Everyday use of C&B revolver

[HillbillyGadget]

Does anybody have any info on how the old timers used their revolvers on a daily basis?
As an example; you fired one shot at a varmit out by the chicken coop late one night out of your Remington, I doubt you would have fired the other 5 rounds so you could tear it down to clean it wasting good lead and powder. I imagine I would the next morning, pulled the caps; keeping the barrel pointed in a safe direction and then cleaned the empty cylinder and barrel and wiped down the frame.
Anybody have other ideas or tips?
I remember Elmer Keith writing about his favorite trapping pistol being a .31 colt, it damaged the pelts less than a .22rf but I don't remember him telling much more about the daily upkeep or keeping your loads dry out in the snow.
My plans as a living history buff are to use my C&Bs when out doing chores and on treks, many of us are very familiar with our muzzleloaders in this role, but I don't find much info in regards to the revolvers.

 

[Blizzard of '93]

I don't know but would not have been much of a chore to swab the barrel and chamber out with hot water then coal oil, patch lube or some such. I swab mine out with Go-Jo white if I am in the woods and don't fire all cylinder chambers.

 

[cheatherly]

I'm not sure how the old timers would have done, but when I carried mine, I would just swabb the fired cyliber and bore with TC Bore Butter, then wipe the gun down with a patch. Of course, mine didn't stay loaded for more than a couple of weeks, and got a good cleaning between fresh loads. I never had any problems. I would imagine the men of days past would have done the same thing, but with just a different cleaner.

 

[Desert Rat]

I read or heard somewhere that Ole Wild Bill pulled and reloaded his pistols everyday to ensure that they would be fresh and would not fail him. If he did that he probably cleaned them thouroghly then Don't know if it is true or not though.

 

[mec]

Colt gave minimum directions. Just said that it was important to clean it paying particular attention to the arbor. (the thing the cylinder rolls on. It's fairly common to encounter black powder guns- cartridge and other, that have little or no finish on them, a great deal of oxidation and pits in the bore. I strongly suspect that period users are less thorough about cleaning than we are.

J. Frank Dobie quoted a cowboy who had been on trail drives. He said he had gotten a pistol but by the time he tried to kill a snake with it, it was frozen with rust. Sounds like a pretty irresponsible cowboy.

 

[Doc Arroyo]

Two stories come to mind.....

My grandad did stretch the truth now and again, but he did have a take on how a cowboy carried a percussion pistol. This one he told without the "I am pulling your leg" look in his eye.

Grandad was born in 1898, and prior to WWI, worked a bit in the family's hardware store. An old cowpuncher came in and wanted to buy a new pistol. Seems he had never owned a brand new pistol in his life, he had received this one from a wounded officer from the other side of the Civil War, and he thought it about time to by a pistol that shot "them new fangled cartridges". But he wanted to trade in his old Colt on a new one. The old boy knocked the caps off of the pistol, and handed it to my great-grandfather for inspection. My great-grandfather made the deal, the old puncher left with a brand new Colt Single Action Army and a box of cartridges, and left his old pistol, belt, holster and a cigar box, and some cash behind.

The punchline of the story is that the pistol was loaded with combustable cartridges. The cigar box had two tins of caps (probably Eley), and three packages of Colt's Combustable Envelope Cartidges. One Package had been opened, and folded to protect the cartridges left in it. The other two packages were unopened!

If memory serves, Colt quit making these in 1865. This old boy was still carrying them in 1910, maybe 1915. 45 to 50 year old paper cartridges. :shocked2:

(No, the family did not keep any of these items!)

and....

About two years ago, an Englishwoman passed away. For years the family had been trying to get her to move to town, but she stayed at the old "farmstead". If anyone asked if she was scared to be alone, she replied that she wasn't, she had grandfather's pistol.

When she died, they found the loaded and capped Colt's Patterson in the side table by the bed!

.....................

I am thinking that many oldtimers rarely used their revolvers on a daily basis!

 

[faw3]

Would be of intrest to know if the first one shot all the cyls after all those years. Just went out and shot my Navy Arms with home made catrs with a ball, "and covered" (the paper soaked in Flexible Colodion) after 2 1/2 years all cyls shot just fine, had to repace 2 caps. Fred :hatsoff:

 

[benvenuto]

Thats correct, its quoted in Joseph G Rosa's book "Gunsmoke". Wild Bill would empty his gun, then carefully clean and reload, not neglecting to clear the nipples with a pin and inspect and fit each new cap carefully

 

[mec]

Colt gave minimum directions. ...

Actually, they were not as minimum as I said. A guy posted a more complete set of original instructions on another board. they were specific about how to take the gun fully apart and clean with water. Warm water if available.
Loading instructions included firing a cap on each cone prior to loading and added that it was safe to load as much powder as would fit under the ball whether the powder was strong or weak. It suggested fine grain powder.

Instructions on seating the ball included having the pointed end to the front. It has always been the usual practice to use the term "ball" when refering to conicals or round balls.