Some years ago, at the local gravel pit, I met some soldiers shooting a Beretta 92 on their day off. They had 9mm holes in a 10" group at about 20 yards. I had my Uberti-made Remington 1858 with me, a cap and ball revolver that is amazingly accurate.
So, I loaded up the beast and began shooting my own target at 25 yards, from a benchrest. The two soldiers looked over and were amazed to see a group that could almost be covered with a silver dollar. They tried my benchrest: 4" groups at the same 25 yards.
Those soldiers couldn't believe that such an "old gun" could be so accurate. They assumed it had a smooth bore until I showed them the rifling down the bore. Through the years, I've surprised a number of shooters with the accuracy of a good cap and ball revolver, with a good load.
The late gun writer Elmer Keith wrote that he had an 1851 Navy around the time of World War I that would put its balls into a cloverleaf pattern at 20 yards, even though it had a pitted bore. He swapped it for a .38 Special and always regretted it, as the .38 he got wasn't as accurate as the 1851 Navy.
Yep, I've tried a variety of different lubricants through the years, soaked into felt wads, but the recipe that was later named after me -- Gatofeo No. 1 Lubricant -- is the best I've found. With a hard felt wad, it will keep the bore clear of fouling the entire length. Other lubricants will keep the bore free of fouling for 1/2 to 3/4 of the way up the bore, then leave a thick layer of fouling in the last portion. It's as if the lubricant runs out or loses its effectiveness.
Not so with the Gatofeo No. 1 home-brew mix. I use it for all black powder applications: bullets in black powder cartridges, patches for my .50 muzzleloading rifle, shotgun wads, Minie' balls in my .58-caliber Enfield, etc. It simplifies things to make one lubricant and use it for all black powder applications.
Some years ago I even lubricated some .38 semiwadcutters with it and seated them over a middling load of Bullseye. Worked fine. I've never tried it in high-velocity smokeless loads, but I suspect it wouldn't fare nearly as well in this application.
Glad you had an enjoyable experience. The 1851 Navy is one of my favorite cap and ball models.