"The Colt Walker 1847: The Most Powerful Sidearm Ever" Topic

… Issued By the US Military

"In 1846 the United States Army brought the Colt Walker 1847 into service – a revolver that is the most powerful sidearm ever issued by the US military. The weapon was named after its inventors, gun-making legend Samuel Colt and Texas Ranger Captain Samuel Hamilton Walker. The Colt Walker was extremely powerful at close range, although it had a tendency to explode in the user's hand.

Walker had so much faith in his design that he carried two Colt Walkers on him in the Mexican–American War. Born in 1815, Walker served as an officer in both the Republic of Texas and the United States when Texas joined the union. As a result, he was involved in many of the American West's conflicts, like the Mexican American War and the Indian Wars…."

More here
link

Armand

Since I was a young kid wanted one, even in replica.
Was a Western movie fan

The phrase "had a tendency to explode in the user's hand", should make one pause for a moment before considering firing it.

(smile)

Armand

I only shoot cartridge firearms. Cartridges do not "chain-fire."

"In 1846 the United States Army brought the Colt Walker 1847 into service"

Something about those numbers…

Kicks like mule.

Something about those numbers…

Then car manufacturers copied it, releasing each model year in the prior year.

Thanks!

Armand

I had one decades ago. All black powder revolvers are fun to shoot. The character Mattie Ross carried one in "True Grit."

(smile)

Armand

A true "Hawgleg"!!!!

Was this the one the Glanton gang use in Blood Meridian?

It was…

Armand

I've had a couple throughout the years. They are heavy. H.E.A.V.Y. Heavy.

(smile)

Armand

A trick I learned from a Civil War reenactor to prevent chain fire is to seal your cylinders with Coffee-Mate. Less expensive than felt wads and still reduces the risk of chain fire.

And, if you're of age and lucky enough to live under the protection of the U.S. Constitution, you can purchase your own Walker Colt here:

link

79thPA:
Was clearly shown not to suit her at all, though.

I had mine chain fire at a reenactment. It looked like I had put a smoke bomb in it. Sparks and smoke coming out of the whole thing. Someone yelled at me to throw it, I said no way you know what this thing cost me. We were on a gravel road at the time. BUT, it was my own fault. I had seen the grains of powder in the grease, and thought it was no big deal. So sloppy loading did me in. This is the only issue I have ever had with that gun in over thirty years of reenacting. Also, other members carried Walkers and all models of the Dragoons and none of them ever had any issues with them. If you know any Tigers, big guns and big knives. TIG

Current pistols don't blow up thanks to modern steel.

Ha!…

Armand

I've had a couple throughout the years. They are heavy. H.E.A.V.Y. Heavy.

Lots of first generation revolvers were massively large.

They were made from iron – not steel – and had to be huge and thick to carry a large charge of black powder and a massive projectile.
Our modern concept of what a revolver looks like comes from steel-made revolvers firing small projectiles at ultra high speed with nitro-based propellant. This is stuff that was developed in the 1860's (steel) and the 1890's (the other stuff).

Not a gun guy, so forgive me and offer me insight on this point if I have it all wrong:

I'm a little confused by the claims of a gun being "powerful." A gun is a device for containing and directing a chemical explosion in a specific direction with a metal projectile propelled by said explosion. However, neither the chemicals nor the projectile are part of the gun. The gun itself produces no power of any kind. So, presumably, if the same cartridge or gunpowder charge were used in any other gun, that would make the other gun equally powerful, would it not?
So it ain't the gun that's powerful, it's the cartridge, right?

I can see that a cartridge that only works with a specific gun thus arguably makes that gun "more powerful" than weapons which can't use the cartridge. But it's still the cartridge behind it all.

I'm guessing "power" is just a metaphorical term, where no distinction is being made between gun and cartridge.

In the case of a cap and ball revolver, where the powder amount is effectively selected when loading, what insures consistency in the powder load across all chambers? Was it possible to overcharge a chamber with too much powder? I assume the effect of that would be a broken gun (and possibly some fast-moving shards of metal in the vicinity of the shooter… ouch)?

The .44 Magnum is more powerful. Not sure how many other modern cartridges develop chamber pressures greater than the Walker.

A Walker loaded with 40 grains of 3F behind a .454 round ball will generate power a little less than a modern .357. Conicals generate less power for some reason.

Parzival,

Those pistols didn't use cartridges- the ball and powder were (and to tgrifsgt's point, still are in reproduction revolvers) loaded separately. Brass cartridges for revolvers were mostly a post-Civil War phenomenon. Black powder shooters typically use a powder measure to ensure consistency.

The answer to your question about consistency is, "care on the part of the user." I use a flintlock to hunt during the primitive season (did it yesterday, as a matter of fact), and it takes a wholly different level of care and concentration than anything you do with modern firearms, except maybe loading your own cartridges. There is a lot that can go wrong with even the simplest gun, and the penalty for mistakes can be a severe personal injury. It is definitely possible to overload a gun, but there are other types of mistakes that also have severe consequnces- not ramming the ball down atop the powder for example, or using the wrong size powder for your charge (flintlock shooters typically use 4F for the priming pan and 2F, which is coarser and slower-burning, for the charge behind the ball).

I taught myself to shoot black powder, and the pucker factor on that first load was very high- but it's also a lot of fun.

Thanks!

Armand

NPR – you can also blow-up a modern cartridge by down loading too muchpowder. Best analogy I've heard is the small powder charge acts like a shaped charge. The other problem is a squib, whereby a cartridge lacks enough "steam" to clear the barrel, and blocks the next round which causes a catastrophic event in the barrel.:^)