Colt's and "six up" carry

I don't trust the safety notches or the pins on C&B revolvers enough to rely on them. I don't see them as UN-safe. However, I know that it is really easy to thumb back the hammer accidentally just enough that the cylinder rotates so that the hammer is now resting on a live cap:eek: Shooting at the range I load all six. I might even load all six and cap them if I am driving right to the range to shoot. I'm not scared of a revolver holding 6 up, but I don't like carrying that way.

What I do if I am carrying a cap and ball where I want to keep 6 loaded but fairly safe, I rest the hammer on the safety notch and leave the cap off the first nipple the gun will rotate to if the hammer is slightly cocked. I still have the powder, wad, and ball in there, just no way to set it off. This gives me 5 for sure and a 6th if I deem I need it. Sure it's slow to cap a nipple in a crisis, but it's a hellova lot easier than loading power and ball AND a nipple in a crisis;)

Generally speaking, my BP guns are just fun range toys. For defensive purposes, I have much better arms. However, I do sometime carry a smoke wagon with me out in the woods for fun. The 1847 is next on my list. I hope to have one before there are buds on the trees:D
 
Um... an uncapped, charged cylinder is begging for a chain fire! I can't say this is a good idea.

As far as for personal defense I doubt I'll ever carry the Walker. It is far too large to even attempt to conceal and weighs as much as some rifles. My question was more out of curiousity than any intent to use it for defensive purposes.
 
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opps:o I forgot to mention my little plastic booty that I keep over the nipple:p Sorry. Yes, an uncapped nipple COULD result in a chainfire. I get these little electrical connector pieces at work. They ship them with these little protective booties that are just about perfect for slipping over revolver nipples. They are just deep enough to seal the flash hole yet long enough to give me a little nub of a purchase to pull off. As a matter of fact, they might be nice for humid days when you want to load up the gun but keep it uncapped until you are ready to fire it. I haven't tried that just yet, but it MIGHT work:)

I have about 100 of them, so if I ever need to pull on off and toss it...no big deal:)

Thanks for pointing out that part, Ben.
 
Cap and ball? Oh boy- we had a big discussion on that a while back. I was in the minority as far as carrying those loaded with 6 chambers but there was such an uproar that I decided even on a percussion only load 5 and have the hammer on an empty cylinder.
BUT, just to be a (&*%^&* I'll say that a few percussion revolvers have good pins or deep cuts that OUGHT TO make carrying six okay except if you catch the spur of the hammer on something, etc. In any event, I'll go along with the crowd and say load just five.
They say the average gun fight is at 7 yards, I've had two home invasions and both times there were multiple guys- 2 once and 5 on the second. I'm not sure if a 6th round would make all the difference if the shooting started. Dive for cover.
 
I'm with what was said by one . . if you're at the range then carry six if that's your desire . . . . as far as "carrying" . . . I've always left an empty. Maybe it's necessary . . . maybe it isn't . . . . but if you get in the habit of veing as safe as you can, the "freak accident" has a higher probablilty of not happening. I don't even carry my "modern" revolvers with six . . just a habit I've developed. In the field, there's always a chance of stumbling, falling or whatever. Whether SA or DA, if it's carried on an empty, the next one coming up when you cock (SA) or pull the trigger (DA) is going to come up hot. Even on my New Vaquero with a cross bar safety, etc., I still only load five if I'm going to carry . . at the range, I'll do six. If it comes down to an incident of wondering whether the "sixth" round would have made the difference . . . if I'm carrying because of that possibility, that's why I'm carrying a semi-auto with a 17 round clip. Just my 2 cents .. . :D
 
Ben Towe said:
Can anyone explain to me why exactly carrying six rounds on half cock is considered so unsafe? Is this a modern "age of safety" notion or was it practiced in antiquity?
Click to expand...

During the days of the Mexican-American War and the Texas frontier, the military mentality to load and carry 6 must not have been such a big deal. Those who wouldn't load more than 5 were probably the ones that were considered to be paranoid. :rolleyes:
 
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