Anybody actually conceal a black powder revolver/firearm?

[Pyro]

Came up during a discussion. I am confident in my loading skills enough to fire a cylinder off underwater (figure of speech) and there are plenty of things you can do to make a cylinder airtight. I would if I could, I wouldn't mind getting a little pocket Remmy to tout around. 5 shots of 70 grains .31 caliber behind 12 grains of powder will do plenty of hurts if you know how to hit it right. I'm not concerned about rust either, if you can maintain a cap n' ball as well as a normal gun you shouldn't be worried.
An odd subject no doubt, I was more sympathetic to actually doing it. My friends have no experience with black powder firearms so of course they protested against it. The biggest problem we came up with was leaving the weapon loaded for weeks or even months. Again I mentioned if you know what your doing it would fire even in years. What do you all think?

 

[Geckgo]

One shot for self defense??? I think the glock people are going to try to smash you on the head for even entertaining such an idea. Will you be carrying additional shot/powder?? hehehe.

 

[junkman_01]

Geckgo,

I guess you missed this part of the original post..

"I wouldn't mind getting a little pocket Remmy to tout around. 5 shots of 70 grains .31 caliber behind 12 grains of powder will do plenty of hurts if you know how to hit it right." :banghead:

 

[Joe Demko]

Nobody in his right mind will dispute that black powder weapons are lethal. They have a much more complicated manual of arms and are a lot more quirky than, let us say, a S&W Model 10. There are people at this board, and others, who claim to use black powder revolvers as their primary self-defense weapon. IMPO, this falls squarely into the realm of affectation. The best that can be said for black powder revolvers is that they can, with a great deal of care and attention, be made to function acceptably well. They offer nothing in the way of advantage compared to more modern weapons. YMMV, but if I want to indulge myself in affectation, I will do so with the width of my lapels or the color of my tie, not with a weapon that may be called upon to defend my life and those of my loved ones.

 

[Voodoochile]

Although I have never concealed a C&B Revolver, I have from time to time kept one or two loaded for some very extended lengths of time in either the confines of my home or riding in a holster mending fences & what not "including in the rain" & in all those cases they have never failed to fire all 5 chambers that were loaded one occasion I had one loaded for a year, the secret is proper cleaning, drying & loading of the weapon.

As allways I remind those that use any weapon as a S/D weapon, use the weapon as often as you can to be proficient with it's particulars & your abilities.

 

[Strykervet]

Yeah, here I am, the Glock guy has arrived. I'd carry a cap and ball --on my daily commute in a horse and buggy. Nobody carries it outside of novelty, and like is said here, home on the range. Except maybe felons or such, but they probably aren't on here offering advice.

Not to say they haven't done their share of killing, it's just that they are past their prime. Like a horse and buggy. I'd bet my pants that if Billy the Kid had a choice between his revolver and a Glock, he'd pick the Glock; he liked to carry the height of technology, just like any pistolero. Pack one in the 21st century? Absolutely not.

Kind of like packing a 1911 (haha!)

 

[BHP FAN]

1911's rule...but NAA's revolvers are a heck of a lot smaller than a Glock or a Colt 1911A1 pistol.

 

[robhof]

I open carried my SS ROA in a cowboy rig, when I night fished in Miami Fl in the 80's, only trouble I got was from the Marine Patrol til they verified that it was only a B/p and they couldnt arrest me, only threaten and harass. They always said that I was looking for trouble, my reply was that I was advertizing against trouble and in 4 yrs I never had a problem with thugs, unlike many of my fishing friends.

 

[Busyhands94]

i carry my NAA super companion when i go to the woods. it packs one heck of a wallop! i load mine with a full 3cc dipper of Triple Se7en pistol and some copper plated hollow points pulled from .22 federals or whatever i have. i am confident it is very effective. if you shoot a pop can filled with water you are going to get wet. the can simply explodes! it is really small too, smaller than a J-frame. i also added a rear sight to mine, chamfered the cylinder, and polished the bore. it is pretty accurate for something of it's size.

 

[BHP FAN]

We need pictures of that rear sight...

 

[damoc]

LOL anyone backwards enough to hang around this board on a regular occasion
is probably just as defended carrying a black powder C&B as any other concealabe pistol.

my "modern" revolver has not been shot in 6 months but my black powder is shot weekly
if not daily it actually makes more sense to carry it for self defense simply because it is so heavily used.

im at over 200 shots out of it and a couple of months between cleanings and no misfires and have not done more than wipe of the excess grease and reload.

I know there are some here who will cringe at the thought of such a filthy smoke belcher
but it keeps working reliably.

 

[Busyhands94]

alright, i will try and post pitchers of that rear sight. i also filed down the front sight to make it more proportionate to the rear sight, i did not want to make my rear sight too tall. it still needs to be finished a little, i need to polish it and make it perfect but as soon as i get my hand on a decent camera i will post it. i also will be doing a review of my firearms on youtube.

 

[Voodoochile]

Let me add to my original statement..

Back when all I had was my Pietta 1860 Army I used it for everything in regards to a firearm & on occasion I'll still take one of my C&B Revolvers out to check traps or what not but my normal carry piece is my trusty M1911A1 Colt.

Again I never thought to carry one Concealed.

 

[Capt. Redbeard]

There are many threads posted discussing this issue, and many of the members on this forum have said they do or would carry. I myself will when I get my concealed carry permit.

 

[45-70 Ranger]

Just for fun I packed my tiny .31 Wells Fargo for a day or two. If my chief ever found out that I had, my fanny would have been in deep trouble. We were required to carry our badge, I.D., and a weapon at all times off duty. Thing is, that weapon you carried was one that you had qualified with on the PD range. Don't think I coulda done too good on the fire 6 and reload phase....I did this just to have some fun and be a might nastalgic, but it made little sense to continue. The Ruger Speed Six in .357mag was far better in a gunfight than a 5 shot little SA revolver. I carried that WF just for fun. There's no way I would even think about it as a "daily" weapon.

That said, IF the only weapon you have is a BP revolver, then I guess that's what ya got to go with. But if you have a good cartridge weapon, I'd really go with the "modern method" and leave the BP for fun and in the field. Fun is fun, but common sense should be a factor here don't ya think?

Wade

 

[StrawHat]

Easy to carry and 44 caliber.

 

[Geckgo]

Must apologize for my ignorance with older guns. When someone says black powder the first things that come to mind are kentucky rifles and little singleshot pistols.

A five shot revolver would do the job fine, I reckon, just make sure you practice with it and it's reliable. If you get regular practice with it then there is no reason why it should go four months without a recharge.

 

[Pyro]

45-70 Ranger, I was given an image of our soldiers fighting with muzzleloading rifles and cannons in Afghanistan just for nostalgic sake.

StrawHat that thing is a beauty, I am still tempted to get a replacement barrel so I can do that to my 1851 Confederate. But with a max powder load of 20 (and the low energy levels of black powder itself) grains I feel I need all the barrel I can have to get that .44 ball moving.


I remember a thread started a good while back talking about the energy levels and modern equivalents to these black powder weapons/calibers. Can anyone post a link? I think the .31 revolver was up on the list close to shooting a .32 acp.

 

[arcticap]

From post #29:

Stopping power of a New Army vs modern revolver?

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=255957&page=2&highlight=sanow

Cap and Ball Ballistics

By Ed Sanow

Handguns February 1998

Cap and Ball Wound Ballistics



Calibre
Firearm
Bullet
FFFg
Velocity
Energy
1 Shot Stop

.31 Pocket
Baby Dragoon
46gr RB
11gr
821 fps
69 ft lb
30%

.36 Navy
Colt 1851 Navy
70gr RB
22gr
1038 fps
189 ft lb
59%

.44 Army
1861 New Army
141gr RB
35gr
935 fps
274 ft lb
75%

.44 Walker
1847 Walker
141gr RB
60gr
1287 fps
519 ft lb
87%


.44 Calibre RB Ballistics



0.44
1860 Sheriff
141gr RB
30gr
756 fps
179 ft lb
59%

0.44
1861 New Army
141gr RB
35gr
935 fps
274 ft lb
75%

0.44
Ruger Old Army
141gr RB
40gr
1031 fps
333 ft lb
79%

0.44
1848 Dragoon
141gr RB
50gr
1181 fps
437 ft lb
85%

0.44
1847 Walker
141gr RB
60gr
1287 fps
519 ft lb
87%



Cap and Ball versus Modern Cartridges



.31 Pocket
Baby Dragoon
46gr RB
11gr
821 fps
69 ft lb
30%

.22LR
Revolver
37gr LHP
FL
975 fps
78 ft lb
29%

.36 Navy
Colt 1851 Navy
70gr RB
22gr
1038 fps
189 ft lb
59%

9mm S
Semi Auto Pistol
88gr JHP
FL
1000 fps
189 ft lb
59%

.44 Army
New Army
141gr RB
35gr
935 fps
274 ft lb
75%

.44 Spl
Revolver
200gr LHP
FL
810 fps
292 ft lb
73%

.44 Walker
Walker 1847
141gr RB
60gr
1287 fps
519 ft lb
87%

.41 Mag
Revolver
175gr JHP
FL
1250 fps
608 ft lb
89%

 

[CharlesK80]

Articap, that chart is nothing more than a great example of made-up stopping power numbers. I would not be willing to bet my life on any of them. Nor the life of anyone else. Stopping power can never be more than a guess until the perp is shot. Then you know. The variables preclude any meaningful percentage.

 

[mykeal]

As evidence, or more aptly, proof, of whether or not any given cartridge/load will reliably and positively 'stop' an aggressor, I would agree the numbers are worth little. However, as a tool to enable comparisons between cartridges/loads they are meaningful insofar as the test conditions did not vary. Take them for what they are and don't try to characterize them as something they're not.

 

[PRM]

Yes I have carried a C&B in the past and probably will again from time to time. I generally carry a more modern type of firearm today, but, I never felt a significant disadvantage with a black powder arm. My first handgun was a Colt 1851 Navy, that was in 1976. I liked to shoot a lot back then, and I could afford to shoot the C&B revolvers over the more expensive cartridge guns. Guess you could say it developed into a life long love of these guns.

I really like the Colt 2nd Generation Pocket Pistols ~ however, I recently acquired a SS Uberti 1858 New Army that is a really nice gun.

Now a days I generally limit them to days on the farm or trips in the woods.

 

[pohill]

A few years ago I fired various BP revolvers (.31, .36, .44 and ROA) and a Hawkins .50 at the metal insert of my old Second Chance vest. You can see the damage the balls did in the photo. I did not label each shot (I wish I had) but the only one that pierced the metal was the Hawkins .50 (at 50 yds).
More important than the dent or hole the roundballs made was the shape the roundballs took when they hit the metal. They flatten out into round, razor sharp disks that would inflict some nasty damage.
My point is that these weapons are lethal, as we all know. No question about stopping power or ability to do damage. When talking about carrying a BP revolver, it comes down to reliability. As much as I like my BP revolvers, I carry a Ruger Speed Six .357 with a 2 inch barrel.

 

[Castr8r]

I think ya'all have missed an important part of self defense with a BP revolver, esp. at closer ranges. If you miss, you'll still probably set them on fire!
At random times, I do have my Old Army laying on my nightstand with 35 gr. BP under a 220 gr. lead slug. I've left it loaded for as long as a year at a time, and it still went bang when I pulled the trigger.

 

[M-Cameron]

I think ya'all have missed an important part of self defense with a BP revolver, esp. at closer ranges. If you miss, you'll still probably set them on fire!
At random times, I do have my Old Army laying on my nightstand with 35 gr. BP under a 220 gr. lead slug. I've left it loaded for as long as a year at a time, and it still went bang when I pulled the trigger.

i always thought it was that if you miss, you can still disappear in the cloud of smoke.....just like in the old samurai movies.