Those distinctly mediocre Armscor guns are sold as cartridge .38 specials in the United States for circa 200$. I had one. I would much rather have a BP Pietta 1858 Remington clone.
The 1858s sold these days are actually 1863 models. There is a 5.5" bbl model. Cabelas sells them on sale for a bit over $200.
Mine would jam up after maybe three cylinders, but you could carry all six chambers loaded with the hammer down on a safety notch. I did in fact carry mine with a .45 Colt cylinder loaded with 5 rounds at times.
There also exists for the European market BP only 1873.
The 5.5" 1858 in .44 or the ahistorical 6 shot .36 caliber "1862" revolvers will work as carry guns. If they need to be snubbed, well you get out a hacksaw and a file.
My 1858 Pietta stood up to very stout loads. I put in some BP, put a Pyrodex pellet on top of that, then some more BP then hammer in a bullet with a mallet. I watched what these did to target boards and the sorts of craters they left in dirt. Were I to use one for a social gun, I think that is how I would load it up. I had to use Remington number 10 caps for best results.
Cylinder changes....eh...if you need to reload a BP gun you need a spare gun. Unless you are under cover and have a lot of practice.
|