New gun day!!

[Stantheman86]

I have one of these little dudes, and a Remington Pocket pistol as well.
It is a hard toss up on which I prefer. The Colt can hold just a tad more powder and is larger. The Remington is real small and concealable. (Also came with a conversion cylinder so that is a bonus in its's favor). The Remington has a loading lever. But I find the small bullets seat easy enough with the arbor on the colt.

Neither one would serve as a proper self defense piece, even though a bunch of them were purchased for this reason when they were new. Card table distance is all it is good for really. Better than a Deringer I suppose.

The .36 Pocket Navy and Police were probably the best compromise, being the same size as the .31.

These .31's are about equal to a .32 S&W Long which is definitely not known for being a stopper, but S&W and Colt snubbies were chambered in this round up until the 1970s

 

[Stantheman86]

True, with the .31, you were dead, just didn't know it. It has about the same ballistics as a .22... no stop, just hurt....

The .22 Short was a contemporary of these .31 pockets, I carry an NAA
.22 Short revolver as an "around town " gun just for walking around. No one wants to get shot and I'm sure a .22 Short or a .31 in the sternum, face or temple at point blank range will do the job if you can't carry anything else.

 

[Eutycus]

The .22 Short was a contemporary of these .31 pockets, I carry an NAA
.22 Short revolver as an "around town " gun just for walking around. No one wants to get shot and I'm sure a .22 Short or a .31 in the sternum, face or temple at point blank range will do the job if you can't carry anything else.

There was a thread on another forum several weeks ago about the stopping power of a 22 short back in the Civil War era. We pretty much agreed it was not a combat round but probably would get the job done. Slowly but your opponent would still be dead...eventually and it would be one slow agonizing death.

 

[Whughett]

a good friend of mine was shot point blank in the sternum with a .36 Navy
doc couldn't save him
said if he had the entire OR ready the second he was shot, he couldn't have saved him
they can and have killed many people, even in the modern era

Hickcock & Tutt shoot out 75 yards. Tutt got hit in the heart supposedly. Game set Match. 1851 Navy.

 

[user 52391]

I have an Uberti 1849 Poket Model, which I enjoy shooting & have been contemplating the Wells Fargo Model as well. While these little guns are undoubtedly on the puny side power wise...I'm definitely not standing in the non existing line to be shot with one!

 

[Stantheman86]

There was a thread on another forum several weeks ago about the stopping power of a 22 short back in the Civil War era. We pretty much agreed it was not a combat round but probably would get the job done. Slowly but your opponent would still be dead...eventually and it would be one slow agonizing death.

They were just pocket revolvers that were convenient to carry , and were a last ditch self defense piece to be used against muggers or sudden violent threats . If you were going around likely to get in a fight you wouldn't carry a .22 Short.

I believe .22 still leads the list of calibers used in fatal shootings each year around the world.

I carry my .22 Short mini revolver for the exact same reason, it's a last ditch "get off me" gun, I'm just a guy trying to go shopping, or go out to eat. I'm hoping 5 .22's will get whatever might attack me to stop. If it does later, whatever.

.31 is probably a small step above an old tip up .22 Short of the same era, for stopping power. It's a mugger repellant not a running gunfight piece.

Rule #1 is Have a Gun, so a .31 Pocket that's on you is better than a pair of Dragoons hanging by the door at home 5 miles away

 

[Tim_IA]

I do like the pocket models, they make fun little range guns, and are fun to collect too! But my collection is actually pretty small, only 3 so far. Top in pic is the 1862 in .36 5 1/2" barrel.

 

[user 33697]

Die now or die later, back then death by infection from a mere flesh wound could cause a slow painful death. Being gut shot was a near certain death sentence. The thoughts of such a lingering death from a .31 Colt was probably as much a deterrent as having the brains blown out by a .44 Colt. Stopping a determined attacker though favors the .44

It is called a peritonitis infection. As I once read, what would happen is that the bullet would easily drag along dust and dirt from clothing into the wound resulting in an eventual massive infection. With no true antibiotics during the 19th century, the wound would cause a slow agonizing death even when the bullet was removed. Yuk!

 

[Musket69]

I like my pocket pistols too. I built a "Remington" kit gun from CVA back in the 80's. It is fun to shoot but is rather unsafe to load- it has a half cock that releases the cylinder for rotation, but no safety lock... the hammer will fall if the trigger is pressed. It is brass framed as well. It shoots well but to me is more of a pain to load than my 1849 Colt. Would really like the 1862 Police... I'm stopping at Dixie Gunworks middle of next month, maybe...

 

[dsk]

Maybe we are talking about the wrong weapon here but would 31 caliber lead balls be a good ammo for a slingshot?

Yes but don't carry it in CA or NY.

 

[Stantheman86]

That was kind of an hypothetical or a "what if".I've got many more and better options than a little cap and ball revolver but I would like to see the headlines and the news story on the 6 o'clock news about such a scenario.

If nothing else you'd skew the FBI statistics for calibers used in Home Defense shootings , they'd be forced to add .31 Percussion revolver to the annual crime report

 

[smoothshooter]

Do you think the pocket pistol of yesteryear could be today's pocket pistol? To put it plainly, would you rely on one for self defense? I kind of think I just might.

Not one of my top choices, but could live with it if I had to as long as did not have cap-jams.
Cap jams are the biggest drawback. Common problem. Some out of the box guns almost never have them. Most do.
Someone knowledgeable with the correct tools can make that issue go away, but there are not many of those people around and they don’t work cheap.

 

[smoothshooter]

That was kind of an hypothetical or a "what if".I've got many more and better options than a little cap and ball revolver but I would like to see the headlines and the news story on the 6 o'clock news about such a scenario.

Back in the seventies a guy named Bernhard Getz shot two or three career criminal “ bro’s “ on a New York subway car. The 3 muggers came at him with screwdrivers. I believe there was quite a scuffle when they attacked. Getz pulled out a .44 Colt Dragoon replica, if I recall correctly and went to town on them.
It did a great job stopping the attack. I think at least one of the muggers was killed.
It was on the national news almost every night for months. Of course Getz was made out to be the bad guy, and the politicians, local law-enforcement, and even the FBI made Getz’s life a living Hell for over a year. Spent considerable time in jail. Bankrupted him with legal fees. Ruined his life.
Don’t know what happened to him in the end. I will look it up.

 

[J dirt]

Getz incident was in 1984 and his weapon was a Smith and Wesson .38.

 

[Eutycus]

Bernhard Hugo Goetz Jr.

 

[J dirt]

Spell check got me on that one.