Anyone torture test a black powder revolver?

[His lordship.]

I have seen some of those brass framed (non-authentic) 1851 Cheapo Colts around, and some of the early Colts from the 1970's and have wondered if anyone has tried to see what these guns will do under really bad care.  For instance, fire 3-4 cylinder loads and then not clean them for a few weeks or months to see if they will still load and fire, how much rust has accumulated, etc?  I imagine the Civil war vets encountered some that were neglected and wanted to still use what was at hand.  I would not do that to a nice Uberti, or Colt made gun, but those cheap non-authentic guns should be used for something.  How about immersion in water, will they still shoot if the powder is kept under Crisco grease, or a felt wad with tight fitting caps?
 
Back in the days when I first got into black powder I had a CVA derringer pistol that I gave to a fellow shooter for some favors that he done, and he decided to overload the gun to see what would happen.  I don't recall the load data after 28 years, but it was way over what the maker said to use.  I told him he was a fool to do that, but miraculously, the gun did just fine, but the recoil was fierce.  How much are these guns proofed to take overloads?  I no longer affiliate with the guy, not sure if he is still around either.

I had read of Union troops in the civil war getting so worked up during a battle (First Bull Run) that they kept ramming ball after ball under one load, and not firing the rifled muskets.  Did the army unload them after 8-10 rounds were jammed into the barrel by using a worm screw puller, or fire them off?

Thanks.

[bedbugbilly]

In regards to cleaning during the Civil War - I bought a privately published book last year written by a fellow (WW II vet age + I believe he was born around 1908 as I related it to my own father's birthyear) who as a youngster, knew many Civil War veterans - he grew up shooting and working on '51 Colts as well as other makes/models and he had the opportunity to "pick the brain" of many a vet.  (I'm in AZ for winter and don't have the book with me and can't remember the title - I bought it off of eBay from his son).  He states in his book that after use, the revolvers were put into tubs, with the grip out, and submerged in water with lye soap.  He claimed that many of the "dark bores" on original Colts, etc. were not from poor cleaning and sitting over a period of years, but actually from the lye soap and its effect. 
In regards to soldiers getting scared in battle, I read at one time in a publication somewhere that when the muskets were salvaged off of the field at Gettysburg after the battle, close to 25% of the guns had more than one load in them - some as many as 25.  The soldier would load but forget to cap, cock it, aim and pull the trigger and in their mental state, the gun would even kick (a physical reaction caused by their fear).  If you are a hunter and have ever suffered from "buck fever" you can relate a little to this.  If you've ever been shot at, trust me, you can relate to it a LOT. 
I think it would be interesting to do a "torture test" as you suggest if you could find a cheapo at a cheap price.  We tend to forget that most guns that were used - pistols and rifles - were actually "utility tools" to protect, shoot varmits and put meat on the table.  And most of us know that even today, there are those who don't take care of their tools the way they should!  Would love to hear more on this.  Thanks!

[Cuts Crooked]

I had read of Union troops in the civil war getting so worked up during a battle (First Bull Run) that they kept ramming ball after ball under one load, and not firing the rifled muskets.  Did the army unload them after 8-10 rounds were jammed into the barrel by using a worm screw puller, or fire them off?

Nah!!! They jist used a Co2 cartridge tool over the cones to push the loads out!  

[Fingers McGee]

Bedbugbilly - I believe you're talking about "How the Colt Navy .36 Revolver was Gunsmithed and Fired in the Field during the Civil War"  by D.L. Rhea.  I have copy #541 of 1000 of the book.  It is an excellent book about how they were used, abused, and maintained.

FM

[bedbugbilly]

Fingers -  THANKS!  That's the one I was talking about.  I only wish that I had purchased two copies of it and brought one out here to put with the books I have in AZ.  I found it to be a really great book and a lot of information in it that would normally would "have been lost to the ages" so to speak.  I'm not sure if I was right about the author's age though - for some reason I associated it with my father's age who was born in 1908.  My father knew quite a few of our local Civil war vets in our community in Michigan - unfortunately, he didn't really have an intereest in history or guns.  Thanks again for the "jogging of the memory" of which book it was and the author - much appreciated!      bedebug

[simonkenton]

I accidentally torture tested a pistol, but it was no cheapo.
This was the Uberti Cattleman cap and ball, a beautiful $330 pistol.

A new powder had come out, BlackMag3. The manufacturer billed it as "non corrosive."
I saw it in the Cabelas catalog, I wondered why Cabelas did not advertise it as "non corrosive."

I was soon to find out why.

I bought a pound of this stuff from Cabelas, $52 including hazmat fee, and shipping.
It fired great in the .44 pistol, good power, good ignition, easy to clean up.
So I decided to find out about this "non corrosive" deal.

 Starting with a clean pistol, I fired just one cylinder, then set the gun in a drawer without cleaning. In these humid North Carolina mountains this would be the acid test.
Thank God I ran one patch down the barrel before storing, otherwise, no cleaning.
I meant to leave the pistol in the drawer for one week.
I spaced out and left it in there for a month.
When I pulled the gun out, I was horrified to see that one cylinder covered with red rust! Also, the hammer was covered with rust.
No problems with the barrel.
I took my gun apart and it took 3 hours to clean it. The damn hammer is still a little stiff.

So much for the "non corrosive." Gee, I wonder why Cabelas doesn't sell BlackMag3 any more?

That was one cylinder for a month with a bp sub that is less corrosive than bp.
If you fired all 6 cylinders with bp and let the gun set for a month, you wouldn't be able to cock the thing.
It would be good for nothing but a boat anchor.


A guy on one of these forums did an experiment to water proof his pistol. He got beeswax and sealed the caps and cylinders.
He would take a little piece of beeswax and roll it back and forth between his thumb and finger, until it softened up. He would take the little "roll" and run it around the cylinder, right on top of the ball, like a gasket between the ball and the cylinder wall. He packed that beeswax tightly with his finger.
Then, he made a little bitty roll of beeswax, and fitted it around the cap. He used a toothpick or little stick to pack the beeswax around the cap.
Then, he put the loaded cylinder in a bucket of water!
He left it submerged for a half hour.
To my amazement, it fired, all 5 cylinders.

This guy had photos of doing all this and I am sure his story is legit.

[His lordship.]

I was curious about how long the black powder would take to start rusting.  Years ago I was living in Western Oregon and would take my black powder guns into the Cascade Mountains in Summer and shoot them.  I was using Pyrodex then.  I took a piece of steel plate that was sanded clean, put some powder on it, hit it with a match to burn it and then would check a carbon spot every 24 hours.  I found with the humidity and temps that I was safe for 24 hours, some rust would appear after that time, and then would really pick up as the days went by.

This was a nice piece of knowledge as I would swab the cylinder and bore when leaving the shooting spot, and clean them the next day.  You tend to get tired and it is late in the day, so a 24 hour delay really helped.  I do things differently now.  I run the barrel and cylinder under warm water in a sink when I get home using a brush and cloth swab on a cleaning rod, blast out the water by blowing on it, then drench the items with a good spray of WD-40.  The frame is wiped down.  The gun is then detail cleaned that day, or I wait the next day and detail oil/clean it.  Saves lots of time and does a good job, no more meticulous tear downs and hours of sulphor odor. 

I also used to think that the burned black powder was corrosive by itself, that is not true.  It is hygroscopic, the moisture of the local environment is attracted to the burned powder, hence water on steel.   

[FourBee]

Many  years ago, before the Internet, I got a brass .44 BP revolver.  Didn't know anything about them at all, and the sporting goods store couldn't help me either.  I was able to shoot it some however, but became quickly discouraged, and hung it on the wall in my den.   Never cleaned the insides of it from the day it was purchased, and only wiped it off from time to time.   Years later I was encouraged by an article I'd read, and took that ole gun off the wall for a total cleanup.  Practically everything that had threads on it was frozen.  It was filthy and corroded.   I'm glad I didn't wait any longer to try and salvage it.   It has worked great ever since.