Long winded intro, three
ok, I am buying my first black powder revolver and it will be a 12" barrel "buffalo" model *( I have read that the 'Buntline' was apparently real as the butcher in Tombstone reportedly saw Wyatt use his gift from the author to 'Buffalo' poor Tom McLaury all upside his haid )
Me: Revolver enthusiast since 1982 love N frames, Blackhawks, Super Blackhawk, Super Redhawk, my current gal is a model 6.5" 25-5 125th anniversary special that of course WAS NOT KEPT NIB
That was one of my working guns I qualified with 297 of 300 in the Va armed S/O course circa 1999.
What I will be using this for: Originally wanted a BP only for the conversion as fun way to shoot those cowboy loads ( love punching paper with those in the 25) as a way to keep the mileage down on the Smitty, thought about getting a ready made conversion and was ready to 'pull trigger' on an f ine lookin 5.5"1858 conversion when feading about round ball and conical ballistics made me reconsider. I may get a conversion cylinder but I am really interested in BP ballistics with the round ball. In both Colt and Remington 'clones'.
I am a primo woods loafer, this revolver will be for plinking mostly, possibly a camp gun or bandolier gun to keep me company in God's Country and dispatch the occasional small game of opportunity, perhaps a hog hunt if my skill gets high enough ( with a back up shooter ). I love the look of the Dixie Buffalo and have seen at least one reviewer state he bought it to use the barrel on his steel Pietta 1851 .44 frame.
Not interested in formal competition or formal target shooting at this time. Like the idea of being able to get a shoulder stock but won't even consider that until I learn to feed and care for this beast.
I found a good screwdriver set, which will be next purchase after revolver. Plenty of good load information out there. Here's what I'm wondering about;
Holster - anybody know of a
left handed holster made for the 1858 or Dixie Buffalo revolvers?
nipples ? is there a specific replacement nipple for pietta's 1851/1858 that is preferred for reliability
Cartridge case? Anybody have a source for civil era type paper cartridge holders that they like?
Any other helpfull newbie advice is appreciated, finding lots of information on safety, maintenance, etc, but NEVER afraid to try and learn something new.