Samuel Colt's firearm business had declared bankruptcy in 1842, but a Texas Ranger Captain travelled to Patterson NJ and convinced the gun maker to manufacture revolvers for him and his men.
Captain Walker wanted his Rangers equipped with Colt’s because he had used them in Florida against the Seminoles and in Texas against Comanches, and he wanted premium guns when he rode against the Mexicans. He sent a letter to Colt telling of the "Hays Fight" in 1844 when fifteen Rangers defeated a Comanche war party of 80 warriors, "killing & wounding about half of them." Walker added, "With improvements I think they (the revolvers) can be rendered the most perfect weapon in the world. . . . ."
Samuel Colt called upon the services of an old friend Eli Whitney Jr. whose father had invented the Cotton Gin, and with this refinancing he built his new factory in Hartford Connecticut. By 1848 he delivered 1000 "Walker Colts" to the Texans, and a new legend was born.
At 57 ounces with a 9" barrel, the Walker Colt was a powerful blackpowder .44 caliber weapon, that despite what the Gene Hackman's character of Little Bill said in the movie Unforgiven, was not know to explode in one's hand with any more regularity than any of the blackpowder guns of the day, but because of it's massive size and high powder charge, when it went boom, it went boom.
The reviews were all favorable, with Capt Walker saying that the new Colt was "as effective as a common rifle at one hundred yards, and superior to a musket even at two hundred." and Texas Ranger John S. (Rip) Ford claimed the new Walker Colt pistol was as powerful as the United States Model 1841 "Mississippi" rifle.
So how powerful WAS it? Depends on which reloader you listen to, but most who've worked with the same loads in modern blackpowder .44's will put it's power approximating that of a mild to medium .44 magnum load.
Modern ammunition has gone a long way in making present day pistols and revolvers acceptable weapons in far smaller calibers, but it's fond to remember a time when a man wanted a powerful weapon to do the job, and no mouse-guns need apply.
No comments:
Post a Comment