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
1.5 to 2 drams of powder? That sounds dangerously large--not to mention that I've only heard of 'drams' as a measure of liquor!
ReplyDelete--Tennessee Budd
They were manly men back then. During the Civil War, some individual soldiers (mostly from the South) took their 1855 shotguns to war. For longer-range work, they loaded them with bore-sized lead balls rather than buckshot. I imagine a 1.6 ounce lead projectile propelled by 1.5 drams of powder would kick like the proverbial mule!
DeleteI have an NFA pistol in 12ga. It has a 10" barrel. Recoil is in the .44 Magnum class, but it's not uncontrollable. The majority of the energy of the 12 gauge shells is expended in making beachball-sized fireballs that endanger any excess facial hair.
ReplyDeleteGranted, the Colt in the story was a black powder weapon and the recoil signature might be different from smokeless, but I doubt it would make much 'felt' difference.
With a longer barrel recoil would likely be unmanageable, though.