Tommygunn
Member
An interesting myth about the Old West. No idea if it is really true. The way I heard it, a $20 bill would be rolled up and left in the empty chamber. I tried this with both a S&W #2 32 Rimfire Tip Up cylinder and a SAA 45 Colt cylinder.
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The $20 bill would not fit in a chamber of the Tip Up.
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It fits fine in the 45 Chamber, but I suspect if the revolver was fired the bill would get charred. Mean to try it at the next CAS match I attend. Have not attended any this year because of the Corona Virus. Don't fancy wearing a mask all day in the hot sun. Will wait and see if I can start attending matches again next summer.
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As noted, paper money back then was sized differently. Another thing with regards the $ in the chamber; if you got in a gunfight and forgot to replace the money with a live round, after you shot five, and pulled the trigger the sixth time, you'd have "shot the wad."
Or so I've heard.
Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Another tidbit; the idea of safely carrying a S. A. A. 1873 with a empty chamber made it to Hollywood in the John Wayne film THE SHOOTIST.
Wayne's character is shown slipping a 6th round in as he goes off knowing he'll need his gun, mentioning something to the effect that if you load all six, you'll shoot your foot off .... or something to that effect.