351 WINCHESTER
Member
I'll have to take my old army out and shoot it. It's been loaded with 777 for about 2 years now and I fully expect her to shoot all 6 rounds. Heck, If I lived in the country I'd shoot it right now.
Keeping revolver loaded
- Thread starter ldlfh7
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I had an 1851 Navy loaded for over half a decade with bore butter to seal the chambers, fired flawlessly. Said revolver was in the Florida keys for 3 years, tropical humid climate with a lot of salt in the air. Standard guns will start to rust without a coat of oil on them. In fact a lot of people down there don't have guns. Ask them why? The answer: They rust.
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Deleted member 208810
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no problems in keeping it loaded.just load n cap 5 and rest the hammer on the empty. they say some powders are more prone to attract water but i dont know which ones.with the right size ball shaving lead to go in the cylinder,and a cap on the other end,id say youre ok unless it rains on it.i know of muzzleloaders staying loaded for a lot longer than three weeks and discharging.
I realize that most if not all ranges practice the "Load 5 and stay alive" rule but at home if you have a loaded gun it is a de-facto defense weapon simply by its presence and the fact that is indeed loaded. Why would you cut short your available ammunition on a home defense weapon?
Exactly. I always have all cylinders loaded. Folks will ask, where is the safety? Between my ears.
Just for the sake of discussion here...
Regarding Colts pattern guns that are somewhat faithfully reproduced. Sam Colt and Colts Mfg after him built specific safety measures into their revolvers. Both percussion and the cartridge SAA can be safely carried fully loaded by placing the hammer "between" the chambers where it locks in place. The old myth that gunfighters carried a dollar in the empty chamber to pay for their burial expenses is just that, a myth. It's like using a 1911 for a carry gun and holstering it with a loaded magazine and an empty chamber with the hammer down.
Sorry about the hijack of the thread but it's one of those things that makes me scratch my head.
Regarding Colts pattern guns that are somewhat faithfully reproduced. Sam Colt and Colts Mfg after him built specific safety measures into their revolvers. Both percussion and the cartridge SAA can be safely carried fully loaded by placing the hammer "between" the chambers where it locks in place. The old myth that gunfighters carried a dollar in the empty chamber to pay for their burial expenses is just that, a myth. It's like using a 1911 for a carry gun and holstering it with a loaded magazine and an empty chamber with the hammer down.
Sorry about the hijack of the thread but it's one of those things that makes me scratch my head.
swathdiver
Member
Exactly right, there is no more safety with resting the hammer over an empty chamber on a cap and ball gun then using the original safety devices. This is spillage from the SAA crowds trying to make everything uniform. Let them be uniform and let us be uniform, leave us alone. I for one fill all my chambers all the time and would not shoot nor partake in events with groups with such a mindset. Guess that would preclude me from shooting with them at all, right?
Although I don't agree with the "Load 5 and stay alive" practice I do think that at shooting ranges it does serve a purpose. Having everybody from novices to very experienced shooters attempting to lower the hammer on a SAA to set the firing pin between case heads could lead to something going wrong and a piece of hot lead exiting the barrel. Then again I too can count with the fingers left following a farming accident how many time I've shot at official shooting ranges.
Even though I do not abide by it, I see what people are saying with the load 5 rule but the rule I follow is do not point the gun at anything you are not willing to kill. Thats about as basic as it gets. From an earlier post....the safety is between my ears.
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Deleted member 208810
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i was assuming since he was worried about discharging it at will and not going off he must anticipate range days or when he will pull it out and try it. And as a home defense weapon,if you can,maybe a backup 38 S&W would be handy just in case the humidity did get to it. Its your family we're talking about.On the flip side,that empty 5th cylinder could come in handy if the pistol is dropped in someones direction. Its your discretion my man, you just never let your guard down. I even have swords as back up back ups!
I've left percussion pistols loaded fore a year or more many times. The worst I've gotten is a slight hangfire a few times, but most fire fine. Right now I think I'm working on about 5 years loaded for my Colts 3rd Dragoon. I keep thinking I want to go shoot it, but the right time never seems to come along. I at least need to know where it hits (it's unfired so far) as I'd like to shoot a deer with it.
I've carried 44 spl and 45 Colt SAA's with the firing pin between the rims. I had several times found them turned over onto a primer. I eventually quit being so smart and went to carrying 5 rds loaded. The holster was a well fitted half flap, so I'm certain nothing snagged the hammer and allowed the cylinder ti turn. I think percussion guns, when set up as the originals with the pins between the chambers are safer to carry fully loaded compared to the SAA. If I carried an SAA and wanted it fully loaded, I'd carry it in the so-called safety notch and just be very wary and careful while carrying it that way.
I've carried 44 spl and 45 Colt SAA's with the firing pin between the rims. I had several times found them turned over onto a primer. I eventually quit being so smart and went to carrying 5 rds loaded. The holster was a well fitted half flap, so I'm certain nothing snagged the hammer and allowed the cylinder ti turn. I think percussion guns, when set up as the originals with the pins between the chambers are safer to carry fully loaded compared to the SAA. If I carried an SAA and wanted it fully loaded, I'd carry it in the so-called safety notch and just be very wary and careful while carrying it that way.
MCgunner
Member
Or perhaps between the nipples?
MCgunner
Member
Oh, for all you guys having a hard time fining time to shoot your weapons, send 'em to me. I'll see that they get used regularly.
Of the three SAA's that I have, all of them will nest the firing pin between the case heads and lock solid there. The trick is learning to get it to nest right in between, if you're off just a little and it's resting on the edge of one of the case heads then yes it can allow the cylinder to turn into battery.
Try it with fired brass and it cuts down on the stress of lowering that hammer.
Try it with fired brass and it cuts down on the stress of lowering that hammer.
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Deleted member 208810
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whughett
Member
Amen to that. Serious stuff like family or personal protection is best left to modern center fire stuff. I do like my BPRs but they are for fun and chuckles only.
BullSlinger
Member
No Rust
I loaded up a 1860 Army with Pyrodex pellets, 454 balls, and CCI #10 cap. Did not get around to going out shooting for two years. When I did all fired with out any misfire. No rust on cylinder walls or nipples. I do live in the high desert and that helps.
I loaded up a 1860 Army with Pyrodex pellets, 454 balls, and CCI #10 cap. Did not get around to going out shooting for two years. When I did all fired with out any misfire. No rust on cylinder walls or nipples. I do live in the high desert and that helps.
I have zero doubt the firing pin was as down between the rims as it could possible get, and in no way shape or form resting somehow on the edge of the rims. Mine turned, several times.
It seemed plenty secure, it just didnt work out that way in actual daily carry.
Tinpan58
Member
I load a lot of things up ahead of time and they might sit around for months, some cylinders loaded and caped others loaded with powder and ball and left uncapped, I have paper cartridges I made up more than a year ago, and it all goes bang no problem. I worried about about leaving things loaded when I first started, but over time you find these guns aren't all that delicate.
whughett
Member
One would hope all you "keep em loaded guys" have the proper credentials for carrying loaded weapons back and forth to the ranges or where ever you shoot. As a concealed weapons permit holder I am not permitted to enter or leave any range that I shoot at in the state of Florida with a loaded firearm. One assumes we are talking about a piece that is "capped" No caps, not loaded.
Tinpan58
Member
My understanding is you can have the cylinder loaded with powder and ball, but if there is no caps on the cylinder it is not loaded, that is why I keep some with no caps in place as they are the ones in the guns. I have 16 extra cylinders and many of those are loaded and capped kept in pouches treated as live amo/loaded magazine and locked in a amo box separate from the guns which are treated as any other fire arm locked in gun cases in the trunk when being transported.
The only credentials required in the mountain states I've lived in is legally owning the gun. No problem with any loaded guns in vehicles. Most of my guns (of all types) have been loaded for as long as I've owned them, unless I take them out of state to places that dont have as free gun laws. Unfortunately, not all states are as free.
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