"A little powder, a lot of lead..."

Michael Tinker Pearce · May 11, 2018

"...shoot them once, shoot them dead!" This encapsulates the British philosophy on revolver loads from 1868 through World War 2.

I just received this from Baltimore Ed at the CAScity forum- a British Lion revolver (British Bulldog clone) in .450 Adams. This gun is British-made, and is a solid, high quality revolver with excellent sights and trigger. This was sold to me as a shooter, so the seller included 50 pieces of brass and about 200 bullets, which are 198gr RNL with a hollow base. They also included three antique 'balloon-head' cartridges just for dimensions.

I've worked up a load using Trail Boss, and cannot wait to get this to the range- hopefully this afternoon or evening!

Mizar · May 11, 2018

Will you load it with some gunpowder, as the original cartridge?

adcoch1 · May 11, 2018

That is so cool! Hows the trigger on that oldie?

Michael Tinker Pearce · May 11, 2018

Mizar said:
Will you load it with some gunpowder, as the original cartridge?

No, using Trail Boss. The previous owner used smokeless loads exclusively, and I am likely to do the same, at least at first.

Michael Tinker Pearce · May 11, 2018

adcoch1 said:
That is so cool! Hows the trigger on that oldie?

Kind of awesome- not at all heavy and the double-action is very smooth with no staging. The single-action is a crisp 4lbs. or so with no take-up and practically no overtravel. Amazingly for a gun of it's vintage the sights are very good.

adcoch1 · May 11, 2018

Looks like a great revolver, the brits weren't messing around building guns, that's for sure. I am really enjoying these old style revolvers as of late, and yours is a beauty!

Gordon · May 11, 2018

Now that is very very kewl. I would advise not to shoot it a lot tho, from my past experiences with 100 Y/O+ antiques . Why ? because it is a friggin iron age relic and ancient wood is very brittle. Relish a few rounds for special occasions. They do make good carry guns once you get them sighted in .

ThomasT · May 11, 2018

Its a good day when there is a new MTP thread. Cool gun.

kBob · May 11, 2018

"Watson, bring your revolver!"

Once again I am impressed with Tinker's coming forward to the more modern times from his sword and helm medieval days.

Thanks for sharing this with us, Tinker. I am curious as to what sort of velocity or water or gel penetration you get from these things. This would have been just the thing for Linda's Time Scout Series books with Robert Asprin, especially the Ripper ones. I believe she actually had one scene where the time station armorer had a pair....but whether that scene made it to print or not I do not recall.

-kBob

Jonesy814 · May 11, 2018

That's a cool old wheelgun. The British certainly liked launching big, slow chunks of lead from a handgun

ancientnoob · May 11, 2018

A beautiful example. Show us some paper when your done. Well found enjoy!

Michael Tinker Pearce · May 11, 2018

She's a shooter! Shot this target at seven yards-

...and this one fired 'briskly' at ten yards-

Recoil is quite manageable. The ergonomics are odd by modern standards and take a bit of getting used to. I'm really liking this gun!

il.bill · May 11, 2018

Really neat revolver, nice targets, and maybe the sexiest hammer I have ever seen on a handgun!

Mizar · May 12, 2018

kBob said:
Once again I am impressed with Tinker's coming forward to the more modern times from his sword and helm medieval days.

I'm glad that thanks to THR treatment, Michael's condition shows a lot of progress lately...

Armored farmer · May 12, 2018

Great revolver.
The brits must have skinny fingers. It looks tight between the trigger gaurd and the grip.
Blimey.

bannockburn · May 12, 2018

Tinker

Some mighty decent groups there! Good enough for holding off one of those Baskerville hounds or else on some villainous scoundrel I dare say!

Tallball · May 12, 2018

Extremely cool!

Chompiras · May 12, 2018

That's fantastic MTP. Love it!

tbob38 · May 12, 2018

I think the Brits figured that the longer the bullet spent in your body, the more it would hurt.

Gordon · May 12, 2018

tbob38 said:
I think the Brits figured that the longer the bullet spent in your body, the more it would hurt.

That was called "dwell time"

BobWright · May 12, 2018

In pondering those revolvers, one thing stands out in my mind: Conspicuously absent are books/articles about British carrying leather of the period! The pockets of the greatcoat was that abode of those bulldog-looking revolvers!

Bob Wright

ancientnoob · May 12, 2018

Michael Tinker Pearce said:
She's a shooter! Shot this target at seven yards-
View attachment 789169
...and this one fired 'briskly' at ten yards-
View attachment 789170
Recoil is quite manageable. The ergonomics are odd by modern standards and take a bit of getting used to. I'm really liking this gun!

Well done. I would love that revolver in my collection. Kudos.

Blkhrt13 · May 12, 2018

You sure do wind up with some interesting guns.

Shanghai McCoy · May 13, 2018

Blkhrt13 said:
You sure do wind up with some interesting guns.

Yeah, every time he posts something new I hear in my head, "Where does he get those wonderful toys..? "

ThomasT · May 13, 2018

"Where does he get those wonderful toys..? "

That sounds like a line from a Batman movie. But I always think the same thing.

"A little powder, a lot of lead..."

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