Colt Walker Model 1847

About the Colt Walker Model 1847

The Colt Walker Model 1847 is a single-action, six-shot .44 caliber percussion revolver - the largest, heaviest, and most powerful black-powder revolver ever issued to the United States military. Designed jointly by Samuel Colt and Captain Samuel Hamilton Walker of the Texas Rangers and United States Mounted Rifles, the Walker was conceived specifically for mounted combat against Mexican lancers and Comanche horsemen during the Mexican-American War. Weighing approximately 4.5 pounds (2,041 g) with a 9-inch (229 mm) part-octagon, part-round barrel and an overall length of roughly 15.5 inches (394 mm), it dwarfs every other cap-and-ball revolver of the period and was worn in saddle holsters in pairs rather than carried on the belt. The cylinder holds six chambers, each loaded with loose black powder (typically 50-60 grains) topped by a lubricated round ball of approximately .454 inches in diameter, with separate #11 percussion caps seated on nipples at the rear of the cylinder. The seven-groove, left-hand-twist rifled barrel and long sight radius give the Walker genuine practical accuracy out to about 100 yards, while the massive powder charge produces a muzzle velocity of roughly 1,200 ft/s (366 m/s) and more than 450 ft-lbs (650 J) of muzzle energy - a power level that would remain unmatched by any US-issued revolver cartridge until the introduction of the .357 Magnum in 1935. Only 1,100 Walkers were manufactured in 1847 (1,000 for the US Army's Walker's Regiment of Mounted Rifles plus 100 civilian examples), and the design's identified weaknesses - a tendency for chambers to burst, loading levers to drop under recoil, and the gun's unwieldy weight - led Colt to refine the pattern into the smaller and more practical First, Second, and Third Model Dragoon revolvers that followed. The revenue generated by the Walker contract allowed Samuel Colt to reopen his firearms business, reestablish his Hartford factory, and effectively launch the Colt Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company into the company it would become.

Captain Samuel Hamilton Walker of the Texas Rangers personally traveled to meet Samuel Colt after surviving the 1844 Battle of Walker Creek - the fight that proved the revolver's decisive advantage over single-shot weapons against mounted Comanche warriors - and dictated the specifications for what became the Walker Colt: six shots, .44 caliber, and powerful enough to drop a horse or a man at 100 yards. Walker himself was killed leading a cavalry charge at the Battle of Huamantla in Mexico in October 1847, reportedly carrying a pair of his namesake revolvers at the moment of his death. The .44 Walker's roughly 450 ft-lbs of muzzle energy held the record for the most powerful US-issued revolver load for 88 years, until the .357 Magnum arrived in 1935, and surviving Walkers - particularly Company-marked military issue examples - have sold at auction for more than $1.8 million, making them among the most coveted American antique firearms in existence.

Colt Walker Model 1847 specifications

Loading procedure: pour measured black powder into each chamber, seat a lubricated .454 round ball (or conical bullet) over the powder using the rammer-type loading lever, apply bore grease over the ball to prevent chain-fires, and cap each nipple at the rear of the cylinder with a #11 percussion cap. Safe carry is traditionally five loaded chambers with the hammer rested on a pin between two chambers or on an empty chamber. The roll-engraved cylinder scene depicts the Battle of Bandera Pass between Texas Rangers and Comanche warriors. Serial numbers A, B, C, D, E company-prefixed (plus civilian numbers) - only around 170 authentic Walkers are known to survive, making them among the most valuable American antique firearms.