The Texas Link to the Most Popular Colts of the 1850s & 60s

By Chris Eger

Samuel Colt’s revolving firearms were already legend in Texas before they became well-known around the globe, and a bit of Texas history was portrayed on some of the best known Colt wheelguns for decades.
Colt’s 1835 patent for his revolver system, according to legend sparked from an idea of a ship’s capstan, proved the basis of every wheel gun made by his company for the bulk of the 19th Century. From his early production 5-shot Paterson revolvers– which lacked a trigger guard but had a folding trigger– to his huge Walker and Dragoon series hand cannons of the 1840s, the former made for the Texas Rangers, Colt’s designs proved extremely popular, making them the Glocks of the day.
By 1851, Colt began producing a six-shot .36-caliber revolver that, due to an impressive 7.5-inch octagonal barrel, was 13-inches overall. Weighing 42-ounces, it was the same heft as today’s S&W Model 29, although a few inches longer.
This Colt Model 1851 3rd Model is available from a Guns.com Outlet member and is an excellent representation of the type.
When its cylinder chambers were stuffed with a 125-grain lead ball over 14-grains of decent black powder, it could deliver said lead at 760 fps, which translated to

Source: Guns.com