Lets start with a brief history of the 1851 Navy Colt from the Internet -

The Colt Revolving Belt Pistol of Naval Caliber (i.e., .36 cal), later known as the Colt 1851 Navy or Navy Revolver is a cap and ball revolver that was designed by Samuel Colt between 1847 and 1850. Colt first called this revolver the Ranger model; but the designation Navy quickly took over. After the Civil War, revolvers using fixed metallic cartridges came into widespread use. The Colt Navy remained in production until 1873, being replaced in the Colt line with what would become one of the manufacturer's most famous handguns, the Colt Single Action Army (also known as the Peacemaker and the Colt 45). Total production numbers of the Colt 1851 Navy Revolver were exceeded only by the Colt Pocket models in concurrent development, and numbered some 215,000 domestic units and about 42,000 produced in the Colt London Armory ................. read more

A video of 1851 Navy Colt Percussion Revolvers -

A video comparing a 1851 Navy Colt Percussion Revolver's Brass vs Steel frame -

A video of the 1860 Colt Army Percussion Revolver -

A video showing the 1851 Navy Colt Percussion Revolver's cartridge conversion -

A video of the evolution to the 1871-1872 Colt 45 Open Top cartridge revolver -

A video of the evolution to the 1872 Colt Single Action Army cartridge revolver -

A video of 1872 Colt Single Action Army cartridge revolver variants -

Winchester .44-40 Ammo - From the Internet - The .44-40 Winchester, also known as .44 Winchester, .44 WCF (Winchester Center Fire), and .44 Largo (in Spanish-speaking countries) was introduced in 1873 by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. It was the first metallic centerfire cartridge manufactured by Winchester, and was promoted as the standard chambering for the new Winchester Model 1873 rifle. As both a rifle and a handgun caliber, the cartridge soon became widely popular, so much so that the Winchester Model 1873 rifle became known as "The gun that won the West"

When Winchester released the new cartridge, many other firearm companies chambered their guns in the new round. Remington and Marlin released their own rifles and pistols which chambered the round, Colt offered an alternative chambering in its popular
Single Action Army revolver in a model known as the Colt Frontier Six-Shooter, and Smith & Wesson began releasing their Smith & Wesson New Model 3 chambered in .44-40. Settlers, lawmen, and cowboys appreciated the convenience of being able to carry a single caliber of ammunition which they could fire in both pistol and rifle ......... read more

A video of a 1887 Colt 'Frontier' Single Action Revolver and a 2015 Colt Single Action Revolver -

A video of a 1898 Colt Double Action Revolver along with modern 20th Century 'double action' versions, including the Colt Python, Smith & Wesson Model 13 and Smith & Wesson Model 19 -

A video of 2nd & 3rd Generation - 1872 Colt Single Action Army cartridge revolver collection - beautiful artwork -

 

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Richard Lawrence
Scotland
United Kingdom