Video - Shooting the Double Action Revolvers of the Old West

[Bottom Dealin Mike]

In this video we'll look at the three most common double action revolvers of the old West:

The Colt 1877 - Lightning & Thunderer
The Colt 1878 - Omnipotent
The S&W Ist Model DA - Frontier Double Action

I know you can't shoot them in a SASS match, but there's a lot of real frontier history tied up in these guns.

I hope you like the video..let me know what I'm doing right and what I need to do better. I'm new at this, but taking it seriously...want to give Hickok45 a run for his money some day.

[Bottom Dealin Mike]

You guys are killing me.

Did you like this video? Hate it..Just wish I'd go away?...two out of three...

I could use some feed back.

Are DA revolvers of the old west so far out of the single action wheel house that nobody cares about them?

I've taken some heat in other forums for risking antique firearms by actually shooting them...Is that feeling wide spread?

I'd like to know.

[Cherokee Bob]

Great video thanks for posting it.  I have many vintage guns.  Heck most of my guns are over 50 years old.  I do have an original 1858 Remington New Army and I do shoot it.  I also shoot my pre and WWII Lugers.  I also shoot my Dmascus twist shotguns, Colt PocketMatics, Colt 1911s, Mausers, P38s and Brownings.  They were made to be shot and enjoyed.   If you treat them well and use the right ammo no problems.  I do not have a Scofield DA yet but am looking for the right gun.  I just can't bring myself to buy an Italian copy.  When I find one you can count on it being a shooter.   

[Deadeye Dick]

BDM,
Your video's are much appreciated. I think shooting the antique firearms is great as long as they are in good enough condition to shoot safely. Keep up the good work and keep the video's coming. Those in the other forums are just jealous.You got my vote.
Deadeye Dick

[Drydock]

Great!  And you can use them in both NCOWs and GAF.

[Montana Slim]

Good vid, Mike....many folks shooting SASS today don't have an understanding of these true guns of the old west.

I am fortunate to have a decent 1881 Smith & shoot it at monthly SASS matches anytime I care to...and, yes I shoot it DA mode, with BP & one-handed 

An item of note. A friend/gunsmith who has worked on all the old DAs for many years told me its easiest on the actions to fire them in DA mode & the parst will last much longer when used in this manner. Seems to hold true to me. I have examined the Smiths internally and make the same conclusion by studying the mechanism.

Regards,
Slim

[fourfingersofdeath]

I can't get this video to work, but I have seen several of your other ones and enjoyed them.

If you are looking for constructive criticism, you tend to cover a lot of the stuff you are doing on the guns with your hands. It looks like you are a one man operation on these videos. Small point, but you did ask. I enjoy them and always check them out.

Making these is fun isn't it? I did a couple when I was selling a pair of motorcycles to a guy interstate. He was hesitant to travel up without a better idea of the bikes. He was so happy he just saw the videos and sent the money up.

I have been meaning to make a few more.

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

Mike

I enjoy all your videos. I will agree that you need to get somebody to help you hold the camera. A lot of your videos the gun disappears from sight while you are loading or unloading it. Sometimes it goes pretty badly out of focus. I assume you are juggling a camera and the gun. If you had a cameraman, or perhaps a tripod set up a little bit farther away, perhaps the gun might not disappear from the frame.

I do enjoy all the information you give with your videos, I usually learn something from each of them.

We have already discussed how light the trigger pull is on my S&W DA 44.

As for shooting the old guns, I do it all the time. Just last weekend I was shooting a Trapdoor made in 1883. However I am extremely careful to NEVER shoot really old guns with Smokeless Powder, no matter how light the load. If they were made in the Black Powder era, I only shoot them with Black Powder. Yes, this has meant I needed to buy dies and learn to load some calibers because the only commercial ammo available is Smokeless. That's not a bad thing.

[Bottom Dealin Mike]

Thanks for the feedback.

As you surmised, I am a one man band, and that isn't likely to change. But I'll be more conscious of keeping the gun visible in the frame. I really do appreciate and need the feedback. It is the only way I can improve the product.

A couple of my friends pushed me for do this for years and I resisted, but I'm in now, and I'd like to be successful at it. I have a long way to go, but by incorporating feedback from you all, I can see a real improvement in the videos I'm doing now, as compared to the first ones I made in April.

Thanks!

[Long Knife Rich]

 It's good to see these guns being used and enjoyed. If they're in good condition, and the load is appropriate, why not.
 

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

You guys are killing me.

Did you like this video? Hate it..Just wish I'd go away?...two out of three...

I could use some feed back.

Are DA revolvers of the old west so far out of the single action wheel house that nobody cares about them?

I've taken some heat in other forums for risking antique firearms by actually shooting them...Is that feeling wide spread?

I'd like to know.

Great series Michelle.  (If you are a Canadien you should pronounce your name as Bel-i-vo, not Bel-i-view)

I am now shopping for an 1878.  I was sorta lookin, as the 1878 was the Canadian Army's sidearm from 1885 until part way into the Boer War, when it was replaced by the Colt New Army.  The imepetus for actually getting a move on was your video.

I have a line on one and I asked about its shootability.  The answer was "why would you actually shoot an antique?" And, he hasn't emailed me back

I realize that being a one man band is a real trick, but experience will make it better.  How about getting a hat-cam like our Pard Hedley? Not for everything, but to work into the shooting sequences.

[fourfingersofdeath]

Talk about hat cams, they have a small double camera set up for helmets now and you record in 3D! Ain't that nifty??

Update:

I finally got this one to work. I want one of those 1878s, 44/40 or 45Colt perleeeeeese!

[Rafe Covington]

Really enjoyed the video, thanks for posting it.

Rafe

[Cal Fornia]

BDM,
Your video's are much appreciated. I think shooting the antique firearms is great as long as they are in good enough condition to shoot safely. Keep up the good work and keep the video's coming. Those in the other forums are just jealous.You got my vote.
Deadeye Dick

I agree... I have a Savage 1907 Pocket Pistol, made late in 1909.  Shoots beautifully, very accurate little piece, kicks out the empties with amazing vigor (I was recovering brass two stations to my right, thing was throwing brass over the "catcher" net... good thing I was the only one on that part of the range that day).

[Montreb]

I enjoyed it very much!  Shame we couldn't see the '77 get fired.  I knew they were delicate but didn't know they were that fragile.

[mtmarfield]

   Greetings!

   And I thought that I was the only one shooting Colt DAA's! When in NM, I found a Colt 1902 'Alaskan' DAA that had received a "Buffing-wheel Reblue", and the price reflected that. Mechanically, it's tight, and fully functional, so I made up a box of .45 Colt BP rounds. I found that it shot very well, fully the equal of a SAA; double action is smooth, and the grips are comfortable.
   Some years back, I heard rumors that a company was coming out with a 1878 DAA copy, but it apparently was just that. I would really enjoy seeing the 1878 DAA brought back; I like the idea of modern steel alloys, and giving the old guns a breather. It's a handsome revolver that is superior to the 1877 mechanically, and I wouldn't hesitate to pack one. Nice Video!

           Be Well, All!

                         M.T.Marfield:.
                            11-11-11

[Galloway]

Nice video, i wish one ofthe makers would offer at least on DA replica for us old west shooters.