Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Colt Revolvers For Western Wednesday...

Very few tools made such an impression in the wild west as the Colt revolver did. For good or evil, the revolver was a very handy tool for self defence in a sometimes rowdy landscape.

1847
 Colt sells his first revolvers to the U.S. government

Samuel Colt rescues the future of his faltering gun company by winning a contract to provide the U.S. government with 1,000 of his .44 caliber revolvers.

Before Colt began mass-producing his popular revolvers in 1847, handguns had not played a significant role in the history of either the American West or the nation as a whole. Expensive and inaccurate, short-barreled handguns were impractical for the majority of Americans, though a handful of elite still insisted on using dueling pistols to solve disputes in highly formalized combat. When choosing a practical weapon for self-defense and close-quarter fighting, most Americans preferred knives, and western pioneers especially favored the deadly and versatile Bowie knife.

That began to change when Samuel Colt patented his percussion-repeating revolver in 1836. The heart of Colt’s invention was a mechanism that combined a single rifled barrel with a revolving chamber that held five or six shots. When the weapon was cocked for firing, the chamber revolved automatically to bring the next shot into line with the barrel.

Though still far less accurate than a well-made hunting rifle, the Colt revolver could be aimed with reasonable precision at a short distance (30 to 40 yards in the hands of an expert), because the interior bore was “rifled”–cut with a series of grooves spiraling down its length. The spiral grooves caused the slug to spin rapidly as it left the bbarrel, giving it gyroscopic stability. The five or six-shoot capacity also made accuracy less important, since a missed shot could quickly be followed with others.

Yet most cowboys, gamblers, and gunslingers could never have afforded such a revolver if not for the de facto subsidy the federal government provided to Colt by purchasing his revolvers in such great quantities. After the first batch of revolvers proved popular with soldiers, the federal government became one of Colt’s biggest customers, providing him with the much-needed capital to improve his production facilities. With the help of Eli Whitney and other inventors, Colt developed a system of mass production and interchangeable parts for his pistols that greatly lowered their cost.

Though never cheap, by the early 1850s, Colt revolvers were inexpensive enough to be a favorite with Americans headed westward during the California Gold Rush. Between 1850 and 1860, Colt sold 170,000 of his “pocket” revolvers and 98,000 “belt” revolvers, mostly to civilians looking for a powerful and effective means of self-defense in the Wild West.

Thanks to inventors like Colt, it became easier to defend yourself if necessary using something other than a knife. I'm sure this came in handy more than a few times back then.

Coffee in the kitchen this morning. Winter has come back, it seems.

8 comments:

Sixbears said...

It's been said that God did not make all men equal, Colonel Colt did.

linda m said...

Let's hear it for Colonel Colt. If I had the strength I would love to shoot with a Colt 45. Bitter wind chills again today.

Hermit's Baby Sis said...

Bubba -
Although not a Colt 45, the revolver is my choice of everyday protection. With weak wrists and an older woman's physique, I feel much better knowing this one is less likely to jam and I can continue to shoot as long as I have bullets.
Not that I'm looking to have to use it, but attitude is something to be spoken for ...
Big hugs ~

Hermit's Baby Sis said...

Bubba -
Although not a Colt 45, the revolver is my choice of everyday protection. With weak wrists and an older woman's physique, I feel much better knowing this one is less likely to jam and I can continue to shoot as long as I have bullets.
Not that I'm looking to have to use it, but attitude is something to be spoken for ...
Big hugs ~

HermitJim said...

Hey Sixbears...
He certainly made things a little more level as far as self defence was concerned.
Thanks for stopping by this morning!


Hey Linda...
I'm sure you would have a great time shooting it. Wonderful gun!
Thanks for coming over today!

HermitJim said...

Hey Sis...
Kinda like insurance...better to have it and never need it than the other way around. Where we live, you just never know!
Thanks, Sis, for the visit today!

JO said...

No internet connection again so using my phone.
I shot a colt once many years ago what a kick.

This is a crazy winter

Gorges Smythe said...

I always used to hear that you could tell a Colt blind-folded, just by pulling the hammer back. I tried it 40 years ago and it was true. I don't know if it still holds today or not.