Ack!
A .17-caliber cap and ball revolver? Where will the .17 madness end? :roll:
Dan, you're not alone in postulating a .31 caliber Bearcat cap and ball. A number of people have suggested it in the past few years I"ve been haunting firearms message boards.
Seems like a good deal to me. The .31 would be ideal for rabbits, grouse and similar table fare. I'm told it's accurate too. I have a .31 repro of the Colt 1849 but it's a piece of junk, roughly made inside and out in the early 1970s in Italy.
A few years ago, I loaded it carefully and benchrested it at 25 yards just to see what it would do. Two of its five shots missed entirely the 4X4-FOOT plywood backing for the target. This was a new sheet of plywood I'd just erected, so I know it missed entirely. Not one ball hit paper ... sheesh.
But that's not to slight ALL .31 calibers, just mine. I keep getting the itch to buy a well-made .31 and wring it out.
The Bearcat in .31 would be a cutie, all right. Made in stainless steel, with some way to adjust the sights for windage and elevation without the cumbersome Patridge sights would be a plus.
A front sight that elevates by turning a screw would be good. A rear sight adjustable only for windage would complement it. This way, sights would kept fairly small and unobtrusive, unlike modern Patridge sights on a cap and ball.
And while we're at it, why stick to .31 on the Bearcat? Why not a .34-caliber? This might fit in its cylinder. Some of the old, original Paterson Colts were made in .34 caliber; I believe that Sam Colt made a few 1851 Navies in .34 caliber as an experiment, too.
That way, the 17-ers could be placated with, "It's really just a .17 --- doubled!" :grin:
