On the evening of July 21, 1865, James Butler Hickock stepped into the busy town square of Springfield, Missouri. Locals gave him some room because his hand gripped a Colt Navy revolver. About 75 yards across the square stood gambler Dave Tutt. Legend has it that Hickock cocked his pistol, holstered it, and yelled at Tutt. Moments later, both men drew and fired. Tutt missed; Hickock didn’t — and, in short order, Tutt was dead.
Hickock was charged, tried, and ultimately acquitted for manslaughter. But guilt or innocence isn’t our interest here, rather it’s carry ammunition. The cap and ball blackpowder revolver used to kill Tutt was loaded with a round lead ball about 0.375 inch in diameter weighing about 80 grains. It worked perfectly, effectively ending the fight. By modern ballistic standards, Hickock shot Tutt with a .380ACP, though with a projectile considered far inferior to anything a .380ACP would be loaded with today.
Over the last century and a half, ammunition for defensive handguns has seen tremendous innovation. Not
