Does anyone actually carry a Walker or is it just a range gun?

The Walker was not intended to be carried on the body. It is quite literally a horse gun. The size and weight of the Walker and Dragoons made them to unwieldy for carrying on the person. It was carried off the body on the saddle of the horse in pommel holsters. The pommel holster was mounted to the front of the saddle and secured on the horn. It was a common military item in the years before the Civil War.

Colt went so far as to described later lighter weight C&B revolvers as "belt" models for on body carry.

Google is your friend. Type in "pommel holster" and you will get great pictures and links.

The Walker was designed to be carried on the saddle as a horse pistol for dragoons. I have a copy of an old, 1800's, photo of someone wearing them on a belt but I doubt if that was comfortable or common.
As to hunting with one, there is a thread at a muzzle loading forum where a guy took a hog with one. 55 grains 3f and a conical I believe..?

Watch the movie "The Outlaw Josie Wales."

I picked up a used shoulder holster made for a TC contender. The walker drops down deep in it plus it supports the weight on your shoulder and also on your belt. It really is not any worse carrying a walker this way than it is a contender or encore pistol.

Chaos Jumbles shoots "Double Duelist Frontiersman" with a Walker on one side and a Dragoon on the other. 40 grs in both guns. There is no question when Chaos comes to the line. The earth moves.

Author Lee Grambling has a character carry a Walker on a belt in his first fictional novel about a Cracker Cowboy (Florida Cowboys according to Fredrick Remington were the meanest and most cuss wordy of all American cowboys) While writing it he would attend meetings of the Gainesville Speculative Literature Society aka Hogge Towne Science Fiction Club. When he ask what I thought of the idea of arming a Cracker Cowboy with a belt holstered Walker I told him I thought it a bit much and encouraged him to either haunt the local gun shops until he found one to handle or just order one and try carrying it for a bit. I suspect he did neither as the character has the Walker on his hip in the book.

I think his books are available from Pineapple Press.

-kBob

Gus carries a Walker in a hip holster in Lonesome Dove. It would take one very heavy duty (like, thick, very thick) horsehide holster AND belt to survive very long in that job. And yeah, hip problems galore, I'd imagine.

Clint Eastwood carried two or three of em in Josie Wales. "You gonna draw them pistols or whistle Dixie?"

Not really a big deal. I carried my 3rd Model Dragoon all last season with no complaints. If our GI's can function with 80lbs of gear, I think we can manage a 4lb sixgun.

The belt is lacking because it's overly soft but the holster does just fine made out of a single thickness of 8-9oz vegetable tanned leather. If I were to do another I might reinforce the belt loop with #12 copper rivets but that's about it.

The Dragoon isn't a Walker. In addition to the weight, the Walker is very very long. It's really just enormous in all dimensions, making it difficult to walk around with one strapped to you. Even tough old Bob Duvall had to really strap that sucker in tight and he only carried it for the scenes. I think that's one reason they never caught on.

I've actually been experimenting with this issue. They work OK in a chest holster, but even then tend to be enormous. A better way of carrying might be a "poke" style leather or heavy canvas bag. The idea I've got now is to build one in the old style of 18th century "wallet"--which was a big long sock. Secure the revolver at one end then loop the whole affair tightly over the shoulder with the revolver in back. Not exactly ideal for fast access, of course. Another option would be a large "possibles" type bag with the Walker secured in it. Or just an old flour sack with a shoulder strap on it. Though in that case the revolver is liable to cut its way through over time and embarrass you.

I've also been experimenting with alternative stances for this beast. The usual ones don't work so well. A modern two handed is just *wrong* on a fundamental level and doesn't even work very well due to the bulk of the thing. Bullseye is a weight lifting exercise. I'm going to try out an elbow-rest method. The recoil is actually very minimal due to the size. Even with chambers fully loaded with 3F. So I'm going to try holding my right elbow with my left hand and resting the butt of the beast on my left elbow. It's a kind of yoga stance that creates a very stable "X" of the arms and lets the upper body counterbalance the weight of the pistol. In dry fire it works great. If I set myself on fire doing it Saturday I'll let you know.

The Dragoon isn't a Walker.

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The Walker's barrel is 1.5" longer and the cylinder is slightly longer. Everything else is the same. Accounting for only a few extra ounces. Not a huge difference and both are huge sixguns.

One handed shooting is a challenge but the Weaver stance works just fine for me. No different than any other big sixgun.

A local shooter often uses a pair of Walkers in our local CAS events. He's got a special belt with crossed upper harness so the gun belt looks like it has a built on set of suspenders.

Without it the upper suspenders harness the belt and guns would soon be down around his ankles....

"How big a boy are ya'?"

I thought about adding a sling swivel on the butt and some kind of removable band on the barrel with quick detach on the sling and just carry it over my shoulder like a rifle. That would prolly be the easiest most comfortable way to carry one much if you was hunting with it.

I think you could mount the butt end swivel with a longer screw in the existing screw on the bottom of the grip frame and could make some sort of barrel band for the other end that could even double as a thing to keep the loading lever from droping and you would not even have to permanantly alter the gun.

The Walker's barrel is 1.5" longer and the cylinder is slightly longer. Everything else is the same. Accounting for only a few extra ounces. Not a huge difference and both are huge sixguns.

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The Walker is not just a longer barreled Dragoon. It's bigger in all dimensions. That adds up to making it a PINA to carry on your hip. So is the Dragoon. Thus the name Dragoon, as in mounted troops.

No sir, it is only bigger in those two dimensions. The difference is a massive 5oz. Cylinders are the same diameter, grips are similar, frames are similar. Overall, dimensions are comparable except the barrel and cylinder lengths.

That adds up to making it a PINA to carry on your hip.

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After actually CARRYING one over hill & dale for a few months, I have to disagree.

Thus the name Dragoon, as in mounted troops.

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I'm well aware that a Dragoon is mounted infantry, not to be confused with cavalry or Texas Rangers. What these guns were "designed for" 160yrs ago is irrelevant.


Good Lord people, let's put this in perspective. We really don't give it a second thought to see someone carrying a double rig with Colt SAA's. Even if they're short barreled .45's, they're still 72oz for the pair. Which is exactly what a single Walker weighs or 6oz more than a 3rd Model Dragoon. If you can't handle 4lbs on your hip, maybe you ought to just stay home.

^^^^He just called us a sissy,LOL.

Well someone has to stay behind and guard the women. It's a tough job but someone has to do it.

Yes let's put it in perspective. This is a revolver that weighs four and a half pounds and is nearly sixteen inches long. So let's not be silly and claim that it's a piece of cake to tote one around on the belt. Most of us do that and our reaction is "you have to be kidding me."

After actually CARRYING one over hill & dale for a few months, I have to disagree.

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The Dragoon, not the Walker. And are you saying you're walking miles with it all over the place? If so you are a coffin nail and I salute you.

Me, I'm more inclined to keep the Walker in a sack like Mattie Ross.

I carried my Walker last year for muzzle loading deer season (strictly as a back up to my rifle) and it was heavy, it is big, but it wasn't horrible either. I used a basic belt holster from Cabela's and did quite a bit of walking with it. It's far from the ideal carry weapon (except for the massive power when black powder is all you can carry) but it is manageable.

BSA1 said:

Well someone has to stay behind and guard the women. It's a tough job but someone has to do it.

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That's mighty honorable of you, sir..........


..... HEY! JUST A MINUTE THERE ! ! ! ! ! ! !

I don't see the size and bulk of a Walker as that much of a problem. It is smaller and lighter than almost all modern rifles after all.

That said I have never owned a Walker but I got my first Dragoon in 1968.