[Doc Hoy]

We have come to accept the shooting properties of these pistols as part of cap and ball dogma. Ask anyone who has shot more than five rounds from most of the Colt revolver clones and they all say the same thing.

But that does not mean it is right. I have read that the reason that Colts shoot high at 25 yards is that they were designed by Colt to be accurate at 75 yards, implying a deliberate decision on the part of the Colt folks. I have never shot an original, nor have I read actual accounts of original Colt pointing characteristics, so I don't know, but it sure sounds like famous last words.

Colt designer: "I meant to do that."

We would all feel better if the Colts would consistently shoot where you point them.

But alas, they don't.

We shoot and shoot and shoot, to become more familair with the right bullet size, the right powder load, the right cap, even the right lubricant, Why would we not shoot even more to become familiar with the pointing qualities?

I have also never had the opportunity to examine slow motion videos of the firing of a Colt revolver in comparison with a Remington. I would like to compare the two videos (if they exist) by synchronizing the discharge sequence. I would then like to look at the position of the muzzle at the moment when the bullet leaves the muzzle. I wonder if the muzzle of the Colt is consistently higher than the muzzle of the Remington. I do acknowledge that nine to twelve inches at 25 yards would come from a very small, perhaps undetectable, difference. By trig it is .76 degrees. Darned hard to see.

And of course I could be on the wrong track. (Wouldn't be the first time.)