Uberti 1847 Colt Walker Reproduction and holster/belt rig

[Stantheman86]

I'm pretty sure plenty of guys in the ACW holster carried Dragoons, including Gen. McClellan.

Not withstanding the Curly Bill story in "Unforgiven " with that "2 Gun" guy who carried a Walker.

 

[Capnball]

Say it ain't so! Why, just the other day I was watching "Seraphim Falls" and Liam Neeson was using an 1851 Navy .36 with a brass frame. It has to be a historical revolver because it was in the movie! The screenwriters of the "Hell On Wheels" series show Anson Mount brandishing what they figured was a Grizzled & Gunderson because his character was a Confederate ex-soldier and figured that they were good to go. I mean, how much different can a G&G .36 be compared to an 1860 Army .44 brass frame revolver to the audience?

If Clint carried those guns as Josey Wales, you can bet that it was just for the short screen shots.

I think Mr. p...erik is a drive-by poster. He's probably busy on FB conferring with others of a like mindset.

That guy was seriously full of himself. With just a few minutes of his valuable time he would have found a huge movie replica audience out there that drives a pretty decent economy within a hobby. I have a collectors armory "Mares Leg" with holster my family gifter to me. Not because it deserves a place in my extensive historical library of firearms but because I was a fan of the Steve McQueen show, "Wanted Dead or Alive" and before Zonie gets a head of steam up, I know no such weapon existed untill maybe the show it first aired in 1958. I'm also a fan of "The Outlaw Josie Wales" and I've always been able to see the parallel between Clint Eastwood's character (albeit loose) and the real life of John W. "Jack" Hinson Confederate guerilla during the civil war. But these are just the musings of an illiterate gun owner, movie and history buff.
Neil

 

[ugly old guy]

So you laugh at Josey Wales? He carried 2 of them in a double rig. Revolvers like that were luxury weapons at that time when cut throats thrived. Being armed at all times is never a joke. You sir are ill informed.

You are going by Hollywood's "History" (note quotes) "Cut Throats" never "thrived".
If you check the actual records, violent crime west of the Mississippi River was virtually unknown during the "Wild West" period. The murder rate, for example, averaged 5 (five) a year in the entire territory west of the Mississippi River.
Obviously, the murder rate was far higher in the "civilized" (note quotes) East.
Bank Robbery was even less common than it is today.
Train Robbery? Again, less common than it is today.
Stage Coach robbery was very rare, as well.

Yes, the "average" person was armed. Unlike in Hollywood's version of history, however, few if any, who were not military or a Sheriff/Deputy that did not have to supply their own arms, had a revolver.
Most folk "Out West" did not have a handgun. They had a single shot rifle (remember, the lever action repeating rifle and self contained metallic cartridges did not arrive until after the Civil War), or a single shot shotgun. If they were wealthy, they might have had a side by side shotgun.

The "Fast Draw Shoot-Outs at High Noon" in the middle of the street duels, and "fanning" the hammer, are pure Hollywood fiction.

Most, if not all of the guns used in the "Western's" did not exist until after the Civil War - long after the "Wild West" period had ended. (Especially the ones where the lever gun is a Model 1894 Winchester)
Remember, the Colt "Walker" did not come about until 1848 during the Mexican-American War.

I can understand Hollywood's getting it wrong. Lets face it, the movie would be mightily boring if they showed what it was really like back then.

 

[Stantheman86]

99.9% of history was no where near as cool as it is inside our heads, in movies and on TV. We want to believe that all the Spaghetti Western stuff and Young Guns , blaze of glory , two gun lead slinging was true but it wasn't. But, we need that, it's part of our Cultural fiber. We need that Clint Eastwood, Charles Bronson and Henry Fonda gunslinger lore.

There is a very good article about this , how the Wild West wasn't very wild and most people who carried guns were ranch hands and workers who used them more for putting down sick animals and lawmen "went heeled" just like they do today, to protect themselves but it's not like they were clearing leather once a week to put down a desperado.

Gunslingers were rare and I think actual, documented "high noon showdowns" were extremely few, I think the Hickok-Tutt incident and the whole real life OK Corral thing are some of the few. The OK Corral shootout has been notably exaggerated in movies.

Most regular people didn't even carry a gun and probably owned a shotgun, if anything, that they kept at home. Percussion revolvers and conversions were very common well into the 1890s and beyond because the "latest and greatest " guns were out of reach for a working man. Plus people didn't tend to shoot much so a gun was a gun. I'm sure many a percussion wheelgun sat loaded in a drawer for decades.

"Unforgiven" did a good job, it was well into the cartridge era and Clint had a Starr cap and baller. The end gunfight was kind of a s-show and was pretty realistic

 

[Erwan]

Hi everybody,

I just finish to read what you said...
Is it real, nothing was like in movies ? You are kidding ? I saw Josey Walls himself at the movie theater in my village...
I am very sad now : sixty years of my life are gone when reading all you did say about the truth of the historical events...
Here's my life ruined in minutes. Give me a tree and a rope so I can go hang myself...

 

[Capnball]

Well no, I have not shot the Walker yet, (that is self evident from the pictures huh!) As I stated in my intro, I am NEW to black powder shooting. I am 65 years old, have been shooting since my teens. A have a rather large gun collection, some shooters, some collectors, some C&R. I have shot SASS for many years.
I get it that there are traditionalist shooters on this forum OK. Yes, the Walker was a horse pistol, I know that. I'm not trying to be a reenactor here. I'm just going to shoot the revolver off my back deck, maybe dress up Cowboy if I feel like it. Maybe go a little Josey Wales.
The belt is 4" wide and tappers to 3." It wears like a weight belt, I have no problem packing it around long enough to have some fun on the back deck. If that is a crime, then I'm guilty!
I was always told that the black powder shooting community were a great bunch of folks, helpful to newbies, always ready to share, guide and welcome new folks to the fun of black powder shooting. Much like SASS is. I still believe that. For you die hard traditionalist, enjoy, do your own thing, and God bless. As for me, I'm not trying to re-invent myself as Jeremiah Johnson.
Besides, the new holster is a BIG improvement over my previous one! Har har har!

Very cool rig. Worthy of a man cave display of its own.

 

[sourdough]

Hi everybody, I just finish to read what you said...
Is it real, nothing was like in movies ? You are kidding ? I saw Josey Walls himself at the movie theater in my village...
I am very sad now : sixty years of my life are gone when reading all you did say about the truth of the historical events...
Here's my life ruined in minutes. Give me a tree and a rope so I can go hang myself...

Hi Erwan!

I had to chuckle at your post, only because it reminds me of the times I have visited ROW and read what some have stated. Thanks for your reply!

Regards,

Jim

[For you uninitiated Americans, ROW is a French site: Repliques Old West: http://repliquesoldwest.superforum.fr/forum . I have been on that forum for about 2 years and it is very interesting to see/read how they view the American Old West. I find some of it conjecture, historically, but they are die-hards when it comes to their guns, many of which are not Pietta/Uberti replicas but also include ASM, ASP, Belgian Brevettes, among others: especially many original Colt and other revolvers! They are also constrained by the many restrictive gun laws in France/Europe and go to some length to produce non-firing copies of guns just to wear openly at their gatherings/festivities. They are (compared to many US forums) very polite and sincere. I do not know more than a few French words so I post in American English and my posts are well accepted, and replies are in English. I confess to using a Google translator app (which leaves a bit to be desired!) for this site to read the French posts so I can get the gist of what they are posting. And they like to post photos of their guns, which I enjoy immensely. Check it out. It was a bit of a learning curve for me to learn some of the terminology: cylinders are barrels, frames are carcasses, nipples are chimneys, etc. Have fun, introduce yourself, and don't be afraid to say you are not an expert: they seem to like Americans posting on their site with manners and information.]

 

[mushka]

I think that today's United States is a lot wilder than the old wild west ever was. Border to border, ocean to ocean.

 

[Capnball]

I think that today's United States is a lot wilder than the old wild west ever was. Border to border, ocean to ocean.

You got that right!
I live just north of Baltimore MD.
More Americans die in that city from violence every year then in Afghanistan. Add drugs and accidents and it's truly a scary place to visit.

 

[Erwan]

Hi Erwan!

I had to chuckle at your post, only because it reminds me of the times I have visited ROW and read what some have stated. Thanks for your reply!

That was well my intention...

You're right the "ROW" forum is a bit particular in that sens: the best often rubs shoulders with the worst, and some are pretty good weapons historians, but they aren't shooters and almost only collectors of Italians replicas, even if for some people these are only original weapons or almost original weapons and not any clone...
Your summary about this forum is quiet fair, there are nice guys with a good knowledge and the others.

So, in that way, that is the reason I came here to read what say the population of this forum: I'm not collector and not historian, just BP shooter, a race that is now disappearing in France with the new laws: gunpowder shooters become dinosaurs.

Kind regards to you and all.

Erwan.

 

[Boston Bill]

ROW?

 

[Boston Bill]

lol, found it

 

[Stantheman86]

Someone just dumped the body of a lady who OD'd like 100 yards from my house and this isn't even a really "bad" area....and people thought the West was lawless.

 

[Capnball]

Someone just dumped the body of a lady who OD'd like 100 yards from my house and this isn't even a really "bad" area....and people thought the West was lawless.

I used to live in NJ. The town I lived in was voted #1 safest city in America two years in a row then dropped to third place last time it was on the top ten list. The town was predominantly, middle class working families and a pretty good size retirement community encompassing several large tracts of land within the town. Great demographic. Great place to raise my kids. Neither one of my son's ever had a physical confrontation the entire time we lived there (14 years) the last four years we lived there, a condo complex had been bought by an affirmative action organization. They turned a very nice garden condo complex into low cost rental units. That place became no man's land in less then two years. The cops bought a business trailer and set up a cop shop in the middle of the development. They had a watch tower! Seriously, a mobile watch tower! The crime soared in the town. Violent crime! A few towns over there was a real bad town. I mean a wasteland town in NJ. The people looking to get away from the violence moved to the low cost housing complex in our town. Naturally they opened their doors to the nieces and nephews of people still living in the wasteland. As many as 12 kids were living in two bedroom apartments and inundating the school system with non- taxpaying students all looking for the free lunch program. Again, the violence sky rocketed in a town where it never happened. It was at that point I moved my family out of the state. My boys both graduated from high school in that town but got their higher education degrees in other states. The town has spiraled down to a point that is unrecoverable. Soon it will be another waist land that people will be trying to escape from.

 

[fireman1]

Capnball, what city in NJ? I lived in NJ some when I was younger. PM me if you want.

Thanks!

 

[Stantheman86]

I was born and raised in NJ, I left Lacey Twp, NJ when I joined the Army and I'm in PA now.

 

[Capnball]

I'm in Maryland now. I hope to move to the Carolinas in a few years.

 

[Zonie]

Let's quit discussing social problems and get back to talking about the 1847 Colt Walker.
If we don't, I'll close this thread.

 

[Capnball]

Nice gun, a little heavy but nice nonetheless!

 

[TFoley]

Also, Photobucket images are ALL very fuzzy. Practically useless, TBH. Sorry and all that.