Novel Research Help re Colt C&B

[alienbogey]

My historical novel is set in 1848 and along the way the protagonist procures a pistol, a .36 caliber, 5 shot Colt percussion revolver. According to my research that would be historically correct, but I have further questions/concerns that I have been unable to resolve through google-fu.

> For the time period, does anyone know whether most folks would typically have carried such a piece with four chambers loaded and the 5th empty in the way that SAA's were carried (30 years later) with an empty chamber for the hammer to rest on?

> If all five chambers were loaded, would a .36 Colt of the era have had resting places for the hammer between the nipples to allow safe carry with all 5 cylinders loaded?

> If such a revolver, with caps for the period, were dunked in water, would it be likely, unlikely, or certain to render the caps useless and the revolver un-fireable?

Thanks in advance.

 

[junkman_01]

If I am not mistaken, the Colt pocket models of the 1848 time period were .31caliber 5 shot. The .36 caliber (Navy caliber) Pocket models were not introduced until 1862.
You are correct that the safe way to carry a 5 shot would be to load 4, but that would be up to the owners perceived threat level.

 

[scrat]

Colt Patterson. For what i have always read no all chambers were loaded. It wasnt really till the 20th century that people left one chamber open. Mostly like today in competition matches where you are required to have one chamber empty or a dead spot. Look up the colt patterson you will see the revolver used

 

[junkman_01]

Yep, I forgot about the 1836 Paterson (although it was called a belt pistol and not a pocket pistol) was available in calibers ranging from .28-36 and they were 5 shot.

​

 

[alienbogey]

Thanks for the replies.

According to Wikipedia, the Colt Paterson was patented in 1836 and initially chambered in .28 caliber, with the .36 introduced a year later.

Furthermore, the entry states that no provision was made for safely carrying the revolver with all chambers loaded.

Besides my other questions, I want to verify the Wikipedia facts although, as Michael Scott says, you know Wikipedia must be true because anyone in the world can write the articles.



Anybody want to dunk their loaded Paterson in water for half a minute or so, then see if it fires?

 

[scrat]

Later model colts came with raised pins on the cylinders. The hammer had a small knotch in it. So that you would pull the hammer back slightly to turn the cylinder. Then rest the hammer down so the pin would be in the hammer knotch. Thus the cylinder would not be able to rotate and be in line with the hammer. without this safety if the hammer was it from behind say if you dropped the gun on the hammer it would go off. As the hammer would hit the back of the nipples compacting the percussion cap.

 

[mykeal]

The Paterson had no cylinder 'safety notches/pins'. It would not have been carried with an empty chamber. As to whether the chambers would have been sealed with grease (thus making a post-dunking firing feasible), that depends on the context - some users followed the practice and some didn't; I don't think it was widespread in 1848, but it's possible.

 

[72coupe]

I just reading "Empire of the Summer Moon". It is a book about the Commanche Indians from 1836 to 1910. According to this author the Texas Navy took delivery of a large order of Pattersons in 1836 but they were never issued.

In 1842 the Texas Rangers took over the shipment and began using them with gusto against the Commanches.

 

[Berkley]

If such a revolver, with caps for the period, were dunked in water, would it be likely, unlikely, or certain to render the caps useless and the revolver un-fireable?

From the records of the Connecticut Historical Society quoted in The Story of Colt's Revolver by Edwards:

Results of tests on Colt's revolving carbine and Hall's breech loading carbine, conducted for the United States Adjutant General's Office at Carlisle Barracks, Pa., Nov. 16, 1840 by a board of three officers.

Exposure to Weather
Colt's Carbine
Put loaded gun under warter for 10 minutes and by renewing three caps all the charges went off without difficulty

The Paterson carbines were 6 shot, .525 caliber smooth bores, but otherwise made in the same factory to the same tolerances as the .36 caliber 5 shot revolving pistols. It seems reasonable to expect similar performance from the pistols.

 

[Old Fuff]

Long before Colt came into the picture, a common trick to waterproof a percussion gun was to cap it, and then let one or two drips of wax from a lighted candle drip on the capped nipple.

Because of the time required to reload a cap & ball revolver, they were generally carried fully loaded with the hammer rested between two chambers. Period literature, newspaper articles, and other reports do not indicate that accidental discharges were any substantial problem.

Other then the Paterson models, Colt did not make a 5-shot/.36 caliber revolver before 1862, On the other hand, their 6-shot/.36, 1851 “Navy” model was very popular, but not in wide distribution until about the end of 1852 when about 20,000 had been made.

You might solve all of the issues you are concerned with (safety pins to rest the hammer on between fully loaded chambers, waterproofing, etc.) by moving the timeline up from 1848 to 1852 or ’53.