Replies to This Discussion

KnifeMakerPermalink Reply by Karl B. Andersen on December 20, 2014 at 12:02

The Walker was cap and ball/percussion.

It didn't need a firing pin for a primer.

FeaturedPermalink Reply by Charles Sample on December 20, 2014 at 12:29

Exactly right!  A Walker Colt did not have a firing pin.  The flat face of the hammer hit the primer directly which in turn ignited the loose powder charge in the chamber thereby firing the gun.

Louis L'Amour was a good writer and I enjoy his books.  I have read all of them and many of them over and over.  He generally did a good job on the technical aspects of his writing.  But he occasionally did get something wrong.  Such as the previous example.  In another instance he referred to cartridges for a Walker Colt.  Again no cartridges.  A Walker was cap and ball.

Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on December 20, 2014 at 17:42

Not to mention it is normally called a Colt Walker.   Now it might have been that if the pistol had been converted to fire a brass cartridge instead cap and ball, the revolver would use a firing pin but normally this was fixed and would not require any real working.  If you were going to work on anything it would be the spring tension on the trigger so as to increase or decrease the amount of pressure needed to pull the trigger.

FeaturedPermalink Reply by Charles Sample on December 20, 2014 at 18:14

True Tobias.  There were later models of percussion Colts converted to fire metallic cartridges but I don't know of any Walkers so converted.  Also the Walker was an 1840's vintage gun.  I don't believe there was really very much in the way of metallic cartridges available then.

The Walker was too big and heavy for most men to wear in a holster on their hip.  It weighed over four pounds.  The Texas Rangers would carry a brace (two of them) in holsters on the horse.  (Probably where the term Horse Pistol originated.)  The two pistols with extra preloaded cylinders gave them tremendous fire power for the time.  Once a small force of Texas Rangers (about six of them If I remember correctly) fought off an overwhelming force of several hundred Indians using their pistols.

Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on December 20, 2014 at 20:41

Actually the "Horse Pistol" is almost as old as pistols themselves. Early wheellock pistols were to cumbersome to be carried on a person and cavalry would keep them in holster suspended from the the horse saddle.  These were called holster pistol, saddle pistols, or horse pistols.  Leter, smaller pistols were developed.  By now the Snaphaunce and flintlock pistols were more common.  These smaller pistols had a small hook welded to the side opposite the  flint lock mechanism which allowed the pistol to hooked to a belt. Later smaller pistols were made that could be dropped in a pocket.

They were pistols with hooks were known as  belt  or belly pistols while the smaller pistols were known as Pocket or Muff guns.

Before it became common practice to use a hip holster, pirates and highway men would tie a long ribbon around the butt of two flintlock pistols and suspend them around the neck, often securing the ribbon to the back of the waistcoat or shirt. The pistol then dangled under the over coat in easy reach.  Sometimes multiple pistols would be tied off in such fashion so that 4 or five shots could be made quickly without having to drop the pistol and lose it!

Also it a lot of left handed flintlock pistols were made, not because there were a lot of left handed men but because the sword hand was most often the right hand meaning the left hand was free for the pistol which replaced the parrying dagger.   Also if you look closely you will see a lot of old  U.S. Cavalry holsters are left handed for the same reason.

FeaturedPermalink Reply by Charles Sample on December 20, 2014 at 22:13

Thank you Tobias for that information.  I am glad to have such knowledgeable people in this group.

 

KnifeMakerPermalink Reply by Carl Rechsteiner on December 21, 2014 at 6:29

Let's not forget the Howdah (elephant pistol). Large bore, usually 58 or 62 cal, single or double. The Brits and Maharajii's probably had a different phrase than "Cowboy Up" when 600 - 700#s of puddytat jumped on their ride!

Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on December 21, 2014 at 12:06

Charles, when I'm not doing research on the Long Range Desert Group I tend to do research on the Golden Age of Piracy, hence the knowledge on the ways the earliest pistols were carried.  And my page was on priacy was around long before Johnny Depp made pirates popular again.  a href="http://pirates.hegewisch.net/pirates.html" target="_blank">http://pirates.hegewisch.net/pirates.html >

Permalink Reply by Shlomo ben Maved on December 21, 2014 at 16:49

Minor points of contention:

Left handed flintlocks were as common as hen's teeth -- in both pistol and rifle.  The reason is the the mechanism was harder to adapt but more importantly, you couldn't cock it with your thumb conveniently.  I have seen, I believe, 4 in my life (excluding doubles) and maybe double that in books.

Blackbeard, the pirate, was reported to carry as many as a dozen flintlock pistols.

The cavalry used a reverse holster because so many recruits had shot their horses or themselves when drawing from a crossdraw holster.  Also, the techniques of horse to horse tactics had changed since Col. Colt nearly perfected (he never invented) the revolver where the pistol, not the sword, were the primary weapon.  The sword was used when the pistol ran out of shots.

Confederate raiders, like Quantrill, would carry as many as 8 to 10 revolvers on them and their horse and just switch guns instead of trying to reload or use the sword. 

The Walker was never converted to cartridge and AFAIK the Patterson and 1st & 2nd Dragoons weren't as well.

FeaturedPermalink Reply by Charles Sample on December 21, 2014 at 17:26

Thanks Shlomo.  I love having this kind of knowledge available in this group.

Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on December 21, 2014 at 21:30

Excellent Info, Shlomo.  And you are quite correct about Blackbird.  In fact most pirates carried multiple pistols as the pistol was their favorite weapon and pistols were heavily prized; much more so than the Cutlass.

Quantrill and his men typically had a minimum of 3 pistols on their belt, favoring the 36 caliber Colt Navy as it was easier to control which in turn made it more accurate than the 45 caliber Colt Army.  Most of Quantrill's men didn't even carry a saber as they felt  a large bowie knife was more practical!

FeaturedPermalink Reply by Charles Sample on December 22, 2014 at 0:08

Tobias, just one very minor point.  I don't recall offhand the exact ball diameter that the Colt Army fired, but it was marketed as a .44 caliber.

I realize that marketing was not always strictly accurate.  For example I have a Model 1873 Winchester rifle.  The gun is marked .38 caliber.  The cartridge it fires was marketed as .38 WCF,  But the gun is not .38 caliber, it is .40 caliber.  It fires a .400 diameter bullet.  Winchester also produced the 1873 in .44 caliber.  But it was not .44 caliber, it was .43 caliber.  It fired a .427 diameter bullet.  It was a marketing ploy on Winchester's part to make the two cartridges seem more different than they were.  The difference between .38 and .44 is  twice the difference between .40 and .43.  Both cartridges were loaded with 40 grains of black powder.  The .38 fired a 180 grain bullet while the .44 fired a 200 grain bullet.

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