Cap & Ball Revolvers In the Old West
Continued, Part 2 of 4
During the Mexican War which followed after Texas was admitted to
the Union in 1845, the Texas Rangers were taken into the regular
U.S. Army.  Captain Samuel H. Walker armed his entire command
with pairs of Colt revolvers and wrote specifications for revolvers
of large caliber, fifty balls to the pound, capable of being
reloaded without disassembling the gun, and able to fire heavy
charges which could take an enemy's horse out from under him with
one shot.  These general specifications enabled Colt to build
the first 1000, .45-caliber, six-shot, Dragoon model revolvers.  
The 1847 Walker model had a loading lever attached to the frame
and hinged under the barrel.  This provided ample leverage to
force the balls into the revolver cylinder and permitted firm
compression of the heavy black powder charge, which enhanced
ballistic uniformity, increased velocity and improved accuracy.
It had a nine and 1/2-inch barrel, which weighed 4.5 pounds.
Its 2-1/2-inch long cylinder held up to 50 grs. of black powder, 
capable of driving a .454" diameter, 142-grain round ball up
to 1200 feet per second.  A 40-grain charge was commonly thrown
by Walker and later Dragoon model flasks.   Few Colt Walkers
were produced, and surviving specimens are the most valuable
firearms collectibles today.
The Walker's best features were retained and evolved into the
famous Model 1848 Dragoon. These heavy revolvers were usually
arried in deep saddle holsters which hung over the saddle pommel,
sometimes in pairs, and were protected by heavy leather covers
intended to protect them from weather, trail dust and abuse.
Walkers and Dragoons are properly "horse pistols" because
they were designed to be carried on the horse, not on the
user's belt or at his side.
The Dragoons were made in three models, each being somewhat
improved over the previous versions.  The most important change
was the addition of a spring-loaded locking latch on the later
Dragoons to secure the loading lever during recoil, so that it
would not pivot down and jam the cylinder.  The earlier ones came
loose more often than not when fired, particularly if they'd seen
much use.   A  cut-away was also added on the right side of the
recoil shield, behind the cylinder, to make capping easier.
Dragoons were huge, weighing over four pounds and despite their
being powerful and accurate, they were not practical for close combat.
The Colt Model 1851 .36 Navy was the first practical belt
revolver.  Even today, handgun enthusiasts praise it as the most
graceful of single-action revolvers.  Compared to the big Colt
Dragoons it was downright handy, with its 7-1/2-inch barrel, 13
inches overall and weighing 40 ounces.  It was also accurate and
powerful enough to be fairly reliable as a defensive arm. 
While contemporary accounts of the .36 Navy state it was a
serviceable combat weapon, in reality, it was well liked because
of its mild recoil, and modest consumption of powder and lead. 
The latter was important on the trail when a meager ammunition
supply had to last as long as possible.  By modern standards, its
80-grain lead ball, at about 850 f.p.s. with a full service load,
is modest.  The effectiveness of the .36 in combat was directly
attributable to the ease with which it was fired accurately, and
the fact that its blunt round ball, at adequate velocity punched
a full 3/8" diameter hole clear through whoever it hit, so it
killed out of proportion to its meager kinetic energy of about
130 foot-pounds.
The .44 revolvers were generally called "Army" models and the .36
calibers "Navy" models, although infantry and artillery officers
often preferred the lighter "Navies" and guns of both calibers
were commonly used by both land and seaborne forces.  Remington
introduced its New Model Army .44 revolver in 1858.  It weighed
43-ounces, was 14 inches overall and had an 8-inch barrel, being
far more compact then the earlier Colt Dragoons.
Colt soon followed with its .44 caliber Model 1860 Army.  This
was a trim and graceful revolver, which was 13-1/2 inches overall
and weighed 42 ounces.  Like earlier percussion Colts which
preceded it, the 1860 featured the 2-piece barrel and frame
construction, in which the barrel was separate from the frame,
and retained by a steel wedge inserted through the cylinder pin. 
Improvements included a round barrel, streamlined frame, longer
"plow-handle" grip and improved "creeping" loading lever, which
increased the mechanical advantage provided to seat the ball. 
The Colt Model 1860 Army was purchased in great numbers by the
Union, and was the most widely issued revolver of the war.  Many
thousands were sold after the war and went west in the post war
years.
There were many different makes of percussion revolvers which
were substantially equal in performance to the Colts and
Remingtons.  These included the Manhattan, Whitney, Starr, Adams,
and Kerr, among others.   Because the Colt and Remington .36
caliber Navy and .44 caliber Army revolvers were the most common
of their era, the technical comparisons which follow will
emphasis the virtues and foibles of these two basic types.
The open top Colts were favored over the Remington by gun
fighters because they pointed more naturally for fast, close-
range, instinctive shooting.  Expert shots firing modern
reproductions of these old guns can fire six rounds into a group
the size of a playing card at ten feet, in about seven seconds. 
The percussion Colts could maintain sustained fire longer more
than twice as long, without binding up from black powder fouling,
as the solid-frame Remington.   The open frame design was aided
in this respect by using a grooved cylinder pin which allowed
fouling to collect in the serrations, rather than seizing the
cylinder.  
If the cylinder pin was well lubricated with heavy grease, a Colt
would shoot for a long time, but light oil will not do the job. 
The major drawbacks of all Colt percussion revolvers were their
2-piece construction, in which the barrel was held on the
cylinder pin and frame by only a small steel wedge, and their
fragile V-springs which were prone to breakage.
The New Model Remington was more rugged and durable because of
its solid frame construction and simpler, and durable internal
lockwork, which was less prone to parts breakage than the Colt. 
The grip of the Remington New Model revolvers was narrow at the
top and flared excessively at the butt, so it didn't feel as
natural in the hand as the Colt Army or Navy models.  Cocking the
Remington's mechanism required more effort, so the hand's natural
grip was disturbed, so the gun was not a natural pointer for fast
shooting.
The Remington was always more accurate than the Colt for
deliberate, long range fire.  This was attributable to its better
sights, a distinct rear U-notch on the frame top strap and a
dovetailed front blade on the barrel.    These sturdy sights lent
themselves to filing to correct elevation, or drifting the front
sight for windage to adjust the point of impact so that it
coincided with the point of aim, necessary for deliberate, aimed
fire.  The Colts, on the other hand, had only the most
rudimentary sights, a simple bead on the barrel and a crude notch
cut on the nose of the pivoting hammer.  
The Remington's biggest advantage over the Colt was that it did
not require complete  disassembly to exchange cylinders. 
Accomplishing a "combat reload" with a Remington only required
that the user: 1) drop the loading lever, 2) pull the cylinder
pin forward, 3) drop out the empty cylinder, 4) replace it with a
fresh one, 5) index the cylinder to its rotating "pawl" or
"hand," protruding from the recoil shield of the frame, 6) press
the cylinder pin back home in its frame seat, 7) latch the
loading lever, 8) cock the hammer, 9) and fire.   This can be
done in an elapsed time of about ten seconds under "ideal"
conditions, starting with a clean gun, firing six shots and then
reloading only once.
The Remington's biggest disadvantage, which was of greater
consequence than its lack of natural pointing qualities, was that
its enclosed cylinder would bind up from black powder fouling.  
Once the gun got dirty from a dozen or so shots in rapid fire, it
would be difficult to withdraw the cylinder pin, cock the hammer
or rotate the cylinder, unless the cylinder pin was wiped clean
and lubricated when the gun was reloaded.
End Part 2 - Continued Next Message 
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