Legionnaire
Contributing Member
For those of you who have spare cylinders, how do you treat them? I've read the many warning against capping a cylinder not installed in the frame, but I still have questions. If you use a BP revolver for home defense, do you keep one or more spare cylinders loaded? If you keep them loaded, do you cap them? And if you cap them, how do you store them to minimize the risk of having a chamber go off when the cylinder isn't mounted in the frame?
I was at the range today with my Pietta 1858 Remington. First BP revolver I've owned with a spare cylinder. I loaded both cylinders with powder, wad, and ball before going to the range, but only capped each cylinder after mounting it immediately prior to firing. For the last pair, I capped the spare before putting it in the gun (treating it very carefully) just to get an idea of time savings between last shot on the first cylinder and first shot on the second cylinder. No problems, but it made me feel a bit uneasy. But it made me wonder how others handle spare cylinders ... especially if you keep them for serious work.
I was at the range today with my Pietta 1858 Remington. First BP revolver I've owned with a spare cylinder. I loaded both cylinders with powder, wad, and ball before going to the range, but only capped each cylinder after mounting it immediately prior to firing. For the last pair, I capped the spare before putting it in the gun (treating it very carefully) just to get an idea of time savings between last shot on the first cylinder and first shot on the second cylinder. No problems, but it made me feel a bit uneasy. But it made me wonder how others handle spare cylinders ... especially if you keep them for serious work.
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