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Recommendations for black powder revolvers?


The Original Bad Bob

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I can't believe I'm even asking (since I swore off black powder years ago) but what are some popular styles and makers?

 

I know of the cap'n ball type, Colt Dragoons, Colt Army, Colt Navy, and a few others. Are these easier to get ammo for, if you are not a reloader? (I''m not a reloader)

 

Who makes these? Uberti?

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Depends...........

If all you are going to shoot is Frontieer cartridge and dualist then any Colt clone black powder frame, any caliber. I say this because even in 4 cal. you can get the short cases and use a 165 grain bullet and its like shooting a cap&ball as to recoil. Local guy shoots 38's since he uses them for BP and smokeless.

 

I shoot 32-20's in a Uberti Black powder frame Colt CLone. If you want to shoot eveerything BP get your hands on a pair of Rugar Old Army cap & balls and use the conversion cylinders in 45 COlt. I do this and I can shoot any BP catagory. I also load the 45 Cowboy brass with the 165 gr big lube bullet.

Ike

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Howdy Bob - not sure I fully understand the question, but BP can be used in any cartidge pistol. Colts and clones, and Rugers work fine. The Schofields have a reputation for binding problems due to the design of the base pin and lack of a gas ring.

 

For cap-n-ball the Pietta line works pretty good. Cabelas and Sportsmans Guide usually have them for under $200. I have three of the 1860 Army pistols by Pietta and they've all performed flawlessly for me. I used to have an 1858 Remington, but could never get comfortable with the shape of the grip. Some people love 'em, I just wasn't a fan even with the quick-change cylinder.

 

No worries about reloading, since powder and ball are all loose and loaded on site. Those two items along with caps can be found in any well stocked gun shop, and usually the big-box sports chains too.

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If you are not a reloader, cap and ball may your best bet since you can load it at the match. As you know, it is a bit more complex to load, shoot and keep going, but it is a fun challenge.

 

The top of the line for those is the Ruger Old Army with fixed sites, but they are no longer made. Uberti makes some pretty good copies of the various cap and ball. Some others can be more help there.

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I'm just getting started in the cap 'n' ball world with two 1858 Remington New Army revolvers (purchased through Cabelas). I hope to try 'em out this weekend. Here are a few sites I've visited while researching black powder revolvers:

 

www.cabelas.com

www.uberti.com

www.taylorsfirearms.com

www.davide-pedersoli.com

www.cimarron-firearms.com

 

You can also checkout several locations within www.cascity.com for lots of Black Powder information. I hope this helps!

 

J.J.

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I think Josie Wales' main revolvers were two 1847 Walkers. According to www.imfdb.org, he also used an 1860 Colt (.44) and an 1849 Pocket revolver (.31). It's a cool website I've perused several times to check out my favorite westerns and the guns used!

 

J.J.

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We could talk all day long and not fully cover black powder shooting. There is plenty of info out on the Net and at least a few good books for those interested in shooting the old bp guns, whether cap & ball or cartridge. Now days they are as scarce as hens teeth but if you would do the search fer a video titled RIDE WITH THE DEVIL, why that will just make you absolutely want to by pass them cartridge guns and go straight to a few cap & ball revolvers plus a nice Uberti Henry.

 

We all have prejudices and one of mine is trying to fit a Ruger Old Army into a class called Frontiersman. Do not get me wrong, Im sure they are fine pistols but I think Ruger could have done a little better job of reduceing our eye fatigue by making it look a bit more Remington like so we do not have to squint so hard. Now that they have the New Model Vaqueros out, its a worthwhile project in my mind to do it right. One last thought on the ROA, it gets a bit irritating when the bragging isnt enough for the owners so they feel a need to shovel huge buckets of bull poop on the competition.

 

So far I have owned eight '58 Pietta Remingtons and every one came from Cabellas fully 100% dependable and functional right out of the box and Ruger or no one else can take that away from them. With that said, they all definitely improve greatly with an action job by someone who understands the requirements of a cap and ball pistol. I have not used a ROA but I can believe that they would not be nearly as rough. You can not get the c&b pistols near as light as a few shooters like their Colt SAA actions. Other good points for the '58, extra cylinders are reasonable and extremely handy for match use, conversion cylinders work real well and are quick and easy to drop out for reloading and the guns are offered in several configurations. In general, pulling and swapping cylinders after each stage keeps the action from binding during use. My biggest downside is that I do not like the grip frame, it goes beyond just not fitting my hand and could be considered uncomfortable to shoot.

 

The Colt clones are a bit more finicky in my experience and much more problematic. The early Piettas did usually suffer from poor nipple fit and I do not know how they made it work so well on the Remington but couldnt do it with their Colts? My latest experience indicates that they did figure it out though, my newest Colt versions are all hiiting on all six with my latest six Pietta Colt purchases. I do not consider cylinder swaps as a practical option like on the Remington, so match loading is much slower and could take you completely away from posse duties. To me the Navy grip frames are much better than the Army version and both are better than the Remington. Between Uberti and Pietta you will find just about every version of the Colt c&b revolvers copied and Pietta actually makes several that old man Colt never thought of. I think in many ways the Colt clones can benefit most from a visit to a knowledgeable gunsmith. Opinions seem to vary greatly on just what they need to be good match guns but I have no experience with this YET. Sometimes it is a major chore to cut through all the hype and figure out who are the good gunsmiths.

 

Good reading can be found on several web sites that have bp boards as well as the links above. Also check out the books by Mike Venturino, they are educational and entertaining. Ask lots of questions and perhaps you will save some money and poor experiences along the way! If you think it up, it is worth asking about. Though there are no real costume or weapon specific elements to Frontiersman, aside from the pistols, I think it is the class that screams out for these issues to be addressed most of all.

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Thanks. I did not know Ruger ever made any BP handguns. I have never seen them.

 

Howdy

 

Ruger used to make a Cap & Ball revolver they called the Old Army. It looked kind of like a Remington in that it had a solid frame, unlike the Colt style. They were very well made, and like all Rugers they used coil springs instead of flat springs. They were made in Stainless and in blued carbon steel. They came in a fixed sight as well as an adjustable sight version. I am still not clear about the rules regarding using the adjustable sight version in different categories, so beware of that possible pitfall.

 

Notice I have been talking about the Old Army in the past tense. Ruger stopped production of the Old Army about a year ago. They are still available used in many places, but the prices are starting to rise.

 

P.S. I am actually not clear about your question. There are several ways to shoot Black Powder in CAS.

There are the Cap & Ball revolvers which use loose powder and ball and a cap.

 

There are the conversions which use a conversion cylinder in a Cap & Ball revolver. A conversion cylinder allows you to shoot cartridges in a C&B revolver, either with Black Powder or light Smokeless loads.

 

Then there is just loading up your cartridges with Black Powder and shooting them in a standard cartridge revolver.

 

You can do it any of the three ways. However................you usually have to make certain accommodations no matter what route you choose.

 

With rifle and shotgun. You can load Black Powder into your shells and cartridges, and again, there are a few things you will have to do different than shooting Smokeless.

 

No, those long barreled Cap & Ball revolvers with a rifle stock on them are not legal, so forget that option.

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