Understandable. If that's the motivation, I would steer you in the direction of a conversion cylinder for the 1858 so you can shoot .45 Colt. MidwayUSA occasionally runs sales on them, but for your birthday they'll give you a discount on a single order. That's how I got mine and I don't regret the $200 I spent.
The deal with that is you can only use it in a steel frame, not brass frame (don't even bother with a brass frame, pay the extra money for a steel frame), bullets can only be lead, and the bolt stop (that's the piece that sticks up and locks the cylinder in place) will need to be modified. Best factory ammo for use in a converted revolver is Federal 225 lead semi-wadcutter hollow point. MidwayUSA sells it:
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1...in-lead-semi-wadcutter-hollow-point-box-of-20
That's if you don't reload ammo. If you do, the best bullet I've found that isn't a hollow point and is lead is from Mattsbullets.com:
http://www.mattsbullets.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=71&products_id=317
I bought some, haven't tried them yet, but they should hit hard and do more damage than the typical .45 Colt cowboy ammo.
It took me a couple months to find all this out and this is the best setup for self defense I can come up with that doesn't require a NICS check or violate federal law. If you can't buy ammo, then you're stuck with percussion. To that I would say make sure the inside of the cylinder is completely dry, fire a cap in each cylinder to dry them out, then load powder and ball/bullet. Idk how long a loaded and capped cylinder can sit and still be functional when it's needed, but it's better than a bat and a flashlight.