Civil War Weaponry

[cyberia]

This may very well be the case.

[Airchallenged]

Originally Posted by McCoy

But maybe Airchallenged is of another opinion alltogether as this is my opinion.

No Urban I agree with you.

[McCoy]

Nice to hear mate as my knowledge on ACW borders to the basic even if I know weapons.

[Holly6]

Originally Posted by McCoy

I'd say Colt M1860 "Army".

Good choice McCoy. I fire a replica of the 1860-Army. It loads to 40gr. of powder, a round that later would become the favorite .44-40 cartridge of Winchester and Colt fame. An advantage of this model was it's quick cylinder replacement. Several pre-loaded cylinders could be carried and replaced by simply pulling back a center rod, the spent cylinder falls out for quick reloading.

That said: The Navy models were also quite popular. Remember, many of these men were slight of build and the lighter framed, lighter recoiling .36 cal. load was easier to handle for many cavalry personnel.

(Sidelight), the .36 was good enough that James (Wild Bill) Hickock carried them long after cartridge weapons were available in the 1870's.

[McCoy]

Yeah, the .36 punches enough big holes as it is but not as big as a .44 A thing to remember is that the leadballs where rather soft n' did easyly flatten n' shatter when they did hit something. Thus bein' much worse than more modern jacketed bullets of the same caliber. Think also that the .36 isn't a small ball at all considerin' that it's slightly more than Ø9mm as the 9 x 19mm of more modern fame is .355 in diameter..

[cyberia]

So Hal, these were actually like the forefather of the speed loader?

[Airchallenged]

The Winchester Repeater and Winchester Revolver were two different things. the Repeater looked like a Henry Rifle and was similar if not the same as it.

[Holly6]

Originally Posted by cyberia

So Hal, these were actually like the forefather of the speed loader?

Yep, but the speed depended on the individual. Most still needed to cap the cylinder. I imagine some would carry them capped particularly when battle was imminent, but VERY iffy move. There's a fine line between "nuts and guts".

These weapons were a major factor in the dearth of "sabre slashes" incountered during the war. Much like the rifled bullet made a cooking tool of most bayonets.

[cyberia]

Now see, I never knew that about extra cylinders.

[Holly6]

Originally Posted by Airchallenged

The Winchester Repeater and Winchester Revolver were two different things. the Repeater looked like a Henry Rifle and was similar if not the same as it.

I'm a little confused AI. What "Winchester Revolver" are you speaking of? While it's true the company started as the Volcanic Arms Co. (owned by Smith and Wesson) and under this name B.T. Henry designed the level action that bears his name, the Company didn't become "Winchester" until after the CW and it's first production model was the Model 1866 (The Golden Boy-a redesign of Henry's ideas)

I'm not aware that Winchester ever produced a viable mass market handgun. However S&W (Model 3) and Colt (various models) adopted the .44-40 in revolver style handguns.