colt 1851 navy revolver - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

AquaFox · 04-20-2010, 08:21 PM

I'm not a big gun person by any means but I'm a history buff at times.. the colt 1851 navy revolver has some history, the standard gun of use for the pony express riders and the weapon of choice for Wild Bill Hickok and Doc Holliday. I'm thinking that if i can find a decent one at a reasonable price I'll snag it up. I'm not in the position right this moment to go buying but maybe soon.

Anyone have any experience with these? the loading and technique for using these seems interesting, i read some articles on how to load them but the Internet might not be the most reputable place for learning how to use historical weapons. such a cool looking gun too...

Colt 1851 Navy Revolver - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Collectors Firearms

The_Dunedan · 04-21-2010, 06:22 AM

Quote:

I'm thinking that if i can find a decent one at a reasonable price I'll snag it up.

Might wanna consider cutting your teeth on a good repro before shelling out $3,000+ for an original. You wouldn't want to shoot an original 1851 anyway; too much risk to the gun itself and to the value thereof.

AquaFox · 04-21-2010, 08:30 PM

a replica wouldn't be nearly as fun... as for actually snagging one, it would be years if anything till i get that kinda spare change!

do replica guns tend to be safe to fire? now that you mention them I'm kind of interested. I don't think I would buy one but its kinda cool to know about.

1851 NAVY, BRASS FRAME, BLUED BARREL - EMF Company

Fremen · 04-21-2010, 09:44 PM

I was watching some documentary on the History channel, or some such, that said the Pony Express Riders didn't carry guns due to their weight.
They had to travel so far in a certain amount of time, that they relied on the horses to get away from danger.

I don't know what's true.

AquaFox · 04-22-2010, 04:00 AM

I'm quite sure they are wrong. It's documented that when they first started the route, they carried a rifle and a pistol as well a water sack and a horn for alerting stations of their arrival... as time went by they slowly left more and more at the stations until they were just riding with the jacket on their back, a pistol and water sack. They did keep the horses running full gallop for about the whole route, which would have likely helped them escape danger... its always better to not have to use your gun.. but given the dangers involved its likely that none of the individual riders would have ever wanted to give up their pistol.

Their standard issue was the colt 1851, I took notes while listening to a presentation given at a Smithsonian by Pony Express historians... its when I first got the notion of thinking that it would be cool to own! :-) I'm also quite a history buff about that topic.

04-20-2010, 08:21 PM	#1 (permalink)
AquaFox WaterDog	colt 1851 navy revolver I'm not a big gun person by any means but I'm a history buff at times.. the colt 1851 navy revolver has some history, the standard gun of use for the pony express riders and the weapon of choice for Wild Bill Hickok and Doc Holliday. I'm thinking that if i can find a decent one at a reasonable price I'll snag it up. I'm not in the position right this moment to go buying but maybe soon. Anyone have any experience with these? the loading and technique for using these seems interesting, i read some articles on how to load them but the Internet might not be the most reputable place for learning how to use historical weapons. such a cool looking gun too... Colt 1851 Navy Revolver - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Collectors Firearms __________________ ...AquaFox...

04-21-2010, 08:30 PM	#3 (permalink)
AquaFox WaterDog	a replica wouldn't be nearly as fun... as for actually snagging one, it would be years if anything till i get that kinda spare change! do replica guns tend to be safe to fire? now that you mention them I'm kind of interested. I don't think I would buy one but its kinda cool to know about. 1851 NAVY, BRASS FRAME, BLUED BARREL - EMF Company __________________ ...AquaFox...

04-21-2010, 09:44 PM	#4 (permalink)
Fremen With a mustache, the cool factor would be too much Location: left side of my couch, East Texas	I was watching some documentary on the History channel, or some such, that said the Pony Express Riders didn't carry guns due to their weight. They had to travel so far in a certain amount of time, that they relied on the horses to get away from danger. I don't know what's true. __________________ Google

04-22-2010, 04:00 AM	#5 (permalink)
AquaFox WaterDog	I'm quite sure they are wrong. It's documented that when they first started the route, they carried a rifle and a pistol as well a water sack and a horn for alerting stations of their arrival... as time went by they slowly left more and more at the stations until they were just riding with the jacket on their back, a pistol and water sack. They did keep the horses running full gallop for about the whole route, which would have likely helped them escape danger... its always better to not have to use your gun.. but given the dangers involved its likely that none of the individual riders would have ever wanted to give up their pistol. Their standard issue was the colt 1851, I took notes while listening to a presentation given at a Smithsonian by Pony Express historians... its when I first got the notion of thinking that it would be cool to own! :-) I'm also quite a history buff about that topic. __________________ ...AquaFox...