Customer Reviews

Percussion Pistols And Revolvers: History, Performance and Practical Use

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I count this as one of my better acquisitions in the field of 19th Century firearms books. There is an awful lot of good, hard to find information packed within, including details on maintenance (including assembly/disassembly procedures), general use and loading instructions, specific load results with different powders, and observations on the quality of various reproductions. As the authors state early on in the book, they pull no punches when giving their honest assessment of the quality of the various reproductions out there.

One also finds valuable suggestions on improving the reliability of various reproductions, such as gunsmithing tips for the pocket percussion revolvers to prevent cap fragments from binding up the cylinder. Very useful stuff.

I also love the colour graphic on the cover - it immediately attracted my notice when I was skimming through the myriad "recommendations" on Amazon.

I do have some suggestions for improvement for a 2nd edition, in the highly unlikely event the authors ever read this droll review and actually want to go for a 2nd edition...:

1. There are a number of minor, but noticeable typographical and administrative type errors in the book, such as using "heals" instead of "heels." Basically needs a sharp-eyed editor to go through and insure proper word usage.

2. While the black and white illustrations are generally adequate, they are a bit grainy (owing to the resolution and also, I think, the paper used) and are often too small. Indeed, some are actually quite tiny. This is usually not a serious problem, but in some cases when they are used to illustrate an important detail (such as the LeMat pictures on pp 144-145 and some detailed mechanism shots on pp 92-94) it is hard to make out what is being shown. In such cases it is a bit of a problem.

I would suggest, then, that a 2nd edition of this fine work at least have larger and sharper black and white photos. Further, if possible, select illustrations should be done as sharp, full colour plates. One that comes to mind is the photo of an original Colt Walker at the beginning of chapter 12. I would have loved to see a full-colour, full-page plate of this wonderful firearm. Surely 6-12 colour plates, perhaps focusing on original firearms such as the aforementioned Walker, bound into the centre of the book should not be too great a challenge? At the least the cover illustration could be sharpened up a bit (it is great, of course, but could be a bit better).

3. If possible, an appendix that goes into more detail of the various reproductions and their manufacturers, with discussion as to reliability, attention to detail, overall quality, etc.

4. Also of great use would be an appendix that gave contact information for and brief descriptions of companies that make accessories, such as replacement springs, etc., for percussion revolvers. A further help would be a similar list of gunsmiths who specialize in repairs, tuning, etc. for these magnificent firearms.

5. Something that may or may be of interest to the authors (and, thus, may or may not be within the scope of this book) are certain experimental percussion revolvers. For example, one company (Big Iron Barrels) can bore out Dragoons and similar revolvers up to .58 (!!!!) calibre (reducing capacity to five shots). Such conversions are unhistorical, but interesting nonetheless. If the authors were interested in this, an appendix discussing it might be in order.

6. On a purely trivial note, it might be of interest to use 19th Century fonts (such as Baskerville Old Face) and formatting conventions on both the text and cover to give the book a more Victorian Era appearance. Not important, but it would seem to fit well with the subject matter of the book (and I did like the font used with the captions).

I hope the foregoing does not give a negative impression of this treatise. If you are a percussion revolver enthusiast I think you will find this book very useful, and really ought to procure a copy for your collection.

Much more real information than you will ever find in slick gunzines so beholden to their advertisers...Mssrs. Bates and Cumpston pull no punches and give fair and accurate descriptions of the guns, the makers, shooting techniques, near everything the intrepid shootist might want to know before embarking on a journey to The Dark Side....and they do this at the same time they provide a rollicking and entertaining ride through history...an exceptional book destined to be read and reread....

I love this book. :-) Great historical data whether you shoot black powder for historical re-enactments or for "plinking" trips for fun on the weekends, this book has great info, including ballistic data, on every percussion-cap black powder revolver (or modern reproduction thereof--there are lots of them for reasonable prices on the sporting goods market) you might run into or ever want to shoot. Great historical anecdotes in the back pages, plenty of illustrations. Recommended!

Bates and Cumpston have created a masterwork. The book offers a detailed history of the important percussion handguns of American history, along with real and useful performance data on the various types. The authors candor about the quality (or more often lack thereof) of the Italian replicas is a refreshing departure from the norm for industry publications. Buy the book, you will love it.

If you have even the slightest interest in shooting percussion revolvers or pistols you should not be without this book. The book is loaded with information ranging from the historic development of percussion handguns to actual load and chronograph data. Mike Cumpston has a writing flair unlike any I have read making this book a good source of entertainment as well as a valuable source of information. If you have no experience or even no interest in the subject then this book may well be all you need to get you interested.

Books written by an author who actually knows things tend to be as pleasurable as they are rare. Percussion Pistols and Revolvers by Johnny Bates and Mike Cumpston is such a book. The authors write with a wonderfully dry sense of humor. "LePage performed valuable service by keeping the gentle classes entertained with full-featured target pistols. At the same time, they kept the population of the peerage from getting out of hand by making duelers of the same general pattern." Or discussing the introduction of conical bullets: "It is possible to find claims that the bullet was superior to the round ball because of increased penetration, greater target impact, and better flight characteristics. There were also frequent claims that the bullet was more accurate. The experts who made such claims were on solid scientific footing. They made perfect sense although none of them was true." This book is a hoot to read.

Percussion Pistols and Revolvers covers the history of the cap lock handguns. It gives an unvarnished examination of the quality of the modern replicas and explores the availability of parts for the same. The book provides practical advice on loading, shooting, and cleaning the guns. And the book reports on the performance of the guns individually. All of this is done with a skepticism of conventional wisdom and an insistence on actual observation. When discussing the introduction of paper cartridges, "We put together a few such cartridges using cash receipt paper treated in a solution of Hi Yield Stump Remover." It's that kind of book.

days, El Hadj al Cumpston has bescribed a nifty new book. I don't care if you shoot blackpowder or not, you need this book. W/ his amigo Bates, they hit the ball out of the park.

I speak as one who has just read it, cover-to-cover. He has actual chronography, target images, and energies in this thing, which application of scientific method seems uncommon for blackpowder writing.

He is not dogmatic (something which sounds like a robot Pit Bull to me) about propellants. He tries out black powder. He tries out the new Better Living Through Chemistry like Triple-Seven and Pyrodex.

He educates, too, in showing things like what a LeMat or Texas Paterson look like detail stripped, and how to do this.

AND you get the superior, twisty, and sometimes crypto-acidic Cumpston wordsmithing, always worth the price of admission. A couple of places had me thinking of Hobbes' very funny un-PC diatribes in "Leviathan" (the 'Kingdome of Fairies' anti-Papal part) when discussing fly-by-night manufacturers.

Treat yourself, buy the book or borrow it from one of the really cool kids at school, who already have it. Give yourself an undistacted afternoon to read it. Lots of strong peppermint ice tea and salted nachos. You and the world will be better for it.

The atheist Darwin and a Catholic saint show up in the same chapter on belt pistols. Harriet Tubman makes an appearance with her Colt Dragoon, as does Wm. Hickock and his Navy Sixes. Cumpston is nothing if not into diversity.

Get the book, groove deeply on the book, and remember the book experience long after it is over.

Bates and Cumpston have written a book with emphasis on the practical. Ballistics and energies are useful for the hunter, accuracy hints are useful for the competitor, and info on who has parts to support these smokepoles adds a note of honesty sorely missing in the blackpowder press.

I'd say anyone who wants to shoot a percussion handgun needs this thing.

It's nicely written, too, and pretty humorous in places.

Glad I found it.

My wife just gave me a copy of Percussion Pistols and Revolvers for my birthday, and I found myself reading it straight through - what a fabulous present!

Messrs. Cumpston and Bates really come through in their thorough, terrific book on percussion pistols and revolvers, with some of the best gun writing that has ever been my pleasure to read. Full of straightforward and brutally honest reviews of every major variant of percussion pistol, this book delighted me with unlooked-for nuggets of wonderful and fascinating historical info (one appendix is an entire dueling code!) and laugh-out-loud humor. Bates and Cumpston use plentiful detailed photographs and charts to supplement their rich but practical text on percussion handgun history, development, shooting, loads, chronography and hunting.

I can't stress enough the enjoyment this book will provide any firearms enthusiast - I plan on buying a couple more copies to give to friends as Christmas gifts. I would give this six stars if I could!

This is probably the best book extant on actually shooting the pistols of the old west. If you have ever wondered what it's like to touch off a 51 Navy such as those carried by James Butler Hickok this is the place to start. There is a wealth of information on the replicas available, powders and loads and a surprising amount of history. Anyone interested in cap and ball revolvers should read this.