US States have state birds, state flags, state flowers, and other symbols that embody the culture of each respective state. Unfortunately, only two states have a state firearm. Utah is spoiled for options but opted for the Colt Model 1911. The state of Texas adopted the Colt Walker. The Walker Colt is instrumental to the story of the foundation of Texas, but it is also part of a larger story. The Colt Walker legitimized the repeating handgun concept, and its acceptance by the US Army started an arms race that led us directly to the venerable 1911.  Unlike today’s 1911s, you will need more than a mortgage to find an original Colt Walker. Fortunately, Cimarron Firearms is bringing in a fine shooting replica of the Colt Walker Lonesome Dove revolver.

A Classic Revived – The Colt Walker from Cimarron

Captain Samuel Walker would have been a forgettable player associated with the Texas Rangers and the US Army as part of the Mexican War if it was not for his working relationship with the down-and-out gunmaker Samuel Colt. 

Walker arrived to seek a new life in the Republic of Texas in 1844 and was embroiled in the latter stages of a long-running campaign against the Comanche, who raided throughout much of the territory. The Texas Rangers under Jack Hayes were having success thanks to a novel handgun that backed up their muzzleloading rifles. The Republic of Texas purchased Colt Paterson revolving rifles and pistols to outfit its Navy in 1840, but with its dissolution, the Rangers were equipped with revolvers. 

What’s In a Name?

The Paterson was a five-shot repeater in an era when all other handguns were single-shots. After the outnumbered Rangers drove off the Comanche at Bandera Pass along the Brazos River in 1843, the Rangers were now revolver men. But the Paterson was not perfect, and they could not get any more. The Paterson was a commercial failure, and Samuel Colt declared bankruptcy.  

Walker gained experience with the Paterson, and its faults became apparent. The No. 5 Belt Model, the latest available, was only .36 caliber and only held five rounds. The revolver was somewhat fragile and had to be disassembled for loading. Ever the itinerant customer, Walker pestered Samuel Colt to get back into the business to produce a revolver with his input. After the outbreak of the Mexican War in 1846, Walker was commissioned as a captain in the US Mounted Rifles and lobbied for the Walker Colt. Colt managed to gain help from Eli Whitney Jr, and the revolver left the production line and went onto the saddles of the Mounted Rifles.

Samuel Walker’s Last Full Measure

The Colt Walker was the near-perfect answer to what Samuel Walker had hoped for. The Walker Colt featured improved lock work as well as a six-shot cylinder. It featured a loading lever under the barrel for faster reloading. However, Walker’s emphasis on having enough power to floor a horse at one hundred yards was taken to the extreme. The Colt Walker is .44 caliber, and the enormous cylinder could digest a 60-grain carbine load’s worth of powder. Sam Walker perished at the Battle of Huamantla in October 1847, revolvers in hand. But the gun he helped design acquitted itself.

Unfortunately, the Army only ordered 1,000 of them, and the shortfall had to be taken up with old single-shot pistols. Of those available, about a third blew up in the field as the wrought iron cylinders could not always hack a full carbine load. But the concept had been proven. Colt was now back in the revolver business and set about improving the Walker for an audience that was now ready to listen. The Dragoon and New Model 1860 sought to retain some of that big-bore power while making the pistol safe and easier to carry on the belt. That translated into the cartridge era with the Colt Single Action Army and later the Colt M1911 automatic pistol. Quite a legacy coming from an overzealous user.

Cimarron’s Lonesome Dove Colt Walker

Uberti produces several Colt Walker replicas to Cimarron Firearms’ specifications, some complete with markings to specific models, including Walker’s own revolver. The new Lonesome Dove Colt Walker is modeled after a novel/TV mini-series pistol, but it originated in 1847 with the original Walker. Lonesome Dove chronicles the happenings of the Texas Rangers in the West, and their favored arm is the Colt Walker .44. Cimarron’s Colt is marked with authentic inspection stampings as well as the initials of the fictional Woodrow F. Call on the walnut grips.

The revolver also features a smart laser engraving on the cylinder, indicating a US Mounted Rifles patent on the Colt. Unlike most Colt replicas that are blued, the cylinder is left in the white like the original Walkers. The two-toned appearance when paired with the rich case-hardened frame, brass grip frame, and deep charcoal blued barrel, set it apart on the firing line, as if being a five-pound smoke belching behemoth was not enough!

Functions Well

Aside from these peculiarities, the Cimarron Walker Colt functions like any other modern replica, which reproduces the form of the original to the closest detail. The Walker features a 9 inch octagonal to round barrel, a brass front sight, and a rear sight cut into the hammer. These features are borrowed from the original Paterson, but aside from that the two pistols could not be more different. 

The Walker features a hand that rotates the cylinder instead of a rotating key, as seen on the Paterson, which went on to influence all other revolvers. The cylinder stops are oval, and that did not change until the later Colt Pocket Models and the 1851 Navy, where a stepped lead was used. The cylinder rides on a thick, grooved arbor that resists the grit of black powder fowling. The barrel is retained by a captive wedge, and a case-hardened loading lever is retained by a T-spring so that the revolver can be loaded with no disassembly required. 

Shooting the Colt Walker Revolver

The reputation of the Colt Walker precedes it. It stands as the most powerful handgun the US Army ever flirted with. I am here to say that those observations are not made in jest. Thankfully, the Walker is so heavy that the power is harder to observe. But for those who are accustomed to later-era black powder revolvers, the Walker feels like a half-step behind. 

Loading the Colt Walker is like any other black powder revolver. Unlike the revolvers available during the Civil War, which were usually loaded with paper cartridges, it is entirely authentic to load the Walker with loose powder and ball. Initially, I measured my powder with an adjustable measure to tailor my loads before getting comfortable with a reproduction Walker flask. The flask automatically dispenses 30 or 50 grains of powder when the mouth is pressed against the cylinder, which makes loading a bit easier. 

The Walker is loaded by drawing the hammer to half-cock so that the cylinder will spin.  The powder is dumped into a chamber from the front of the cylinder, followed by a ball. Rotate the chamber under the loading lever and sit the ball with the lever. If you plan on a longer-range session, it is wise to put a bit of grease over the ball or a lubricated wad under the ball in order to keep the revolver lubricated and the fouling soft after repeated firing. Repeat until all the chambers are loaded.

Not a Drop Safe Design

The Colt Walker is not a drop safe design. After placing No. 10 percussion caps on each nipple, you can opt to leave a chamber empty for safety or drop the hammer into the single safety pin between chambers, if you want to keep all six rounds loaded. 

I am on the bigger side, but I have to admit that the Walker is a big handgun. Despite the girth of the cylinder and full-handed grip, the revolver was certainly muzzle-heavy and dense to hold. But the hammer and trigger were well within easy reach, and both were smooth to operate. The Walker is single action, requiring the hammer to be cocked before each shot. When cocked, the rear sight pops into view, allowing you to take a coarse sight picture before touching off the round.

The sighting system would stay on Colt’s revolvers until the cartridge era and are fine enough for target work, but they are not high-profile suppressor sights meant for the fastest possible acquisition. The trigger balanced out with the sights as it was the lightest among the cap and ball revolvers I own. On my Lyman trigger scale, it breaks at only 2 ¾ lbs. with no creep. The biggest challenge was finding my sights after each shot. As it turned out, recoil was not the driving factor of shooting this pre-magnum Magnum handgun.

Accurate Shooting

I found my initial load to be the most accurate and most reliable. 40 grains of 2F Schuetzen powder under a .457-inch diameter 143 grain round ball. It produced a neat four-inch pattern at 10 yards offhand and five inches at 25 yards, although the group shifted from right on to four inches high at that greater distance. Recoil was inconsequential compared to smaller Colt guns like the Model 1860, but the amount of smoke and blast was noticeable.

With the Walker Flask, I jumped up to fifty grains. Then, I went to sixty grains of powder over the same round ball combo. The recoil was pronounced enough to cause the loading lever to drop from its closed position. This was a common failing of the original that was worked into all replicas, as the t-spring that retains the lever does not do the best job of holding it under heavy recoil. However, in terms of felt recoil, the five-pound weight kept the shooting experience exciting but pleasant. Still, over my Caldwell Chronograph, this load gave me an average five-shot velocity of 1,237 feet per second for 486-foot pounds of energy.

Issued With Picket Bullet Mold

While round ball would have been used in its heyday, the Walker was also issued with a mold for a primitive picket bullet. I substituted a cast 200-grain Lee conical in its place. At .450 of an inch, the bullet loaded with little resistance, where the .457 round balls were sealed with a ring of lead. The extra room meant I could only fit 50 grains of powder behind it. These rounds fired without issue at 1,158 feet per second. If my math was correct, this load yielded 595-foot pounds of energy.

Although Schuetzen powder is on the weaker side as far as black powder goes, the Walker still boasts lower-end .357 Magnum power, and it is easy to feel when a round is touched off and the sinuses ever so slightly quiver with the concussion. But unlike most Magnum revolvers in my inventory, the Lonesome Dove Colt Walker is the easiest to shoot, although it felt like a redundant workout to hold it level for a range session.

The Walker Colt: A Legend Larger than the Handgun

The Colt Walker is a legendary handgun, even among those who do not necessarily dabble in black powder shooting. It marked an upswing in Texas history and brought back one of the era’s most iconic industrialists before he was a household name. It also holds the distinction of being the most powerful handgun ever fielded by the US Army. Cimarron brings in some of the best models that allow us to grasp tangible history and put holes in things. Whether you are looking at getting into handgun hunting or want to smoke out your local range, nothing quite beats a Colt Walker.

For more information, visit:https://www.cimarron-firearms.com/lonesome-dove-walker-cb-9-44-mccrae.html

Colt Walker Quick Specs