BP Backup Pistol for Hunting?

if i had my pistol permit here for ny i would dering bp season. i would use my 1858 uberti ans a max load fo FFF. if anything came in at 25 or so yards i would take a shot.

I used to carry my Ruger Old Army with me and it accounted for one small buck when my BP rifle failed. One shot through the lungs at 45 yards put him down after he made a 50 yd. death run. I also used it to kill a small boar when I didn't want to waste a shot with my Hawken in case a deer were to come by.





I don't usually carry one now due to my advanced age and the extra weight. If I were younger, I certainly would.

Ironhand54 said:

My question is this: Do you carry a BP pistol when hunting with a long gun?
Why or why not?
If yes. What pistol and why? {Pictures Please}

I have always carried a pistol when hunting with a long gun. I started because of a failure with an early red dot on a modern rifle. Naturally when I saw the light and went to BP I needed a BP handgun. My objective was never to have the pistol as a primary arm but rather to be able to finish wounded game in cases where the primary arm malfunctions.

Over the {30+} years I have found that I use the pistol most as a finisher when a second shot from the primary arm would cause excessive damage. I have also found it useful, and very satisfying, for silencing that one obnoxious squirrel that just has to scold me at the top of his lungs.

I have carried a number of different pistol. I started with single shots and eventually got in to revolvers My current favorite is an 1862 Metropolitan Police but some recent acquisitions may change that
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I'm curious what you guys think
IronHand

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Yep. As others have seen I carry my 1858 when I'm hunting coyotes.

Why that gun? It's the only BP gun I have, and being the ripe old age of 20 it's also the only pistol I can "transport."

I carry it in case I come across small game that I would like to eat. That .270 wouldn't leave much other than a red mist.

Some have already seen this picture, as I posted it in another thread.


I just tuck it in my waistband, though the long barrel makes it a little awkward. I plan on getting/making a proper holster soon.

I have often carried a handgun. I’ve yet to hunt with BP arms though. For me it was mostly the concern that I may one day have to track a wounded hog. Often it was a 1911 with 230 grn +Ps.

I have a ROA that likes a weighed 38 grns of 3F Olde Eynsford and my wide meplat 195 grn bullets. One day I plan to modify this bullet, making it a little longer and heavier to take up most of the excess room (a fellow on another forum found bullets loaded to the mouth of the chamber get gas cut). With the load above this is likely somewhere in the .45 ACP +P levels. My NMA loaded with a weighed 33 grns and the same bullet are likely within standard levels of performance based on similar loads shot across chronographs.

I’ve never considered using a handgun as a primary weapon but if I find myself with an accurate load and a good rest I’ll likely give it a whirl. The wide meplat should plow a nice big hole and with an energetic powder also capable of nose to tail penetration of an adult pig.

i don't carry a black powder handgun while hunting: Just more weight to tote.

Ironhand54 said:

My question is this: Do you carry a BP pistol when hunting with a long gun?
Why or why not?
If yes. What pistol and why? {Pictures Please}

I have always carried a pistol when hunting with a long gun. I started because of a failure with an early red dot on a modern rifle. Naturally when I saw the light and went to BP I needed a BP handgun. My objective was never to have the pistol as a primary arm but rather to be able to finish wounded game in cases where the primary arm malfunctions.

Over the {30+} years I have found that I use the pistol most as a finisher when a second shot from the primary arm would cause excessive damage. I have also found it useful, and very satisfying, for silencing that one obnoxious squirrel that just has to scold me at the top of his lungs.

I have carried a number of different pistol. I started with single shots and eventually got in to revolvers My current favorite is an 1862 Metropolitan Police but some recent acquisitions may change that
View attachment 819049



I'm curious what you guys think
IronHand

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Is that a Pietta (on the Navy frame)?

I have carried a Lyman .50 Plains Pistol with my Lyman .50 rifle many years during black powder only season. More than once it has saved the day.. I also tried a Dragoon a couple years as the back up but went back to the .50 single shot .

Well I've never had to take a "follow-up" shot. I was taught that after taking a shot with a muzzleloader, and all of mine have been with a patched, round ball, that you wait a minimum of 10 minutes, but more like 20 is a good idea. What I do is reload, as quietly as possible, then I sit down and smoke my pipe. At the end of the 20 minutes, IF for some reason the hit wasn't almost instantly, or instantly incapacitating to the deer, those minutes of time gives the animal a chance to lie down and expire. This also has in the past, allowed me (or my companion when hunting as a pair) a few times, to harvest a second deer (we're allowed up to 10 doe where I live). I've found if you harvest a doe from a group, and you are very quiet after that shot..., and don't move. In a few minutes, one of the remaining doe may double back to see where the one that was shot has gone. I've only gotten one extra deer doing this..., but twice, companions have harvested a deer that has doubled-back to double check on the now missing comrade. So perhaps IF I got up right away, especially since sometimes I have heard the deer "pile up" near-by, or I can actually see the animal is down..., I might have discovered that I needed an extra shot....

IF I was to carry a BP handgun for such a shot, I'd have to conform to regs for hunting with that BP handgun alone. A Coup de Grace shot from a .44 Colt Army or "Confederate Navy" or an 1858 Remington does not meet my state's criteria..., and the fact that it's a follow-up shot doesn't mitigate the regulation. I'd need at least a Colt Dragoon or a Walker..., and I'd probably carry a caplock, single shot pistol like a Lyman Plains Pistol https://www.lymanproducts.com/brands/lyman/muzzle-loaders/lyman-plains-pistol.html. I'd figure that if for some reason the deer hadn't expired after 20 minutes, but was injured enough to stop close and allow me to approach, then perhaps my load was contaminated, or something unseen when I fired deflected the shot enough to reduce the desired results. So although I use a flintlock, I'd want a bit more reliability on ignition for a second shot..., so I'd go caplock. Plus the Lyman will allow me to load the minimum 40 grains of powder behind the ball.

For IF I was stopped by DNR in my state, and had a BP handgun that didn't take a minimum of 40 grains of powder..., I'd likely get cited. There have been cases when guys have gone out with .36 caliber Navy revolvers, after squirrels or rabbits, when it was also deer season, and in the cases where they didn't have a squirrel to show, the DNR officers where quite skeptical. I should mention that all these cases were in areas where there had been a large quantity of complaints about deer poaching....but things worked out for all the folks small game hunting with cap-n-ball revolvers.

LD

I had a Traditions saw-handle .50 for a back-up gun for the muzzleloader hunt; In WI you can't use a cap and ball revolver during ML season, because it does not load from the muzzle, thus not meeting the definition according to state regs. I let my son use it about 10 years ago, haven't seen it since.

I talked to my then local game warden about using my ROA during the muzzleloader season. As it doesn’t load from the muzzle I couldn’t use it, but I was more than welcome to carry it as a backup to a muzzleloader. And during regular season it’s all good.

As a primary I’ve thought the Lyman Plains Pistol would work nicely and even bought a used 250 grn REAL mold thinking it might shoot well, as well as testing it in my rifle.

On my first deer hunt after moving to western Oregon, I carried my 1860 Army (my only handgun) along on a rifle hunt. My partner shot a small buck through the spine, and asked me to finish it off. The first three rounds failed to ignite, leading me to trade the C&B pistol in at a local gun shop for a cartridge gun.
I regretted trading it for a year or so, then came across an acquaintance who had bought it from the LGS 'cause it was cool. I traded an 1895 Marlin .30-30 (with a 4 digit S/N) to get it back...

I really wanted it back.
I'd only paid $85 for the rifle in an antique store in AZ...

foxmeadow said:

On my first deer hunt after moving to western Oregon, I carried my 1860 Army (my only handgun) along on a rifle hunt. My partner shot a small buck through the spine, and asked me to finish it off. The first three rounds failed to ignite, leading me to trade the C&B pistol in at a local gun shop for a cartridge gun.
I regretted trading it for a year or so, then came across an acquaintance who had bought it from the LGS 'cause it was cool. I traded an 1895 Marlin .30-30 (with a 4 digit S/N) to get it back...

I really wanted it back.
I'd only paid $85 for the rifle in an antique store in AZ...

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Interesting. I’ve never seen one with sights and the rib like that. Is this the same gun you owned and sold off?

Yeah, the infamous Navy Arms Target model. It is the same gun, and the bore wasn't in the same shape as when I traded it off. Still a great shooter, but needs cleaning after 12-18 rounds..

Yes, I carry a pistol at all times.

https://hoveysknivesofchina.com/201...ld-army-and-other-large-percussion-revolvers/

Thought of you guys and @rodwha in particular when I stumbled across this article... I believe I’ll stick with the stock 7-1/2” barrel.

If used as a primary short range hunting weapon the 7.5” barrel is about ideal. I’ve actually considered having mine cut back to 5.5” as it’s more handy that way, especially as a sidearm. I’ve always felt 4” was ideal for that but BP needs barrel for velocity.

But I’ve also thought adding a 12-16” barrel to a ROA and adding a stock to make a carbine would be pretty cool. I’d have a longer stock than the ones the Colt and Remington used to A) get the sights out to the proper distance, and B) to get the caps further from my face!

Yeah, 4.75 for an saa is pretty sweet, and maybe if the projectile is heavy enough you can get a complete burn. But the 7.5 is more of a known quantity there...

I carry a Redhawk .44 mag. during muzzleloader season along with my inline rifle . During firearm season I usually only carry my shotgun .

Ironhand54 said:

My question is this: Do you carry a BP pistol when hunting with a long gun?
Why or why not?
If yes. What pistol and why? {Pictures Please}

I have always carried a pistol when hunting with a long gun. I started because of a failure with an early red dot on a modern rifle. Naturally when I saw the light and went to BP I needed a BP handgun. My objective was never to have the pistol as a primary arm but rather to be able to finish wounded game in cases where the primary arm malfunctions.

Over the {30+} years I have found that I use the pistol most as a finisher when a second shot from the primary arm would cause excessive damage. I have also found it useful, and very satisfying, for silencing that one obnoxious squirrel that just has to scold me at the top of his lungs.

I have carried a number of different pistol. I started with single shots and eventually got in to revolvers My current favorite is an 1862 Metropolitan Police but some recent acquisitions may change that
View attachment 819049



I'm curious what you guys think
IronHand

Click to expand...

No, I don't. I figure my rifle will do the killing. I do have my CCW for the day usually, usually a 9mm or a .45ACP subcompact in an OWB holster. That's not for hunting, though. Now days, I do carry my .45 colt Blackhawk when hog hunting at night because if I wound one and have to go after it, it's much quicker than a scoped rifle and I handload that gun to .44 magnum ballistics pushing a 300 grain XTP to over 1200 fps.

I could carry my ROA, but why? It's heavy and bulky and I'd rather be armed with my Blackhawk. It's a MUCH better gun for such applications and I'm not so stuck on BP that I'll wanna get sliced up by an irate hog.

That is an excellent point sir, it pays to be flexible.