Gun Review: Taylor’s Colt 1851 Navy Revolver

By Terril James Herbert

The Colt 1851 Navy Revolver, the author’s favorite percussion revolver. (Photo: Terril James Halbert/Guns.com)
In my Top 5 Percussion Revolvers, I listed the Colt 1851 Navy on top of that rather subjective list. Percussion revolvers and millennials don’t usually go together, but in my case I have owned and shot Colt Navy pistols more frequently than any other handgun. The 1851 Navy is a bit different to load by today’s standards, her shooting characteristics and various historical footnotes are worthy of attention.
Colt released his “Belt Pistol of Naval Caliber” in 1850 as a means of creating a pistol that was light enough to carry on a belt, unlike the large .44 caliber Army horse pistols in inventory like the Colt’s Walker and Dragoon. It was also to be more powerful than the pocket .31 caliber pistols that began to take off in popularity at the time. The Colt Navy uses a .36 caliber bore, then in use with the US Navy, and stuck it in a pistol that weighted just 2.5 pounds. Over two hundred thousand were produced and the pistol was a mainstay of both sides of the American Civil War. It also saw adoption by Britain, Prussia, and others—making

Source: Guns.com