Colt Walker

About the Colt Walker

The Colt Walker is a single-action, .44 caliber cap-and-ball percussion revolver designed in 1847 by Samuel Colt in collaboration with Texas Ranger Captain Samuel Hamilton Walker. The largest and most powerful black powder repeating handgun of its era, it featured a nine-inch barrel, a six-shot cylinder loaded with a heavy 60-grain powder charge, and an open-top frame. Roughly 1,100 were produced, most issued to the U.S. Mounted Rifles during the Mexican-American War.

The Colt Walker revived Samuel Colt's bankrupt revolver venture. Captain Samuel Walker, impressed by earlier Colt revolvers used against the Comanche, sought a more powerful design; the resulting Walker model relaunched Colt as a manufacturer. It remained the most powerful production repeating handgun until the .357 Magnum appeared in 1935.

Colt Walker specifications

The Walker's heavy powder charge gave it muzzle energy comparable to a modern .357 Magnum, a power level not matched again in a repeating handgun until 1935. The cylinders were prone to bursting under the heavy load, and surviving original examples are among the most valuable American firearms.