From: russell-watson@att.net   
      
   On Sun, 20 Jul 2003 02:54:39 GMT, "Von Fource"   
    wrote:   
      
   >   
   >   
   >   
   >    How soon after the release of cartridges like the 44-40 Winchester and   
   >45 Colt cartridge did the black powder guns last?  How long did it take for   
   >the general public and particularly the people of the west to switch over   
   >from the old cap and ball guns to the all in one cartridge?  Was there still   
   >a lot of use from 1865-1890 of those old cap and ball black powder guns?   
   >   
   >Thanks!   
   >   
      
   In the late 1800s a Colt M1873 SAA and its variants sold for less than   
   $20, but then $30 a month and all the beans you could eat was   
   considered fair pay for a cowhand back then, so it was roughly the   
   equivalent of man who makes $40K a year paying $2000 for a pistol   
   today. For that reason alone you have to figure there were still folks   
   who continued to use percussion firearms until well into the cartridge   
   era. No doubt some folks who could probably afford otherwise did so   
   simply because they wanted to stick with what they were used to. One   
   famous individual who was known to do so was "Wild Bill" Hickok, who   
   favored the .36 caliber 1851 model Colt Navy revolver, a gun renowned   
   among the knowledgeable even today for it's combination of weight and   
   balance and natural "pointability". You have to figure that most folks   
   who could afford to do so went to cartidge guns as soon as they could,   
   though, for convenience if nothing else. Unless you carried preloaded   
   extra cylinders for your gun somewhere on your person (for a cinematic   
   rendering of this catch Clint Eastwood in "Pale Rider", in the scene   
   where he reloads his Remington by swapping out cyclinders), you   
   wouldn't want to reload a percussion revolver in the middle of a   
   gunfight. It's hard enough to punch out the empties and reload a "gate   
   loader" such as a Colt when you're in a hurry. Kind of makes you   
   wonder why more folks didn't favor the break-top S&W revolvers,   
   despite the fact the solid frame Colt was the stronger weapon.   
   '97 FLSTF   
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