Actually I think Hickock carried the 32 long rimfire S&W. I've read this in a couple different texts and also I personally cannot see a man of Hickock's reputation carrying a 22 for backup, the 22 loaded with blackpowder was almost useless as a defensive arm, and well the 32 sure wasn't a powerhouse it compared favorably with the 31 cap and ball revolvers of the time, which were capable of making a one shot kill if a shot was placed in the right spot. Hickock would undoubtably have been looking for that in a backup gun and there was one documented case where he used such a gun successfully in a confrontation with a drunk assailant.