peacemaker45
Member
Most Cap & Ball revolvers can be quickly reloaded with an extra (pre-loaded) cylinder. It was a common practice with Walker Colts (big Dragoons) by Civil War Calvalry. Bill Hickock also liked the .36 because it shot a flatter trajectory than the .44 caliber selections of the day.
Yeah, you can swap cylinders fairly easily in a remington pattern C&B, but not so much in a colt. To remove a colt cylinder, one has to either drive or pull the wedge, then remove the barrel assembly, THEN remove the cylinder, replace, and reassemble. Not something I care to attempt on horseback, or in the middle of a firefight.
Also, the Walker far outstripped the Navy model as far as FPS, trajectory, etc, but wasn't exactly widely available. But, the navy was a heck of a lot easier to tote around than the big walker.
~~~Mat