Interesting thread! When I read that passage of him shooting his horse I assumed he was using a .44 army, but as others posted, it could have been anything of .36 or larger caliber.
(I can cut Custer slack on being at times "full of himself." During his formative years of young-manhood he graduated Wst Point in three years, rather than four as the govt rushed to expand the officer core for the Civil War, and rose to brigadier "like a rocket," (to borrow TR's description of his own later rise to the presidency). He was about as successful in his chosen profession as one can possibly be. The problems he had after the war were not much different in character from those TR had after the presidency. When you have achieved so much so fast, it is really tough to be humble.)
James, who has problems with humility for a lot less reason than those guys had. ;-)
