3058

Desirable Documented Colt A Company No. 182 Walker Model Revolver

Currency:USD Category:Antiques / Firearms & Armory Start Price:37,500.00 USD Estimated At:75,000.00 - 110,000.00 USD
Desirable Documented Colt A Company No. 182 Walker Model Revolver
Buyer's Premium is 20.5% by credit card, reduced to 18% if payment is made by cash, check or wire transfer. Contact Rock Island Auction Company to complete your registration with the auction house.
Desirable Documented Colt A Company No. 182 Walker Model Revolver

Manufactured in 1847 at the Whitneyville, Connecticut factory of Eli Whitney, Jr. Colt manufactured 220 pistols marked "A COMPANY No 1" to "A COMPANY No 220". The A Company revolvers were the second group of 220 assembled by Colt. These revolvers were inspected and shipped from Whitneyville to the New York Ordnance Depot on August 6, 1847. The A Company Walker Revolvers arrived at the ordnance depot at Vera Cruz, Mexico on October 22, 1848. Some of the A Company revolvers were part of the 394 revolvers issued to the 1st Regiment, Texas Mounted Volunteers commanded by the former Texas Ranger, Colonel John Coffee Hays. The remainder of the A Company Walker Revolvers were issued to Company C, U.S. Mounted Rifles on November 19, 1847. Both the Texas Mounted Volunteers and the U.S. Mounted Rifles saw action in Mexico during 1847 and 1848. The Texas Mounted Volunteers turned in 191 Walker Colt revolvers when they were mustered out of federal service on May 8, 1848. Only 82 of these revolvers were listed as serviceable. Some of the serviceable revolvers were subsequently issued to the 2nd Dragoon Regiment and federalized Texas Rangers in 1849-50. The U.S. Mounted Rifles served in Oregon and California from 1849-51. Revolver No. 182 is one of 40 A Company Walker Model Revolvers on the list of surviving Walker pistols on pages 79-80 of "The Colt Whitneyville-Walker Pistol" by Lt. Col. Robert D. Whittington. The revolver has the distinctive half octagon nine inch barrel with German silver front sight blade and hinged round tip loading lever secured by a T-shaped spring. The massive six shot cylinder has oval stop slots and a single locking pin in the rear face. The frame has cut-outs at the back for the forward contour of the grip. The trigger and cylinder stop screws do not pass through the right side of the frame. The brass square back trigger guard has a distinctive broad base. The back strap is iron and the one piece black walnut grip has a slim Jim profile. A rectangular silver plate approximately 2 3/4 inches long by 1/4 inch wide is inlaid in the left side of the grip (about half of the plate is missing). The top barrel flat is roll stamped with the legend "ADDRESS SAML COLT NEW-YORK City" in one line reading toward the muzzle. The left side of the barrel lug is roll stamped "A COMPANY No 182" above the wedge slot. The right side of the barrel lug is stamped "1847" above the wedge screw. "A COMPANY No 182" is roll stamped on the lower left side of the frame and on the bottom of the iron back strap. The bottom of the trigger guard is marked: "A COMyNo 182" in tiny letters below the trigger guard screw. The cylinder is stamped "A COM-Y No 150" in tiny letters. The cylinder was almost certainly mismatched in the field. All the other visible serial numbers match. The right side of the loading lever, the bottom of the barrel lug, the bottom of the frame and the back strap are all stamped with three small punch marks. The significance of these marks is unknown. The revolver is accompanied by a Gamma Ray test report dated 9/14/61 that states "Radiograph does not show any welding or repairs on this revolver".

Manufucture: Colt
Model: Dragoon
BBL: 9 inch part octagon
Stock:
Guage: 44 percussion
Finish: blue
Grips: walnut
Serial Number: 182

Good. The metal surfaces have a dark brown patina and shows the hard field service that is typical of U.S. Contract Colt Walker Model Revolvers. All the components appear to be original. The barrel has lightly textured surfaces with some light wrench marks on the right side of the lug. The "1847" date, "A Company" marking and the barrel legend are faint but legible. The left side of the frame has crisp company markings and serial number. The frame has moderate to heavy pitting on the right recoil shield and capping cut-out, and scattered light pitting and surface discoloration elsewhere. No trace of the roll engraved Ranger and Indian fight scene is present on the cylinder. The exterior of the cylinder has scattered light dents with moderate to heavy flash pitting on the front and rear face as well as on the percussion nipples. The hammer has moderate flash pitting. The iron back strap has a dark patina with scattered pitting. The brass trigger guard has an unpolished patina and shows moderate handling wear. The grip is fair-good. There is a very old chip in the left toe. About half of the crude silver inlay remains in the left side of the grip with a shallow channel exposed below the broken inlay. The balance of the grip has minor handling marks and some age shrinkage. The action is functional but the hammer does not hold at half-cock. Colt expert R. L Wilson identified 175 surviving Colt Walker Model Revolvers from the total production of 1,100. Robert Whittington stated that 150 U.S. contract Walker Model revolvers had been identified when his book was published in 1984. All Walker Model Revolvers are extremely rare and desirable. This is a rare example of a historic and substantially original Walker Colt Revolver from the original group of A Company revolvers issued to the Texas Mounted Volunteers and U.S. Mounted Rifles during the Mexican War.