People overestimate how often percussion revolvers were reloaded...

[Whitworth]

I still wonder how a Cavalryman , especially an officer, could reload and recap while wearing gauntlets. Gunslinger in several movies had to have gloves on too.
[/QUOTE]
Good point.

 

[shorthair]

Isn't John Hardin the guy who spent 3 hours per day practicing his draw ? He probably shot a lot too but being a gunslinger it made sense that he was an avid target shooter, or shot at trees , or whatever he did.

According to the history books he shot one heck of a lot of men, but what made him so deadly in a gunfight was that he didn't hesitate or stop to think about it he just shot the other guy and then went on his way. Pretty cold way to look at it but it served Hardin well until Selman shot him in the back of his head.

 

[shorthair]

I agree 100% , when I carry, whatever it is , it's either with just the rounds in the cylinder or the mag. I rarely carry a reload.

I mean what is going on that I'm gonna fire more than 5, 7 , 10 rounds, etc and then need to reload ? Either I'm dead, they're dead, they ran, or I ran at that point.

If this were 1867 I'd probably have my little .31 pocket with the 5 shots I loaded into it 2 years prior , walking around going about my day. Or if I were wearing something like a 51 Navy I'd probably still just have 6 rounds in it for shooting coyotes or as a defensive piece. I highly doubt Wild Bill carried any nitrate cartridges on him to reload, he probably never once fired all 12 rounds out of his .36 Navies.

That's why I never feel outnumbered with only 7 rounds in my carry pistol instead of 20+ rounds, aimed fire is way better than spray and pray.

 

[shorthair]

I've wondered, what was the cost, adjusted for inflation, of Cartridges back in the day?

Hardin probably figured that the cost of not doing it was likely his life.

 

[Stantheman86]

Remember movie 'Zulu' where the guys hands were shaking so much he could hardly stick a Cartridge into his Webley? That's the reality. Try that DURING COMBAT with loose, or, OK, paper cartridges. Oh, and little copper caps.

There's no way I'm restuffing and capping an 1860 Army with a line of Confederate Infantry running at me with fixed bayonets, or with Minies whizzing a few feet above my head

 

[Tom A Hawk]

There was no loading during a conflict. Which is why the period photos show pistoleers carrying multiple shooters. Once all shooters were emptied, the user switched to a blade. This guy has perfected the groin carry technique. The left testicle was considered sacrificial....

 

[Stantheman86]

I still wonder how a Cavalryman , especially an officer, could reload and recap while wearing gauntlets. Gunslinger in several movies had to have gloves on too.

Good point.
[/QUOTE]

There's no way, unless you popped a glove off during a break in the action to reload

 

[Stantheman86]

There was no loading during a conflict. Which is why the period photos show pistoleers carrying multiple shooters. Once all shooters were emptied, the user switched to a blade. This guy has perfected the groin carry technique. The left testicle was considered sacrificial....

View attachment 127509

You gotta figure, having 18 rounds between 3 revolvers was a lot of firepower in the day......given that an Infantry guy had 40 rounds in his cartridge box for a rifle or musket and rarely probably used half of that during a single engagement

If you were still alive at the point where there was still shooting going on after capping off 18 shots there would no doubt be a few loaded or half loaded revolvers laying around to pick up, provided things weren't hand to hand by then.

The right testicle is the dominant one anyway , sacrifices must be made

 

[cynthialee]

That's nothing. Those old western 100 shot six shooters are a real hoot to watch.

my dad called them 'Roy Rodgers Guns' never needed reloading and there is always a bullet in the next chamber

 

[Eutycus]

I've wondered, what was the cost, adjusted for inflation, of Cartridges back in the day?

I think I read in a biography of King Fisher that a bullet cost around 5 cents. But I feel they may have cost more than that. I think the reason a small glass is referred to as a shot glass was that a bullet or round could be traded for a "shot" of whiskey in some saloons.

 

[stephenprops1]

I tend to agree. I suspect that most civilian gunfights are brutal, fast affairs that are over in seconds. You probably never need to reload because nobody has stuck around to be shot at a second time.

You can watch dozens of YouTube videos of security camera footage of what happens when the very first gunshot rings out. The perpetrators invariably absolutely lose their minds. I mean that literally. There is one footage of a bad guy who is trying to rob a store. After a shot rings out, the guy is in such a hurry to flee he runs through a plate glass front window instead of the door.

Most civilians are not combat trained and do not have the nerves or planning or training to respond rationally and coherently when in a firefight. Especially "bad guys" who are generally very much nervous and on edge when doing the bad deed anyway. When the first shot rings out, most of the people's brains go right into "flight" mode and they lose all rational thought and run as fast as they can to get away. Like I said - go watch the self-defense videos on YouTube. It's actually comical watching perpetrators lose their minds and run over/through each other and obstacles once the shooting starts.

Most self-defense situations look a lot more like The Three Stooges than John Wick.

Remember, the famous Gunfight at The OK Corral only lasted for 30 seconds. Nine men were actively involved, 5 on the Cowboy's side and 4 on the Earp's side. A total of 32 shots were fired. That comes out to about 3.5 shots per person.

 

[Stantheman86]

Remember, the famous Gunfight at The OK Corral only lasted for 30 seconds. Nine men were actively involved, 5 on the Cowboy's side and 4 on the Earp's side. A total of 32 shots were fired. That comes out to about 3.5 shots per person.

This is excellent info....probably one of the most famous gunfights in history was a short, brutal , close range fight . Not the running gun battle we are led to believe .

 

[longtoothpard]

There was no loading during a conflict. Which is why the period photos show pistoleers carrying multiple shooters. Once all shooters were emptied, the user switched to a blade. This guy has perfected the groin carry technique. The left testicle was considered sacrificial....

View attachment 127509

Period photos made in a studio were often staged with extra props. While we know that some men, especially partisans, carried more than one pistol, it was not as likely for an ordinary soldier. Also, most period accounts tend to show that sabers were more of a hindrance than a weapon usually used. Cavalry tended to be deployed as dismounted skirmishers than mass cavalry charges. Such things did happen, such as the third day at Gettysburg or Brandy Station but such fights were not common. The rifled musket made cavalry charges a thing of the past.

 

[Widows Son]

There was no loading during a conflict. Which is why the period photos show pistoleers carrying multiple shooters. Once all shooters were emptied, the user switched to a blade. This guy has perfected the groin carry technique. The left testicle was considered sacrificial....

View attachment 127509

Photographic studio props

 

[Malamute]

I think I read in a biography of King Fisher that a bullet cost around 5 cents. But I feel they may have cost more than that. I think the reason a small glass is referred to as a shot glass was that a bullet or round could be traded for a "shot" of whiskey in some saloons.

I just looked at Homer Fishers catalog of 1880 in the book Ten Old Gun Catalogs, it showed 44 henry rimfire shells as costing $1.30 per 100, 44 WCF shells $2.00 per 100, and 45 Colts Army shells being $2.40 per 100. This was a mail order outfit, anyone could order, local prices likely varied considerably.

I hadnt heard of that theory on the origin of the name of a shot glass. A search turned it up as a possible origin, but there were others that seemed more likely.

Elmer Keith mentioned knowing some old timer gun hands in his youth that carried a smaller gun in the pocket as a backup or "surprise" gun. Someone could be watching the openly carried gun, the off hand would be able to draw the small gun and achieve an advantage. Carrying a small gun as a backup is still used by some in LE and those carrying for defensive purposes.

 

[Dave Orchard]

I took this 2nd Gen Colt 1851 out and shot about 100 rounds through it to see if Mike (The Goon) was right after he worked on it. 380 round ball over a Gatfoe lubed wad and 21 grains of Swiss 3F. Treso nipples and # 10 Remington caps. Not a single hitch.
View attachment 127176

I used to shoot a pair of Uberti .36 Rem.s 50 rds each(one box of a hundred .375 balls, one tin of caps)
Slightly reduced charge fouled cyl pin less & they were just starting to be sluggish around 40 rds.

About reloads: If you were on the Llano Estacado, or AZ, behind a dead horse that had fallen on top of your scabbarded rifle and facing a bunch of indigenous gentlemen who wanted to take your hair and do all sorts of inventive things involving obsidian knives and combustibles to delicate parts of your anatomy, I bet you'de reload!
In town, not likely.

PS chain-fires almost never happen across the front of the cyl. (Grease is to lube bullets & prevent leading.)
Poorly fitting caps, or a mis-fire that the popped cap has fallen off the nipple of are where chain-fires happen.
Most I've witnessed we're four chambers. (Exciting! ;-) )

Davy

 

[Boston Bill]

Watched an old tv western a couple of days ago. There was a shootout in saloon between the good guys and bad, about seven or eight gunmen total. After about 5-6 rounds each you couldn’t see across the room for the smoke. At least they got that right.

Last weekend I was out doors shooting my cap and ball and the wind was in my face. So was the white smoke, couldn't see the target after the second round!

 

[SPQR70AD]

hard to believe Wild Bill emptied his pistols every day cleaned and reloaded them. where would he have all the time and money to do that every day? people made slave wages then

 

[Whughett]

I'm mostly impressed you were willing to burn 100 #10 caps ....I hold on to those things like they're made of gold....

100 rounds without wiping the gun out is impressive .

My Walker gags up after about 12 through it

I routinely shoot black powder revolvers once or twice a week. Colts style can easily handle 100 plus rounds with out cleaning and very little loss in accuracy at 12 to 15 yards.
Pretty much the same for Ruger Old Armies and Rogers and Spencer’s.
Remington Style revolvers on the other hand will need the base pin wiped and oiled after as few as 12 rounds depending on one’s powder charge and the caliber.

The differences is found in the arbors of the Colts, much larger in diameter and with numerous grooves for powder fouling to collect in. Compared to the Remingtons base pin which is much smaller and has no clearance to accommodate powder fouling. The ROA’s and R&S’s design has a bushing on the cylinder face that deflects the fouling gases around and away from the base pin.
As mentioned properly lubed and loaded with round balls I haven’t observed any loss of accuracy due to bore fouling.
My typical range visit is 98 rounds of percussion and often additional black powder cartridges with conversion cylinders both in Colts and Remingtons. I shoot a lot of black powder and round balls in percussion and black and bullets in 45Colt.
And I have every model of Colts revolvers with the exception of the Dragoons and several calibers in the Remingtons, and my real pride a Remington Revolving Carbine by Urberti from Taylor’s and Company. It and a 5” NMA share cylinders and a conversion cylinder.

 

[sheriff john]

"Filling the room with pistol smoke" kinda sticks in my head. Sounds like an accurate description of a bar-room gunfight.

Those old staged photos weren't digital, nor polaroid. Some are accurate, others not at all. Later on, photography evolved to faster exposure times allowing greater freedom to capture images. Regardless, exposure times could be quite lengthy - even in sunlight.

Mathew Brady's work still garners my admiration.