Conversion Cartridge for Walker Back in the Day

[jimeast]

I saw a note somewhere that there is an article (1970, The Gun Report) on four Colt Walker conversions that exist, all privately made, not factory conversions.

I'm curious if anyone knows when they might have been converted, and what caliber cartridge might have been used.

I think the blurb I saw said one of them had a loading gate and maybe an ejector. I can't find "The Gun Report" in Google, although The author, Tom Seymour, and the article title will show up as a reference in some searches

The 45 Colt, 44-40, 45-60 cartridges came out in the 1870's. What would have been used prior to this time, the 44 long colt? Maybe these conversions were done after the 1870's, were people converting 25--30 year old revolvers in the 1870's and 1880's?

 

[EmGeeGeorge]

I imagine that with so few being made, many being destroyed or lost, etc, that while there were probably some converted it would've been unofficial conversions done by individuals and nothing regular or mass-produced. Also, if you were to spend the time/money to convert to .45 colt(most likely?) you'd have a big, heavy, .45 LC vs. getting one of the smaller lighter conversions.





"Only about 1,100 Walker pistols were made during a short production run in 1847. Its namesake, Capt. Samuel Hamilton Walker, a war hero who fought in the Texas-Mexico wars, collaborated with gunmaker Samuel Colt to create a pistol suitable for the Texas Rangers and the U.S. Dragoons.
Capt. Walker wrote in 1847 that the gun was “as effective as a common rifle at 100 yards and superior to a musket even at 200.”
Besides the fact that relatively few of the pistols were manufactured in the first place, a contributing factor in the scarcity (and value) of the Walker Colt today is that many of the guns were damaged by mis-loading. When it was introduced, few men had ever seen a revolver--much less shot one--resulting in burst cylinders and the accidental firing of all six chambers at once."
From;
http://www.outdoorlife.com/blogs/newshound/2008/10/1847-colt-walker-44-fetches-920k-auction

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

The 45 Colt, 44-40, 45-60 cartridges came out in the 1870's. What would have been used prior to this time, the 44 long colt? Maybe these conversions were done after the 1870's, were people converting 25--30 year old revolvers in the 1870's and 1880's?

Howdy

I can't tell you anything about cartridge conversions for the Walker Colt, but Remington converted about 4,500 of their 44 caliber 1858 percussion revolvers to fire cartridges between September of 1868 and April of 1869. This was done under license from Smith and Wesson, the controllers of the Rollin White patent for revolvers with chambers bored through to accept cartridges. The cartridge these revolvers was chambered for was a 46 caliber rimfire cartridge. New five shot cylinders were made up for the conversions.

There is no such thing as 44 Long Colt. 44 Colt was developed to convert Colt percussion revolvers, specifically the Richards conversion model of the 1860 Colt Army. The Army bought around 1,200 Richards Conversions in 1871, two years before the Single Action Army appeared. The White patent had expired by this time, so there were no remaining legal issues with S&W, who had already introduced their first large frame Top Break, 44 caliber American Model.

44 Colt used a heeled bullet the same diameter as the conical bullets commonly fired in 44 caliber Cap & Ball guns. A centerfire case was developed that held about 21 grains of Black Powder.

The cartridges in this photo are, left to right, 44 Henry Rimfire, two examples of the 44 Colt, and 45 Colt.




Regarding the Walker Colt; they had frames and cylinders made of Malleable Iron, not steel. With their huge powder capacity it was not uncommon for them to blow up, part of the reason so few exist today. Probably the 44 Colt would have been a good candidate for any conversions to cartridges, probably not the 45 Colt or the 44-40, certainly not a rifle cartridge such as the 45-60.

 

[jimeast]

44 long Colt, NOT

I do not doubt your statement below. One of the challenges one faces becoming familiar with the different cartridges is the plethora of web links and data that uses the term long colt for 45 and 44 cartridges. I did see one post discussing the validity of using the term long colt based on it being a realistic way to differentiate from other 45 cartridges and the fact that it was so ingrained in the market that it now had meaning.

One reason I assumed 44 Long Colt is/was valid is that when you Google 44 Long Colt, you'll find purveyors of ammo sell 44 long colt It does not mean the term is technically correct, but again leads a newcomer to assume it's validity.



"There is no such thing as 44 Long Colt. 44 Colt was developed to convert Colt percussion revolvers, specifically the Richards conversion model of the 1860 Colt Army. The Army bought around 1,200 Richards Conversions in 1871, two years before the Single Action Army appeared. The White patent had expired by this time, so there were no remaining legal issues with S&W, who had already introduced their first large frame Top Break, 44 caliber American Model."

 

[oldfogey4ever]

After the Civil War most folks didn't have much money, so to me isn't surprising the fact that some were found converted but rather so few survived (probably quite a few met their demise during the metal recycling drives of WWI and WWII). The fact that (at least at first,) some Rangers loaded the pointy "Picket" bullet upside down lead to reported cylinder failures (interestingly it wasn't until when Texas asked for the Walkers back that widespread reports of cylinder failures resulting in the complete destruction of the gun began to surface). 'Course, wasn't really that many actually made back in 1847 (Uberti has probably made 100,000 times more repops than Sam made in his factory)!

Pretty good round for the Walker exists today (you can find info on it here and here)! 'Course, to use that cartridge you want one of these (very bottom of the web page on the right side) and you'd have to get the chamber reamed, but then, well, DANG - IMPRESSIVE!