Uberti .31 1849 Pocket Power

[PastorB]

We have a very warm day here Missouri, so I decided to bust off a few caps. Was curious about "power" (hate that word to describe performance) and penetration on boards of my 1849 Pocket vs. another handgun. I am not mentioning the other handgun, and this thread is about the relative "power" of a particular cap and ball revolver.

My target was a 2x6 Douglas fir, and a 2x12 treated "Yellowood", both of recent vintage. I loaded the 1849 with cast round balls made of pure lead, and dropping from the mold at .330. I used18 grain charges (max and still able to load) of Pyro P, Swiss 3F, and 777 3F. None of the balls propelled by Pyro P or Swiss 3F fully penetrate the boards. A few almost did in the Douglas fir, bulging wood out the back side. The 777 was more powerful, a few balls barely made it thru on both boards, still stuck but visible. For comparison only, the other gun not mentioned zipped right thru both types of lumber with standard HV solids, but hp's failed to penetrate. Got an Era's Gone .31 bullet mold on the way, I expect more "power" and penetration with that projectile.

 

[Pete453]

Thanks for the report, it will be interesting to see how the conicals do. Testing like that sure is an eye opener

 

[sheriff john]

Acquaintance shot his .31 pocket model in a friend's basement at a log turned sideways. Ball bounced back & hit him in the forehead. Don't know if it bounced off of wood or perhaps a bullet previously imbedded because the log had been shot into before. He wasn't mortally injured, but had a knot for awhile. Fun little pistols, not my first choice for grizzlies.

 

[Stantheman86]

The .31 percussion revolvers were the grand Daddy of the .32 S&W Long , which was also pretty anemic but was hugely popular as a pocket revolver round well into the 1980s

You don't need "knockdown" power in a little mugger repellent, walking around gun like a .31. You just need to put a couple balls or bullets into a bad guy, and if he dies 7 days later oh well , at least he ceased his hostilities and you got back from the theater with the wife safely.

Little bullets aren't going to do much but we know this , these are self defense guns.

I'd sooner trust my NAA mini with 5 .22 Stingers in it than a .31 Pocket but technology advanced and that's what they had back then

 

[pacanis]

Is the wood supposed to simulate anything? 2" of pine equals???

I've read that three 1gal plastic milk jugs filled with water are supposed to equal 9-12" of ballistic gel. I have no proof of this myself, other than it appears a lot of guys believe in this and shoot milk jugs. So it gives me a basis to compare to. I like strapping a few layers of denim and a rack of ribs in front of my jugs. Just to make the bullet work for it, lol.

I've not heard of the bullet vs wood test. Unless you are hiding behind wood.

 

[Brokenbear]

Remember the time era in which the 1849 was king of the conceal carry guns was a time when the perforation by a lead bullet was a serious deterrent due to lack of medical treatment for blood poisoning and other infection .. so it was more a deterrent than a man stopper .. you may find that to get a full powder load and a conical bullet to work you will have to load the cylinder outside the gun and then install the cylinder and then cap.. any way you go it will be fun!

B

 

[PastorB]

Is the wood supposed to simulate anything? 2" of pine equals???

I've read that three 1gal plastic milk jugs filled with water are supposed to equal 9-12" of ballistic gel. I have no proof of this myself, other than it appears a lot of guys believe in this and shoot milk jugs. So it gives me a basis to compare to. I like strapping a few layers of denim and a rack of ribs in front of my jugs. Just to make the bullet work for it, lol.

I've not heard of the bullet vs wood test. Unless you are hiding behind wood.

Nope, just something I had laying around. Just curious how "powerful" it was compared to a .22 in a handgun. I love everything traditional muzzleloading, but my daily carry is something more modern and powerful than a .22. If I had nothing but a .31 cap and ball using round ball, I'd shoot for something not so hard as a sternum. However, I reckon the conical bullet will blast right thru my 2x12 target. I will see once my Era's Gone mold arrives.

 

[Bad Karma]

Is the wood supposed to simulate anything? 2" of pine equals???

I've read that three 1gal plastic milk jugs filled with water are supposed to equal 9-12" of ballistic gel. I have no proof of this myself, other than it appears a lot of guys believe in this and shoot milk jugs. So it gives me a basis to compare to. I like strapping a few layers of denim and a rack of ribs in front of my jugs. Just to make the bullet work for it, lol.

I've not heard of the bullet vs wood test. Unless you are hiding behind wood.

The military used pine boards as a comparative test for arms and ammunition From flintlock times. They didn’t use a rack of ribs and a denim jacket, preferring to eat one and wear the other.

 

[user 52391]

Back around 30 years ago, I had a ball from one bounce back and hit me right in the knee. Left a dandy bruise and smarted for a couple weeks afterwards...Can't recommend it for a good time.

 

[pacanis]

Nope, just something I had laying around. Just curious how "powerful" it was compared to a .22 in a handgun. I love everything traditional muzzleloading, but my daily carry is something more modern and powerful than a .22. If I had nothing but a .31 cap and ball using round ball, I'd shoot for something not so hard as a sternum. However, I reckon the conical bullet will blast right thru my 2x12 target. I will see once my Era's Gone mold arrives.

Bullet to bullet comparison. I can relate to that

 

[pacanis]

But it does make an interesting test to see if it will go through bone or be deflected. And how much penetration afterwards.

This needs to be done again using BP and PRB's

 

[user 48679]

I don't think I'd wanna eat some meat that has had some lead passed through it ( 'jes sayin" )

 

[Stantheman86]

But it does make an interesting test to see if it will go through bone or be deflected. And how much penetration afterwards.
View attachment 201082

This needs to be done again using BP and PRB's

That's like $100 worth of groceries hahaha

 

[earlwb]

But it does make an interesting test to see if it will go through bone or be deflected. And how much penetration afterwards.
View attachment 201082

This needs to be done again using BP and PRB's

The Feds might come knocking your door about your choice of bullet stopping materials nowadays.

 

[pacanis]

I drink a lot of milk

And I had cooked half a rack of those ribs and they sucked. So might as well get some use out of the other half ... for the betterment of scientific study
The local store usually has good inexpensive cuts of meat, but I won't be buying Plum Rose ribs again.

 

[Stantheman86]

This reminds me of that Knife or Death show where competitors use all kinds of bladed weapons to cut through hanging meat , fish, chicken and whatever else and I'm like, I hope they have a big cookout with all that meat

I'd eat meat that had lead balls pass through it, times are hard , meat is meat I'm brave enough to eat my coworkers mystery jerky or deer bologna

 

[pacanis]

This reminds me of that Knife or Death show where competitors use all kinds of bladed weapons to cut through hanging meat , fish, chicken and whatever else and I'm like, I hope they have a big cookout with all that meat

I'd eat meat that had lead balls pass through it, times are hard , meat is meat I'm brave enough to eat my coworkers mystery jerky or deer bologna

Pork butt works well, too.

And trims just fine for consumption. It was a pass through anyway.

Now pork butt I'd bet the .31 Pocket Pistol would not pass through. Not if it hits any bone.
My guess is an energy dump with that light ball.

I remember that show. It was nice to see how the blades handled everything thrown at them.

 

[Bad Karma]

I don't think I'd wanna eat some meat that has had some lead passed through it ( 'jes sayin" )

I’ve been doing just that for 76 years… and I’m (checks to see…) just fine! All things considered…

 

[pacanis]

I’ve been doing just that for 76 years… and I’m (checks to see…) just fine! All things considered…

Yeah, didn't we just have a thread on that?
Something about is it safe to be eating deer shot with a round ball???

 

[Old-Duckman]

I've seen Blackie Thompson videos where he used the pine board test. It doesn't matter what media you use if it is only testing for comparison purposes. Bullet A goes thru 2 boards bullet B goes thru 5 that gives you all the info you need for that type of test.

I also remember Blackie using water soaked newspaper for other penetration testing.