How fast can BP revolvers be reloaded?

I tested this out years ago so I'm working from memory. I made small wood boxes that the combustible cartridges were encased. These were about the size of a deck of cards. I made both the mono-bloc DC Sage style and the two piece Colt style. I liked the Colt best. These wood "packets" had a pull string/wire.
The halves were held together by paper wrapping. When you pulled the string/wire it ripped the paper wrapping and exposed the carridges. Sage had an additional hole for the caps.
If I recall it took about 45 seconds to ram 6 rounds and cap 6 nipples. I then compared with my Colt SAA 45 Colt "Peacemaker". You have to unload the spent/fired/old rounds and then load the new rounds and I think that took about 25 seconds. In any event the two were pretty close.
NOTE: don't fire a cylinder and then try to reload fast as any ember in the chamber could cause the new round to explode. Start with an inspected cylinder.
The other thing, the cartridge guns ended up being one only but the percussion were very often carried in pairs. The 44 Colts are actually pretty powerful and 12 rounds. With two, you can (if hiding behind a rock, etc. reload one revolver while the other is instantly available. Buffalo Bill wrote when he was young of holding off a large band of NDNs, doing just that, having the ability of a constant fire.

Well for my nickles worth on this subject. I seriously doubt that very few tried to reload a perc. revolver on horseback during a running Calvary fight. I would say 98% had extra revolvers in saddle holsters to pull & use. I would not go to a gunfight with a long bladed knife !

Felonious said:

I have no experience with black powder revolvers.

However, I used to live close to a major civil war battlefield, and I took a bunch of tours. I was told that firearms were treated like "single use" weapons. They would generally be fired dry, then put away while a sword, bayonet, or other firearm was used.

Without physically leaving the area of the battle, I imagine it would be pretty difficult to reload a BP revolver.

Click to expand...

I imagine one would be a very noticeable target fiddling around trying to reload.

I recently read (dont ask where, I read a lot) that officers were issued pistols as purely a defensive weapon as none were expected to be front line battle engaging the enemy, hence almost no need to reload in battle or involved in a running battle on horseback having to reload.
Talking regular Army officers, not Quantrill/Wales guerilla fighters. Who almost never reloaded, just carried as many pistols as they could get their hands on.

There a scene in We Were Soldiers. Gibson tells Sam Elliot, his Sargeant who only carries a 1911 .45, Gibson says, Its gonna be a hell of a fight, you might wanna get an M16. Elliot says,pistol good enough, by time I need a rifle there will be plenty laying around the ground for me to pick up. And in Platoon, Sheen is seen picking up M16 and AK47 off the ground rather than reloading.
I suspect it was the same in 1860s.

CaptainVane said:

I recently read (dont ask where, I read a lot) that officers were issued pistols as purely a defensive weapon as none were expected to be front line battle engaging the enemy, hence almost no need to reload in battle or involved in a running battle on horseback having to reload.
Talking regular Army officers, not Quantrill/Wales guerilla fighters. Who almost never reloaded, just carried as many pistols as they could get their hands on.

Click to expand...

Well I think none were expected above the level of Major to be directly engaged in battle, the lower than Ltn. Col. officer rank pretty much were just as much cannon fodder as any other rank and leading from the front.

I've had friends that were there in Vietnam, all said pretty much the same thing.

Kinda tried this Sunday. Had 24 premeasured loads for the .36 Pietta. I will say it was slow going, used a funnel, loaded powder then cornmeal then ball. Then capped (w/o a capper). Probably 3-4 minutes.

BTW the gun did not shoot a well as I had hoped. I hope it was the Pyrodex P. Not grouped well at all, other then the first 3 shots which were about 2" apart at 2:00 and 3-4 inches high. That was 18 gr. Next I shot 27gr and this was about an 8" group. Next 23 gr, same very large group. Didnt even try the 33 gr charges I brought, dont think they would have fit with a ball. I then tried 15 grains, cornmeal and a ball. Not good. Only thing other than Pyrodex was I didnt use any lube on top or lubed wad. Next time out will be with 3f Goex, a lubed wad and then same with crisco rathr than wad. Maybe was the lack of lube since the 3 first shots were so good?

smokepolehall said:

Well for my nickles worth on this subject. I seriously doubt that very few tried to reload a perc. revolver on horseback during a running Calvary fight. I would say 98% had extra revolvers in saddle holsters to pull & use. I would not go to a gunfight with a long bladed knife !

Click to expand...

Actually, did enter a gunfight using a knife, a 12" Mexican Bowie. Was in New Orleans for Mardi Gras, many years ago. Was walking back to where I had parked, some little POS steps out of an alley and points a gun at me. Couldn't decide whether to be angry or just laugh. 'Give me your money! He demanded. "Okay,' I said, 'Don't get stupid with that gun.' Then, "I have to reach in my back pocket for my wallet.' Reached under my jacket, not for my wallet, but for the hilt of the (razor sharp) Mexican Bowie I carried. My slash with the Bowie half severed his hand. He dropped the gun, which turned out to be a cap pistol. and ran off screaming, gushing blood. I've always wondered if he got to a doctor in time.

Dark Angel said:

Actually, did enter a gunfight using a knife, a 12" Mexican Bowie. Was in New Orleans for Mardi Gras, many years ago. Was walking back to where I had parked, some little POS steps out of an alley and points a gun at me. Couldn't decide whether to be angry or just laugh. 'Give me your money! He demanded. "Okay,' I said, 'Don't get stupid with that gun.' Then, "I have to reach in my back pocket for my wallet.' Reached under my jacket, not for my wallet, but for the hilt of the (razor sharp) Mexican Bowie I carried. My slash with the Bowie half severed his hand. He dropped the gun, which turned out to be a cap pistol. and ran off screaming, gushing blood. I've always wondered if he got to a doctor in time.

Click to expand...

By chance are you from Australia?

jdn262 said:

I’ve often wondered how fast 19th century black powder revolvers could successfully be reloaded in the civil war or confronting desperadoes given the stress of a situation. Excluding possibly having an extra loaded cylinder acting like a modern day speed loader or having several loaded revolvers, I’m curious just how fast a BP revolver can be quickly loaded using paper cartridges and a capper? I’ve never read any 19th century literature for the civil war or armed confrontations mentioning how quick a BP revolver can be reloaded. Has anyone read or even timed how fast a BP revolver can be loaded without fumbling the paper cartridges, dropping caps on the ground, etc. and all the rounds in the cylinder fire successfully without a mishap?

Click to expand...

The short answer? They can't.
Many ACW cavalrymen carried all the CNB guns they could find, steal, buy, or beg. There are many written examples.

Dark Angel said:

Have been in a firefight, or two. Not with C&B revolvers, in an 'Old West' style shoot out but in Viet-Nam. It's nothing you can prepare yourself for. don't care how many scenarios you run in your head, it's like nothing that's ever happened to you before, until the next one, then you're just as unprepared as your first time.

Click to expand...

I too have been in firefights. I was trained and trained, over and over again, before experiencing the first. I was not unprepared, quite the opposite. I behaved and performed as trained, though there was a pucker factor...We survived because we were prepared. As for combat reloading a B&C revolver, I use a Remington 1858 and preloaded cylinders. With practice it loads as quickly as a modern revolver with speed loaders. The colts take a bit longer and require more dexterity,

Dark Angel said:

Have been in a firefight, or two. Not with C&B revolvers, in an 'Old West' style shoot out but in Viet-Nam. It's nothing you can prepare yourself for. don't care how many scenarios you run in your head, it's like nothing that's ever happened to you before, until the next one, then you're just as unprepared as your first time.

Click to expand...

It's different when someone is actually trying to kill you.

Flintlock Whiskey said:

By chance are you from Australia?

Click to expand...

NOPE! This happened during Mardi Gras, in 'Nawlins; as the Cajuns in Louisiana say, or New Orleans. Many years ago. Carried a silver handled Bowie, that I had got in Mexico. A 12-nch knife was easier to explain than a handgun, as carrying a gun of any kind anywhere, was illegal at this time. When I saw Crocodile Dundee with a friend, I nearly choked from laughing. My friend thought I had lost my mind until I explained.

things were different back then. no riding high above the fray in a helicopter micro managing your Leftenant's Certainly major general picket was in the thick of the fray on July 3rd. I doubt he could hold his sword up with one hand and reload his pistol with the other.... I suspect that folks hiding behind barricades probably did reload revolvers but that most cavalry troops carried either multiple revolvers or a revolver and a repeating carbine like the spencer .56

This has been addressed several times. I have read long ago that during the 1800's [not necessarily during the War Between the States itself but maybe more out west] spare cylinders were loaded and carried for quick reloads. However, I believe I read the cylinders were capped after being swapped. On the western series The Young Riders in the '90s there were several scenes where they performed that move. I know many may say that is just Hollywood, but it meshed with what I read earlier and I was pleased to see that acted out. Strangely what no one here has posted in a reply is on the NMLRA timed match for revolvers. I purchased my Navy Arms Pietta Remington New Model Army [no such thing as a 1858 Remington--that is just a name bestowed by manufactures, distributors and shooters which arose from Remington on that model going back and using the 1858 patent date from the Beals revolver] in 1980. It was manufactured in 1978. I have always had extreme difficulty using a capper and resorted to capping by hand. Most of my shooting over the years has been with ML rifles, but the one time I did fire in a territorial in a timed match I shot the match with plenty of time to spare. All of my shooting has always been with loose powder and ball. To me it would be interesting to try shooting with paper cartridges to get the experience of how most were probably loaded and fired during the war. I agree with most of the assessments that during the war revolvers probably were not reloaded during combat for the reasons given. I have never timed myself loading a revolver and have never tried to quickly reload except for the one time firing the timed match, and even then I was careful enough to pay attention to what I was doing. In comparison, if I fire a shot from my flintlock rifle, including that first shot I have been able to regularly get off 4 shots in one minute timing myself and that is still being careful enough to pay attention to what I was doing. By contrast I have read that the longhunters of Daniel Boone's day could reload a rifle in about 12 seconds, but their existence depended upon that. Also, some years ago at a territorial match I found myself needing to fire both a 50 and 100 yard target in the musket match with only one 30 minute relay remaining for the day. I had powder loaded in tubes and mini balls already greased. The way that range is set up you have to walk along the range a bit to fire at those two distances; the target boards are not right behind on another all across the range. I was able to fire the 20 shots, taking my time to not rush my shots, and still had 10 minutes left in the relay when I finished. I include those two personal experiences to illustrate that an experienced cowboy finding himself in dire straights on the trail could probably reload his cap and ball revolver alot faster than we might imagine.

With my Colt .31 pocket pistol and the number of cap jams within 5 shots even after replacing nipples with Slik Shots, I would be more inclined to stab the guy across the table with a large Bowie knife than count on this little thing for defense.

M. De Land said:

Elmer Kieth I believe was the one I read this from as he actually grew up with real life civil war cavalry veterans that told him first hand that they often carried multiple revolvers and would shoot them dry, stow them, cut their way clear with sabers and gallop out of range to reload , reform and charge again if needed.

Click to expand...

well, if it were elmer, he’d have a walker and just “hold up a little more front sight” and drill them from 200 yds. Hell of a shooter and writer.

To this I will just have to ask paper cartridges? Dixie Tubes? new shooter? or a salty seasoned veteran? Star, Snail or Straight capper? Too much in the equation for a definitive answer.

I suppose an artilleryman would have time to reload his revolver, once his battery had successfuly repulsed a cavalry charge. For cavalrymen it would have been two or more pistols and then out with the sword once the revolvers were empty. With paper cartridges I take about a minute and ten seconds to reload and cap my cylinder, although I have never tried doing it for speed. Or under fire or cavalry charge...