Originally published at: SIXGUNS BEYOND THE .44 MAGNUM - Sixguns Firearm Fraternity
It is 1869. The Civil War is over and the Colt is King of the Sixguns as Hartford continues manufacturing two of the most beautifully balanced fightin’ sixguns ever conceived, the 1851 Navy .36 and the 1860 Army .44. Powerful and fast from the leather, the Colt’s are cap-and-ball revolvers, that is each chamber must be loaded with a measured amount of powder, a ball seated and rammed home, each chamber sealed with grease, and then a cap placed on a nipple at rear of the cylinder. The loading process is so slow that serious sixgunners carry extra cylinders already loaded as cylinders can be exchanged much faster than the loading sequence can be followed. Meanwhile, Smith & Wesson has a better idea as they had Rollin White and his patent resulting in the first big bore single action Centerfire sixgun. White’s patent was for cylinders that were bored through completely allowing the use of metallic cartridges. That first Centerfire sixgun/cartridge combination was the Smith & Wesson .44 American which soon evolved into the .44 Russian which then became the New Model Number Three, a beautifully crafted single action sixgun to say the least. By 1873, the S&W/Rollin White patent had run out and Colt went the .44 Russian one better with the much more powerful .45 Colt chambered in the Single Action Army, the famed Peacemaker. The .45 Colt was an awesome load for that time, or any time, with a 255 grain bullet propelled by 40.0 grains of black powder. It is of…
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I love big bore Revolvers my current biggest revolver is the 460S&W Mag and I am pushing a 300gr. Cast lead at 1900fps Taylor KO 36 and let me tell ya you . I did 47 rounds at last range session and next day I knew it … but I was wearing padded leather shooting gloves.
I have some 340grain boolits I been thinking about loading up and that would make the Taylor KO jump to 41…lol that would be a 10-20 round day for sure
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