Speed Loading a Cap and Ball

[Hawg]

I'd bet money he couldn't do it under fire, at a hard gallop. A lot of folks seem to forget that doing this during a range trip or a horseback ride is significantly different than doing it during a firefight.

He might can do it sitting on a horse that's not moving but I've owned horses and I'd bet money he couldn't do it at a walk let alone a hard gallop.

[Hellgate]

I think the percussin' revolvers are why the two gun rig made it into Hollywood. If you needed more than 6 shots you packed a second revolver. The six shooters were a huge leap in firepower over the single shots so fast reloading was never considered an issue for them. You shot them dry and either pulled out another one or a big fighting knife. They were reloaded at a less frantic time.

[wap41]

They make holsters for spare cylinders I have two.If you have concerns about the caps coming loose a slight pinch before putting them on tightens them up

[g.willikers]

Weren't primers secured in place with wax, and to make them water proof?

[James K]

I have done a bit of shooting with a Sharps and would like very much to see (or see a movie) of someone firing ten rounds in ten seconds with even a metallic cartridge one.

Jim

[Hawg]

I have done a bit of shooting with a Sharps and would like very much to see (or see a movie) of someone firing ten rounds in ten seconds with even a metallic cartridge one.

It can't be done, not with a paper cutter anyway and a cartridge model would have to be held at waist level and just loading and firing and not trying to hit anything. I seriously doubt it could even be done then.

[Model12Win]

The probably meant "Spencer".

[maillemaker]

* This was the same guy who said the 1859 Sharps could be fired ten times in ten seconds. When questioned, he confirmed, a round a second. I would grant you a round every ten seconds, maybe ten a minute under good conditions, but a shot a second was arrant nonsense.

Hahahahah! I shoot combustible cartridges in my Sharps in competition. I can get off about 16 shots in a 5 minute course of fire. But I'm pretty new at shooting it.

Steve

[Gaucho Gringo]

It's like I have read about old battlefields from time began, archeologists dig these expecting a trove of weapons from them. Vary rarely do they find any. Most of all the weapons finds of any era have been from burial sites rather than battlefields. From time immemorial battlefields have been picked clean of weapons and anything else useful. Battle of Little Big Horn there should have been at least 600-700 weapons of some kind from the US Calvary left on the battlefield when it was over. During the late 1990's archeological dig they found mostly lead bullets and cartridge cases. The site had been picked clean within hours of the outcome, just like almost all of them since mankind embarked on wars.

[EphraimKibbey]

Didn't Sitting Bull warn his people of dire consequences if they took anything from the dead soldiers? Nobody ever listens to the prophet!

I would think that period cased sets of percussion revolvers would have come with extra cylinders (as some Paterson sets did) if swapping was much in vogue.

[Hawg]

Didn't Sitting Bull warn his people of dire consequences if they took anything from the dead soldiers? Nobody ever listens to the prophet!

Not to my knowledge. Even if so he wasn't the only war chief there. Crazy Horse and Gall were there among others. What weapons were left on the battlefield were junk not worth salvaging.

[EphraimKibbey]

It was part of his Sun Dance vision before the Battle of the Little Big Horn.

Wakan Tanka gave the Lakota people the soldiers falling from the sky because the soldiers had no ears but warned the Lakota not to take anything from them.

See pages 122 - 125 in "Lakota Portraits: Lives of the Legendary Plains People" By Joseph Agonito 2011:

https://books.google.com/books?id=HH...ers%3F&f=false

[Hellgate]

I had read that the revolvers taken from the soldiers were dumped by the Indians into a river during a crossing to get rid of them as it was evident they were from Custer and the possessor might get hung/captured/ill treated if they had a cavalry pistol. I don't know if the carbines met a similar fate. I see where the serial number range of "Custer guns" (TDs) are listed in the back of the Dixie Gun Works catalog. The rifles were much more useful to an Indian than a revolver so getting rid of the pistols was not as much of a sacrifice.

[Hawg]

I had read that the revolvers taken from the soldiers were dumped by the Indians into a river during a crossing to get rid of them as it was evident they were from Custer

Why would it be evident they came from Custer? A lot of Indians carried revolvers and most of those were cavalry revolvers.

[Hellgate]

The vast majority of SAAs produced were under contract to the US Army until the mid to late 1870s. An Indian in possession of a cavalry revolver at that time would be assumed to have taken it from a dead cavalryman as very few civilians were yet to have them. I don't know if the pistols were martially marked with inspector's marks or not. There were not that many produced for civilian use. As usual, many bandits had them (either stolen or purchased from a soldier who would report it "lost").

[Rookie21]

In the NMLRA with a revolver we shoot a limited times fire target. A 10 shot target at 25 yards. Shooter starts with five shots in the revolver loaded, time starts at the report of the first shot. The shooter then had 10 minutes to fire the remaining four shots, reload five more and shoot those five. 10 minutes for nine shots and a reload basically. I finish with about three minutes to spare give or take some seconds.

I Shoot a Remington and pull the cylinder and use a press to seat each ball. It's fast. I use a powder measure and a powder drop so I'm not having to use and fumble with a flask. Or pre measured chrges in plastic vials works too. I keep corn meal in a mustard squeeze bottle and flood the chamber with corn meal on top of the powder. Seat the ball at the top and grease em with a tube of white lithium grease. The tube makes it fast and handy. It's like frosting a cake.

The whole process is fast but requires a bench. This is range shooting. Not for use out in the field. And certainly not traditional. But it is what I consider speed loading.