Firing an 1860 Colt Army .44 cal.

[Novelist]

Hello, I would like to ask a question for a crime novel I am writing.  In my novel the detective has an unaltered pair of 1860 Colt Army revolvers.  In reading some other SASS posts I see that these guns cannot fire modern ammunition unless they have been modified to do so.  In my novel the bad guy gets the pistol and loads a modern .44 cal. cartage. and fires the gun.  I would like to know what will happen?  I'm hoping the gun will explode and kill my bad guy.  Can anyone tell me if this scenario is plausible or not?  If no is there a good way to help make the gun explode?  Thank you for any help.  Tom

[PaleWolf Brunelle, #2495L]

Not possible with an "unaltered 1860 Colt Army revolver".
The loading procedures for percussion revolvers can be found on page 12 of the RO 1 Student Handbook

 

[Blackwater 53393]

The unaltered 1860 Colt revolver does not take cartridges!  It is loaded by pouring black powder into the individual chambers of the cylinder from the front and forcing a soft lead ball or conical projectile into the chamber on top of the powder. The cylinder is then “capped” by placing a percussion cap onto a “nipple” that is installed in the rear of each chamber of the cylinder.

[Blackwater 53393]

This doesn’t show the “capping” procedure, but it should give you the information you need.

Edited October 12, 2024 by Blackwater 53393

[Alpo]

Boy I sure wish more people would do this.

 

"I'm writing a book and I want to do THIS in it. Will it work?"

 

"Oh hell no that won't work. And this is why."

 

Young lady wrote a story one time and asked me what I thought of it. In the story she is driving down the road in her Jeep, and finds somebody broke down at the side of the road. So she hooks her tow strap onto his car, and drags him into town. Fine.

 

Except that she had him sitting up in her front seat next to her and they was talking and falling for each other while she was pulling his car down the road.

 

No, that ain't going to work.

 

Her story wasn't bad, but she (the author) and obviously never given anybody a tow.

[Wyatt Earp SASS#1628L]

Just have the bad guy load it with smokeless powder, instant hand grenade. 

[Trailrider #896]

3 hours ago, Wyatt Earp SASS#1628L said:

Just have the bad guy load it with smokeless powder, instant hand grenade. 

He would still have to load it from the front of the cylinder, as described.  In point of fact "cartridges" were available for cap-and-ball revolvers, except they were or could be constructed. They were formed from nitrated (combustible) paper, filled with black powder and containing a lead ball or "conical" lead bullet.  For purposes of the story, they would have to be loaded with smokeless powder to cause a blowup (and maybe it wouldn't). The percussion cap would still have to be placed on the cone on the rear of each chamber. Nowadays we call the cone "nipples", but that term wasn't used in the presence of ladies.

[J-BAR #18287]

6 hours ago, Novelist said:

Hello, I would like to ask a question for a crime novel I am writing.  In my novel the detective has an unaltered pair of 1860 Colt Army revolvers.  In reading some other SASS posts I see that these guns cannot fire modern ammunition unless they have been modified to do so.  In my novel the bad guy gets the pistol and loads a modern .44 cal. cartage. and fires the gun.  I would like to know what will happen?  I'm hoping the gun will explode and kill my bad guy.  Can anyone tell me if this scenario is plausible or not?  If no is there a good way to help make the gun explode?  Thank you for any help.  Tom

Just my opinion... it would be much more satisfying for your detective to use one of those old cap and ball revolvers to take the bad guy out, rather than having the gun blow up.

[Novelist]

8 hours ago, Wyatt Earp SASS#1628L said:

Just have the bad guy load it with smokeless powder, instant hand grenade. 

I thank you for your response.  I half a follow up question. If you use smokeless black powder and blown up the pistol, does the ball still shoot out while the gun is being destroyed?   Thank you. 
 

 

8 hours ago, Wyatt Earp SASS#1628L said:

Just have the bad guy load it with smokeless powder, instant hand grenade. 

 

[Blackwater 53393]

Smokeless powder is different from Black Powder.

 

You can’t be sure that smokeless powder would actually blow up the gun and it’s likely that the ball would still be propelled down range.

 

Along with all that, where would the villain get the powder , ball and cap? Those things just aren’t laying around everywhere!

 

Add to this, it takes a little work and unless you’re pretty familiar and experienced with cap and ball revolvers, by the time you got it loaded, you adversary would likely have exited or more likely picked up something and rendered you non compus mentus!!

 

 

 

Edited October 13, 2024 by Blackwater 53393

[Subdeacon Joe]

5 hours ago, Trailrider #896 said:

He would still have to load it from the front of the cylinder, as described.  In point of fact "cartridges" were available for cap-and-ball revolvers, except they were or could be constructed. They were formed from nitrated (combustible) paper, filled with black powder and containing a lead ball or "conical" lead bullet.  For purposes of the story, they would have to be loaded with smokeless powder to cause a blowup (and maybe it wouldn't). The percussion cap would still have to be placed on the cone on the rear of each chamber. Nowadays we call the cone "nipples", but that term wasn't used in the presence of ladies.

 

Like these.  I believe that the Frankfort Arsenal produced a version.

 

 

23 minutes ago, Novelist said:

for your response.  I half a follow up question. If you use smokeless black powder and blown up the pistol, does the ball still shoot out while the gun is being destroyed?   Thank you

 

Maybe yes, maybe no.  Timing and exact mode of failure  (KABOOM to use the technical term) would determine if the projectile exited the barrel, and with how much energy.

 

I'll second  Alpo in thanking you for asking  

[Cholla]

Why not just have an obstruction in the barrel?

Edited October 13, 2024 by Cholla

[watab kid]

i too am pleased to see a writer research what he wants to put in his writings , there are other options here as well , this couldget to be a deepo discussion , but there were cartridge conversions of these revolvers made "back in the day" they used black powder cartridges of that era , in one were to load a modern cartridge - particularly a modern magnum cartridge - into one of these vintage cartridge converted revolvers you could have the catastrophe you seek , 

 

as noted there is no guarantee of results but its likely enough that all of us would vacate the area should someone do such a foolish thing , the odds are pretty good there will be a problem and very likely injury as well as good possibility of a piece of shrapnel to the shooters and bystandards brains , in such a situation , a;so if the perp was loading his own with less than good info and materials , 

 

the key here is "unaltered 1860 - this was why the above responses came back as they did , a vintage [done in the 1800s era conversion ] is a possibility as they did do these things as development occurred , in those days there were a lot of things being done , 

 

the use of black powder was common untill smokeless was developed , but they are not interchangeable in the firearms developed for black powder unless you are very - very careful in your loading , 

 

came back to adsd that the projectile may or may not go where intended in a catastrophic failure , thats not whats going to kill the shooter its the shrapnel of the exploding revolver that will get him and bystanders , the bullet most likely will not go where aimed but may very well end up down range somewhere 

Edited October 13, 2024 by watab kid