Colt Army Model 1860

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Colt Army Model 1860
Colt Army Model 1860
Type	Revolver
Place of origin	United States
Service history
Wars	American Civil War
Production history
Manufacturer	Colt's Manufacturing Company
Produced	1860 to 1873
Number built	Over 200,000
Specifications
Weight	43 oz (1219 g)
Length	14 in (355.6 mm)
Barrel length	8 in (203.2 mm)
Height	5.25 in (133.35)

Cartridge	Paper-wrapped .44 caliber
Action	Cap and Ball
Feed system	6 round cylinder

The Colt Army Model 1860 was a cap & ball 0.44-caliber revolver used during the American Civil War. It was favored as a side arm by cavalry, infantry, and artillery troops.

More than 200,000 were manufactured from 1860 through 1873. Colt's biggest customer was the US Government with over 127,000 units being purchased and issued to the troops. The weapon was a single-action, six-shot weapon accurate up to 75 to 100 yards, where the fixed sights were typically set when manufactured. The rear sight was a notch in the hammer, clearly visible only when the revolver was cocked.

The Colt .44-caliber “Army" Model was one of the most widely used revolvers of the Civil War. It was the revolver of choice for officers, artillerymen, and cavalrymen. The Colt .44 had a six-shot, rotating cylinder. It fired a 0.454-inch diameter round lead ball, or a conical projectile, that was propelled by a 30 grain charge of black powder ignited by a brass percussion cap that was struck by the hammer. When fired, balls had a muzzle velocity of about 750 feet per second.

Loading is a somewhat lengthy process, with each of the six chambers drilled into the revolving cylinder being loaded from the front, or "muzzle" end. A measured amount of black powder is poured into a chamber. Next a lead ball is placed at the opening of the chamber and seated by firmly pressing it in with the pivoting loading lever which is attached beneath the barrel of the revolver. For sealing each chamber, an over-size 0.454-inch diameter lead ball would be trimmed slightly by the loading ram to enter the chamber. Today, most shooters place a lubricated wad between balls and powder, or, alternatively, pack lard or a commercially-sold bore lubricant at the mouth of each chamber to prevent powder in one chamber from being ignited when another is fired, which is known as a chainfire. At the time the Colt model 1860 was originally used, shooters most often used pre-made paper cartridges. These cartridges consisted of a pre-measured load of blackpowder and a ball wrapped in flammable paper. To load each chamber, one only had to slip the cartridge in the chamber, seat the ball with the loading lever ram, and break open the paper wrapper by poking a small stick or needle through the fire hole (nipple) at the rear of the chamber. Finally, a percussion cap is placed on the hole, called a nipple, at the end of the chamber. At the time that this gun was manufactured, it cost the army around $20 per gun, which was rather expensive for the time.

The Colt "Army" revolver is to be distinguished from the Colt "Navy" revolver of which there were two models, the octagonal barrel Model 1851 Navy, and the round-barreled Model 1861 Navy, both Navy models being in the smaller .36-caliber. Replica Navy revolvers sold today are often sold in the historically-incorrect .44-caliber; originally, all Navy revolvers were only manufactured in .36-caliber.