A question concerning the loading levers of Colt Walker revolvers

[Maillemaker]

Hi all,

As many of you probably know, the Colt Walker revolver (and its reproductions) has a crude latch to keep the loading lever in place up under the barrel, and it frequently drops down on firing, which locks up the revolver and necessitates re-securing the lever back to its stowed position after a shot.

To prevent this annoyance, many folks use a small loop of string or leather or tape to secure the lever while shooting, so that it does not fall down in between shots. This was a period problem that plagued original Walkers also and is no doubt why Colt went to a more positive latching arrangement on future designs.

I was thinking about this on my drive home from my last skirmish and wondered if this is covered in the rules.

Rule 19.9 says:

19.9 MODIFICATIONS (HAND AND SHOULDER ARMS)
a. The only modification allowed for company and individual match arms shall be those allowed below in rules 19.9.1 through 19.15.
b. Interchanging of parts as practiced by the issuing military forces of the period shall be allowed.
c. No other modification, addition or alteration which changes the original design or function of the arm shall be permitted.

There is no mention of of a provision for external means of securing the loading lever of a Colt Walker in 19.9.1 - 19.15.

Since this is an addition which changes the original design or function of the arm, I would assume by 19.9 (c) that such a loop would be prohibited.

What do you all think?

Steve

[John Holland]

Steve -

Rather than ask for an "opinion poll", why don't you send an email directly to the Inspector General for a real ruling? His email has been listed in some of the previous skirmish lines, but for your convenience here it is: stroker38370(at)gmail.com

JDH

[Curt]

Hallo!

IMHO, and obviously a "bias" on my part, I would be, am, opposed to it. But then again, there were not that many Colt M1847 Whitneyville "Walkers" in the Civil War anyways. :) :)

Rather than tape or a tie down string.. I would rather see the "Dragoon" loading lever and catch as found on the transitional "Whitneyville-Hartford" M1848 and sometimes retrofitted to Walkers (Such as one a surviving M1847 marked for Company B No 26... while No 25 has the original lever and catch).

Curt

[hobbler]

I found that using bullets that approximate the original conicals in weight and geometry dampened the recoil impulse sufficiently to prevent the dropping of the loading lever, where as round ball requires the "Walker slap" every time. That's because the length of the projectile reduces the powder charge and the heavier weight of lead produces a slower rearward and upward acceleration of the barrel. But, that's my Uberti and anyone else's is going to behave a little differently. And, you could probably achieve the same just by using some filler to get the ball close to the barrel rather than using a full charge of powder.

[Maillemaker]

Rather than ask for an "opinion poll", why don't you send an email directly to the Inspector General for a real ruling? His email has been listed in some of the previous skirmish lines, but for your convenience here it is: stroker38370(at)gmail.com

I figured this was a common knowledge question that the community could quickly and easily answer.

Steve

[Maillemaker]

I heard from the IG and he said he did not see a problem with the use of tape, etc., to hold the lever in place during shooting.

Steve