Cap and Ball for self defense

[Across The Pond]

a '51 Navy and a Rogers & Spencer, '49 Pocket for backup!

Ooops, just checked and the R+S was first manufactured in 1863.. is that allowed? If not I guess that I'll make that a pair of '51 Navies.

(of course in 1860, I might have actually been allowed to carry these in Britain )

 

[Dr.Rob]

Colt 1860 Army has a better balanced grip (bigger anyway) than the 1851 Navy, held a bigger bullet and the same charge (a little more perhaps) of powder.

Colts have the cylinder pins that allow you to rest the hammer down with 6 loaded chambers.

.36 vs. 44 is rather like the 9mm/45 discussions of today... the .36 has a lot more velocity (supersonic crack) .44 goes boom. I have both.

Both smoke a lot.

I'd rather take up my Pedersoli 12 ga double barrel Bp shotgun and carry one of those as back-up. The Army is a little better engineered, takes conical bullets better. The Navy is a little 'fancier' with it's engraved cylinder. Slight edge to the army for better balance, blade front sight and better engineered loading lever.

 

[Boom-stick]

.68cal single shot loaded with chain shot and rusty nails

and......

a side by side 12g shotgun barrels cut to 12" and loaded with a roll of coins instead of shot (William H Bonney in Young Guns)

These just seem more fun than a CnB?

 

[TexasRifleman]

I'm voting for the brace of 1860 Colts as well.....

Since money is no object I considered the Walkers (they were high dollar even back then) but I just wouldn't want to carry the darn things around.

Maybe if I had a caddy......

 

[dwave]

a side by side 12g shotgun barrels cut to 12" and loaded with a roll of coins instead of shot (William H Bonney in Young Guns)

I seen a show on TV where they loaded money into a B/P shotgun and hit a target with it, and it didn't even penetrate the target. After some tests they concluded that a B/P shotgun with coins as ammo was no good and wouldn't kill somebody.

With that said, I will still take my 51 navy, but I want to add a cannon to my front yard!

 

[chaim]

Give me a pair of Colt 1836 Navies or Remington 1858 New Armies. If I needed a little more concealability I'd go with an 1862 Pocket Navy or Police. I'd also feel OK with the 1848 Baby Dragoon or 1849 Wells Fargo if I needed a concealable gun.

 

[Duncaninfrance]

Better late than never - I'm BACK from the UK!

Has to be an 1858 New Model Army with spare cylinders - about 20 should do, STYLE!
I would also consider a Henry Knox 9 barrel gun, keep em at bay and heads down!
Duncan

 

[Derek]

Not Knox!

Duncan, I used to get in trouble telling my instructors this in the RCAF but it's still true. they refered to Knox form, the flat on top of the breech of a Lee Enfield and just about everything else. IT IS NOCK"S FORM. the style of breech patented by Henry Nock. His 7 barrel volley gun is very famous, I don't know of a 9 barrel A better alley cleaner was Henry the VIII's little wheellock carbine. Four barrels and a center tube. The center tube was loaded with a slower burning compound than normal powder, the right hand barrel had one normal load, the upper, lower and left barrels had 9 carefully measured stacked loads. When the right barrel was fired, it lit the center fuse which fired off the next 27 loads Roman-candle style.28 rounds,BRRRRRRUP, just like a Sten-gun!With couple of spare loaded barrel-clusters, it would really have had shock effect on anybody in the 18th-19th century.

 

[Duncaninfrance]

Brain in neutral again Derek, trying to do too many jobs at once!
I hope Henry VIII gun was safer than a Sten, they are a bloody nightmare in squaddie hands. All those who have hit the dirt on a range with recruites firing Stens put your hands up now!! " Sarge, it's stopped firing!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Duncan

 

[Sistema1927]

Seeing as Colt sold more .31 Pocket Pistols than anything else in that era, and based upon the fact that I probably wouldn't go looking for trouble (just like today), I would probably buy an 1849.

Same thinking:

If we were talking about the early cartridge era, a S&W Top-break .32.

If early 20th Century, a 1903 or 1908 Colt.

If post WWII, probably a small S&W.38.

Today, a 642 or Kahr PM9.

 

[ribbonstone]

Seems that by the end of the War, the trend was to carry as many revovlers as you could...wasn't just a Hollywood invention...the horse carried the weight. When the killed 6 of 'Bloody Bill' anderson's men in 1864, 30 revovlers were collected...when they got Anderson himself, they took 4 revolvers from his body.

Don't think as much cylinder swapping was going on by he last years of the war...by then, through battle field pick-ups or otehr supply, those who relied on them had more than one.

 

[Georgian87]

Well, given that I have the most experience in the Colt type revolvers, in repairing and such, I'd have to take a brace of Colts. For over all power, I'd have to say two 1860 Armies, but very maneurability and handling, two Navies. Or possibly a pairing of .36 backup and .44 main. Heck, you cant go wrong with a Colt nohow, so it really dont matter. More of a decision of what you prefer. I definitely want a revolver I'm gonna be able to handle with ease. For that, a pair of '51 Navies will fit the bill right nice.

 

[Beartracker]

Remington .44 with a 200gr. conical and 40gr. of powder as my main go to gun and a 51 Navy/Colt .36 with a .380 ball and 26 gr. of powder as my back up.Then I want my wife standing beside me with a double barrel 10 gage loaded with nails.