Colt's revolver

“ Williams' winter underwear—lay exposed. Then he fumbled beneath the garments and drew forth a large object, displaying it triumphantly to the satisfactorily dumbfounded Penrod.
It was a blue-steel Colt's revolver, of the heaviest pattern made in the Seventies. Mr. Williams had inherited it from Sam's grandfather (a small man, a deacon, and dyspeptic) and it was larger and more horrible than any revolver either of the boys had ever seen in any picture, moving or stationary. ”

“ The old simile of the "rat running off with a hay-stack" loses all point when applied to these little Colima mules, but it is death on the rats, nevertheless. Four "police of the road," mounted on little agile horses, with costly saddles and rich trappings, each man carrying a
machete, or straight, short sword, Henry rifle, and a Colt's revolver of the finest pattern, rode in advance, and four fine, tall, intelligent-looking men of the the Custom-House Guard, still more splendidly equipped and armed, rode behind us. ”

“ Looking a trifle dazed, Archer unrolled the silken folds, and laid on the office table the handsome, silver-mounted Colt revolver of the old calibre 44 model Willett had lost that Sunday night of his perilous adventure up the valley. There it was, inscription and all, every visible chamber still loaded, its murderous leaden bullet showing in the candle light. Archer slowly drew back the hammer. The cylinder slowly revolved. The barrel-chamber swung as slowly into view, black, powder-stained, and—empty. One shot, then, had been fired and very recently. ”

“ These special revolvers will be referred to later under another department, and the present chapter devoted to the standard models of the Colt’s revolver manufactured to-day. The Colt’s revolvers differ from those previously described in the following points, viz.:—
The hand, or finger, or pawl, which revolves the cylinder, has two points, one above the other. The upper engages the ratchet of the cylinder when the revolution begins. ”

“ The purchase of a buffalo robe, blankets, boots, and a Colt's revolver occupied but a short time, but the rifle was a much more difficult matter.
"You can always rely upon a Colt," the miner said, "but rifles are different things; and as your life may often depend upon your shooting-iron carrying straight, you have got to be mighty careful about it. ”

“ Another flash blazed above him, and the sound of the lead and the roar of the gun told him that his enemy was now using a Colt. Ordinarily this would have given him a certain amount of satisfaction, for everyone knows that while a rifle is effective at such a range, a hit with a revolver is largely a matter of luck; but as he leaped back into a handy recess a second bullet from the Colt struck the generous slack of his trousers and burned a welt on that portion of his anatomy where sitting in a saddle would irritate the most. ”

“ Colonel Colt was unquestionably the first to overcome the difficulties found to exist in the earliest productions, and when the introduction of the revolver into Europe became general, and the demands for it increased, the manufacturers were enabled, from the commencement, to avoid the defects which he had overcome in the course of his experience; and thus, their task was a lighter one than his. An immense number of revolving pistols have been constructed in a very short time ”

“ A Remington, Winchester, or other cartridge rifle may be carried for rapid work in fighting Indians, or killing large game, and a Colt's revolver, with loose ammunition, will be a convenient thing for every day use and ornament. ”

“ A spear whizzed past me and buried itself in the thick bark of a ti tree close to my head. My blood was up, but I took deliberate aim, and the savage who had thrown it also bit the dust. At eighty yards my Colt was almost as deadly as a rifle. Somewhat taken by surprise, the blacks retired, and I emptied the remaining chambers of my revolver at them with effect. ”

“ After the war, business did not fall off materially, for the great Western migration was on, and every one who made it went armed. The pioneer and the traveler depended upon the Colt in an emergency, and the workmanship was so good that the revolver itself never failed. It played a great part again in the Civil War, for most of the Northern troops, in addition to their Springfield rifles, carried Colt revolvers. Thus the idea that a runaway boy evolved during his trip to India helped to win the Mexican War, to settle the West, and to decide the Civil War. ”

“ The .38 calibre with the 6 and 7 inch barrels are very accurate up to 50 yards; the recoil is light and not unpleasant. The charge is less powerful than the .44 and .45, but about as heavy as is possible in an arm of the size and weight, and retains a satisfactory degree of accuracy. It is not difficult in shooting with a rest to place six shots within a 3-inch circle at 50 yards; and this feat has been accomplished in off-hand shooting with a .38-calibre Colt’s revolver with a 7-inch barrel. ”

“ It equals in these qualities the Colt caliber .45 revolver, model 1909, while being superior to that arm in balance, safety, rapidity, accuracy of fire, and interchangeability. The Colt pistol embodies all the features considered essential, desirable, and preferable by the board of officers convened by S. O. 305, W. D., Washington, December 28, 1906, except that there is no automatic indicator showing that the pistol is loaded or indicator showing the number of cartridges remaining in the magazine. ”

“ Every horse and mule should have at least two lariats, or picket-ropes, and every wagon needs an axe, and a spade, and some S's, and extra chain-links for repairs.
So much for the outfit, to which you will add the firearms that suit your fancy and the requirements of the region you are about to visit. Those that use fixed ammunition are undoubtedly to be preferred, if you can be sure of a sufficient supply of cartridges at all times, but where this is not the case, it is best to adhere to the old-fashioned Colt's revolver, loading with loose powder and ball. ”

“ Then the adventurers in Texas and through the Middle West came to look upon the six-shooter as the most valuable part of their outfit, and there was a sufficiently large band of these adventurers to cause a fair-sized demand. This enabled the Colt Company to struggle on until the Mexican War became certain.
Then General Taylor, who had used the Colt revolver in his Indian campaigns, recommended that the United States troops be furnished with it. The little factory in Hartford suddenly found itself confronted with an order for twenty thousand revolvers. ”

“ At a long range they are useless; at close quarters, which is the only situation in which an officer actually needs fire-arms, a revolver is far preferable. I know of no rifle so well adapted to an officer's use as Colt's carbine,—of eighteen or twenty-one inch barrel, and not less than 44/100 of an inch calibre. It may be depended upon for six hundred yards, the short barrel renders its manipulation easy in a close fight, and the value of the repeating principle at such a time can be estimated only by that of life. ”

“ Some of the fire-arms challenge attention, from the fact that they so closely resemble designs and samples to be seen in Venice, showing that the principle of the modern revolver was born and partially carried out centuries before the ingenious American, Colonel Colt, perfected a weapon which has since become universal. ”

“ The first is the safety-notch, the second is the half-cock notch, and the third is the cock-notch. The pistol cannot be fired when the hammer rests in the safety-notch or half-cock notch, and can be fired by pulling the trigger when the hammer rests in the cock-notch. The pistol [Pg 51] should be carried habitually with the hammer resting in the safety-notch.
COLT’S .38-CALIBRE, DOUBLE ACTION.
[Pg 52] There will always be a class of revolver-shooters who will prefer an arm with a solid frame. These persons will unhesitatingly select the Colt’s revolver. ”

“ Though I say it, who should not, I had less fear of the Rebels in arms than of the dogs. In all my adventures in their camps, I had preserved secretly, next to my body, the little Colt's five-shooter revolver. I knew how to use it. There were the five loads yet in it, that I had put in before leaving Pennsylvania, and I had resolved that four of them would be used against either Rebels or bloodhounds and the fifth would relieve me from further pursuit. ”

“ The Colt Officer’s Model is identical in every respect with the Army Special except that it is fitted with adjustable target sights and may be had with lengths of barrel up to 71⁄2 inches.
The foregoing arms, with good ammunition, are capable of making groups of ten shots on a 3-inch circle at 50 yards.
The Colt single action Army is the most popular belt or holster weapon among ranchmen, cowboys, prospectors, and others. It has a solid frame, simple mechanism, and is exceedingly durable and reliable. The arm is operated by opening a gate on the right-hand side, back of the cylinder. ”

“ An elevator whirled them upward; and in a few moments the young man from Chicago was opening a revolver case in his sample room.
“It’s a Colt,” said he, calmly, holding the weapon up for his friend’s inspection. “Dull metal, forty-five calibre; has a barrel that [80] assures accuracy and a grip that is a real grip. It’ll make quite a bulge in your pocket, but then it will also shoot a hole through a safe.”
“For a humdrum man of trade, Garry, you have lots of romance left in you,” said Kenyon. He took the revolver and spun it around, a forefinger through the trigger guard. ”

“ To meet the testimony of Proctor and Van Amburgh, the defense put on two gun experts of long standing—James E. Burns, noted rifleman, champion pistol shot, and head of a department of the United States Cartridge Company; and James H. Fitzgerald, superintendent of the testing department of the Colt Automatic Pistol Company. Burns declared that Bullet No. 3 might have been fired from either a Colt or a Bayard revolver. The latter is a Belgian gun; many have been brought here since the war. Burns declared positively that the bullet did not come from Sacco’s revolver. ”

“ I had confidence in my own weapon, and a still more perfect reliance on those of my comrades. They were men that never missed—men who never fired a random shot—never drew trigger till their aim was sure. I felt certain, therefore, that should the horsemen charge upon us, only nine of the twelve would ever get within pistol-shot of us, and for that distance we were well prepared. I carried in my belt a six-chambered revolver, one of Colt’s best; Garey had another—a present I had made him many years before—and Rube was armed with a pair of stout single-barrels, likely enough to do good service. ”

“ It is an accurate cartridge but the short length of barrel of the Colt weapon makes it impossible to do accurate work with it.
Figures 49 and 50 are the well known Luger and Mauser cartridges adapted to the pistols of that name. They are powerful charges, accurate and clean shooting. These were among the first cartridges developed for automatic pistols and are still extensively used.
The .32 Automatic Colt is adapted to Colt and other magazine pistols of this caliber. It is an accurate, pleasant shooting cartridge with very little recoil and excellent work can be done with it at the target. ”

“ The Smith & Wesson, which has interchangeable barrels of .32 calibre for revolver, and .22 for single-shot pistol, is a very suitable weapon for a lady.
The lighter forms of single-shot Stevens pistols of .22 calibre are exceptionally well adapted to the use of ladies who prefer a single-shot pistol. [Pg 105] The Colt .22 calibre revolver is very nice for ladies’ use.
In mentioning particular firms, both here and elsewhere in this book, I must not be understood to mean that the weapons of any one maker are better than those of another. All first-class makers turn out good revolvers and pistols ”

“ Any of those named are excellent and are capable of shooting much more accurately than they can possibly be held by the most expert shots. A man with a large hand will probably find the Remington pistol or the Colt New Service revolver best suited for him ”

“ As we close this little volume it is apparent that revolver and pistol shooting is about to become a very popular sport; the cavalry and artillery of the National Guard in America are [Pg vi] likely soon to be equipped with and instructed in the use of the revolver. As pistol practice increases in popularity, events herein recorded will, doubtless, be equalled and excelled many times.
The author begs to acknowledge courtesies extended to him by Messrs. Smith & Wesson; Colt’s Patent Fire-Arms Co.; Merwin, Hulbert, & Co.; Union Metallic Cartridge Co.; United States Cartridge Co. ”

“ A broad leather belt supports on the right a revolver, generally Colt's Navy or medium size (when Indian fighting is expected, the large dragoon pistol is universally preferred) ; and on the left, in a plain black sheath, or sometimes in the more ornamental Spanish scabbard, is a buck-horn or ivory-handled bowie-knife. In the East the driver partially conceals his tools; he has no such affectation in the Far West: moreover, a glance through the wagon-awning shows guns and rifles stowed along the side. ”

“ We have done our part, too, in devising deadly weapons for contending armies. The revolver, invented by Samuel Colt, made a man armed with it six times as formidable as he was before; and the breech-loader, first attempted by John Hall of Yarmouth, Massachusetts, more than seventy years ago, was generally adopted in Europe. It is said that the greater number of the military arms made in the United States for Europe are on the breech-loading system. ”