Skip to main content
Help Center Community Shop

shootability of civil war pistols

ker2222
I have been shooting black powder replicas of civil war era pistols for a few years now. As my collection has grown, I have often wondered about the shootability of the real thing.

How would one go about determining if a 150 year old pistol is shootable? Are there any general guidelines that can be followed. I have seen examples of people shooting authentic civil war era colts at CAS matches so it seems like it could be done.

I woudl appreciate anyone's insight.
0

Comments

6 comments

Date Votes
  • Rebel_James
    I'd advise against shooting it at all. It's a piece of history and there's plenty of reproductions you can buy to shoot.

    If you're deadset on shooting it anyway, and I strongly advise against it, I'd take it to a gunsmith that's familiar with black powder pistols and have him check it out.

    If you can't do that, you can do what's reccomended to check out black powder rifles. Keep in mind, this may destroy it!

    Mark each cylinder so you can identify each one. Load one cylinder with just a bit more than the maximum recommeded load. Prop up the pistol so it's supported and tie a string to the trigger. Stand at a safe distance away, preferably behind a tree, and pull the string, shooting the pistol.

    If the pistol 'survives' this, repeat firing all cylinders. If it survives all 6, inspect it for any cracks, swells, etc.

    Again, my first suggestion is to not fire a pistol that old!! It has too much history and value to take a chance on destroying it!!



    "If they won't give us good terms, come back and we'll fight it out."
    -- Gen. James Longstreet
    0
  • captkirk3@dslextreme.com
    I agree with Rebel...Don't shoot it.....Its paid its dues...Hang it on the Wall or over the Fireplace on the Mantle...Shoot the Modern Guns....To replace an Original Main Spring would cost almost as much as a Replica Gun will cost...

    Captain Kirk, Tech Staff
    0
  • v35
    I've shot original Colt armies, a Gettysburg Sharps carbine, a 1860's percussion double 12 gauge, a similarly old german dueller and in cartridge guns,a Colt Lightning rifle and pistol an 1880 Merwin Hulbert revolver and a Remington 1889 Damascus double 12 gauge. Using proper loads they are all quite safe.
    These guns are all clean and sharp, not rusted out beaters.
    I've stopped shooting the Colts because they have to be taken totally apart after shooting as the black powder flash gets into the lockwork and needs to be cleaned out. Every time you touch a screw, it diminishes the gun a little. In doing a lot of shooting with SAA & percussion Colts I found several springs in these guns commonly break. They are the trigger spring, cylinder locking bolt arm and the hand spring.
    All can be replaced.
    0
  • rldowns3
    I would advise against shooting an antique BP revolver of the civil war era. Old iron and brass may look nice but you have no way of knowing if it'll hold togeather. Some of that old iron can get pretty "soft".

    aliens.jpg
    0
  • gunpaq
    Wow, all this advice against shooting an original Civil War firearm has scared me but do agree unless you absolutely know what you are doing and the firearm is in good condition and excellent working order.

    As a teenager I always shot my 3xgreat-grandpop's pistol and rifle and thought nothing of it as did my father and grandfather years before.[:0]

    Shooting historical firearms is like flying vintage historical airplanes, it's living history, but, when they crash or damaged then they are just a piece of scrap metal.

    Pack slow, fall stable, pull high, hit dead center.
    0
  • v35
    I witnessed a friend of Cole Palen(deceased)of Rhinebeck Aerodrome crash Coles Sopwith Snipe into a pile of small splinters and rags. Yes, they put it together but only as a static display.
    Some time ago while trying to get a max charge into a Sharps carbine, some powder got into the rear chamber of the forend.
    When I fired it it split the forend. Repairing it has been on my project list for 20 years.
    Yes there's a whole different feeling you have while shooting the originals you don't have when shooting replicas.
    0

Please sign in to leave a comment.

Recent Activity