Hunting with Muzzleloading Revolvers

Muzzleloading revolvers have generally been considered ill-suited for taking big game because of their limited cylinder capacity and poor sights. Modern advances in powers, such as Hodgdon's Triple7even, and the use of Keith-style bullets in weights up to 255-grains have considerably increased the potency of cap and ball revolvers to the extent that the larger .44-caliber revolvers can reliably take average-sized deer and hogs. If further modified with features such as longer barrels and/or adjustable sights, the confident killing range of these guns can be further enhanced. This book examines the capabilities of these revolvers ranging from .22-.45 caliber with detailed information on loads and performance on game.

Once considered only powerful enough to reliably take small game, today's replica muzzleloading revolvers and their modern counterparts, such as the Ruger Old Army, can be used to take larger game animals using charges of modern black-powder substitute powders and Keith-style bullets with weights up to 255 grains. Now available in calibers ranging from .22 to .45, or even .50-caliber in custom-built guns, these arms are versatile alternatives for today's hunters who are willing to take on the same challenges faced by our ancestors. The author's experiences with these guns began in the 1960s and have included hunting not only the deer, wild hogs, and alligators in his native Georgia, but also small and large game in the Rocky Mountain states where he worked as a Professional Geologist. Not so much a traditionalist as a hunter, he made many modifications to these guns to make them more reliable and capable hunters and illustrated their enhanced capabilities by taking game with them. From these efforts came a Super Walker with improved mechanical performance capabilities and a Red Dot sight as well as a Ruger Old Army with a 14-inch barrel and scope sights. How these and other percussion revolvers were built, loaded, and used is described in detail in the book. These muzzleloading revolvers will never equal the power of the Remington .44 Magnum, but do equal the killing power of a .44-Special handload. With proper attention to shot placement, these revolvers using appropriate components can reliably take many species of big game.

A lifelong muzzleloading enthusiast who has hunted with cap and ball revolvers all over the U.S., this book is the culmination of Wm. Hovey Smith's experiences taking everything from squirrels to alligators with classic and highly-modified revolvers and loads. Smith was for 10-years the black-powder editor of the Gun Digest Annual, and many of the interesting and surprising findings reported in the annual and numerous magazines are elaborated upon in this book, with considerable information on shooting, maintaining, and refitting these classic, interesting, and fun-shooting guns with emphasis on making them better hunting tools. As a Professional Geologist with degrees from the University of Georgia and the University of Alaska, Smith had the opportunity to hunt not only in his native Georgia, but also throughout the Rocky Mountain States.