The rest is history. Colt Sporter Light Weight - 7.62x39 BuyItNow! The original Colt Walker (below) is courtesy of the National Firearms Museum. I think his weight might've been more than 250 pounds. The resulting revolvers were.44 caliber, almost sixteen inches in length and weighed four pounds, nine ounces. My Walker load is 44grs of FFg+lube wad+.454RB+grease on top. My personal Colt .357 was manufactured in 1954. Colt also introduced a less expensive revolver, the Trooper, in 1954. This was a problem in that many men had never seen a revolver, much less used one, resulting in many burst cylinders, the accidental firing of all six chambers. DETAILS. “Front sight, press” is the mantra for handgun accuracy. DETAILS. He had authority from the U.S. Government to order 1,000 revolvers. Shooting the Walker is an experience one does not soon forget. Serial numbers are found on all major parts. Enter To Win A Mossberg MC2C Pistol Package. That’s not where we’re going to start this series, however, for the Paterson revolvers did not carry the Colt name and besides, Patersons excited almost no one except a few Comanche-fighting Texas Rangers. Being American to the core, I had to have one. That’s when Samuel Colt began production of a revolving-cylinder pistol at his Paterson, New Jersey, factory. I figure if the actress that played Mattie, could handle that "Colt Dragoon," misnamed by Marshal Rooster Cogburn, since it was in fact a Walker she held, I can do OK with it. To the best of my knowledge, no American revolver gave more muzzle velocity until the advent of the .357 Magnum in 1935. Still Making History. Sources differ with some stating the .357 went into production in 1951 and others 1953, but they agree the revolver was discontinued in 1961. Because Samuel Colt had gone bankrupt with the Paterson, Sam Walker had to travel back east to find him so they could put their heads together. The Walker weighed all of 4.5 pounds, so this one was not for quick draw work. Captain Samuel Hamilton Walker. And that leads me to one of my funniest stories about cap & ball handguns. All the improvements in design of Colt revolvers were applied to the Dragoons as well to the smaller models of Colt revolvers. named Sam Walker remembered how well those Paterson revolvers served for Indian fighting. It weighs 4½ pounds (2 kg) unloaded, has a 9-inch (229 mm) barrel, and fires a .44 caliber (0.454 in, 11.53 mm diameter) conical and round ball. The new weapon was designed by both Colt and Walker, based on the Colt Paterson revolver, but clearly improved. It was a meeting of one mind who knew how to make things and another who knew how to use them: i.e. From the very beginning with the Colt/Walker .44, Samuel Colt considered a notch in the top of the hammer spur as a perfectly adequate rear sight. That means .44 caliber Colt/Walkers used .457 diameter projectiles. The Walker was a massive firearm, measuring over 15.5 inches in length with a 9-inch barrel, the revolver collectively weighing in at 4.5lbs. “That” was the thunder clap a .44 Colt/Walker makes with 60 grains of Goex FFFg blackpowder and a 148 grain pure lead round ball. Prior to the introduction of the .357 Magnum in 1935, no revolver was more powerful. In addition to its large size and weight, problems with the Walker included ruptured cylinders after firing. Far more powerful than the earlier Patersons, this gun quickly became legendary. For those who could afford it, the Walker Colt was a symbol of strength, authority and great financial means. The Whitneyville model is made like the original Walker but uses a dragoon barrel and cylinder. The Colt Walker was officially designated a pistol as it was the first revolver ever purchased by the Army Ordnance Department. The .58 caliber rifle muskets used in the American Civil War of 1861-1865 were charged with 60 grains of blackpowder under 460 grain Minie balls. Then he used the proceeds of selling off that 100 overrun to finance an arms making factory of his own.