'Shot' by a Baby Paterson.

[TNHillbilly]

Well guys, I may claim bragging rights as being the only guy around hit by a Baby Paterson round! After finally finishing my mostly scratchbuilt No.1...I didn't make the cylinder, I had to load her up and go shoot it.......if only once! The little cylinder will barely hold 4 or 5 grains of FFFg BP. The 65grain ball, .31 cal. will just clear the mouth. I put up a piece of 3/4" OSD as a 'target' and stood back about 15 feet. Capped her, pulled the hammer back, and yanked on the trigger.....trigger pull rather bearish! Bang! Ouch! Felt something hit my leg! Nice puff of BP smoke, I might add! After I regained my composure, I saw a nice black indentation dead center in the OSD, and a place in the grass where the bullet obviously ricocheted downward and came back hitting me in the leg. Searched for a while and finally found the round! I may drill a hole in and hang it around my neck! I'm guessing back in 1838, or so, I guess one could merely pi...s someone off shooting them with one of these! And, oh yes, in typical Paterson style, the cap fell down in front of the hammer and jammed the gun.

 

[guad42]

Awesome

 

[Kevin Makel]

That's a great story! Those lead balls will bounce.

 

[Norinco]

Nice. You do your own machine work? Did you build those other Patersons too?

I guess it's even weaker than a .32 S&W.

 

[TNHillbilly]

Thanks! Machine work? Not much, built it like the old timers, hack saw, files, well....a Dremel and drill press. The reason, I've read, no two were alike. The middle No 5 is an old Navy Arms. The top frame is hand made, cylinder, barrel, hammer were parts from when Navy carried parts. Saww the first No. 1 (Baby) in the Smithsonian years ago and was always amazed by Patersons. I was lucky enough to come across the Baby cylinder at DGW years ago. No idea of its origins. The Roll engraving.....horses, etc. are barely visable! Wife said, finished it one day, shoot yourself with it the next!

 

[wulf]

you amaze me...I made an 1851 years ago, but I
was the only one who could identify it...That
was a lot of years ago.... :v:

 

[TNHillbilly]

Thanks Wulf! Damn, we do have fun though, don't we! Dang, what's next? So many guns......so little time! BTW, Wulf,did you shoot yourself with that '51? Bill

 

[Chilidog]

:rotf: I hate to say it, but's that's funny... You know, one of those picture stories you just invision. I see a guy proudly sporting his new built piece and upon firing her hopping around holding his leg as the round bounces back and smacks him a good one. Like one of those AFV episodes where the body building guy drops one of the weights on his foot and gets so mad his kicks it causing further hurt. :rotf: Why is it we laugh when someone gets hurt?

On the serious side, I'm glad it wasn't more serious as it could have been. And oh yeah, hats off to you on a great job in constructing that piece. And I have to ask as well, did you build the rest?

 

[TNHillbilly]

Yep! It was funny....still smilin' myself. Kinda like an ole Laurel and Hardy movie. As I said above, built one of the 2 No.5's. :haha:

 

[Zonie]

Doggone it, I sure hope my wife doesn't see this topic. I just got here convinced I wouldn't "shoot your eye out" and now, here's a story about balls bouncing back! :rotf:

Glad you all right. Those can be nasty.

 

[Poor Private]

A buddy of mine got his new .44 colt and had to try it out. He found he had an old steel sink laying in the back of his place. And yep you guessed it, BLAM he fired at it and it did one of those cartoony things-hit at the bottom and followed the contour of the sink and came back and shot himself in the cheek (grazing shot). His brother was watching the whole thing and the 2 had to make up some kind of wierd story at the ER-- Blood running down his cheek , he still has the scar.

 

[TNHillbilly]

A ricocheting .44 ball could sure ruin your whole day. He, on the other hand, has the 'Sabre Scar' to prove his manhood. I, on the other hand, only have a little red welt in an unseen place, which, alas, shall be gone in a few days! Oh,.......the unfairness of it all.

 

[rafterob]

Way back when, I was shooting with my Brother who had a Tower pistol in .69 cal. We were out in the desert and found a piece of plywood that looked like it would make a good target.Leaned it up against a boulder and it was my turn to shoot. Kaboom! PHHHHTTTTTT! Right past my ear :shocked2: I walked right over and kicked that plywood back on the ground. To this day I get shivers thinking what that huge ball would have done if it hit me in the head.

 

[doglake]

I can tell you how thick the glass is on an old tv picture tube and that when shot from a few feet away it explodes rather than implodes. Don't ask me how I know this. :redface:

By the way that was a good story with a lesson in it to be learned. Nice revolvers also.

 

[TNHillbilly]

I think the lesson we've learned here today is muzzleloader balls bounce off moderately hard targets. Though I gotta tell ya', shootin that little pistol was like time traveling back. I've never seen another and guess only read of a handful of originals. Reason: one shot, gun jammed, threw gun at opponent(Reason Colt's 'Patent Arms' went bankrupt?)!

 

[hawk]

good stuff :thumbsup:

 

[nkbj]

Nice. You do your own machine work? Did you build those other Patersons too?

I guess it's even weaker than a .32 S&W.

:haha: One time my big sister and me were shooting a little break over lemon squeezer S&W. The formed aluminum on the bottom of a soda pop can caught and held the 32 slug. And that was a factory load!

 

[TFoley]

...thinking what that huge ball would have done if it hit me in the head.

If you anything like most of us here, prolly nuthin'. :wink:

tac
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