Cap & ball self defence

[Fly]

This has been ask on many forms.But do any here use a cap & ball
revolver for home defense.I keep my .44 remey by my bed.Yes I
have other revolvers, but this pistol is as accurate as any I have.

I feel the knock down power is plenty, but more than anything
else is this.When you shoot one of these guys at night it makes
a flash & boom, no smokless gun can.I think it would scare the
day light from any intruder even if I missed.Your thoughts?

Fly

[RickinTN]

Yep. After you touch one off how do you see the second intruder? Flash and boom won't stop someone but a properly placed bullet may.
Just my thoughts,
Rick

[2ndAmendmentNut]

I really like C&B revolvers, but unless you are legally limited to a C&B revolver almost any modern gun would be better. Seeing as you mentioned owning other guns I cannot fathom a logical reason you would opt for the C&B over a modern gun. In my opinion it would be like owning a tractor or combine but opting to plow your field with an ox. Sure it will work but this isn't the 1860s we don't need to make it hard on ourselves. If the perceived advantage is the smoke and flash you could load almost any cartridge case with black powder and have equal or better ballistics than a round ball C&B.

It's your hide not mine so do as you please. If my life is on the line I'll take whatever edge I can.

[THBailey]

This has been ask on many forms.But do any here use a cap & ball
revolver for home defense.I keep my .44 remey by my bed.Yes I
have other revolvers, but this pistol is as accurate as any I have.

I feel the knock down power is plenty, but more than anything
else is this.When you shoot one of these guys at night it makes
a flash & boom, no smokless gun can.I think it would scare the
day light from any intruder even if I missed.Your thoughts?

Fly

I am pretty sure home defense is why the pump shotgun was invented!!! Seriously, though, I really like my cap 'n ball revolvers but defending my dear ones from mayhem is not a time for suboptimal equipment and tactics.

[UBER7MM]

Remember, you have to live in that house after you touch one of those cylinders off......

[historicfirearms]

If you like flash boom try one of the AR or AK pistols. Wow!

Think of how the flash will affect your night vision.

If I'm shooting at someone, it's not to scare them off. Just my opinions.

[Fly]

My I knew I was a odd fellow, but not this much.

Fly

[Beagle333]

I don't use it for home defense (I like a double barrel), but about 80% of the time I carry my 1860 as my take-a-long pistol in the truck.
On open ground or in a parking lot, I feel good about my '60.
At home, I figure I might have to shoot through a wall or door.

[Outpost75]

Ask Kenyon Balleau how well they work.....

[waksupi]

Many years ago, I fired a Colt Walker inside a house. (Was trying to kill a fly. Don't ask.) Couldn't hear a damn thing but bells for nearly two weeks. Conversation was out of the question.

[I'll Make Mine]

What I see as the big disadvantage of the cap & ball revolver is reloading time. If I can't get the job done with six rounds of .357 (very possible, if I have a home invasion situation involving body armor or multiple invaders), I've got two speed loaders that live on the shelf right next to the revolver. The closest you can come to a speed loader with a cap & ball is keeping a loaded spare cylinder on hand -- but if you keep it capped, it's very dangerous to keep around (imaging dropping it while trying to swap cylinders in the dark and having it land, capped nipples down, on a hard floor!).

[CPL Lou]

If that's all I had, that's what I would use.
Beats using harsh language !

CPL Lou

[Fly]

I,m sorry I do not know who Kenyon Balleau is.Please clue me in?Also what happened?

Fly

[bubba.50]

it's spelled Ballew in the articles I found. quite an interestin' read about police blunders & abuse of power & what happens when ya rely on a "snitch". way too much for a short version.

[Rattus58]

I really like C&B revolvers, but unless you are legally limited to a C&B revolver almost any modern gun would be better. Seeing as you mentioned owning other guns I cannot fathom a logical reason you would opt for the C&B over a modern gun. In my opinion it would be like owning a tractor or combine but opting to plow your field with an ox. Sure it will work but this isn't the 1860s we don't need to make it hard on ourselves. If the perceived advantage is the smoke and flash you could load almost any cartridge case with black powder and have equal or better ballistics than a round ball C&B.

It's your hide not mine so do as you please. If my life is on the line I'll take whatever edge I can.

Yup... I love them too.... but it's my other 44 next to my bed....

Aloha...

[Tar Heel]

As an avid BP shooter with multiple C&B revolvers, I have shot thousands of RB's down range through my 1851's, 1860's, Dragoon, and Ruger Old Army. Even with all my practice over 30 years I frequently hear "CLICK" when the hammer does not set off the cap for whatever reason. I have NEVER heard click on any modern center-fire handloads or factory ammunition. Choice is yours but you should know the loudest and perhaps last sound you will ever hear in a gunfight is CLICK.

[GhostHawk]

I love my .36 cap and ball revolver, but I have shot it enough to not want to trust my life to it.

Not to mention, most drywall walls will NOT stop a large round lead ball. So you have to guesstimate how many rooms its going to go through, killing who knows who on the other side of that wall?

Shotgun is #1 for home defense for a lot of very good reasons. Large bore, harder to miss, big knockdown at close range, and unless your loaded with slugs, buck and ball, your not going to kill someone you don't want to kill 3 rooms over.

[Hickok]

Ask Kenyon Balleau how well they work.....

I remember reading about that fiasco in the American Rifleman back when I was in high school. I believe Balleau got shot in the head in a botched up police raid.

[Fly]

Ya I looked it up, after asking.It was a ATF deal.I think no gun would have saved a life in that deal.
Killed with out shooting a shot.ATF, shot & ask later, in there own home.

Fly

[DLCTEX]

If I want flash and boom I have at them with a 480 Ruger. If I miss, he can't see or hear me, but neither can I. Body armor would make him feel like he had been hit with a 30 lb. sledge. My Ruger Old Army loaded to the max with 230 gr. boolits sends them out at about 1000 fps, but I'd better hit him first shot, I won't be able to see him for a second and would be coughing too much to make a hit anyway in the house.