The Famous Colt Navy Six

hey there folks sandy at the arizona ghost riders here this week one of the most successful firearms the 19th century ain't that a beauty let's look into it [Music] put your drawers on and take your gun off recently dustin weiniger from the guns of the west channel sent me one of his paper cartridge making kits to review later on i was on a live stream hosted by the 11 bang bang channel and the subject came up about the fact that i actually have no percussion firearms for which to make paper cartridges in fact i was having some troubles finding them in an affordable price point what's the cheapest gun you got not in the case i mean the cheapest piece of worthless stuff you got the whole miserable store garrett and his brothers who run the 11 bang bang channel found one for me and sent it here by pony express not only is it a cap and ball revolver but one of the most popular models of the pre-metallic cartridge era let's talk about it in 1850 samuel colt was approached by texas rangers jack hayes and ben mcculloch about building a revolver that wasn't as big and heavy as the successful 44 caliber dragoon yet more punch than the 31 pocket model colt thought the 36 caliber which did well as a stopping round in the patterson 14 years prior would be a good choice so copying similar design lines to its older and younger brothers the new ranger-sized pistol was born the cylinder was engraved with the victorious 1843 naval battle over mexico named the battle of campeche this or the purchase of them by the us navy gave it the moniker navy colt and it was immediately popular as a sidearm that could sit on a belt not to mention it was about half the weight of its older brother the dragoon why by god girl that's a ghost dragoon you're no bigger than a corn nubbin what are you doing with all this pistol good old sammy marketed the heck out of this firearm and soon it was being purchased by military and civilians alike two hundred thousand navies left the factories in america and another 38 000 were assembled in london it turned out to be one of the most widely used handguns in the 19th century i'm dustin from guns of the west and i have a passion for these cap and ball revolvers like that 1851 navy santee there is showing you now while that one is a modern italian reproduction here is the original colt 1851 navy carried by wild bill hickok himself well bill hickok wait a minute his gun had ivory grips and that one is too small that's an 1851 navy right there see how big it is what are you trying to pull weininger all right you caught me it's not wild bills and it's not even an 1851 navy this one is the colt 1849 pocket model but it is a great example of an original and you can see not a lot of difference between this and the modern reproduction it doesn't have the same markings this one actually has address samuel colt new york city on it it's in great shape for its age this particular one was made in 1858 now even though there's definitely something special about holding and shooting an original you can have a lot of historical sense of shooting by shooting those italian reproductions like the one santee has there you could get them in a variety of barrel links finishes and grip materials the main characteristics were the octagonal barrel brass grip frame and trigger guard my repro is what is known today as the london model because of the all steel construction that was associated with the british manufacturer its balance precision and dependability made it a favorite not only in the 1850s but throughout the civil war and well into the cartridge era yeah just because cartridge guns were available it doesn't mean the remote areas out west could easily get ammo for them but black powder lead balls and percussion caps had been in demand for years at that point and were therefore easier to acquire around 1857 paper cartridges which contained the shot and powder in a convenient package came about interesting note early on they were tin foil and at one point even nitrated animal intestine and these seriously shortened reload times which was helpful in an armed engagement also many of the gun toters were familiar with percussion revolvers the colt navy was right there ringing in the age of the gunfighter while bill hickok known for his deadly accuracy in a gunfight swore by the navy six even the famous australian outlaw ned kelly had one which shows you the navy's international popularity so big thanks to the 11 bang bang and guns of the west channels in the future i'll be making a holster and some paper cartridges for this beautiful tool and i'm sure you'll all want to come along for the ride well folks that's it for another episode thanks for watching and as always please like share and subscribe and we'll see you on down the trail [Music]

Channel: Arizona Ghostriders

Views: 152,233

Keywords: Old west, frontier, pioneer, santee, victorian era, western, history, cowboy, wild west, 19th century America, samuel colt, jack hayes, texas rangers, battle of campeche, dragoon, 36 caliber, calibre, wild bill hickok, ned kelly, percussion, cap and ball revolver

Id: Ypl8Y0PH-eQ

Length: 5min 47sec (347 seconds)

Published: Sat May 21 2022