I just got a new magazine from Cabelas today and they have some of the single action cowboy type guns mixed in around the blackpowder section.  Actually they are quite affordable and are pretty good looking.  They seem to be mostly .44 caliber and you can get one from only $110 (1851 Confederate Navy) up to $260 for an engraved gold/silver one.  

How do these work?  Do the shoot lead balls or sabot type rounds?  Smoothbore I take it?  FFL required?  Are they blackpowder where you load the powder then patch and ball and percussion cap?  

Who has one in this caliber?  How do you like it as an occasional range/fun gun, and how big of a bang does one of thes guns make in .44 compared to a 9mm(all I have at the moment in pistol caliber).

Have a Ruger Old Army.It's a BLAST!
Usually shoot PRB over 40 gr 3f.Grease on top.
SOB to clean though.Like cleaning 6 muzzleloaders.

Yup i have one of the 1858 army 44s.  There isnt a patch involved, just powder, a lead ball, and a cap.
They are a serious pain in the ass to clean.  There is a bottle of solvent you can buy though with a tray
that holds the cylinder and that helps quite a bit.  Just take the cylinder apart and toss it in.

They are fun to shoot.  I haven't ever noticed that much recoil.   I pack mine during muzzleloader season
along with my rifle.  

Get a steel framed Uberti.. They make some of the best reproductions. Don't bother with the cheap brass framed stuff...

I have a repo second model Dragoon and an 1860 Army...Both in .44, both by Uberti. Fun to shoot.

Tips:

Use REAL 3F black powder and be sure to grease over the cylinders with Crisco, or animal fat.

Never use petrolium based oils on black powder guns, your gun will foul up quicker. . Use natural lubricants like animal fat to avoid fouling.

Dont waste money on black powder solvents. Use dish soap and hot water. Dry your gun off, and coat the metal parts in lard, Crisco, or TC bore butter.

Get a nipple wrench. Take the niples out every time you clean the cylinder. Run hot water through them, followed by a pipe cleaner. Lubricate threads with lard, etc...

Fire caps in all cylinders before loading them to clear out residual oils.

Pinch caps before putting them on the nipples to hold them on tighter.

When firing, tilt the revolver to one side after each shot to let the spent cap fall out, otherwise you risk the spent cap pieces falling into the hammer mechanism and jamming the revolver...

Get a flintlock...you have not lived until you have shot one.

Get the 1843 Colt Walker.  I love the heck out of mine!  They have a nice holster for it too.

Quoted: Yup i have one of the 1858 army 44s.  There isnt a patch involved, just powder, a lead ball, and a cap. They are a serious pain in the ass to clean.  There is a bottle of solvent you can buy though with a tray that holds the cylinder and that helps quite a bit.  Just take the cylinder apart and toss it in. They are fun to shoot.  I haven't ever noticed that much recoil.   I pack mine during muzzleloader season along with my rifle.

Pretty much what MshakeMO said....

I bought a brace of 1858 New Army Texas .44s from Cabelas several years ago.

All you need is round balls, powder, and caps and you're good to go.

VERY fun to shoot but they are quite the pain in the ass to keep functioning after the "gunk" starts building up.  

I have some problems getting the caps to fit properly before firing and then getting them off after firing but still all-in-all I like the guns...

Cleaning is cleaning no matter what you shoot but sometimes(read always) these BP guns are quite messy to clean...

I would recommend sticking with the Remington design and staying away from the Colt type open frame BP revolvers as my friend has one and it shot itself loose in a very short time...

My brace of 1858 New Army Texas:


ETA Rem vs Colt sentence.

Quoted: I just got a new magazine from Cabelas today and they have some of the single action cowboy type guns mixed in around the blackpowder section.  Actually they are quite affordable and are pretty good looking.  They seem to be mostly .44 caliber and you can get one from only $110 (1851 Confederate Navy) up to $260 for an engraved gold/silver one.   How do these work?  Do the shoot lead balls or sabot type rounds?  Smoothbore I take it?  FFL required?  Are they blackpowder where you load the powder then patch and ball and percussion cap?   Who has one in this caliber?  How do you like it as an occasional range/fun gun, and how big of a bang does one of thes guns make in .44 compared to a 9mm(all I have at the moment in pistol caliber).

They sell SAAs in there!

I have a steel framed 1858 Remington from Cabela's. Lots of fun to shoot!

The barrels on these handguns are rifled, not smoothbore.

My suggestion in addition to what the others have said is to buy the Uberti STEEL frame guns (already mentioned) because you can purchase conversion cylinders and shoot .45LC through 'em.

Woody

Quoted: Get a steel framed Uberti.. They make some of the best reproductions. Don't bother with the cheap brass framed stuff...

there ain't nothin' wrong with brass framed sixguns, i have them in BP and cartridge models, hell, the first sixgusn were brass fraimed, just liek the first repeatign rifles....



they still clean the same as steel though, lots of soapy water