“You boys going to draw or whistle Dixie”. Josey Wales with his Colt 1860 Army and his Walker Colt.
Image from here
We are all familiar with the Colt 1873 “Peacemaker” but I’ve always been fascinated by the weapons of the US Civil War. The period immediately after the civil war saw many ex-soldiers drifting west. They took their weapons with them and used those weapons to settle the west. Even though cartridge firearms were gaining acceptance, they were expensive and black powder arms continued to be used during this time. Whether it was wild animals or Indian tribes who resented the incursion of these white settlers; those guns came in handy.
My personal favorites are two of the well known “Army” model handguns used in the Civil War. They were the Remington “New Army” 1858 model and the Colt Army Model 1860. These handguns were issued to US soldiers, just like the Beretta M9 is issued to them today. Later there were also cartridge conversions cylinders available for these handguns. This allowed you to use metallic cartridges in them. The 1851 Navy model is also nice but .36 caliber out of a black powder revolver seems kinda puny to me.
Here you can see Clint Eastwood, calmly reloading by replacing the cylinder in his 1858 Remington revolver, as he walks towards the bad guy. (Pale Rider)
I’ve posted a photo of the Colt Army Model 1860 several times in my Minnesota State Parks post.
To me there is no denying the appeal of this large, well made handgun with its sculpted barrel assembly.
The Colt Army Model 1860 displayed at Fort Ridgely, Minnesota.
So, with the encouragement of a friend, I decide on a black powder version instead of a cartridge conversion. I can always pick up a cartridge conversion cylinder later. My wife, ever encouraging, says “go for it”.
Do I really need another handgun? “What’s need got to do with it”? asks the little guy, with horns and a red suit, who sits on my right shoulder occasionally. “Besides that”, he says; “Cabelas is having a sale again”.
Thus reassured, I headed down to Cabelas to make my choice. I was determined to check fit and finish and try out the action before I bought it. As luck would have it, the very first one I picked up had very well done color case hardening, an exceptional trigger and a crisp action. Sold! I then had to pick up all the stuff to make a black powder revolver run on the range. Man, is there a lot of stuff needed. Powder, Percussion Caps, Ox-yoke patches, lubricant, balls, a nipple wrench (get your minds out of the gutter, you jokers), a powder measure, a capper, a rubber faced hammer, nylon bore/cylinder brush, a .45 caliber jag, an extra cylinder, a belt and holster set with an extra cylinder pouch. Phew! I don’t think I’m done yet.
Oh well, with the next revolver, I shouldn't need anything extra, right? Right?
The 1860 Army grip is longer and more like the Bisley grip used on the target versions of the 1873.
