WB
I knew Jim would eventually chime in with
Thursday, April 02, 2020, 10:07

experience. The Colt is really handy for cleaning as you can literally snap it in half, two pieces. The Remington is different. You might struggle to get the cylinder indexed and pulled out. Fired caps can also get snagged easier in the full frame Remington. That's where the enhanced Combat reliability comes into play.

I have some real sinister ideas about Cap & Ball use as a fun hunting gun, none of which cater to historical accuracy. A 138 gr. pure lead RB at 1100 fps is more like a 9x19 Luger than much else. The lead hammers the crap out of things, and surprising penetration that you'd not think. I remember a friend with a TC Hawken in .45 (.440" 127 gr. patched Round Ball) went clean through a doe at 100 yds. propelled by 65 gr. FFg. But energy transfer and organ damage is minimal except for that .44 hole. Hit a bone and things are totally different as that lead flattens to the size of a quarter. It's quite the paradox! The recoil of heavier conical bullets will walk them right out of the front of the cylinder. So you are limited there too.