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A Fix for falling Walker levers

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TMC4232

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A real simple "fix" for levers that fall is to use a rubber "O" Ring that you can find in the plumbing department at Home Depot. I picked up a package of 4 O rings for a Single Handle Moen faucet. They slip over the barrel and do not restrict your front sight because they will stretch out like a rubber band. If these would have been available during the Mexican War.......:D
 
hahahha i just remove the screw and take off the loading lever.

back in the day they used to use a piece of leather cut into a loop pretty much the same as what you did
 
The best fix for a falling loading lever on a Walker is called a Dragoon. If someone thinks otherwise they should read up on Colt history. Of course the Dagoon series of revolvers is hopelessly underpowered because you can't get 50 grains of powder into each chamber.

So back to the rubber bands... :evil: :D

Oh, and someday when I have absolutely nothing else better to do I might fit a Dragoon barrel to a Walker revolver. Now that might drive some folks up the wall... :neener:
 
I normally shoot 42-45gr for an Accuracy load in my Colt 1st Model Dragoon...but I jus' loaded a chamber with 50 grains of Goex fffg and a .457 R.B. with some room to spare. Colt Signature Dragoon...I'd say would be at 50gr max easy and maybe about 53gr.
 
Oh, and someday when I have absolutely nothing else better to do I might fit a Dragoon barrel to a Walker revolver. Now that might drive some folks up the wall...
Click to expand...

I was under the impression that they both used the same frame, but the forcing cone was further back on the dragoon to match the shorter dragoon cylinder... so you would have to swap the cylinder as well and essentially be making a 1st Dragoon.

Seems like you would have to cut down a walker barrel, mill in a dovetail for the latch, and get a dragoon loading lever with latch to make it work with the original longer cylinder. Don't know if the stroke of the dragoon lever would be shorter and force you to use larger loads and/or fillers to match the long "chamber" resulting from a ball seated near the end of the cylinder. Would be a pretty nice gun, in fact... I wonder if any originals were modified as such?
 
Walkers and Dragoons have simular size frames but are very differant...you have to change arbors as the Walker's is much longer and would bottom about a couple inches before the forcing cone would reach the cylinder on the walker frame with a Dragoon barrel.
The Whitneyvile Dragoon(forerunner of the 1st Model Dragoon) has a frame more like the Walker. But still the arbor and BBL. assy. problem in exchanging.
Jus' bend out and adjust the Walker lever spring and don't shoot 60gr of powder...it ain't accurate and is a waste of powder.
 
The greater question would be, do the wedge slots in the barrel and cylinder pin (arbor) line up if the pin was shortened? Shortening the barrel at the back end wouldn't pose any problems, and the barrel wouldn't set back any further because of the longer cylinder. Also the frame at the bottom would block the barrel's rearward movement. I suppose I could go in the other direction, and modify a 1st model Dragoon to take a Walker cylinder.

All of this is speculative, but I have done worse. :evil:

Colt is supposed to have modified an unknown number of Walkers to take a latched rammer, but I have neither seen one nor even a picture of one.

I see no reason one couldn’t magnify the barrel and lever handle… :what: :D
 
The dropping loading lever problem isn`t that hard to fix right ...it`s just a matter of mateing the two locking surfaces ..takes just a few mins with a file and a stone ...
No way was I going to a gun range and shoot a pistol with tape or rubber bands around the barrel .
Pull a pistol on a bad guy with duct tape holding it together ...he might die laughing before you have to shoot him though.
 
sundance44s,

You are right about using files to correct the problem that occurs on some, not all, Walkers. I only brought up the O ring deal for those that might want a quick remedy while at the range and who are not confident with home gunsmithing.

Here is an extreme example of some file work I did on my Miroku 1886 Winchester to "correct" the rebounding hammer / tang safety BS.
http://www.shootersforum.com/showthread.htm?t=54781
 
In answer to the original question I will repost an answer from 1997 CAS-L: " File a small notch in the business end of the latch spring so there is a
small "step" that engages the loading lever. (Frank Leaman suggested this
approach years ago.)
Tex, SASS #4"

Frank Leaman is a genius and card shark/magician. I've met him.
I've done this on both of my Uberti Walkers and neither has dropped a latch in about 7 matches I have shot them in since. The "step" is pretty touchy. If you make it too deep the latch won't come down at all and if there is too little step the fix won't work. The business end of the spring is rounded and you take a little off the upper end (toward the barrel) so when the spring snaps in place as the lever is lifted there is a more abrupt lip that it has to climb over for the rammer to come down. I bought an extra spring from Uberti before I got out the file.
Another suggestion is to lighten your loads to lessen recoil. If you insist on shooting heavy loads (50-55grs FFFg) if you are lucky all you will get is a crushed wedge that opens up the gap. You'll think your gun is really blasting but all you are getting is lost power blowing out the cylinder gap. New wedges will be in order. If you are unlucky, you will get the cylinder pin backing out of the frame or stretching of the wedge cutout. Lots of $$$ to fix. Drop the load down to 35-45grs.
Another way to reduce the recoil is to change to FFg powder. It is slower but has a smoother pressure peak.
A third suggestion is to hold the gun more firmly to prevent barrel lift from recoil. I'm not sure what effect that will actually have. If you DON'T grip the gun firmly the barrel tips right down due to the weight.
My Walker load is 44grs of FFg+lube wad+.454RB+grease on top. It's called a .44-44.
Hellgate
 
Im fortunate. Neither of my Walkers drop the loading lever firing capacity. I think the modification pictured in the Gunbroker add is excellent. If it really bothers you to have it fall. Seems that would be easier than working on frames, barrels etc.
 
ffg. hmmm. nope nope nope. no can do the rifles just eat up too much 2ff to start putting it in the walker. Got to have balance. 3fff for the walker
 
The dropping loading lever problem isn`t that hard to fix right ...it`s just a matter of mateing the two locking surfaces ..takes just a few mins with a file and a stone ...
No way was I going to a gun range and shoot a pistol with tape or rubber bands around the barrel .
Pull a pistol on a bad guy with duct tape holding it together ...he might die laughing before you have to shoot him though.
Click to expand...

Got to agree with that.
 
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