“What the 73-year-old was actually hit with was a round from an 1860 Colt Army Revolver.”
....that’s a .44 Colt and shoots a big ball...that guy was lucky.....I’ve got an origional one that was my g-grandfather’s....it’s in good working order and would still kill you deader than hell....although it’s too valuable to shoot now.
“I’ve got an origional one that was my g-grandfather’s”
My gun collecting started in 1968 when my Grandmother gave me an old pistol that had languished in a trunk up in the attic for many years. When I cleaned it up, I found that I was the proud owner of an original Remington New Model Army cap and ball revolver. This gun had presumably been carried by my Great Grandfather in the Civil War.
I was 14 years old, and collector value never entered my mind. I read up on them, gathered up powder, lead, bullet mold, and all the other accourements, and set about to shooting.
I shot thousands of rounds through that old revolver over the next ten years. It was cheap to shoot and I enjoyed the laid-back style of shooting - it took a while to load!
Overall, it held up wery well. I broke a trigger spring, which was easily replaced with an order to Dixie Gun Works. The loading lever catch loosened up, and I had a gunsmith sweat-weld the catch to the barrel. The welding messed up the bluing, and I contributed a couple of scratches and overall wear to the bluing, particularly holster wear at the muzzle. I suppose that I’ve taken away some from the collector’s value, but back then I just didn’t know any better.
The old Remington is enjoying retirement. I clean and oil it at least once a year. I have replicas that work just like the originals, although I don’t shoot them much either nowadays (modern guns are just easier to clean and maintain). My favorite shooter was always the 1860 Colt - I always shot better with it than the Remington, it just seemed to balace better in my hand.