Black powder in wild west times

[wildy]

I only play at B/P with a Pietta .36 and just about to pick up a Ruger OA. Got me thinking about old wild west days and guns of the time being left loaded ready for a shoot out! Given that if you don't clean it with B/P ita a rust bucket in a day, how did your average outlaw go on? They must have carried them loaded? Was it a case of keeping it dry at all costs? Is B/P not corrosive in Its unused state so could have been left in the chamber.
One small thought and many questions appear!
Any thoughts anyone?
Cheers
wildy

[robkayak]

It seems that the average outlaw's life expectancy was such, that they did not worry too much about passing their firearms onto their grandchildren.

[slowcoach]

Read in a book recently (American) Civil War Firearms ISBN 0-306-81459-5 and in the section of 'Six guns and cold steel' there is a chapter concerning a Private Bill 'Nick' Nickerson an excerpt from

Following frontier custom 'Nick' every few weeks went out into the bush and tried the pistol at a tree. He would then spend a couple of hours cleaning and reloading it with fresh charges.

Seems the guys who carried these as weapons of war were happy to leave loaded until needed but would refresh the charges as a confidence booster after awhile

[Simon G]

Supposedly Bill Hiccock would shoot both of his pistols every morning, clean them and reload.....

[uk_biker99]

Bloody good question!!!!
Im wondering if the chemicals in Wild West BP are different to today's?
probably wrong but just a thought!
Another question to add, would the powder have been the same in all firearms? Would there be the same risk in say a shot gun or rifle (even a cartridge one)?

Keith

[robinghewitt]

They shot paper wrapped cartridges. When paper got short in the Civil war someone used old bibles which was considered really unlucky. The Adam's was unusual using a tin foil wrapped cartridge, you popped the back end off before loading to expose tissue paper behind.

You can't do that on a repro because the cylinder chambers aren't tapered like the originals. The taper meant the ball crushed the paper and formed a hermetic seal

[john paul]

'You can't do that on a repro because the cylinder chambers aren't tapered like the originals. The taper meant the ball crushed the paper and formed a hermetic seal'

Interesting bit of information appreciated.

[wildy]

I would test the 2 week theory but I think the RO might have something to say if I turned up with it loaded

[Jim McArthur]

Supposedly Bill Hiccock would shoot both of his pistols every morning, clean them and reload.....

I heard that too! I understand that he did so both for target practice, and to keep his revolvers continuously re-charged with dry powder. Also, that he distrusted BP cartridges because he couldn't see the quality of the powder in them.

I wonder if he kept a loaded backup handy while cleaning his two main revolvers?

I've also often wondered how CW era soldiers managed to keep their rifles clean. Did they really resort to pouring boiling water through them each night around the campfire? And how many shots did they get off in battle before their rifles were hopelessly clogged?

Jim

[Hsing-ee]

And how many shots did they get off in battle before their rifles were hopelessly clogged?

Jim

I suppose they would fire at the advancing line until it broke upon their own line and it got all swordy/bayonetty/hand-to-handy? How long does it take for troops to advance from maximum effective military shooting range (200 yards?) and divide it by reload time and you will have the number of shots before it becomes irrelevant.

Say the people were advancing at 5mph - that means 200 yards would take 400 seconds, so about 6 or 7 minutes, reloading at 20 seconds plus ten seconds for aim and fire, means you could get maybe 12 or 14 shots off before the Bluecoats/Greycoats were at you with their rifle-butts, Bowie knives, pistols and big sticks.

So your gun/rifle would have to stay ungummed for 14 shots.

[Iain K D]

I've also often wondered how CW era soldiers managed to keep their rifles clean. Did they really resort to pouring boiling water through them each night around the campfire? And how many shots did they get off in battle before their rifles were hopelessly clogged?

Jim

There was, I think, a particularly famous incident at Gettysburg where the Union unit holding a hill had to resort to a bayonet charge to repel yet another Confederate attack, presumably having run out of ammunition. So I suppose getting through an infantryman's issue -50, 60 rounds? - must be perfectly possible.

Assuming, of course, you know what to do with it:

Of 37,754 muskets salvaged from the field [after Gettysburg] and sent to Washington for inspection, one musket had 23 rounds in the barrel; 6,000 had from 3 to 10 rounds in the battle; 12,000 had 2 rounds in the barrel; 6,000 had one load in the barrel. The remainder were unloaded.

Iain

[enfield2band]

Bloody good question!!!!
Im wondering if the chemicals in Wild West BP are different to today's?
probably wrong but just a thought!
Another question to add, would the powder have been the same in all firearms? Would there be the same risk in say a shot gun or rifle (even a cartridge one)?

Keith

Hi
blackpowder has always been the same, potassium nitrate (saltpetre), sulphur and charcoal and was used in all firearms, shotguns, and cannons until the introduction of smokeless powder around 1890. Even then the changeover was slow and the caps in smokeless powder were very corrosive, but not as corrosive as burnt blackpowder.

Steve

[lilguy43uk]

I've gained a lot of respect for the people that had to use these guns in anger.

To hold your ground in the face of shot, shell and an enemy intent on removing you from the face of the earth, while you're fiddling with powder and shot and trying to get small caps onto tiny nipples (perhaps with frozen or wet fingers) must have taken a special breed.

[Jim McArthur]

So your gun/rifle would have to stay ungummed for 14 shots.

But WOULD it stay ungummed for that many shots?

Jim

[Jim McArthur]

I've gained a lot of respect for the people that had to use these guns in anger.

To hold your ground in the face of shot, shell and an enemy intent on removing you from the face of the earth, while you're fiddling with powder and shot and trying to get small caps onto tiny nipples (perhaps with frozen or wet fingers) must have taken a special breed.

Very true!

Jim