Cap and Ball guns are still .... GUNS! Haha! As that burglar found out.
Just goes to show you it isn’t the gun - it’s pissed off old curmudgeon BEHIND the gun!!!
One of my favorite “old guns” is the .44 caliber cap and ball 1858 Remington New Army.
It’s got six rounds in it, six rounds of black-powder powered .44 caliber lead balls traveling, when fired, anywhere around 1600-1900 fps. One of those WILL blow a really big hole in the perp; the other five are enough for any follow-ons.
Plus - that particular sidearm had the quick-change cylinders - “Speed Loaders” ala 19th Century. You pulled the ejector rod forward and down, tapped the spent cylinder out, and loaded a fully prepped and loaded NEW cylinder in and locked it in place, and you were ready to go VERY quickly.
Personally... I would NOT want to stand in front of that.
Late 1800s vintage weaponry had big, nasty, freight train bullets that were VERY unforgiving... not like the high speed darning needles we use now.
Go back a further in the 1800s, and you have flintlock pistols, firing anywhere from .45 to .58 caliber lead balls. Now, those “pirate” handguns were slower to load, but still - it’s a freight train and it hits like one, and you get that large, satisfying blast of smoke and noise.
I love old firearms. Always did. Fun to shoot, and hoot to compete with in “primitive” shoots.
Yep, a .58 caliber ball is a pretty good chunk of lead comin' atcha! Especially at point blank range. That is what I've always pictured behind that story.