The Holsters being mounted on either side of a saddle and the revolvers sometimes called Horse Pistols as well.
It would be nice to know just how powerful the big revolvers
really were. There is no way of knowing exactly how they performed with 19th century components. At that time, powder manufacture was, by no means, standardized nor did any one agree on a consistent grain size for powders randing from FG to FFFFG. Large revolvers were likely to be loaded with anything that was available and most sources seemed to recommend ffg for any caliber above .31. Current recommendations are to use FFFG for all the revolvers.
Original Walker Colt Company C #39
The best we can do is check them out with modern components and imagine we might have the real story.
The Walkers were made in 1847 and thoroughly field tested by the United States Mounted Rifles and Texas Rangers. The word then (probably wrong) was that the Walkers carried as far and struck as hard as the 1842 carbine. Subsequent wisdom deems them the most powerful handgun up until the time of the .357 Magnum. Published velocities for fully loaded percussion revolvers vary widely. Some sources have the 140 grain ball going over 1200 feet per second while others put the velocity considerably lower. Even at that high velocity, the Walker is no more powerful than the nominally listed factory standard .45 Colt load and less powerful than the gestimated blackpowder loading of that cartridge.
We got these velocities with a well fitted Uberti Replica:
140 Grain Ball Charge Velocity Extreme Spread
55 FFFG 1001 54
55 FFG 956 46
200 Grain Lee 40 FFFG 927 40
These checked over our chronograph produce energy figures much like the factory loadings of the .45 ACP. It is possible to load 60 grains of Pyrodex P and get ball velocities in the 1200 fps range. Those gunwriters who claim to load a full 60 grains of fffg are probably doing all their test and evaluation from the word processor. 60 grains of fffg overfills the chamber and there is not enough room to seat the ball.
The Walker put this .454 ball through 35 inches of water- the ball stopping in the jug marked "X" after knocking a hole in the off-side. The recovered ball was the exact size and shape as when rammed into the chamber. Look how neat this picture is- the lids on the big jugs are floating on columns of water and there is a lot of smoke!
The Dragoon was introduced in 1848 and underwent three stages of developement through 1850 or 51. The Barrel is 7.5"- two inches shorter than the Walker while the cylinder is about 1/4" shorter with correspondingly reduced powder capacity. You can seat a ball over 45 grains of fffg or 50 of Pyrodex P. 35 grains of tripple f is as much as you can get in with this 200 grain bullet and some of the period picket bullets were a good bit heavier.
Our Dragoon produce velocities and energies ranging from standard and high velocity .38 special loads.
140 Grain
.454 Ball 45 Grains FFFG 881fps 19spread 5 rnds
200 Grain 35 Grains FFFG 967 26
Lee Bullet
Pyrodex P raises the power level to about that of the old 38-44 Outdoorsman loading of the .38 Special
454 Ball 45 Gr/Vol Pyrodex P 1157 55
200 Grain 35 Gr/Vol Pyrodex P 1066 57
Even with the maximum charges, recoil with these heavy revolvers is quite mild. The Ball loads are more accurate than even the best bullets and will frequently produce better off hand groups than the bullets do from the bench.
It would be nice to know just how powerful the big revolvers
really were. There is no way of knowing exactly how they performed with 19th century components. At that time, powder manufacture was, by no means, standardized nor did any one agree on a consistent grain size for powders randing from FG to FFFFG. Large revolvers were likely to be loaded with anything that was available and most sources seemed to recommend ffg for any caliber above .31. Current recommendations are to use FFFG for all the revolvers.
Original Walker Colt Company C #39
The best we can do is check them out with modern components and imagine we might have the real story.
The Walkers were made in 1847 and thoroughly field tested by the United States Mounted Rifles and Texas Rangers. The word then (probably wrong) was that the Walkers carried as far and struck as hard as the 1842 carbine. Subsequent wisdom deems them the most powerful handgun up until the time of the .357 Magnum. Published velocities for fully loaded percussion revolvers vary widely. Some sources have the 140 grain ball going over 1200 feet per second while others put the velocity considerably lower. Even at that high velocity, the Walker is no more powerful than the nominally listed factory standard .45 Colt load and less powerful than the gestimated blackpowder loading of that cartridge.
We got these velocities with a well fitted Uberti Replica:
140 Grain Ball Charge Velocity Extreme Spread
55 FFFG 1001 54
55 FFG 956 46
200 Grain Lee 40 FFFG 927 40
These checked over our chronograph produce energy figures much like the factory loadings of the .45 ACP. It is possible to load 60 grains of Pyrodex P and get ball velocities in the 1200 fps range. Those gunwriters who claim to load a full 60 grains of fffg are probably doing all their test and evaluation from the word processor. 60 grains of fffg overfills the chamber and there is not enough room to seat the ball.
The Walker put this .454 ball through 35 inches of water- the ball stopping in the jug marked "X" after knocking a hole in the off-side. The recovered ball was the exact size and shape as when rammed into the chamber. Look how neat this picture is- the lids on the big jugs are floating on columns of water and there is a lot of smoke!
The Dragoon was introduced in 1848 and underwent three stages of developement through 1850 or 51. The Barrel is 7.5"- two inches shorter than the Walker while the cylinder is about 1/4" shorter with correspondingly reduced powder capacity. You can seat a ball over 45 grains of fffg or 50 of Pyrodex P. 35 grains of tripple f is as much as you can get in with this 200 grain bullet and some of the period picket bullets were a good bit heavier.
Our Dragoon produce velocities and energies ranging from standard and high velocity .38 special loads.
140 Grain
.454 Ball 45 Grains FFFG 881fps 19spread 5 rnds
200 Grain 35 Grains FFFG 967 26
Lee Bullet
Pyrodex P raises the power level to about that of the old 38-44 Outdoorsman loading of the .38 Special
454 Ball 45 Gr/Vol Pyrodex P 1157 55
200 Grain 35 Gr/Vol Pyrodex P 1066 57
Even with the maximum charges, recoil with these heavy revolvers is quite mild. The Ball loads are more accurate than even the best bullets and will frequently produce better off hand groups than the bullets do from the bench.
