Centerfire vs cap and ball revolver

James1873

James1873

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McLennan, Alberta
*ended up picking up a smith and Wesson number 3 Russian. Thanks all*

Lately I’ve had a bug to acquire myself an antique handgun. I’m not much of a reloader, other then using those Lee classic loaders for 45/70 and 222 rem. But wouldn’t be opposed to eventually getting a proper reloading setup, I have recently purchased a Lyman reloading manual. But ideally would like to be able to buy preloaded ammunition. So I was thinking something like 44 Russian or 450 adams, 455 Webley or 476 enfield. Not sure if any other cartridges would work?

was also considering a cap and ball revolver like the 1849 colt pocket or other bigger colt, or a Remington new model army. Seems easier to find some balls and caps and some black powder and pretty much ready to go.

any advise on what the best first time antique to get invested in?
 
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I just bought the Pietta 1858 Remington New Model Army from Marstar, the gun is beautiful and fit and finish is excellent. Never thought I would be interested in black powder, but from what I have read I chose the Remington over the Colt and happy I did
 
timandkimandshea said:
There is a good deal on a bnib Ruger old army .44 BP right now on the EE
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I looked at the Ruger old Army as well, they are probably the best Black Powder revolver made, there are two on EE but they are priced way to high, brand new stainless version just sold on auction for under 700.00, the Marstar Remington you can get for under 400.00 brand new. I figured I would not invest in the Ruger Old Army until I would first find out if I liked black powder shooting
 
You could also buy one of the Uberti cap & ball conversion revolvers replicas in 38 sp and 45 colt.These are replicas of the 1851 navy , 1872 army colts etc that were converted to cartridge from cap &ball back in the early 1870s.Pics of them are on the Uberti web site under cartridge revolvers.Prophet river has them in stock
 
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James1873 said:
Thanks guys, I was thinking more of an antique status handgun though
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I think the idea is you might want to try cap and ball on the cheap first before going all in on an antique. Buying a shootable Colt or Remington as you are saying means that you will be out $1500-2000 at least if you suddenly find out you don't like C&B, whereas if you try a restricted version first you can spend just $300-400.

You also don't mention if you have other muzzleloading experience and a genuine antique in the low 4 figure range maybe isn't the best platform for starting off, learning and making a few mistakes.

The Lyman manual is a good start to get the gears going on reloading but I think you will quickly find that for antiques, the scope of modern manuals is incredibly limited - even in the "more common" calibers you list. Frequency of shooting will also play a big factor here - with some of those calibers I assume you will be purchasing commercial reloads like those offered by Rusty Wood, if you want to plink a lot then you will be spending big bucks. Do the math and see how long it takes for you to cover the cost of a basic press and die set vs. buying commercial and it may change your initial decision.
 
Cap n ball can be fun. No cases to worry about. You won’t be shootin’ off 50 rounds in 5 minutes though, and forget about shooting in the rain for the most part. A .44 cap and ball revolver will probably have more power than a black powder cartridge gun too. If for some god awful reason you’re thinking of carrying an antique in the bush, cap and ball probably isn’t the best bet as the caps may come off randomly. If you’re thinking of carrying an antique black powder cartridge gun, they aren’t going to save you from anything that’s likely to harm you.
 
The open top designs, Colt, Manhattan, etc are much more prone to cap jams under the hammer. However they are much easier to clean afterwards.

But the solid frame designs, Remington, Rogers & Spencer, Whitney are often found to be more accurate from the get go and less prone to cap jams, but it is still a remote possibility. Generally we are in need of #10 or #11 sized caps for .36 and .44 calibre.
None of these prementioned revolvers are cheaply bought in a safe firing condition.
Word of advice, don't even begin to contemplate firing them without the proper screwdrivers and nipple wrench for complete teardown.
 
Brutus said:
The open top designs, Colt, Manhattan, etc are much more prone to cap jams under the hammer. However they are much easier to clean afterwards.

But the solid frame designs, Remington, Rogers & Spencer, Whitney are often found to be more accurate from the get go and less prone to cap jams, but it is still a remote possibility. Generally we are in need of #10 or #11 sized caps for .36 and .44 calibre.
None of these prementioned revolvers are cheaply bought in a safe firing condition.
Word of advice, don't even begin to contemplate firing them without the proper screwdrivers and nipple wrench for complete teardown.
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Good advice for sure. Track of the Wolf has nipple wrenches and there’s more than one size. The “dualist” Utube videos show the screwdriver bits required for a few different antique revolvers. I got some bits from Brownells based on his recommendations.
 
infideleggwelder said:
I picked up a factory refurbished 1860 army. Refurb was done in the `50s or`60s. It shoots quite well except it needs new nipples.
Would not want to be shot by it.
If my 2 Gen dragoon wasn`t so heavy, it would be a good bush gun if it wasn’t restricted, if cap and ball is your choice
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I forgot to mention. There's something very ergonomic regards 1851, 1860 Colts. Probably nothing faster from a crossdraw holster and a natural pointer too.
 
Luv antique revolvers but most fun i get, is from my 2 barrels 65 + cal. short pistols.

Thumpers they are
 
I know the OP isn't interested however a decent replica of Colt Walker is something else to shoot. Expended caps between cylinder and watertable get crushed forthwith and cylinder lockup will not suffer one iota.
That's unusual for any cap & ball revolver.
Of course the Ruger Old Army is king of all.
In stainless steel especially is a breeze to clean.
After market nipples such as Treso or Slix Shot only make this revolver even more reliable.
 
Brutus said:
I know the OP isn't interested however a decent replica of Colt Walker is something else to shoot. Expended caps between cylinder and watertable get crushed forthwith and cylinder lockup will not suffer one iota.
That's unusual for any cap & ball revolver.
Of course the Ruger Old Army is king of all.
In stainless steel especially is a breeze to clean.
After market nipples such as Treso or Slix Shot only make this revolver even more reliable.
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Dragoon does the same thing to expended cap. My ruger old army has the rubber grips, which i don`t like so much, but it`s pretty darn accurate and hits with authority too.
 
i have a goodly stash, stored in two different geographical locations to meet the laws. although since i got here from the east coast this summer, i`ve gone thru at least two pounds, and a pound of 777. thats way more than i used in 5 years in NL.
i buy it when i see it, Pyrodex, 777 and black. same thing with caps too, buy them when i see them.
 
around here, people , including me , will buy a cap and ball revolver because they look ###y etc but after a short while the time spent loading becomes awfully long compared to how quickly you empty them. For that reason, many will switch to a single shot muzzle loading pistol. Also many originals tend to shoot fairly high at 25 yards or so. If you don't want to reload your own ammunition for a cartridge revolver, there are several Colt replicas available in 45 colt and I think 44-40 but at least to me, store bought ammo is pretty expensive. Ruger revovlers, both cap and ball and cartridge and in stainless, are extremely good and accurate guns. To a large extent it comes down to how much do you want to spend on the gun and on ammunition

cheers mooncoon
 
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