Colt 1851 Navy Revolver

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Colt Navy Revolver
Colt 1851 Navy
Type	Single Action Revolver
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	1850-1873
Used by	United States Confederate States of America Great Britain
Production history
Designer	Samuel Colt
Designed	1850
Manufacturer	Colt Pattent Firearms Hartford, Conn.
Produced	1850–1873
Number built	c. 250,000
Variants	Square backed Navy, London Armory
Specifications
Weight	42 oz.
Length	14 inches

Samuel Colt designed the Colt Revolving Belt Pistol of Naval Caliber (i.e., .36 cal) between 1847 and 1850-the actual year of introduction. It remained in production until 1873 when revolvers using fixed cartridges came into widespread use. Total production numbers were exceeded only by the Colt Pocket models in concurrent development and numbered some 250,000 domestic units and about 22,000 produced in the Colt London Armory. (Wilson, 1985)

The designation "Colt 1851 Navy" was applied by collectors, though the popular name "Navy Revolver" is of early origin, it was frequently called the "Colt Revolving Belt Pistol of Naval Caliber." (ibid, Wilson) The cylinder is engraved with a naval battle scene celebrating the victory of the Texas Navy at the Battle of Campeche in May 1843. The Texas Navy had purchased the earlier Colt Paterson Revolver and this was Colt's first major success in the gun trade; the naval battle theme of the engraved cylinder of the Colt 1851 Navy revolver was Colt's gesture of appreciation. Despite the "Navy" designation, the revolver was chiefly purchased by civilians and military land forces(ibid Wilson 1985).

Famous "Navy" users included Wild Bill Hickok, Richard Francis Burton, Ned Kelly, and Robert E. Lee. Usage continued long after more modern cartridge revolvers were introduced in 1873.

1 Characteristics
2 Loading and Handling Sequence Common to Percussion Revolvers
3 References
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Characteristics

The .36 caliber Navy revolver was much lighter than the contemporary third model Dragoon revolvers that developed from the .44 Walker Colt revolvers of 1847 that had been designed to be carried in holsters on either side of a saddle pommel. It is an enlarged version of the 31 caliber pocket revolvers that evolved from the earlier baby dragoon and is a mechanically improved and simplified heir of of the 1836 Patterson revolver. As the factory designation implied, the Navy revolver was suitably sized for carry in a belt holster. It became very popular in North America at the time of western expansion. Colt's aggressive promotions distributed the Navy and his other revolvers across Europe, Asia and Africa. The .36 caliber (.375-.380-inch) weights 86 grains and, at a velocity of 1,000 feet per second, is comparable to the modern .380 pistol cartridge in power. Loads consist of loose powder and ball or bullet, Metallic foil cartridges (early) and, combustable paper cartridges (Civil War era) all combinations being ignited by a fulminate percussion cap applied to the cones at the rear of the chamber.

Combustable paper cartridges. Six to a box

Sighting consists of a bead front sight with a notch in the top of the hammer. In spite of the relative crudity of the sighting arrangement Naval Revolvers and their modern replicas are genrally quite accurate.

[edit] Loading and Handling Sequence Common to Percussion Revolvers

The loading sequence and basic operation of the Colt revolvers remain constant throughout the percussion period and mirrors the function of most other percussion revolvers. A shooter familiar with the basic operation of the Colt would find the function of a Remington, LeMat, Adams, or Cooper double action effectively identical.

Percussion revolvers are at rest with the hammer down between chambers with a groove or protuberance in the hammer engaging either a safety peg or notch in the rear of the cylinder. This effectively prevents inadvertent rotation of the cylinder and prevents contact of the hammer with percussion caps on the chambers. Patersons and a few later revolvers such as the Rogers and Spencer, lacked these safety detents requiring that they be carried hammer down on an empty chamber.

To load: 1. Draw the hammer back to the first detend placing it on " half cock" and allowing the cylinder to rotate for loading;

2. Fill the chambers with powder leaving enough room to seat a bullet or ball;

3 Rotate the chamber under the rammer and use the loading lever (if present) to seat the projectile on top of the powder column and below the chamber mouth;

The cylinder arbor serves as a bullet seater on models without loading levers

4. Place Percussion caps on each of the cones at the rear of the chambers;

5. Return hammer to down position engaging the safety detents, or;

6. Draw the hammer to full cock for immediate firing.

With double action revolvers, the trigger cocks the hammer, rotates the cylinder and fires the arm with a single, long pull.

Variations:

A. In the case of foil or combustable paper cartridges containing bullet and powder, place the cartridge in the chambers and use the loading lever to fully seat. In the case of foil cartridges, insert a nipple pick through the cone opening to pierce the rear of the cartridge envelop and then cap the cones.

B. After number 3 above, it was/is a common practice to put grease over the seated bullet to prevent chain fires,or

C After two above some early and modern shooters place a rigid, greased felt wad over the powder column before seating the bullet. This is a hedge against chain fires which may occur with undersized or poorly shaped bullets or chambers(Bates,Cumpston 2005). It also effectively minimizes fouling build up in the bore and allows for accurate extended shooting (Keith 1956).