Shooting the Colt revolving rifle.

Fun to shoot, but a bit awkward. Have to make sure you keep your fingers from behind the front of the cylinder in case of multiple discharge. I need a gunsmith to look at it as the timing is off and sometimes does not advance the cylinder.

I have read that there have been a few instances of Yankee soldiers loosing a few fingers due to multiple chambers firing at once.

Awkward indeed. I would not want my fingers around the cap burst either.

Very awkward to shoot. It's one gun I put in the wall hanger category.

Could the concept have included a guard that swung out of the way for loading? Dunno.

'morning,

Very nice! That looks like the actual .56 rifle, not the .45 "cattleman's carbine". If so, where did you find it? I've been looking for a reasonably priced one for years...

Mike

Calum said:

'morning,

Very nice! That looks like the actual .56 rifle, not the .45 "cattleman's carbine". If so, where did you find it? I've been looking for a reasonably priced one for years...

Mike

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It's a .44 caliber. I wish it was the original .56, but I don't know of anybody making a repo. It was made by Palmetto. They made a limited quantity of them.

Tom A Hawk said:

Awkward indeed. I would not want my fingers around the cap burst either.

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The cap blast doesn't bother me. It's not much different than shooting a cap and ball pistol. The prospect of having a chain fire and blowing off a finger does bother me. I could never get used to shooting it all the time, but the historical aspect to it intrigues me. The US Sharpshooters had them for a while until they were replaced by Sharps rifles. There were other units that used them too, such as the 21st Ohio, who used them quite well at Chickamauga.

I have a percussion Sharps carbine. When first acquired it leaked at the gas check and would blow a ball cap off my head. A local smith fashioned a replacement gas check and now its rather fun to shoot. Love the old technology.

Tom A Hawk said:

I have a percussion Sharps carbine. When first acquired it leaked at the gas check and would blow a ball cap off my head. A local smith fashioned a replacement gas check and now its rather fun to shoot. Love the old technology.

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I totally know what you are talking about with the Sharps. The first time I shot one was several years ago with a Pedersoli that I had bought. The first time I shot it my hat went off of my head. I totally expected my forehead to be marked, but it wasn't. Still, it left a very bad impression and I disliked it so much I sold it. Last year, after reading up on Sharps and talking to lots of folks I decided to try one again and now I really like Sharps. The journey to load development and reliability in both firing and action functionality has been a long and winding road, but I THINK that I have it figured out now. The flintlocks are so much easier, lol.

Perhaps you could make a Kevlar/Nomex long wristed glove? Only need one for the off-hand.

Tom A Hawk said:

I have a percussion Sharps carbine. When first acquired it leaked at the gas check and would blow a ball cap off my head. A local smith fashioned a replacement gas check and now its rather fun to shoot. Love the old technology.

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I have two of them and they are shot in competition. My 88yo dad is on our N-SSA team and it's his favorite gun. Both have the breech mod by Larry Flees and we can run them with no issues for quite a while. Longest we've run with nothing done other than load and fire was right at 100 rounds.

I’ve got the Uberti Remington Revolving Carbine version, with a Tylors 45C conversion cylinder.
Recently picked up a Pietta, 1998 build, brass frame style 1851 (Navy) in 44 caliber.12” barrel with a grip frame rifle stock.

dave951 said:

I have two of them and they are shot in competition. My 88yo dad is on our N-SSA team and it's his favorite gun. Both have the breech mod by Larry Flees and we can run them with no issues for quite a while. Longest we've run with nothing done other than load and fire was right at 100 rounds.

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I have to spit in mine after a few shots.

As people rightly say, the forward hand (I can't say "left" in case I upset a southpaw!) is at risk from flash -- let alone a chain fire.
Early Tranter revolving rifles had a flat front to the trigger-guard to keep the hand back ( see Taylerson's "The Revolver 1818-1865" plate 8 for one that is now in my collection.)

Below is a pic of a "Parker-Field" rifle in my collection.


You can see the horn hand-grip. Incidentally I also have a cased Parker-Field revolver.



I must confess that I have never shot either- - as I couldn't face the looooooong job of cleaning them.
What I would really NOT fancy shooting are the rifles with RADIAL ("flat") cylinders, like the Wilkinson and others, where some of the charges are facing backwards ;-(((((

I have one too. I have not shot it as the sear is broken and does not engage half cock and barely holds on full cock. as much as I like revolving carbines the root rifle is way to front heavy to shoot comfortably. as to why blast schilds were not put on the gun to deal with chain fires and protect the forward hand. Colt had looked into it and found that it made chain fires happen much more often.

nkbj said:

Could the concept have included a guard that swung out of the way for loading? Dunno.

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The "original Colt's design" had a "flash guard" at the front of the cylinders, but it was soon discovered that it exacerbated multiple discharges that became even more severe with the "shield" in place.

Craig "Wildcat" Wilcox said:

Perhaps you could make a Kevlar/Nomex long wristed glove? Only need one for the off-hand.

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Probably would not help much in the event of a chain fire.

Reminds me of the revolving rifle fired by Lee Van Cleef in The second Eastwood "spaghetti western", For a Few Dollars More. Never owned one or actually wanted one but they are certainly major in the cool category.