Pistol to go with a rifle

I have a .32 percussion squirrel rifle. I am thinking I would like to carry a muzzleloader pistol and was kind of wondering what most people prefer for this. Do you like to carry a pistol in the same size so you only have to carry one type ball, or do you like to carry something else?

I was originally thinking about the same size, but have not been able to find any .32 pistols.

Only close to 32 is 31 revolver I can think of is a 1849 Wells Fargo Uberti. Pretty small. Designed for coat pocket carry. Look at dixie gun works.

I have a baby dragoon that my brother gave me when I was young. I think it is an Armi San Marco.

I was thinking a single shot muzzleloader. Other than a Le Page in 36, I cant find any smaller than 44. The Le Page is over $1000 and I don't have that much to spend.

Maybe I should quit thinking so much and just shoot what I have.

I think this is an interesting thing to think about. I'm always debating with myself as to which pistol to bring when and with what rifle. I am very fond of my Remington Navy and 1860 Colt for sidearms when I hunt. The Remington Navy is a great grouse-getter, and usually my go-to sidearm. As I hunt with either a .75" musket, or a .62 or .58" rifle, a handgun in the same caliber isn't real practical, although there are more pistols in those calibers, than in .32". But usually I wouldn't want to pack that big of a pistol.

I do carry a Plain's Pistol in .50", heavily loaded, when calling in bear and cougar, so I can make a close shot to my far right, when something comes in behind me, as it is hard to swing hard right with a rifle when sitting. But with a .32" I assume you are after much smaller game.

As a companion to a .32" rifle, that does not leave many options. A single shot in .32 would be very sweet, but one would almost have to have a barrel custom made, or the whole pistol, or put out the $$$$ for a Le Paige and re-line the barrel to .32".

The baby dragoons would be pretty close in caliber, but are short barreled pistols. But, depending on what size ball your rifle shoots, might be a match, if you wanted that small of a pistol.

With such a small bore rifle, perhaps a large bore pistol would be a better choice. If you want to stay somewhat small bore, the Colt Navy and Remington Navy pistols are very sweet, and a .36" has a better wallop than most people think. Also, the smaller versions such as the 1862 "Pocket Police" are nice accurate pistols, are .36 calibre, and.....smaller and lighter if that's important.

On the other hand...a good Colt or Remington in .44 is a great sidearm. I prefer the 5.5 and 6" barreled versions over the 7.5 and 8" long-toms. Again, with a "small" rifle, perhaps a large bore pistol is a better "match". ???

Or...perhaps re-barrel or rebore the rifle to .36", and have a ton of choices in something that shoots the same size ball. !!!! But you'd have to be very careful to get your bore sized where it shot the standard .375" ball, or you'd be right back where you started from.

As far as handguns in a different ball size from the rifle, you can still share powder and caps, or flints, and patches between the two. It's a "cool factor" for sure, to have them in the same caliber, but certainly not important, or necessary. But necessary is not what this hobby is about for sure.

Good luck, I love over-thinking this stuff.

Look for a Crockett pistol, they are .32cal

I tend to over think things too. I have about decided if I can’t find what I want, maybe I should make what I want. We will see how this thought progresses.

I wouldn’t mind a Crockett pistol, but since they don’t make them anymore, I haven’t been able to find one.

Not familiar with the Crocket, but there ya go. Seek and thee shall find. !! I like the single shots better than the revolvers, but revolvers is what I got...mostly, except for my Plain's Pistol.

Wow...hard to find a picture of one. However, I did, and it looks like a pretty cool pistola. Yeah, seek one out.

Several years ago, I had the same thoughts about having a matching pistol to go with a new 40 caliber flintlock rifle I had just finished building. So, I made one using a 12" Green mountain pistol barrel and a small Siler flintlock. It just made me happy at the time.

Looking back I must admit that I have never found a need for having the matching 40 while hunting. It was kind of fun a couple of times using both at the target range but that was about it.

I still take the pistol with me out in the deer woods in case there is a need to put down a wounded animal. That is all, as the hunting rifle's used are 45 cal. or larger. Having two different round ball sizes in my hunting bag is not at all a big issue.

Craig Roach said:

I have a baby dragoon that my brother gave me when I was young. I think it is an Armi San Marco.

I was thinking a single shot muzzleloader. Other than a Le Page in 36, I cant find any smaller than 44. The Le Page is over $1000 and I don't have that much to spend.

Maybe I should quit thinking so much and just shoot what I have.

Click to expand...

The Le Page is a single-shot target pistol, not a backwoods gun of any kind. However, it's your fun - you can do what you like to do.

I figure if I get in a pickle and need more than the single rifle round I will need more than one shot. I carry the ole 44 with five shots and just to look cool, I keep a sawbuck in the empty chamber. Just a niche I have. .45 caliber can be found in long gun and pistol for more traditional look.

Common caliber guns, long gun and pistol, are a great idea. This is why I got a .50 flint pistol to go with my .50 rifle. They use the same size ball and I like that. The suggestion of a Crockett pistol is excellent advice.

Had a rifle rebored to .46 to use .44 revolver ball reversing the mistakes of the past.
Maybe the same thing would be practical with .32.

I think a Le Page type pistol would make an excellent woods gun, both for the coup-de-grass or small game, or just to have a loaded firearm when reloading the rifle. Why not? Perhaps after shooting squirrel, or grouse, or rabbit #1, pulling the pistol might put squirrel or grouse or rabbit #2 in the bag instead of having to make them wait, while reloading the rifle. I like that Crocket.

Now in the case of the Roach, he's got a .32" rifle, so he's probably not going to have to finish off a squirrel with it, or shoot small game with it instead of using his rifle. Or put down a wounded and charging rabbit. That's why it makes a little more sense to me, in this case, to carry a larger caliber pistol, just for whatever. I know I'd feel very naked without a side arm, although I could not argue with someone who insisted there really is no need for one. (spoil sports!)

In my case, hunting with large caliber long-arms, it makes sense to carry a small caliber pistol. I like a .36", because it's kind of the best of both worlds, a small caliber but with a pretty big bite. One can carry a lot of .375" balls. It doesn't tear up small game, but punches right through a deer's skull. Don't ask me how I know that, because in Washington state, the game department doesn't allow coup-de-gras shots with a pistol...unless it meets the requirements for big game hunting. Which a Remington Navy does not.

Personally, I think I'd find a .32" pistol a bit too small, if I lost my tweezers, how would I reload it? However, nothing wrong with one if that what's floats one's boat.

I picked up a .32 smoothbore flinter ay a gun show. Made in Spain. I have no idea who made it.
Would post pictures, but am PC challenged. Never shoot it because the hammer points at the frizzen, not the pan.
Knowing this, bought cheap, but this is another story.