revolver power

[Dphar]

Dragoons were liked for buffalo hunting. This was close up and from horseback though.

Those were not one shot, humane kills that we now consider the standard for any responsible hunter. They were wounding shots in which the hunters slowed the animal down and pursued it until it collapsed or bled to death.

If you are going to use a black powder revolver for hunting medium to large game you must be a very accomplished hunter with the ability to get close to your target AND an excellent shot. Otherwise, stick with long guns.

The one shot kill is a often a myth and with buffalo in particular.

One shot kills on buffalo are not common with anything unless head, neck shots are used. The hide hunters of the 1870s considered 2-3 shots per buffalo a good average. But they also tended to shoot the same buffalo till it stopped if it was attempting to leave and break the "stand". Modern experience with 45-100, 44-77, 45-70 50-100 indicate 2-3 shots as well.
Same for modern magnums.

In running buffalo the range was usually about 20 ft or less.
This is from pg 140 of "Firearms of The American West 1803-1865"
The writer, Philip St George Cooke shoots a fat cow with an 1805 Harpers Ferry in 1845.
"I now draw my old Harpers Ferry "buffalo slayer"....and at 5 paces---and at full speed---deliver my fire; the shot soons stops her."
This after snapping a friend's "6 barreled pistol", likely a pepperbox at a bull twice.

Would a Dragoon be my first choice for running buffalo? We know it would work and its a lot easier to use horseback than a long gun. The BEST thing for this would be a short double shotgun with a patched ball. But pistols are a lot handier when horseback.
The biggest problem with running buffalo today would be having a horse that was up to the job. Then having buffalo that knew to run from the horse....

Dan

 

[William O.]

You'll need as much downrange energy as you can get, which means you want to throw the most mass you can, so I'd check out the Buffalo Ball-ets, which are heavier than their round ball counterparts and are made for revolvers. A 30 grain charge pushing a 180 gr. bullet is decent enough inside of 40 yards, though shot placement is going to be a big factor.
Some additional info you might find useful; http://www.chuckhawks.com/muzzleloading_bullets.htm http://www.dixiegunworks.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_99_311_313&products_id=3630
Let us know what you do.

 

[torn moc]

Bull...Who is curently selling
Buffalo Ball-ets ???
Never mind...I found them at DIXIE.

 

[Dphar]

I'm interested in purchasing a revolver and don't have any experience with these. Do they have enough power to kill a feral hog and if so, what caliber and loads would be best?

This is going to depend on the hog. How big is it? Will it develop an"attitude" after being shot?
The problem here is the one that Forsythe addresses in "The Sporting Rifles and its Projectiles".
There are two types of animals, those that "fly from you" and those that "fly at you".
The two have far different requirements in a firearm and the shooter.
If you have back up you can *probably* get by with something like a Dragoon, Walker or Ruger I suppose.
But again it depends on the hog.

So far as conicals. If you have enough powder capacity to give decent velocity they might be OK. But to have mush meaningful effect they need to weight a about 200 grains in a 44. Might need to be cast slightly hard too, like 1:20. If I had a Ruger OA and wanted a conical I would likely use a blunt 200 grain 45 Colt bullet casat of WW and fffg Swiss powder.
If the conical reduces the powder capacity and velocity too much it may be worse than a hardened RB.

*I*, personally, would use my 16 bore Flintlock rifle. Couple of reasons, its extremely reliable and it does a very good job of disabling the game.

If I wanted to use a pistol I would use a 54 or larger flint or percussion type.

Dan