Newbie question on revolver choice

[fellow]

Howdy,

I have a question that will probably seem very naive. I am wondering why in Cowboy Action Shooting there seem to be a preference for the Colt revolver designs ?

On the opposite, bullseye competiton seems to really favor the 1858 Remington revolvers.

Is it that in CAS balance and pointability are more important than good sights ? Are there other reasons ?

How about the Roger and Spencer revolver ? It seems that it does not get any love at all, in spite of being the closest to the Ruger Old Army, which is considered the "ultimate" cap and ball revolver. Why so ?

Best regards,

[hellgate]

Im going to assume you are talking about which cap&ball gun to use. In CAS maybe 2-5% of the shooters are in the Frontiersman category where C&Bs are required. The vast majority use smokeless powder in cartridge Colt SAA or clones of the SAA.

In the Frontiersman category we have to shoot duelist, i.e. one handed. For many the R&S has a long reach to get to the hammer for followup cocking. CAS is not a precision shooting game since the targets are big and close. So the fit of the gun to each one's hand is very important for pointability and fast followup shots. Colt's balance well. ROAs are heavy for small hands. I shoot both Colts & Remingtons. Remingtons tend to gum up with fouling faster than Colt designs. The longer barreled guns are a little slower to get in & out of the holsters due to length so shorter barreled versions are becoming more popular. I suspect that most of the Frontiersman category winners in the big, national or Regional shoots use the shorter barreled ROAs due to their reliability compared to the Colt's cap jamming problems. Not everyone cares to use ROAs due to their initial cost and because they are unauthentic to those who enjoy a sense of history.

[fellow]

That was a perfect answer to my awkward question, thanks Hellgate.

[Slowhand Bob]

My take on the Remington versus Colt part of your question.  The easiest setup of all is the Rem '58 with enuff cylinders to preload for an entire match.  This takes loading on the range to a whole new level of ease and even rivals cartridge gun loading.  It also totally does away with the problem of the arbor fouling, you are swiping the arbor every time you swap cylinders.  Cap jams are much less an issue and the nipples were not as much an issue on the earlier Piettas as it was with the Colt nipples (Pietta seems to have fixed the Colt problem now).  The '58 is a very strong and robust design with a superior sight set up.  Its balance and pointabiilty are pretty good.    For me its downsides are a poor grip design, it funnuls my middle finger into to tight a spot that is uncomfortable.  As received the primer slots are to small and require mucho moola for a good gunsmith fix (think milling machine).

There is something almost magical about the way the Colt Army and Navy models feel in my hand, light weight with unsurpassed balance and pointability in the hand (personal subjective thing).  My favorite cap and ball grip is the Pietta version of the Navy grip and I even consider the big Army grip better than the '58s.  Most any capper will work well with the Colt cylinders just fine.  More versions and models available than any other style, including sever that never even existed historically.  Down sides, are a less rigid frame to barl assembly, more cap fragment problems and the most antiquated sight arrangement.  Though some might argue the point, removing the cylinders for reloading or replacement is a far less dependable arrangement.  You will be holding the barl, the cylinder, the wedge, the frame and this isnt counting the second preloaded cylinder BUT we do seem to have some talented jugglers from what I am told!  Last but not least is the fact that loading cap and ball cylinders during the match really takes away from posse chores and this at a time when we have more handicapped shooters than we have table jobs to accommodate!

Most often I would choose the Remington '58s for match day and preferred the Colt styles for general range play.

[sail32]

I chose the Pietta copy of the Colt 1873 in .44-40 to match my Uberti Henry and Winchester, both in .44-40.
The Pietta was ½ the price of the Smith & Wesson copies and more authentic to the original design than the Uberti's, in my option.

[Wolfgang]

On the opposite, bullseye competiton seems to really favor the 1858 Remington revolvers
 

For accuracy the best cap & ball replica of all is the Pietta target model with the gain twist rifling.  My standard model Pietta's are so very, very accurate ( with hollow based connical bullets ) that I wonder how these with the gain twist rifling can be even more accurate that that.  But I hear that they are. 

[fellow]

Finally this agonizing question is solved for me : I just came across a very good deal on a Hege-Uberti Colt Army, so that's what it's gonna be.

Hurray !