Suppose Sherman hit the wrong button on Mister Peabody’s Wayback Machine and sent us all back to the 1860s without our EDCs.
The sidearm you rely on to protect your home and family (and maybe your own hide) is selected from what is available at the time and shoots lead bullets driven by fffg black powder and percussion caps.
Which cap and ball revolver(s) would you choose, and why?
How and where would you keep, wear, or conceal that hogleg?
Also what would your training regimen look like?
4 - 1851 Navy Colts .44
one on each hip and two in the belt!
Not going down without a fight!
I’m in the here and now and my everyday guns I carry are 1858 black powder and they are as reliable as my 1978 super RUGER black Hawk magnum. And I don’t know anything about what they did in the 1800’s, but as for now there isn’t any other firearms that I would rather carry. They are my twin six guns and I wear them in my six gun holsters. I’ve never seen a more accurate or dependable firearm that I’ve ever owned.
That looks to me like it has cartridges in it. Ready made bullets. You said cap and ball.
Sorry. Very nice gun.
The first one I could get in that scenario. People died of infection in those days.
I’d be first in line when1873 rolled around for a 45 Colt.
I’m not trying to be the conversation referee, but OP asked which firearm you’d choose in 1860, and we’ve had two answers for 1870s models. There were major advancements in firearms from 1860 to 1870 (for obvious reasons). That’s kind of like asking what plane you’d prefer to fly in WWI, and someone answers P-51 Mustang. Unless you’re just saying there’s no firearm in 1860 you’d trust, so you’d just hide in a hole for a decade.
I really don’t know what I’d choose in 1860. The big firearms manufacturers of the time were all competing for government contracts, so I’m not even sure what the average civilian could expect to buy. (P.S. I like to think I’d have joined up, but there’s that weird question about time travel ethics.)
@Ouade5
Not sure if you were referring to me. I said I would get the first one I could acquire. People died from infection, so being shot by any caliber was serious. It’s speculation that “lead poisoning” might have been a serious infection from animal fat used as bullet lube at the time, turning rancid…
Weren’t sickness and stab wounds as serious (or more) than bullet wounds during this era? I’ve heard that before, but perhaps it’s just a rumor spread by re-enactors.
The 45 cal 1911 is my weapon I carried in NAM asnd bought a Taurus 45 and is my main EDC
Um, 1860 cartridge weapons were not common, and the ones that were there were pretty weak. I’d take my 1858 Remington Army and call it good. Carry a spare cylinder for quick reload.
I Carry my 18,58,s on each side of my gun belt a they are the smaller ones! I like them KAZ I can change the out the cylinders! Just as fast as my super RUGER BLACK HAWK 44, magnum! I Carry them every day ! And the frame is one peace the barrel dose not come off and make you look stupid if the key comes out like on the 18,51,and I have stainless steel NIPPELS with blow off holes so the caps don’t jam the cylinder and the powder does not stick to or stop up the NIPPEL hole and the holes are larger for a much hotter spark and 777 ,powder with Remington new hotter by 40,percent more flame volume they are as reliable as any other firearm I own and I call them shock and AWE:bangbang:and I add a little Crisco cooking grease to each cylinder and I have not had any Miss Fire I have been carrying them for over five years and my suspenders hold them up and I LOVE THE FEELING OF A GUN FIGHTER 
AND EVERY ONE THAT SEES ME ALL WAYS WANT TO GET A SELFIE WITH ME IN MY BLACK STRAIGHT BRIM HAT I WEAR KNEE HIGH OLD SCHOOL LEGGINGS AND LEATHER BLACK PANTS AND A BANDANNA RED WHITE AND BLUE AND MY HAIR IS GRAY BUT LOOKS BLONDE AND VERY LONG I AM AN AMERICAN INDIAN I LOOK LIKE I WENT BACK IN TIME AND I DEFINITELY LOOK LIKE I AM FROM THE 18,00,s I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANY ONE ELSE THAT LOOKS LIKE ME I GESS THAT IS BECAUSE I AM ME I AM WRITING THIS WITH MY ROUND EYE GLASS I CARRY IN MY POCKET KAZ I HAVE PROBLEMS SEEING MY LETTERS I HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT MY ENTIRE LIFE AND I NEVER WANTED TO BE BUT I MAKE PEOPLE HAPPY TO GET A PITCHER OF THEM WITH ME AND THEY ALL WAYS ASK ME WHAT KIND OF INDIAN ARE YOU I ALWAYS WANTED TO BE WHITE AND IT DOES NOT HURT MY FEELINGS ANYMORE SO I JUST LET THEM DESIDE I JUST SAY AMERICAN 
I AM PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN I LOVE YOU ALL FOR BEING MY FAMILY BOBBY JEAN AKA TWO FEATHERS 
1851 Navy Colt .44 Cal. I have owned it and 1858 Remington .44 cal. Enjoyed a good bit of shooting with them.
A blessed day to you Bobby Jean. I too Have never blended in with the crowd, just content to be myself.
Where did you find the stainless nipples with blow holes for an 1858?
I’ve heard most deaths in the wild west were caused by black widow spider bites in outhouses
For an SD/HD situation I wouldn’t want to have to wait around for the bad guy to succumb to infection in 1860 any more than I would today.
I got them from a company called SliXsprings in Lebanon, OR. They are online. They are made in the USA. And never have a misfire again. Bobby Jean
