The Colt 1851 Navy had more to do with the advent of the frontier gunfighter than any other handgun.

This single-action, cap-and-ball revolver came standard with a 71⁄2-inch barrel and weighed some 42 ounces. Most authorities agree that production on the 1851 Navy was actually begun in 1850, and from then until it was discontinued in 1873, more than 200,000 guns were manufactured.

The Colt 1851 Navy actually had more to do with the advent of the frontier gunfighter than any other handgun. Prior to the Navy's introduction, handgunners had to make do with the Colt Walker and Dragoon revolvers, both of which weighed over four pounds. These big guns were best suited for carry in pommel holsters on the saddle. The Colt Navy was the first popular single-action revolver that could be worn comfortably on the belt.

It is also the handgun, out of the entire Colt arsenal, that was most closely copied when the Single Action Army was designed. Colt engineers learned that handgunners liked the shape of the Navy's grip frame and the general size of the revolver. Examining a Colt Navy and Peacemaker side by side, one can easily see the influence the Navy had on the company's first successful cartridge revolver.

Men Who Used The 1851 Navy
Prior to the beginning of the Civil War, the state of Missouri was a hotbed of trouble that often broke out in shooting fights. Bill Anderson, the Jameses, and the Youngers all cut their teeth on this border trouble and were ready to go when leaders like William Quantrill enlisted them in his guerilla band during the war. The boys from Missouri became quite proficient with their sixguns and generally carried a brace of Drgoons on their saddle pommels and a brace of Navys on their hip.

Besides being quick and handy, the Colt Navy, and other percussion revolvers, began the frontier tradition of the two-gun man. By their very nature, percussion revolvers are slow to reload. You can imagine the difficulty of separately seating powder, ball, and percussion cap from the back of a running horse. Some handgunners tried to solve this problem by having extra loaded cylinders stashed in their pockets. Still, changing out cylinders can turn into quite a juggling act in the middle of a gunfight. The old-timers actually carried two handguns so that when they shot one of them dry they could just go for the other gun and keep right on shooting.

Bill Jordan once told me that packing two guns was the fastest reload that he knew of. I've since heard modern law enforcement officers refer to carrying that second gun as a "New York Reload." Old ways die hard.

The most famous frontiersman to use the Colt Navy was James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok (1837-1876). Most historians agree that he was using a .44 Dragoon on July 21, 1865, when he faced and killed Dave Tutt in Springfield, Missouri. However, by the late 1860s, when Hickok began his law enforcement career on the Kansas plains, he was packing the Colt 1851 Navy.