steel is more forgiving about negligence.
6. The Remington design can be had with modern, adjustable target sights. The Colt cannot, Some folks may not care so much about authenticity, but prefer greater accuracy. For them, the Remington is the best choice.
The above said, I still love my Colt pattern revolvers. They point better, are not so bulky, lighter on the belt and are just as accurate as the Remington if fed a proper diet.
I shoot both designs, with equal enjoyment. But for the beginner, I'd suggest an Uberti 1858 Remington .44 in stainless steel, with perhaps modern adjustable sights. Or not, if the newbie wants authenticity.
Fellows!!! Fellows!!!
Starting to sound like a bunch of girl scouts up in hear. I have three of the 58s one of them I just received with a $20 rebate. bought it for my birthday present. I only have eight revolvers seven Piettas, and one Uberti .44 Walker. Been shooting my revolvers a good number of years and you can't find any rust on any of them. I like Uberti revolvers but not the price. I like .44 cals But had to try out one .36 steel frame 51 Navy. Have to say I like it. With all .44 cals I can like you said buy .454 Rd ball, or bullets. The Colts look more stylish than the Remington revolvers. The Remingtons look more business like to me. Would not want to get shot by either. If I had to choose between the Colt, or Remington revolvers. I would have to keep my Remingtons. I'll hid the Walker and say I forgot to add it to the choose list. Now you don't want me in the club anymore.
Love the SS revolvers, but they cost to much for me. You can get two blued revolvers for the price of one SS model. That's all for now. Now that you know all but one of my revolvers is Pietta, Hope you don't want to throw me to the dogs. 
Starting to sound like a bunch of girl scouts up in hear. I have three of the 58s one of them I just received with a $20 rebate. bought it for my birthday present. I only have eight revolvers seven Piettas, and one Uberti .44 Walker. Been shooting my revolvers a good number of years and you can't find any rust on any of them. I like Uberti revolvers but not the price. I like .44 cals But had to try out one .36 steel frame 51 Navy. Have to say I like it. With all .44 cals I can like you said buy .454 Rd ball, or bullets. The Colts look more stylish than the Remington revolvers. The Remingtons look more business like to me. Would not want to get shot by either. If I had to choose between the Colt, or Remington revolvers. I would have to keep my Remingtons. I'll hid the Walker and say I forgot to add it to the choose list. Now you don't want me in the club anymore.
Love the SS revolvers, but they cost to much for me. You can get two blued revolvers for the price of one SS model. That's all for now. Now that you know all but one of my revolvers is Pietta, Hope you don't want to throw me to the dogs. All good points!
The .44 is the one to have if you are just going to buy one gun. It does it all and they seem to jam up from cap fragments less often. They seem to stay in place or fall clear.Maybe there isn't as much blow-back thru the nipple with the .44???
For the rest of us who have been bitten by the "Bug", you will eventually end up with a .36 in the pile and they are a great caliber to shoot! I like the super light recoil of a .36, it is just enough to let you know it went off. Power-wise I have never had the chance to shoot any varmits or game with one but I'd expect ball shoot-through on small critters. I don't know that I'd try a Pig or somthing that large and dangerous with the .36. You need the slam of the big .44 ball.
For CAS I'd think the .44 would ring steel best.
Any theatrics that you can try to get the cap to fall clear do just slow you down. Most CAS Shooters are either nervous or racing the clock and that tends to make you want to shoot quick!
I shoot a lot at the range and have found that if you get a little rough and cock the revolver like you mean it, the cap fragments fly clear (on Colts). When I cock the revolver slow, fragments or the cap tend to fall into the frame so I try and not give them a chance to!
Remington style revolvers seem to be free from most cap jams due to the full frame but you still get the occasional piece between the cylinder and frame.
I still wish someone would have gotten Hickocks reasoning for choosing the .36. An Army frame is only slightly longer in the grip and 1/2 inch longer in the BBL. Maybe it was the overall weight of the gun? The .36 sure feels smaller! The .36 also penetrates well from what I have read. Nevertheless, Wild Bill did OK with a "little .36".
I shoot both calibers and who knows,maybe one day I'll even get a .31?
I have standardized my propellant, my cap brand, and my loads for each caliber I shoot. I do light load the one Brass frame .44 I own (22 gr Max) and I shoot my Remingtons with 30 or 35gr, My .36 Colt styles get 22 gr. It works for me and I think thaqt's what BP shooting is all about, what works for you!
Each of us has chosen a "pet" gun and mine is my 5 1/2 .44 Remington. I regulated the sight for close-up zero and with my load it shoots spot-on. I learned the sights by shooting it a lot and feel most confident hitting with it. They say to fear the man with just one gun because he can probablly shoot it and that seems like good advice to me!
The best part about Black Powder revolvers is that they're cheap to buy! Today good quality revolvers abound and nearly every gun has it's merits and is a pretty good shooter. Sure there are several tricks you can do to "slick em up", but actually out of the box they shoot well. Prices being what they are, you can own several
It's a good Hobby!
ZVP
The .44 is the one to have if you are just going to buy one gun. It does it all and they seem to jam up from cap fragments less often. They seem to stay in place or fall clear.Maybe there isn't as much blow-back thru the nipple with the .44???
For the rest of us who have been bitten by the "Bug", you will eventually end up with a .36 in the pile and they are a great caliber to shoot! I like the super light recoil of a .36, it is just enough to let you know it went off. Power-wise I have never had the chance to shoot any varmits or game with one but I'd expect ball shoot-through on small critters. I don't know that I'd try a Pig or somthing that large and dangerous with the .36. You need the slam of the big .44 ball.
For CAS I'd think the .44 would ring steel best.
Any theatrics that you can try to get the cap to fall clear do just slow you down. Most CAS Shooters are either nervous or racing the clock and that tends to make you want to shoot quick!
I shoot a lot at the range and have found that if you get a little rough and cock the revolver like you mean it, the cap fragments fly clear (on Colts). When I cock the revolver slow, fragments or the cap tend to fall into the frame so I try and not give them a chance to!
Remington style revolvers seem to be free from most cap jams due to the full frame but you still get the occasional piece between the cylinder and frame.
I still wish someone would have gotten Hickocks reasoning for choosing the .36. An Army frame is only slightly longer in the grip and 1/2 inch longer in the BBL. Maybe it was the overall weight of the gun? The .36 sure feels smaller! The .36 also penetrates well from what I have read. Nevertheless, Wild Bill did OK with a "little .36".
I shoot both calibers and who knows,maybe one day I'll even get a .31?
I have standardized my propellant, my cap brand, and my loads for each caliber I shoot. I do light load the one Brass frame .44 I own (22 gr Max) and I shoot my Remingtons with 30 or 35gr, My .36 Colt styles get 22 gr. It works for me and I think thaqt's what BP shooting is all about, what works for you!
Each of us has chosen a "pet" gun and mine is my 5 1/2 .44 Remington. I regulated the sight for close-up zero and with my load it shoots spot-on. I learned the sights by shooting it a lot and feel most confident hitting with it. They say to fear the man with just one gun because he can probablly shoot it and that seems like good advice to me!
The best part about Black Powder revolvers is that they're cheap to buy! Today good quality revolvers abound and nearly every gun has it's merits and is a pretty good shooter. Sure there are several tricks you can do to "slick em up", but actually out of the box they shoot well. Prices being what they are, you can own several
It's a good Hobby!
ZVP
zvp, right on.
lets see, you get a functioning, reliable, accurate, cheap to shoot and historically interesting pistol, and all for just below or above $200 dollars.
has got to be one of the best bargains in all of shooting.
i'm thinking of selling my ruger mkiii and marlin 30-30 to fund a new addition
to the blackpowder family...either a lyman great plains rifle or the lyman trade rifle.
might even be a flinter
lets see, you get a functioning, reliable, accurate, cheap to shoot and historically interesting pistol, and all for just below or above $200 dollars.
has got to be one of the best bargains in all of shooting.
i'm thinking of selling my ruger mkiii and marlin 30-30 to fund a new addition
to the blackpowder family...either a lyman great plains rifle or the lyman trade rifle.
might even be a flinter