Which is more fun to shoot?

[pepperbelly]

When shooting just for fum, are the replica revolvers more fun than a single shot flintlock or caplock handgun, like the trapper pistols?
Or is a muzzleloader a lot of fun to play with?
Which is more accurate?

Jim

 

[mykeal]

Good Lord. Would I rather go bass fishing or trout fishing? Would I rather play baseball or football? Would I rather read O'Brian or Forester?

How do you answer that question? Every day is different, every gun is different. My 'favorite' gun changes frequently and for no good reason I can determine.

They're all fun, each in it's own way. Some are easier to use, some are more accurate, some are a challenge, gee, it's just impossible to explain.

 

[Mulebrain]

There is one way to tell!

Buy them all, or shoot someone elses :grin:

I like them all

 

[TFoley]

Well, with the wind in the right direction, and four or five of us lined up shooting our BP revolvers as fast as we can, we can have a ball [no pun intended].

It depends what you call fun.

Over here, just going through the drill and firing a single shot can be more fun than you guys can possibly imagine.

tac

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

Do you like Porterhouse, NY Strip or just a good Filet Mignon? I'll never have a favorite, but so far I don't yet own a single-shot pistol. Grew-up with wheelguns and still love 'em! Maybe someday the "BUG" will bite and I'll just have to have one.

As long as it goes BANG I enjoy it! :grin:

Dave

 

[bwhoffman]

there are some places, such as rondy's, where the dating of the handgun needs to be pre 1840ish,
so they put the ruling out that says "no wheel guns"/revolvers.

mine are single shot front stuffers,but I have owned revolvers. the little .32 colts wells fargo....very novel, very inaccurate. The ruger ROA....wow, what a shooter!
my Wm Parker vs the old ROA on paper, would lean towards the billy parker.

 

[oldwolf]

I think is pretty much simply boils down to what do you like to shoot.

I have had a BP rifle for many years and never saw much point in having a BP handgun. That was because I was busy shooting cartridge based handguns. Then one day I realized how much I enjoyed the slower pace of shooting BP rifles. I didn’t have to pick up empty brass to reload, didn’t have to inventory multiple smokeless powders, buy reloading dies, order bullets, etc. At some point I thought that a BP handgun would be enjoyable to shoot so I now have three that I bought this year. I enjoy them as much or more than any of the modern cartridge handguns I have.

My point in this ramble is that most people’s tastes change over time and with increased age. I no longer enjoy shooting magnum loads out of my magnums, nor do I feel a need to hand load cartridges to their max SAAMI ratings. What I enjoy now is loading just to the point to effectively get the job done, which most of the time is well below maximum loadings, even in my BP guns I have found this to be true.

I am even enjoying what I have found to be the cultivated art of cleaning BP guns. What used to be something I saw as a chore I now see as an enjoyable part of the process.

So to answer your question, if you are anything like me, you will not be content for long with only one BP gun.

But, if you are asking what type BP gun you should buy first, I would have to say a rifle. They are much more flexible and useful than a handgun, IMHO. Also, they are much more accurate.

RAMBLE MODE = OFF :yakyak:

 

[Claude Mathis]

That's like asking which of my children I love more. :wink:

 

[Charles D. Prokopp]

Funny....I've just realised that I've never fired a revolver, modern OR blackpowder.

 

[Poor Private]

My day to day revolver I have to say is the 58 Remington, But if I want to be a bit show-offish I get out my 36 Patterson. You should see the stares and questions. Hey I get tired of seeing the same pistols on the range all the time.

 

[rebel727]

I've got an old .45 Kentucky somewhere, haven't shot it in years. I do likes my revolvers tho.
Single shot rifles are a lot of fun but single shot pistols don't really excite me.

 

[pepperbelly]

I should have known better than to ask a question like that! :surrender:

I'll end up with at least one of each style and probably start with a c&b revolver. I just wondered how much fun, and trouble, a trapper style pistol is. I figure it will be as slow to load and fire as my TC Hawken.

Jim

 

[Zonie]

pepperbelly:
If you load a tight patch like you do with your TC, it will be a lot slower to load than the TC.

With the rifle, you can get a good grip on it and rest the butt on the ground.
With a single shot pistol getting a grip while you use a short starter isn't easy and some people have found that resting the butt of the grip on a hard surface is a good way to crack or break the stock.

On the other hand, if you use a fairly thin, loose fitting patch loading a single shot isn't too bad.

You asked about "fun" and different folks have different ideas about what fun is.
For me, the revolver is more "fun" because loading it isn't hard to do and once loaded you have 5 or 6 shots before you have to stop and re-load.
On the other hand, I say the single shot pistol is far more accurate (if it has a good trigger. Something that is sometimes hard to find.)

The reason for the greater accuracy is that except for the Ruger OA almost all of the currently made revolvers have chambers that are smaller than the groove diameter of the barrel. This doesn't always mean poor accuracy but it sure doesn't help. A patched ball on the other hand always fits the barrel fairly tightly.

 

[bwhoffman]

With a single shot pistol getting a grip while you use a short starter isn't easy and some people have found that resting the butt of the grip on a hard surface is a good way to crack or break the stock.

......On the other hand, I say the single shot pistol is far more accurate (if it has a good trigger. Something that is sometimes hard to find.)

I hold mine between my knees to reload and short start. The trapper is a shooter with a good adjustable double set trigger. they are amazing guns for the money and really dont need a lot of powder! I shoot 15 to 18 gr of 3F out to 35 yards regularly in both my .50 hand guns and they both group at 3 inches or less....repeatedly!
Slow, yes...accurate, you bet! and meets the "of the period" rules at most rondy's and such.