.36 Colt Navy that powerful??????

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smoothshooter said:
I think we worry too much about one shot stops.
If someone needs to be shot, they deserve to be shot at least twice.
I have reason to believe that when the “shootee” is hit multiple times, the various calibers all perform pretty much the same.
I believe FMJ bullets with FLAT NOSES (wide meplat) are a good compromise in auto pistols, and I use them in my carry guns when I can. They are often hard to come by.
In .380 I buy Winchester white box FMJ FP when I stumble onto some.
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In a 23 year period I responded to over 50 shots fired calls. I can tell you from first hand experience the FMJ is NOT what you want to shoot someone meaning to do you harm with, except head or spine shots.
 
Eterry said:
In a 23 year period I responded to over 50 shots fired calls. I can tell you from first hand experience the FMJ is NOT what you want to shoot someone meaning to do you harm with, except head or spine shots.
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Did you ever see wounds caused by wide meplat FMJ bullets?
They are not common at all. Round nose is 99.9% of what is made.
I only use them in my .380’s .
 
Look up "Defensive Handgun Loads" it was compiled based on the work of Massad Ayoob, Evan Marshall and Ed Sanow in their study of thousands of actual shooting results. Dated but still a great reference.

It lists the best loads from a 22LR and up and for a 380 the best are not FMJ's
 

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Pardon me, but unless you can load a full metal jacket round, (a conical, I suppose it would have to be) into a C&B, should we be discussing or at least comparing the average stopping, first round kill of say, a .36 cal. to a .44 cal. C&B? Have stated before. om this forum that I sometimes carry my .44 New Army for self-defense. Too often, I have had to display my weapon to wannabe outlaw. I have seen the difference expressions on their faces upon being confronted by a small automatic, even a large automatic and 12 inches of dark blue revolver. Usually, but not always they suddenly decide they would rather be somewhere else.
 
Any gun is capable of being carried effectively for self defense, if you understand the capabilities of both yourself and the round being fired. Yes, some are better than others, and some are overkill. Just know the point of aim vs. point of impact, understand the penetration and expansion of the round fired, where to hit to achieve maximum damage, and practice at different ranges to verify you can hit the required poi under different situations.

Back in my 20s I went to a range with two of my uncles. One was retired Marine and the other a Army Reservist/Police officer. They carried larger calibers and I had my little pocket .22 cal. They were effective at longer ranges than me so long as they had opportunity to take aim. But when I talked them into running drills where they needed to fire quickly, I could hit the longer range targets that they missed. When you take away their time to take aim, their effective range was less than mine with my little pea shooter.

Under those circumstances, so long as I understand the round and the required shot placement for maximum effectiveness, my little gun was as effective as theirs, if not more.

A cannon is ineffective if you can't hit the target.
 
I relate this question to modern revolvers. A friend hunted with a .357 and lost every deer he hit. No penetration and one hole left zero blood trails too. Using a C&B 36 is like hunting with a nine or ..38 S&W. I used my .44 mag and never lost a deer. I have also taken many deer with my Ruger OA. Now the .36 might be OK for a BG to make him think twice but I would not put my money on it.
 
Sparkplug said:
Any gun is capable of being carried effectively for self defense, if you understand the capabilities of both yourself and the round being fired. Yes, some are better than others, and some are overkill. Just know the point of aim vs. point of impact, understand the penetration and expansion of the round fired, where to hit to achieve maximum damage, and practice at different ranges to verify you can hit the required poi under different situations.

Back in my 20s I went to a range with two of my uncles. One was retired Marine and the other a Army Reservist/Police officer. They carried larger calibers and I had my little pocket .22 cal. They were effective at longer ranges than me so long as they had opportunity to take aim. But when I talked them into running drills where they needed to fire quickly, I could hit the longer range targets that they missed. When you take away their time to take aim, their effective range was less than mine with my little pea shooter.

Under those circumstances, so long as I understand the round and the required shot placement for maximum effectiveness, my little gun was as effective as theirs, if not more.

A cannon is ineffective if you can't hit the target.
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Used a .22 High Standard and a Suppressed Ruger in Nam. Every target dropped in their tracks.
 
45man said:
I relate this question to modern revolvers. A friend hunted with a .357 and lost every deer he hit. No penetration and one hole left zero blood trails too. Using a C&B 36 is like hunting with a nine or ..38 S&W. I used my .44 mag and never lost a deer. I have also taken many deer with my Ruger OA. Now the .36 might be OK for a BG to make him think twice but I would not put my money on it.
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Clearly your friend can’t shoot…

I’m in favor of larger calibers kinda like Elmer, so I’m no fan of smaller stuff, but it is capable of deer using a proper hunting bullet.
 
Dark Angel said:
Long before CCW was a thing, carry laws varied by state and even by town, there was one general agreement amidst all this confusion of laws and ordinances, black powder/ cap and ball pistols were not firearms, Lethal weapons in some cases but not a firearm. During this period and doing a great bit of traveling, following carnivals and circuses through various areas, I carried a .36 cal. c&b antique Confederate Colt and never felt under armed or at a disadvantage. And had to, a time or three defend myself with said .36caliber pistol Only someone stoned out of their minds, stupid or otherwise mentally handicapped would stand when confronted with a firearm of any variety. But then, I have encountered more than my share of stupid and mentally deficient people.
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There was a guy in the 70's that defended himself with a 1851 navy and the local prosecutor through the charges out because he was using a gun that was considered not a firearm at the time.
Somehow I just don't think that ruling would happen now days.
 
In early 2000s I shot a BP silhouette match in Rifle CO. Spotter was a fellow that said he "cowboyed" in his younger days and carried a loaded '51 Navy in his saddle bags. I suppose he was doing that in the '70 or '80s. Don't recall any tales of him shooting it on the job. Maybe he could not carry a modern firearm. He didn't say. Anyway I found it interesting that he was doing that.
 
My friend was actually a good shot but thinking about it, maybe his choice of bullets was off too. Too quick expansion.. Bigger is better but even then bullet choice is important. Not much can be done with a small, slow, pure lead one.
 
if your friend was such a good shot why did he lose all those deer? maybe he was good on paper but not when it counted? you do not have any of the deer so you really don't know where the hits were. if a .22 lr will drop a deer in it's tracks how does a .357 not do the same with good shot placement?
 
nick_1 said:
if your friend was such a good shot why did he lose all those deer? maybe he was good on paper but not when it counted? you do not have any of the deer so you really don't know where the hits were. if a .22 lr will drop a deer in it's tracks how does a .357 not do the same with good shot placement?
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As he eluded to it could well have been from poor choice of bullet. There’s plenty of poor choices one could select for hunting.
 
BeardedGunsmith said:
E will always equal mc squared, regardless of what platform the projectile exits from or what propellant pushes it.
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Yes, E will always equal Mc^2, that's true, but I think you're confusing equations. E=Mc^2 is the Mass-Energy Equivalence Formula or "Einstein's Equation". It implies that a small amount of "rest mass" corresponds to an enormous amount of energy, if, and that's a big if, you can get the mass to convert totally into energy. Hard to do with lead, but easy to do with plutonium.

I think you were really thinking of the Kinetic Energy Equation, KE=1/2MV^2. In other words, the Kinetic Energy of a mass in motion is a function of the square of it's velocity. If you can design a bullet to expand and impart all of it's KE into a target, the faster bullet at impact will impart gigantically larger, i.e. "squared", levels of energy compared to a slower projectile of equivalent mass.
 
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