Walker Colt
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Walker Colt | |
|---|---|
 Walker Colt with powder flask, U-shaped nipple wrench and screwdriver, bullet mould, and conical bullets |
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| Type | Revolver |
| Place of origin |  United States |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1847-48 then evolved into subsequent designs |
| Used by | United States |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Samuel Colt, Samuel Walker |
| Designed | 1847 |
| Manufacturer | Colt Firearms |
| Produced | c.1847-1849 |
| Number built | 1,100 |
| Variants | Fluke Dragoons and Post Walker Transition |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 4.5lb (1.9 kg) |
| Length | 15.5 inch |
| Barrel length | 9 inch (229 mm) |
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| Caliber | .44 ball, revolver (.454 in., dia.) |
| Action | single-action |
| Muzzle velocity | 1,000-1200+ feet per second |
| Effective range | 50 yards |
| Feed system | six-round cylinder |
| Sights | blade front sight, hammer notch rear sight |
Contents |
[edit] Development
In 1847, the United States and Mexico were at war. Former Texas Ranger, now Captain, Samuel Walker, United States Mounted Rifles,went to New York on business looked up Colt with the intention of acquiring revolvers particularly suited to his horse soldiers. He wanted a revolver capable of dispatching not only the enemy soldiers but their horses as well. Personal experience with the earlier Paterson revolvers of 36 caliber had convinced him of the utility of the revolving pistol as a cavalry arm. He now envisioned a "… revolver half the length of your arm of 44 or 45 caliber…." with more robust features than those of the erstwhile lightweight five-shooters (Whittington 1984). Colt was still in possession of the patents that gave him exclusive rights to revolver development as well as high motivation to return to the arms trade. Eli Whitney, Junior had a nose for business and a well-appointed armory then engaged in producing the 1841 Rifle in use in the Mexican conflict. An army contract for 1,000 pistols with accoutrements followed in January 1847. Colt ordered an additional 100 pistols for promotional use and private sale (Wilson 1984). The revolvers were 44 caliber, almost sixteen inches in length and weighed four pounds, nine ounces. The revolvers were larger than the 1837 and 1842 smooth bore pistols they replaced, but exactly in accord with Colonel Walker's order. In late October, Colonel John Coffee Hays of the First Texas Mounted Volunteers picked up 394* [Whittington 1984) from Army headquarters in Vera Cruz. An additional 180 went to Colonel Walker's C Company, United States Mounted Rifles. Colt had given priority to the one hundred additional pistols for presentation and private sales. Thus, well in advance of this general issue, Jack Hays, Samuel Walker, Zachary Taylor and other officers were in possession of the revolvers and familiar with their capabilities (Whittington 1984). Initial planning called for issue of two pistols to mounted soldiers along with a single powder flask, bullet mould, and combination tool that comprised a screwdriver, cone wrench, and spring compressor. Two pistols, mounted on either side of the saddle pommel, were standard Dragoon equipages. Reasoning that a single revolver would triple the firepower of two Aston-Johnsons, the army changed the order, affording only one pistol per trooper and creating a shortage of accoutrements. Thus, five hundred revolvers awaited arrival of powder flasks, combination tools, and bullet moulds. These remained in the Baton Rouge arsenal until early spring 1848, when they were released to the western army and still-federalized Texas Rangers fighting desperados and Indians on the Texas Frontier. Accompanying the second issue of 500 into Texas were an unknown number of revolvers that had not been returned to the Army at the end of the Mexican Conflict. There was a strong tendency among the enlisted to retain any working revolver and report it missing or destroyed. Historians record that it was, in fact, virtually impossible to get a Texas Ranger to turn in his Walker revolver and it was a losing battle to insist upon it (Whittington 1984).
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[edit] The First Shipment
On October 19, 1847, Jack Hays signed for the first shipment of pistols. According to records in the Texas State archives, this included(Whittington 1984): 214* Pistols- Colt Patent
218 Powder Flasks
230 Combination tools (cone wrench, spring vice, and screwdriver)
16 Rings for spring vices
22 Sets extra springs
8 Sets lockwork
8 sets of 6 cones
8 sets screws
22 bullet moulds casting one ball**
4 bullet moulds casting 6 balls
50,000 percussion caps
1240 pounds bar lead
200 pounds rifle powder(Whittington 1984) ***
- The number of revolvers conflicts with the 314 claimed by Whittington
- The terms "bullet" and "ball" are frequently used interchangeably.
- Accoring to Whittington, the Army pistols proof tested the Walkers with a bullet over a full charge of FFFg powder. Modern "rifle powder" is generally considered to be of FFg granulation
- The terms "bullet" and "ball" are frequently used interchangeably.
[edit] Field Use
In November 1847, less than a month after receipt of the revolvers, the Texas Mounted Volunteers engaged a numerically superior force of 1500 Mexican regulars at Izcar de Matamoros, charging their lines with Colt revolvers blazing, and routing them from the field. The Walker Colts played a pivotal part in several other engagements including a reprisal massacre in Mexico City. More than eighty presumably hostile inhabitants of the city died in that one-chiefly by agency of the Walker Colt.
The Mounted Rifles adjutant and medical officer, John S. Ford, acquired two of the Walkers for himself, and his writings constitute much of the earliest observations on the arm. After seeing a Mexican soldier dispatched at 150 yards, he deemed the revolver capable of shooting harder and farther than the .54 Caliber Mississippi Rifle. Ford also recorded that a young soldier accidentally shot and killed his horse with a single bullet from a Walker (Whittington 1984).
[edit] Negative Observations
Problems with the Walker included its very large size, ruptured cylinders attributed to primitive metallurgy or, according to John S. Ford, loading the original picket bullets backwards into the chambers. Ford recorded that soldiers of the day were unfamiliar with conical bullets and believed that the sharp end was intended to make the loading process easier. The Walker had an inadequate loading lever catch that often allowed the loading lever to drop during recoil and interfering with fast follow-up shots. Period-correct fixes for this often included placing a rawhide loop around both the barrel and loading lever, to prevent the loading lever from dropping under recoil and locking the action. In 1848, Lieutenant Joseph E. Johnston, US Army, reported to the United States Congress on weapons in use on the Frontier, specifically during his recent explorations of suitable routes to California and mapping of Indian trails from Mexico into Texas. Johnston recorded that the picket bullet was far less suitable than the round ball projectile. He said that greater facility of loading, power, and accuracy was available with round balls. He also complained about the size of the Walkers (and likely the first issue of Whitneyville Dragoons). He said the picket bullet required an excessively large cylinder to allow room for a suitable powder charge. Johnston requested a return to the round ball and to the older Patterson five-shooter, considering it superior to the rifle and saber for close Indian fighting (Johnston 1848). A key factor in his reasoning was the handiness of the Paterson belt revolver over the saddle-mounted Walkers.
Production of the original Walker was limited to the original 100 non-contract revolvers and the 1,000 units ordered under military contract. Subsequent revolver contracts began in 1848, with the most immediate changes being addition of a barrel-mounted loading lever clasp at front of the lever and the shortening of the chamber, reducing the maximum charge by about ten grains. Early revolvers continued to use some existing Walker parts, but post-transition revolving holster pistols are currently referenced separately as "Dragoons". (Wilson 1985).
[edit] Power
Throughout the 20th Century, numerous articles in gun publications have cited the Walker as the most powerful repeating handgun up until the development of the .357 Smith & Wesson Magnum in 1935. Such observations are supported by counter chronograph readings. Depending upon powder type and the individual replica Walker,round ball velocity averages range from 1115 feet per second with 60 grains of Goex FFFg powder to 1221 fps with the same charge of Swiss FFFg (Cumpston 2007). The latter velocity provides energy very similar to many loadings of the .357 cartridge. The picket type bullet thrown from a Pedersoli replica mould may be seated over 45 grains of FFFg powder with velocities ranging from 1026 to ll58 feet per second (Cumpston 2007). The Walker is substantially more powerful than most non-magnum handguns but does not closely approach the power of the larger hunting handguns developed from the 1950s onward.
[edit] Variations
Variations These are later modifications made to original Walkers. The data with photographs appeared in an undated issue of Texas Gun Collectors Magazine.
D Company number 13 has a homemade loading lever with a front latch like the later Colts.
D Company number 81 has a rear sight installed at the rear of the barrel.
B Company number 4 has a rear sight in the same position as D 8
D Company number 1, confiscated from a Confederate veteran, was converted into a shotgun.
C Company number 164 has a front loading lever latch.
B Company number 25 has a Paterson two-piece (?) rifle barrel installed. This is considered a period modification.
E Company number 22 is the only known originally engraved Walker. From undated Texas Gun Collectors Magazine.
[edit] See also
- Colt Army Model 1860
- Colt Dragoon
- Colt 1851 Navy Revolver
- Colt's Manufacturing Company
- Colt Pocket Percussion Revolvers
- [[1]] J.E Johnson Report to Secretary of War
[edit] References
<1. Bates, Johnny, Cumpston, Mike "Percussion Pistols and Revolvers, History, Performance and Practical use,Lincoln Nebraska, New York, London:iUniverse Publishers,2005 />
<2. Cumpston, Mike "The First Service Revolvers",GUNS Magazine 2007 Annual(ISSN: 1044-6257) Page 80,San Diego, CA,2007
<3.J.E. Johnson "reports of the Secretary of War with reconnaissances of routs from San Antonio to El Paso,University of Texas At Austin, Publication 6083395 1848>/
<4. Wilson, R.L. “Colt, An American Legend.” New York-London:Artabras, A division of Abbeville Publishing Group 1985/>
<5. Whittington, Lt. Col. Robert D. III “The Colt Whitneyville-Walker Pistol.” Hooks, Texas: Brownlee Books, 1984 />
