J.T. Gerrity
Member
Good theories. I might also add that, partially due to all the burst cylinders he got back from the Walkers, Colt shortened the cylinder in order to minimize the amount of powder that could be stuffed into one of these things. He was able to use the frames that were returned; also, he had stock-on-hand.
He used this same method on the Navy / Army models: the Army uses the Navy frame, but (besides rebating the frame for the Army cylinder) with a shortened forcing cone on the Army barrel to make up for the longer cylinder; just the opposite of what he did on the Walker / Dragoon models. I've never tried it, but I suspect that a Navy cylinder and barrel would fit on an Army frame with no problems.
He used this same method on the Navy / Army models: the Army uses the Navy frame, but (besides rebating the frame for the Army cylinder) with a shortened forcing cone on the Army barrel to make up for the longer cylinder; just the opposite of what he did on the Walker / Dragoon models. I've never tried it, but I suspect that a Navy cylinder and barrel would fit on an Army frame with no problems.
