Packing a piece

[PowderBoom]

Hey guys

How did the ooooold boys used to carry their side arms without them rusting up? I have heard that they used to unload and reload every day, this does not seem practical and cannot imagine any of the old "low lifes" or "heros" doing this. I do understand that this reloading every day would be the best option. I live in the middle of the bush, on the border between Botswana and South Africa. We have a big problem with the local primates (the furry ones). I intend to teach them a lesson with my 1858 REM. I know you are all saying, use a rifle. It would not be practical at all to carry my lyman arround every where i go. Shots at the critters would be at very close range and very fast. How do you suggest i go about this proceedure without my gun rusting to pieces?
Thanks

 

I don't know how south central Missouri compares to the South Africa/Botswana border regarding humidity. However, during the summer it rarely falls below 80% and during daylight hours from about June 1 til the end of September it reaches above 90% nearly every day and often over 95%.....so it's a humid S-O-B here in the summer.

I shoot blued, casehardened revolvers, carry them in leather holsters, most often made by myself and have never had a rust problem....but..(ain't there always a "but"?), I take exceptional care of my firearms. The loaded cylinders aren't where you will experience problems, it will be surface rust and rust in those little nooks and crannies you can't see. An inspection at the end of the day and a light wiping down with an oily rag will go a long way toward preserving the integrity of your revolver.

It is said that Hickock changed his loads daily and in his line of work that was a good habit to be in. Most of us don't have to be quite that particular. When I used an 1860 Army a lot I would leave the loads in for a week and never had any problems. My thought was that it was better to not shoot and keep the fouling off the revolver surface than to have to clean it every evening. I didn't hesitate to shoot if I needed or wanted to. We had lots of feral dogs and cats around the farm back in those days and I was really in to gunfighters so I carried either the 1860 or a Colt SAA nearly everywhere. Thinned the critters considerably too!

Several years ago Sam Fadala ran some tests on how long a load stayed good in a muzzleloader and I believe also a revolver. His experience was that after a few months the powder had lost some of it's strength but if kept dry they all fired. I've never ran any tests, even casual, but my experience with carrying a BP revolver mimics his.

Good luck!

Vic

 

[manyirons]

Two options, with carbon steel, its much akin ta Cast Iron cookery, wants 'Seasoning', have found that my blue carbon steel guns, if oven heated to (Less than) 200 degrees fahrenheit and coated wi6h 'Bore Butter' or simular natural lubricants go a LONG way to preventing corrosion.

Then again, my boondocking gun is now a STAINLESS M58 Remmie with four extra cylinders and problem solved, clean up is easier too!

 

[Don]

I've kept my revolvers loaded up to 3 weeks without a problem. Careful loading and snug caps should keep powder dry.

Don

 

[CoyoteJoe]

If you don't clean every day after firing a shot you will get rust pitting. Just pull the cylinder and swab out the bore with wet and dry patches and finish up with a good oiling. Wipe down the exterior at the same time. Wipe off the face of the cylinder with a good oil and if you have a good grease over the balls you should be ok. Occasionally empty the cylinder and give it a good wet cleaning also.
The History Channel claims Hickock emptied and reloaded his revolver every day but who knows where they got that idea. Just firing and reloading would be foolish if you're not going to give it a good cleaning and get it perfectly dry before reloading. The History Channel geeks wouldn't know about that.
You can bet the boys out in the blue didn't do any such foolishness. Shooting attracts attention and there you sit by your campfire with an unloaded and dismantled gun!
That is one scenario where an extra cylinder could be handy, empty and clean one while the other is loaded and ready to rip. That was also a big plus for cartridge guns, you could unload quietly! :grin:

 

My suspiscion is the History Channel got their information from the same book I read on Hickock which was quoting from another book contemporary to Hickok. This writer supposedly interviewed Hickock and observed him emptying his revolvers, cleaning them then reloading which James Butler told the interviewer he did every day. I have so many books on the gunfighters of the old west I can't remember which one I read that in. If I remember I'll post it here. Given the drier climate of the American West I'm kinda suspiscious of the practice also but can certainly see the benefit of it given Hickock's occupation at the time.

Vic

 

[pondoro]

I know I read in a gun mag (forget which one) about Hickcock emptying his guns every day. This was pre-History channel. I thought he aimed the shots, which would give him more practice than most of the lawmen I know. (10 shots per day of practice).

 

[paulvallandigham]

Hickock fired and cleaned his guns every morning, in a ravine away from town. He always had an extra gun handy and loaded. He routinely carried the two .36 navies in his leather-lined pockets, or in a sash he wore around his waist when he was gambling. He is reputed to have carried a smaller, third, gun in his waist belt, concealed, whenever he was not sure if he might be facing trouble. He was a gunfighter who believed in the " New York Reload" long before New York ever heard of the practice. He practiced his shooting daily, like better shooters still do today.