I've known of the Colt 1855 Sidehammer revolver shotgun for years. It was used (in the rifle version) by some sharpshooter units early in the Civil War, and sold reasonably well on the frontier and out West. What I didn't know is that some unknown pioneer or trooper decided he wanted his Sidehammer to be somewhat more portable and accessible. Well, "portable" is relative for a gun well over a foot long and weighing more than 6 pounds . . . but I'd say he succeeded.
If he tried to fire that beast one-handed from the back of a galloping horse, I suspect it would have been really hard to hold onto it. The recoil must have been pretty snappy, to put it mildly! Nevertheless, given the opportunity to modify a modern replica Sidehammer into that configuration, I'd kinda like to try it. Typical 10ga. shotguns of the period used up to 1.5 to 2 drams of powder behind up to 1.5 ounces of lead shot. The Sidehammer's chambers were shorter than sporting guns, so I daresay it wouldn't have used the top end of those ranges, but even so, I suspect it had a real kick on both ends.
Peter
No comments:
Post a Comment