Dumb question time: re, hunting with C&B revolver

I think it would be fun to rabbit hunt with one, squirrels maybe a bit tuff. Inside 20 yards I think you would be fine. Wish it were legal here to try.

I would just use a powder flask, some pre lube wads and the round ball. Dip cans are nice to carry small stuff.

There are replica pouches at certain sites.. i can't recall on at the top of my head, but Blackie Thomas from Shaman's forge did a video on them.

It's a pouch that has a few areas, he uses one for loose ball , one for loose patches/wads and one for caps. If i can recall I'll post the video and site.

I like Altoids tins. They’re curiously strong.
My possibles bag used to be a purse. The boys in my neck of the woods are a rough bunch but being a self confident manly man type they don’t trouble me too much.
I don’t black powder hunt in my tactical kilt. The optics, you know.

Either an extra loaded cylinder or paper cartridges.

View attachment 988789 View attachment 988790 I’ve hunted deer with a 3rd Dragoon and Walker for decades. Very dependable and accurate. I carry several arsenal packs wrapped in wax paper for whatever revolver I’m using that day. The arsenal packs go into a pistol cartridge box. Get your sight problem fixed first. I’ve never hunted small game with one.

Spare ammo?
When I go out hunting small game I usually call it quits after bagging a couple rabbits or squirrels.
Then it's time to get them cleaned up for the pot in my opinion.
If I can't bag 2 with 6 shots, I'd go back to shooting targets until I could.
But that's just me, YMMV

Paper cartridges in a tin are the way to go. And you would be surpised what can be hunted with a .44 cap and ball. Some folks even deer hunt with them successfully. You can use round ball for smaller game or step up to big heavy 200-240 grain wide meplat conicals for deer (although i know a roundball at close range can get it done too). Paper cartridges are easy to make. You dont even need a fancy kit...just a dowel and some rolling papers and your set. Tons of tutorials on making them in different ways

Yep paper cartridges are the ultimate, the Bee's knees, the Cougar's meow, the icing on the cake, the cream of the crop, but the Natural Man's method is pretty good and works for me. That is putting your lubed bullets in a Civil War cap-pouch, having a flask or horn over the shoulder on a strap with measured flask-spout, (you push the lever and it fills the spout), and then the capper around my neck. It's the next fastest thing to combustible cartridges. Of course with ball, you'll have to add an extra step for the wad, and a place to carry them. That's one reason I've switched to slugs for all my revolvers.

I think a cap-pouch would work well with combustibles also. The one I have is very hard, molded leather, and shouldn't crush them, and then one just pulls the flap up and digs in. I plan to try that. I think my pouch would hold at least a dozen cartridges.

Get a possibles bag by going to a thrift shop and finding an appropriate looking ladies handbag that will fill the bill.
You might be surprised by what you can find for a few Dollars.
Use it to carry whatever you need to reload.
Or use a small back pack or waist pack.

When I've hunted for small game in warm/hot weather, I would wear a small backpack with a foam cooler containing some reusable freezer ice packs.
Put the game in a plastic bag on the ice.
Being cold helps to stiffen them up for skinning later, and slows down any fleas or bugs that they might harbor in their fur.
The ice packs also help to preserve the meat from internal contents that spill out, and plastic bags help to contain the blood and guts.
Ice packs make it possible to not need to field dress small game until you get home.
Washing/cleaning up is not always easy and convenient in the field, when deer hunting I'd carry some rubber gloves, rags and water. also carried in a backpack or waist pack when needed.

Black Thomas has a whole series on percussion revolvers on YouTube, with several focusing on field usage.

Here's one on holsters and ammo pouches:



And here's one in which he demonstrates the use of Dixie tubes for holding your reloads:



I've been shooting percussion revolvers since the 80s and I still picked up a few useful tips from him. In particular, I found his video on detail stripping and reassembling the Remington 1858 to be very good.

Been hunting Jackrabbits here for a while with both a Walker and an ROA until the population dropped due to disease. Best shot I made was about 75 yards with the ROA. One shot kills with all the rabbits I hit with a C&B revolver.

Jackrabbit1957 said:

Been hunting Jackrabbits here for a while with both a Walker and an ROA until the population dropped due to disease. Best shot I made was about 75 yards with the ROA. One shot kills with all the rabbits I hit with a C&B revolver.

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They must be some big jackrabbits to need a walker lol.

armoredman said:

I am just getting into enjoying my Outlaw Kid Texas Tuned 1851 Navy .44. Yes, it's nor historically accurate - it was a gift. However, once I get the sight question fixed, I was wondering about carrying it for small game hunting, like rabbit and such, and specifically - how d you carry your spare ammo in the field? I don't have the stuff yet to roll paper cartridges, thought that IS on the list.

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You can load lighter for rabbit with a .44. I would try 20 grains with roundball to send Thumper back to bunny underworld.

I have small ring (4x32-38) cigar tins that I can keep paper cartridges in, and a leather pouch that can hold my goodies. Sorta feel like Clint Eastwood with those little smokes

12 Balls.12 Wads. 15Caps..in an altoids tin.
Civil war reproduction flask in a pocket or leather belt box.
You're ready for all afternoon .

I never have pursued this avenue like
I wish I would have. I never was interested
since you can't use a revolver for the BP
seasons here. I still wish I'd got one for
JFG shooting

Ranger99 said:

I never have pursued this avenue like
I wish I would have. I never was interested
since you can't use a revolver for the BP
seasons here. I still wish I'd got one for
JFG shooting

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By all means get one! A .36 is more economical but if you like a lot of boom a .44. Or just get the .44 in case you ever do get the opportunity to hunt with it.

Here in TX I can’t use my revolver as a primary during BP, but I can during regular season.

Jackrabbits here are considered a nuisance animal, state says shoot all you want, no license required. I got bored plugging them with modern stuff so out came the C&B revolvers. Plum amazing the damage a round ball sitting on 50 grains of powder will do at 30 yards. That's the furthest distance I hit one with the Walker, best shot with ROA was about 75 yards with a semi wadcutter. Bullet traveled almost all the way through the animal, stem to stern.

Armored farmer said:

12 Balls.12 Wads. 15Caps..in an altoids tin.
Civil war reproduction flask in a pocket or leather belt box.
You're ready for all afternoon .

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That is absolutely true. But, if you want a lot of ammo, for any reason, (wolves, Comancheros, Super Hornets, etc.) the outfit I pictured above will carry fifty rounds easily, just throw a tin of caps in a pocket to reload the capper. Might have to do a field cleaning before you get to round fifty. Just saying!

18 rounds (12 cartridges, six in the gun)(yeah yeah only load five) was the old standard pistol load out for horse soldiers, although I'm sure if "contact" was possible or expected there would have been a greater number of cartridges carried.