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Cowboy Action Shooting is now firmly entrenched all over the country with many shooters, who prefer to be as authentic as possible, turning to black powder cap-n-ball sixguns. In part one of this series, we covered loading, management, and cleaning of cap-n-ball sixguns as well as shooting the .36 and .44 caliber replica Remingtons. Now we turn to the Colt cap-n-ball sixguns. Colt replicas produced by Armi San Marco, Pietta, and Uberti, all, as their names suggest, Italian manufacturers, are available from both EMF and Navy Arms. However, do not confuse the modern replicas with much that was available in the 1960's and 1970's. Today's sixguns are well made, well finished, with great improvement found in the case colors, and with accuracy more than adequate for cowboy action shooting. Their great deficiency is in the sighting arrangement as many shoot high and need higher front sights. Most Colt-style sixguns seem to be on, or close enough, for windage but are definitely lacking in front sight height. The following Colt replicas that could be considered for Cowboy Action Shooting are available from EMF and/or Navy Arms: The 1836 Paterson, the 1847 Walker, the First, Second, and Third Dragoons, both the 1851 and 1861 Navy, and the 1860 Army. Several pocket pistol types are also offered with the 1862 Police seemingly the best of the lot for our purposes here. Sam Colt was born in 1814 and at the age of sixteen found himself on board ship bound from Boston to Calcutta. It is said that he got the idea for a revolving pistol by watching the paddle wheel of the ship. He was not the first to come up with the idea but his 1836 Paterson was the first practical pistol using a revolving cylinder as well as percussion ignition. Sam Colt received a Paterson patent at the same time that Santa Ana was over-running the defenders at the Alamo. The Paterson was a five-shot .40 caliber revolver with a folding trigger and no trigger guard. It was so much more efficient than the single shot pistols they had been using that the Texas Rangers took to the long-barreled Texas Paterson immediately. In 1844 Texas Rangers Jack Hays, Sam Walker, and fourteen others all armed with Texas Patersons, fought more than eighty Comanches killing thirty-three of them. The Paterson exists today in replica form from Navy Arms. It can be had with or without a loading lever and in .36 caliber only. Due to the lack of a trigger guard and the fragile folding trigger, I do not consider the Paterson suitable for anything but very limited use in Cowboy Action Shooting. By 1845, Congress had annexed the Republic of Texas making war with Mexico a foregone conclusion. Four years earlier, Colt had gone bankrupt and the needed supply of arms had dried up. As the Texas Rangers joined the regular Army in 1846, Sam Walker went East looking for volunteers and Colt revolvers. The two Sams, Colt and Walker, put their heads together and vastly improved the Paterson design. Gone was the fragile folding trigger replaced by a stationary trigger surrounded by a trigger guard. The cylinder was enlarged to hold six .44 caliber chambers all of which would except a full 60 grains of black powder. Colt had the design, but no money and no manufacturing facilities. The U.S. Government provided the funds with their orders for a thousand Walkers, and the guns were built by Eli Whitney, thus this transitional model from the Paterson to the Dragoons is also known as the Whitneyville Walker Dragoon. Sam Walker considered the sixgun that bore his name "effective as a common rifle at 200 yards". The Walkers were issued in pairs and Col. Walker received his pair four days before being killed as 250 Texicans battled 1600 Mexicans. The War was over in early 1848, leaving Sam Colt solidly entrenched as a firearms maker. The Walker was a huge sixgun with a nine-inch barrel weighing four and one-half pounds plus. It would soon be replaced by the Dragoons. Walker replicas, produced by Armi San Marco, are available from both EMF and Navy Arms. Walkers were issued to the Rangers in pairs so it seemed fitting to work with a pair of these sixguns, one from EMF, and the other borrowed from gripmaker Tedd Adamovich. Although these are very heavy and cumbersome sixguns, Clint Eastwood used a pair of them very effectively though not very realistically in the movie "The Outlaw Josie Wales". Both Walkers are furnished with one piece walnut grips, brass back strap and trigger guard, case coloring on frame, hammer, and loading lever, with smooth actions. An awesome pair of sixguns to say the least! Walkers are normally recommended for use with .457 diameter round balls, but in one of the Walkers this caused a real problem that was not discovered until cleaning time. Seating of .457 round balls put an undue strain on the loading lever and raised a large burr where the barrel wedge pin enters the center pin. So much so that it became very difficult to remove the barrel for cleaning. It was then necessary to file this raised part smooth before the Walker could be re-assembled. The steel in these replicas seems to be softer than that found in American made sixguns so a strain such as this should be avoided. Switching to .454 round balls solved the problem. Both Walkers were tested with Goex FFFg and Pyrodex P using the Thompson/Center see-through powder measure. All Pyrodex loads with these sixguns as well as all others tested are measured by volume not by weight. Both Walkers did their best work with 55 grains of Goex FFFg and a Speer .454 round ball lubed with a Thompson wad for a muzzle velocity of 1224 fps or 60 grains of Pyrodex P lubed with Crisco for 1109 fps. Walkers are so heavy that they are very difficult to use in Cowboy Action Shooting when two guns must be shot simultaneously. The replicas also share the malady of the originals in that the loading lever often drops upon recoil. If both hands are occupied with sixguns, this presents a real problem for the shooter! Both Walkers shot two to three inches high at the Cowboy Action Shooting distance of fifty feet. |
ARMI SAN MARCO 1847 WALKERS #1 & #2/.454" SPEER RB/SPEER #11 CAPS
5 SHOTS AT 50'
LOAD LUBE MV GROUPS #1 GROUPS #2 50 gr. GOEX FFFg Thompson Wad 1162 2 1/2" 2" 55 gr. GOEX FFFg Thompson Wad 1224 2 1/2" 1 1/4" 60 gr. GOEX FFFg Crisco 1321 4 1/2" 3" 50 gr. Pyrodex P Thompson Wad 971 3" 3" 55 gr. Pyrodex P Thompson Wad 1042 3" 2" 60 gr. Pyrodex P Crisco 1109 2 3/4" 1 1/4"
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Colt immediately began replacing the Walker with the Dragoon series. The loading lever latch was improved, the barrel was shortened by one and one-half inches, the cylinder by one-fourth inch, the grip shape improved, all resulting in the four pound First Model Dragoon in 1848. One year later, the cylinder locking bolt and slots were changed from oval shape to rectangular shape and the Second Model Dragoon appeared. By 1851, the square-backed trigger guard, still found on the Ruger Super Blackhawk today, was dropped in favor of a rounded trigger guard and the Third Model Dragoon had arrived. In 1860 a Dragoon sold for $20 with ivory grips available for an extra $6. All Dragoons are now available in replica form but are in very short supply. When a Third Model Dragoon was found at our local gunshop, Shapel's, it was grabbed immediately. A few of the original Third Models were made with an adjustable leaf rear sight as are a few of the replicas. They seem almost impossible to find. The tested Third Model Dragoon, even at four pounds, is much easier to handle than the Walker, but is about at the limit for both a holster pistol and a one-handed sixgun. The test model came from the Uberti factory and carries a brass backstrap and trigger guard with a case colored frame, hammer, and trigger. Grips, of one-piece walnut, are well fitted and comfortably shaped. The action is very smooth and tight. As with the Walker, a pin protrudes from the back of the cylinder between chambers. A hole in the face of the hammer accepts this pin allowing the hammer to be let down between chambers and the carrying of six shots safely. The Third Model Dragoon shot exceptionally well with the best loads being a full fifty grains of Goex FFFg or the same volume of Pyrodex P under a Speer .454 round ball ignited by Speer #11 percussion caps. Both loads shoot well under two inches with velocities at 950 to 990 fps. The Dragoon shoots well albeit eight to ten inches high at fifty feet. I really like this big sixgun and it is well worth replacing the front sight with a higher sight to bring the groups down to point of aim. |
UBERTI 1851 THIRD DRAGOON/.454" SPEER RB/SPEER #11 CAPS
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LOAD |
LUBE |
MV |
GROUPS/5 SHOTS AT 50' |
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45 gr. GOEX FFFg |
Thompson Wad |
795 |
3" |
|
50 gr. GOEX FFFg |
Crisco |
988 |
1 1/4" |
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40 gr. Pyrodex P |
Thompson Wad |
852 |
2 3/4" |
|
45 gr. Pyrodex P |
Thompson Wad |
929 |
3 1/4" |
|
50 gr. Pyrodex P |
Crisco |
955 |
1 3/8" |
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Both the Walker and the various Dragoons were all deemed more than a little heavy for fast work from a holster but the advent of the 1851 Navy .36 changed all that. With the entrance of this 'miniature' Dragoon, a man was as dangerous with his sixgun in a properly designed holster, as he was with the sixgun in his hand. Perhaps even more so as any practiced sixgunner can draw and fire a single action sixgun faster than the average person can react. For the first time real speed from leather was possible. The age of the gunfighter had arrived! Both the Armi San Marco 1851 Navy from EMF and its counterpart by Pietta via Navy Arms, are seven and one-half inch octagon barreled, well balanced sixguns with one piece walnut grips, and case coloring on frame, hammer, and loading lever. While the Navy Arms example has a brass backstrap and trigger guard and shotgun style gold bead front sight, EMF's 1851 has a silver colored backstrap and trigger guard and a front sight that fits into a dovetail sight. Actions are smooth and tight on both examples. Both guns shot high at fifty feet, nine to ten inches for the Navy Arms .36 and six to eight inches for the EMF Hartford Colt. With its front sight in a dovetail slot, the EMF example will be much easier to correct. Both guns shot well with either Goex FFFg or Pyrodex P and the Speer .375 round ball, however nipple sizes are different requiring #10 Caps from Remington on one and Speer's #11 percussion caps on the other. These are mildly recoiling weapons to say the least with an 86 grain round ball at less than 900 feet per second. Quick to get into action, mild recoil, and good accuracy makes them a natural for Cowboy Action Shooting.
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NAVY ARMS 1851 NAVY COLT/.375" SPEER RB/REMINGTON #10 CAPS
LOAD LUBE MV GROUPS/5 SHOTS AT 50' 15 gr. GOEX FFFg Ox-Yoke Wad 725 1 1/2" 20 gr. GOEX FFFg OX-Yoke Wad 855 1" 25 gr. GOEX FFFg Crisco 912 1 1/2" 20 gr. Pyrodex P Ox-Yoke Wad 624 3" 25 gr. Pyrodex P Crisco 1084 1 3/8"
EMF HARTFORD 1851 NAVY COLT .36/.375" SPEER RB/SPEER #11 CAPS
LOAD LUBE MV GROUP/5 SHOTS AT 50' 15 gr. GOEX FFFg Ox-Yoke Wad 748 1 5/8" 20 gr. GOEX FFFg Ox-Yoke Wad 826 1 1/2" 25 gr. GOEX FFFg Crisco 951 2" 20 gr. Pyrodex P Ox-Yoke Wad 720 1 3/4" 25 gr. Pyrodex P Crisco 1020 2 5/8"
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In 1860, on the eve of the War Between the States, Colt came forth with the epitome of cap-n-ball sixguns. The 1851 Navy was perfect for holster use but carried a small payload. With improved metallurgy would it be possible to place the power of the Dragoon in the sixgun the size of the 1851 Navy? Colt engineers went to work and the result was a sixgun only slightly larger than the 1851 Navy and slightly less powerful than the Dragoon. Basically, the Colt 1860 Army .44 carries a Dragoon sized grip frame on a Navy main frame with a rebated cylinder larger at the front to be able to hold a full 40 grains of black powder under a .44 caliber ball. Barrel length is eight inches. My highest velocity recorded with the 1860 Army was only thirty-five fps slower than the Dragoon and this was accomplished with fifteen grains less powder. The 1860 Army was extremely popular with both the military and civilian population. During the Civil War, the United States Army ordered 130,000 1860's at $17.69 per unit. This would be the last full- sized big bore cap-n-ball offered by Colt as the cartridge era was about to dawn. Smith & Wesson brought forth the first cartridge revolver in the 1850's firing the .22 rimfire and then went big bore with the .44 American arriving in 1869. When the patent ran out for bored through cylinders with cartridge ammunition, Colt added an ejector rod to their 1860, fitted it with a bored through cylinder chambered for .44 Rimfire, and produced the 1872 for a very short period of time. The .45 caliber Colt Single Action Army arrived in 1873 and the cap-n-ball era was over as far as manufacturing was concerned. Both the Navy Arms and EMF 1860's carry one piece walnut grips with EMF's example a little more rounded in the right places. Both have blued backstraps with a brass trigger guard on the Navy Arms example and a silver finish on EMF's contribution to cap-n-ball shooting. Both sixguns are cut for a shoulder stock, have case colored frames, loading levers, and hammers, and actions that are smooth and tight. The ideal situation is a sixgun that shoots low with a front sight that can be filed to the proper height. Unfortunately the ideal rarely exists in the real world. Both 1860 sixguns shot high with the EMF Hartford Model printing groups two to three inches high and the Navy Arms .44 going six to eight inches high. Both have blade front sights that can be replaced. Some gain can be made by filing down the rear sight, which on all Colt replicas is found as a notch on the hammer.
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5 SHOTS AT 50'
LOAD LUBE MV EMF NAVY ARMS 25 gr. GOEX FFFg Thompson Wad 765 2 1/4" 1 1/4" 30 gr. GOEX FFFg Thompson Wad 884 1 5/8" 2 1/2" 35 gr. GOEX FFFg Crisco 965 2 3/8" 2" 25 gr. Pyrodex P Thompson Wad 665 5" 2 1'2" 30 gr. Pyrodex P Thompson Wad 800 3" 3 1/4" 35 gr. Pyrodex P Crisco 902 1 7/8" 3 1'8" 40 gr. Pyrodex P Crisco 929 2 1/2" 3"
In 1861 Colt brought forth their final full-sized sixgun
blending the size and caliber of the 1851 Navy with the
round barrel and streamlined loading lever of the 1860 Army.
The result is probably the slickest looking and easiest
handling of all the sixguns to come forth during the
cap-n-ball era. EMF's 1861 carries a brass backstrap and trigger guard,
beautifully shaped one piece walnut grips, case colored
frame, hammer, and loading lever, and a smooth action that
locks up tight. It proved to be the most accurate of all the
Colt replicas tested. Using three loads with Pyrodex P and
three loads with Goex FFFg both in five grain increments
from 15 to 25 grains, average group size for five
shots at fifty feet was less than one and one-fourth inches!
That is outstanding performance for a modern sixgun let
alone an inexpensive replica of a 130 year old design! All is not perfect however as this sixgun shot five to
eight inches high at fifty feet. Its inherent accuracy makes
it worth adjusting the sights to hit dead on. The rear sight
will be corrected first by filing and deepening the notch in
the hammer face that serves as a rear sight. If this does
not result in a suitable lowering of the point of aim, the
front sight will be replaced by a higher blade that can be
filed down to point of aim.
EMF 1861 NAVY COLT .36/.375" SPEER RB/REMINGTON #10 CAPS
LOAD LUBE GROUP/5 SHOTS AT 50' 15 gr. GOEX FFFg Ox-Yoke Wad 1 3/8" 20 gr. GOEX FFFg Ox-Yoke Wad 1 1/4" 25 gr. GOEX FFFg Crisco 1 1/4" 15 gr. Pyrodex P Ox-Yoke Wad 1 1/4" 20 gr. Pyrodex P Ox-Yoke Wad 1" 25 gr. Pyrodex P Crisco 1 1/8"
During the period from 1848 to 1862, Colt developed
several five- shot pocket pistols. The best of these, at
least to my way of thinking, is the last cap-n-ball from the
Colt factory, the 1862 .36 caliber New Model Police, the
Colt Cobra of the nineteenth century. This trim little five-shooter was very popular as a
concealment handgun. Grips are one piece walnut, the frame,
hammer, and loading lever are all case colored, and the
action is tight with a somewhat heavy mainspring. The front
sight is a very tiny shotgun style gold bead that allows
this little gun to shoot eighteen inches high at fifty feet!
Since this is a belly gun designed for across card table
distances, I do believe I will leave it alone and use it for
point shooting black powder style.
NAVY ARMS 1862 NEW POLICE/.375" SPEER RB/SPEER #11
CAPS
LOAD LUBE MV GROUP/4 SHOTS AT 50' 20 gr. GOEX FFFg Ox-Yoke Wad 664 2" 25 gr. GOEX FFFg Crisco 940 2 1/4" 25 gr. Pyrodex P Crisco 829 4"
Retail prices on Colt replicas normally run from around
$150 to $300. They represent a very inexpensive, and
authentic, way to get into Cowboy Action Shooting. If one
chooses to compete cap-n-ball style in the black powder
class, one must also be prepared to compete against those
shooting cartridge sixguns that do not have the inherent
possibility of problems with fired caps falling into the
wrong place. Come to think of it, that is exactly the way it
was on the frontier.