Actually there would have been some very good reasons for sticking with cap and ball revolvers over cartridge ones, the same goes for other firearms as well. Cartridges were still in there infancy, as were designs for early cartridge guns. Cartridge guns generally were not as powerful as equivelent caliber cap and ball revolvers. The 32 long rimfire you're talking about used only 13 grains of FFFg powder, equivelent guns such as the 1849 still used 15 grains of whatever powder you elected to use. The Henry cartridge only carried 28 grains in a day when the regulation load for the 58 caliber rifled musket was 60 grains. The henry cartridge was used widely in both rifles and early pistols so you would still have been better off using an 1860 with say 30-35 grains of powder behind the ball when talking about the power department. In addition, it was far easier and cheaper to feed a cap and ball revolver with loose powder, balls, and caps than it was to shoot a cartridge gun where a source of cartridges was often far away and expensive to boot. Even the early conversion revolvers often allowed the guns to be quickly converted back to cap and ball when cartridges were unavailable. Some noted gunfighters, Hickcock included, favored the percussion revolvers to the cartridge counterparts (though Hickock also carried a #2 S&W army in 32 rimfire as a backup) probably because they had used them for most of their careers and trusted them more so than they did the newer untested cartridge guns. Given the large number of percussion revolvers used before and during the civil war and the fact that many of these guns were carried away by veterans after the conflict it is a fact that by far the most common revolver in the west up until the 1880's was percussion.
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I thoroughly disapprove of duels. I consider them unwise and I know they are dangerous. Also, sinful. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet retired spot and kill him.
- Mark Twain
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