OT: What do you keep in the empty chamber?

[J Miller]

Not to hijack the existing thread about loading five rounds in a Colt SAA I thought I'd ask this question:
What do you keep in the empty chamber?

Well, years ago I head stories of old timers carrying folding money in the empty chamber. I always thought that would be a really silly thing to do as I thought the powder would burn it pretty badly if you were to shoot the gun with the currency in it.

So a few years ago I decided to see just what would happen.
I had some writing paper made from ground up and recycled American currency and a piece of sarcastic caricature currency with Slick Willie on it. I printed up a couple using the recycled currency paper and went to the range.

I folded up one piece and put it in my Old Model Ruger and fired 5 rounds of 40gr bp ammo out of it. Then I switched cylinders and put the second piece in it and fired five rounds of Elmer Keith's 18.5grs 2400 load. Here is the results, the top piece was with the 2400 and the bottom with the black powder:

Cyl money after.JPG

As you can see neither piece of paper was compromised in the least. And I'm pretty sure in the days of yore the old cowboys probably did store some cash in the empty chamber.
So now you know what to store in the empty chamber of your Colt SAA, Colt copy or Old Model Ruger BH.

Joe

[Lastmohecken]

I have heard of carrying money in the empty chamber, but with the old blackpowder, I would have been worried about burning up my money. I keep air in my empty chamber.

[jhrosier]

Joe,
I had heard that the old time gun fighters carried their burying money in the sixth chamber.

Jack

[Old Savage]

Air

[rjohns94]

air

[AJMD429]

As you can see neither piece of paper was compromised in the least.

Well, the picture on the paper 'compromised' it in my opinion...

[Malamute]

I think someone may have done that way back when, but I doubt it was very common. I think it would be a poor idea myself. There are times that loading the sixth chamber is a good idea, (having carried a Colt SAA a couple years, and having topped it of a few times in certain situations) and having something in it doesnt give you that option. In a situation where you expect trouble, I would load the last chamber, and if you had shot the five or six, and reloaded expecting more action, I'd want tht chamber available, or at least without having to check to see which one was compromised.

Many old cartridge belts were money belt types also, so there was no need to put anything in the chamber of the gun, or, a plain old pocket would work, where I generally carry my money, even before I carried a wallet. Most men back in the day wore vests with pockets.

[2571]

Memories.

[Hillbilly]

$5... in case you best me and I git kilt..........

I carried a dollar bill in my SAA... for a long time. Just a little charring after a lot of shots fired. If you live "off the wagon" I guess having a hidey hole for certain things like cash can be a premium.

[Motex66]

http://www.friesian.com/notes.htm
Go to this link to is the size of the horseblanket dollar they were stuffing in that sixth chamber.
Much larger than todays. 1866 to 1931
John

[firefuzz]

Memories.

Me too. See the other mentioned thread.

Rob

[bdhold]

J, thanks for the post and the insight - made a lot of sense - burying money.

[Chas.]

Memories.

Me too. See the other mentioned thread.

Rob

What memories? Clinton?

[kimwcook]

Nuttin' but air.

[Buck Elliott]

If whatever you decided to stuff into that 6th chamber wasn't a pretty tight fit, it could possibly work its way down into the forcing cone, or even the barrel of the pistol, as the "6th chamber" was carried under the hammer. I wouldn't want to take the chance of "sticking" the cylinder -- so it couldn't rotate, OR of having a bore obstruction work its way past that point, unnoticed, until the whole thing went "BOOM...!!!" with diastrous results...

Nope... I've always carried a few molecules of AIR in that position, nothing more...

[Retro]

A spare round.

Hey, it made sense at the ti...*bang*

[J Miller]

If whatever you decided to stuff into that 6th chamber wasn't a pretty tight fit, it could possibly work its way down into the forcing cone, or even the barrel of the pistol, as the "6th chamber" was carried under the hammer. I wouldn't want to take the chance of "sticking" the cylinder -- so it couldn't rotate, OR of having a bore obstruction work its way past that point, unnoticed, until the whole thing went "BOOM...!!!" with diastrous results...

Nope... I've always carried a few molecules of AIR in that position, nothing more...

Buck, I was waiting for someone to bring that up. Since I don't carry anything in the empty chamber I don't know what long term results would be from having a piece of currency in the empty chamber.
However when I did my test at the end both pieces had moved forward due to recoil and you can see the little tears on the paper from passing the forcing cone.
So the paper money unless very tight is not secure during recoil and could possibly tie the gun up.
That might be why they called burrying money.

Joe

[Malamute]

Was thinking about this today. Does anyone know where the story came from about carrying money in the chamber? Somewhere else the question was asked about the provenance of carrying five rounds instead of six in a single action, and it made me think that we don't know where the money in the chamber idea came from. Was it truly an old time idea, or a tale that formed over time, like maybe someone may have done it at one time, but the story grew into "well, back in the day, they used to...."? I think Ruger may have used the idea in an advertisement years ago, but do we know where and when it originated, as in, do we have a dated reference of it at some point?

[bdhold]

John Wayne in The Shootist:
http://books.google.com/books?id=7Qkvhp ... q=&f=false

[J Miller]

Malamute,
I have no idea if the story of carrying currency in the empty chamber is fact or fiction. Just something I've heard occasionally since I can't remember when.

bulldog1935,
Shouldn't that have been posted in the other thread?

Joe

[bdhold]

oops

[KirkD]

I keep that chamber empty in case I ever need to stuff a cartridge into it in a hurry.

[Nath]

Mrs has all the money, ain't no way she will let me save it in a gun chamber! Say's I've spent to much on guns any ways!

I will just stick to air but only at atmospheric pressure mind!

Nath

[Buck Elliott]

Gotta agree with KirkD on this one...

[J Miller]

Well OK, to tell the truth considering how long mine stay loaded between range trips and cleanings you might find dust bunnies in the empty chamber

Joe

[COSteve]

By definition you carry nothing in an empty chamber because if something's in there, again by definition, it isn't empty anymore.

[J Miller]

By definition you carry nothing in an empty chamber because if something's in there, again by definition, it isn't empty anymore.

Well yeah but even then it's like an empty glass. It's not really empty because there's air in it.

Joe

[COSteve]

By definition you carry nothing in an empty chamber because if something's in there, again by definition, it isn't empty anymore.

Well yeah but even then it's like an empty glass. It's not really empty because there's air in it.

Joe

True . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . but not true. When you 'empty' anything on planet earth there is still air in it. Even in space there's more than 'nothing' in something that's 'empty'.

[Buck Elliott]

I wonder how long and seriously those 19th Century cowboys debated the physical and philosophical meanings of "empty...?"

they had work to do...

[J Miller]

I wonder how long and seriously those 19th Century cowboys debated the physical and philosophical meanings of "empty...?"

they had work to do...

I'll bet they didn't give it a seconds thought.

Joe

[Nath]

I bet their empty chamber had some hay in it or grit. Maybe some rust. A spider even.

Nath.

[J Miller]

I bet their empty chamber had some hay in it or grit. Maybe some rust. A spider even.

Nath.

Ha ha ha, I'd love to see the look on the spiders face when the other five rounds went off

Joe

[Ysabel Kid]

"safety" air!