There is a tremendous amount of information about cap and ball revolvers on the Internet, some good, some bad, and some horrible and dangerous. This is a collection of the most important YouTube videos I have found for historical shooters interested in these weapons. Most of them are from the Duelist54 page created by Mike Beliveau and the Eras Gone Bullet Molds site created by Mark Hubbs. Although I have selected the videos I consider to be most critical to the sport, I heartily recommend watching all the videos on both sites. I have also included videos showing how I load paper cartridges, but these are based on what I have learned from the above-mentioned sources with some additional information from 19th-century sources.
I still see people talking about measuring group size as a gauge of accuracy, but it is a very poor way of doing so. Anyone who is not yet using the String Test as a way to track shooting results needs to reexamine his life choices and start using this system since it is both historically authentic and far more meaningful and useful than just looking at group size. To learn more about the String test and how (and why) to use it, go to:
https://historicalshooting.blogspot.com/2020/12/the-string-test-measure-for-historical.html
Prepping a new cap and ball revolver for the range:
https://youtu.be/YmVKUlV1AJc
Modifying the hammers of Colt revolvers to reduce "cap sucking."
https://youtu.be/v4gkJaIQPZo
The gear you need to shoot cap and ball revolvers:
https://youtu.be/fntF7qrE9GY
Loading cap and ball revolvers:
https://youtu.be/SxwcagHRTw4
I've also written a detailed guide for how to load cap and ball revolvers here: https://historicalshooting.blogspot.com/2023/08/loading-cap-and-ball-revolvers.html
The .44-caliber Kerr bullet:
https://youtu.be/GDtYhG4vKqc
The .36-caliber Richmond Laboratory bullet:
https://youtu.be/EBD-umOjAxY
How I load .36-caliber paper cartridges:
https://rumble.com/v2mvmjq-making-.36-caliber-combustible-revolver-cartridges.html
How I load .44-caliber paper cartridges:
https://rumble.com/v2b5e7s-making-combustible-paper-cartridges-for-cap-and-ball-rervolvers.html
Making combustible revolver cartridges with the
CapandBall.com cartridge former:
https://youtu.be/6f5r898zwNE
Nitrating paper for combustible cartridges:
https://youtu.be/AQAxp8dUiJQ
Greasing combustible cartridges:
https://youtu.be/BgeAPKKMf4A
Making greased wads for cap and ball revolvers:
https://youtu.be/YgNVPC2wmWI
Shooting combustible cartridges in cap and ball revolvers I:
https://youtu.be/4vx_nQphKO4
Shooting combustible cartridges in cap and ball revolvers II: Note that in this video Mr. Beliveau suggests that to grease his paper cartridges he had to roll a thin bead of beeswax and force it into the grease groove of the bullet. This was not how it was done in period and is not a very good technique; this is an old video, and much has been learned since then. See the video above about greasing combustible cartridges for a better, more historical technique, and the one that Mr. Beliveau uses now.
https://youtu.be/wgBcutYobRs
Civil War pistol cartridge pouches:
https://youtu.be/0hC1r_ad1Zc
Saber belts and holsters:
https://youtu.be/ijt464O_s-I
Civil War cartridge bundles:
https://youtu.be/ffjLU4hxh6c
Tools for working on and shooting cap and ball revolvers:
https://youtu.be/WS3QRSXm3zs
Modifying cap and ball revolvers to accept paper cartridges:
https://youtu.be/Gq3S-g7Br_8
Disassembling and cleaning Colt cap and ball revolvers part
one:
https://youtu.be/2qtMkLGdZA4
Disassembling and cleaning Colt cap and ball revolvers part
two:
https://youtu.be/057mS44KLCA
Disassembling and cleaning Remington cap and ball revolvers part
one:
https://youtu.be/ui5uXl33n8g
Disassembling and cleaning Remington cap and ball revolvers part
two:
https://youtu.be/wzs3xYeTERc
