1847 Walker - The most powerful military handgun ever issued! 

The original Big Iron

“To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day…” … *sighs and reinstalls New Vegas*

YES! Samuel Colt's legacy conquers the spinner even 176 years later, bravo Karl!

Always enjoy your nuts-n-bolts "how to run the gun" vids on the historical black powder weapons. "The Blunderbus tapes" were classics! Thanks, Karl!

You can't even imagine the relief I felt when you removed the loading lever at the end.

I recently ran across a repro Walker at a local antique mall. Having only seen photos, I was amazed at how freakin big they actually are in real life!

I think the Walker was the first black powder pistol I ever fired, over 40 years ago. Awesome pistol.

I filed the flat on the loading lever spring and slightly bent it forward. My spring was also slightly loose, so I staked it in place as well. It pretty much solved the loading lever issue.

Chronograph section reminded me of Paul Harrell gun stuff. Amazing how consistent the speeds were with various loads

Professional, informational, and entertaining video. The cadence of the video is perfect. No "manly" fluff/posturing/costumes/language, just pertinent info., such as the nipples, loading lever, powder flask, bullets, caps, powder charge, grease, cheater bar, etc. Many great suggestions, many of which are not specific to the 1847 Walker. Even used a chronograph. I was already a subscriber, now may sponsor. Thank you.

Phew, that's one heck of a hand cannon!

Great video, thanks, Karl! And I read somewhere (referring to the failing cylinders back in the day) that some troops, either in the heat of battle or due to laziness, were sometimes seating those conical bullets *BACKWARDS,* pointy end in, because it was easier and also allowed more powder in the chamber. *SHUDDER!!* Stay well!

Seeing guys like you load these things, I now understand why Josey Wales (in _The Outlaw Josey Wales_ ) carried _six_ different pistols. You simply cannot reload these things while under fire.

That was a wonderful demonstration thank you! I learned some things.

Man I love mid 1800s black powder. You were getting modern 9mm velocities but with a MASSIVE bullet

That 50gr with conical seemed pretty damn serious to me.

I own a 1858 Remington New Army clone. It is a fun, accurate gun to shoot. I actually fired mine for the first time in a military firearms competition. The events are hosted by the New Jersey Arms Collectors Club. My event was for American Civil War era rifles at 50 yards. I used my Remington Revolver with ball rounds. I didn't win but all 10 rounds hit the B8 target at 50 yards. I read the instructions on how to load it at the table during the competition! I got honorable mention in their newsletter due to my performance. Great group. History Collectors Forum is their informative RU-vid channel

Outstanding video. Thanks InRange TV. In this video, the Walker load of 260 grain conical over 50 grains of FFFg making 1020 ft/sec actually has slightly greater striking force than the 1935 .357 Mag (158gr at 1525 ft/sec from a 8.375" barreled S&W). In "Muzzle Energy" the .357 would make more energy (816 ft/lbs) over the Walker (601 ft/lbs) but in actual bullet striking force on a 100 pound ballistic pendulum the .357 would move the pendulum at 4.13 inches per second, while the Walker would make about 10% greater striking force, moving the pendulum at 4.54 inches per second. Now the actual historical Walker load was a 220 grain conical over 50 grs of FFFg, and that would make around 1100 ft/sec (591 ft/lbs of Muzzle Energy) and would move the pendulum at 4.14 inches per second, a dead tie in actual striking force with the original .357 Mag load of 1935 fired from a 8.375" barrel S&W.

This is really great! Thank you for posting. I especially appreciate your extra detailed discussion about the difference in charges & ammunition.

The New Model Army or the Colt 1860 Army or Navy are great starter guns for percussion revolvers. I loved shooting my Walker repros, but they definitely are a lot to manage.

A monster! Fascinating as always. Thanks, Karl!

Love your current posting schedule, this is a pleasant break from (otherwise very good mind you) High Desert Brutality videos, thanks !

man, I love every black powder video you've done, something about it just scratches a very specific itch

Very fun to watch, thank you!

Oh wow, I just found your channel. My Walker is beginning to come apart. Back in the day I was working a job close to an electrician wearing a vest with all manner of muzzle loader meet patches. During the conversation he asked me, "Ever notice that there aren't many original Walkers around?" Then he began explaining the overloading problem. How they were known to explode from overloading. Later on looking at mine, I noticed that I could stuff the corner of a matchbook cover in between the two dowel pins on the frame to align the barrel. Investigating further I found that the threads on the cylinder shaft and frame were separating and distorted. Tightening the shaft into the frame caused the set screw and wedge slot to missalign. I'd Purchased it in the fall of 1977, this was by 1980 it was done. I would full load with black powder or Pyrodex and grease patch the cylinder, using .436 balls. I got to be quite proficient with it. Not a quick draw but I could handle it one handed with no problem. A friend got everything tightened and realigned for me returning it with the instructions not to fire it again. Wish I'd have run onto some experienced shooters before I screwed it up. But glad I found out about the problem before it got to be a disaster. Appreciate you knowledge. Thanks for sharing. Clint Eastwood wore two of'em in the Outlaw Jose Wales movie besides the two in his saddle.

Thank you for making these videos, Karl. I'm not from the USA so it's a bit tough when you're interested in firearms. There are other channels in the "community" that are also interesting to watch, but I really appreciate those like you who make it a point to be informative, honest and straightforward. I've been feeling a bit unwell in the last couple of days so I can't string together a particularly coherent statement, but I hope that makes sense :)

Presented extremely well. well done that man.

fantastic as always I was cheering at the end

I always wanted a walker but I chose a 3rd model Dragoon for it's practical usability. It fits my hand much btter than the small 1860 colt and I can comfortably carry it on my hip. That was a very nice video, thanks.

I have 2 Walkers. Massive revolvers. I have an assortment of black powder revolvers from Walkers to 1849 baby dragoon, 1851,1858 and 1860. Calibers range from .32 to .44. Love shooting them.

What a great intro. This’ll be a brief history then how to get the best out of the gun. Thanks Karl this is exactly the viewing I wanted.

Outstanding program.

Widely regarded as the pistol from Blood Meridian, an absolute masterpiece!!!

I am interested in a dedicated "Your first smokewagon" series going over a good (opinionated) first black powder pistol, equipment, safety etc for the complete novice black powder enthusiast.

Fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. Love the nitty-gritty stuff. Thanks a ton Karl!

Fantastic video. Substantive history, smart modern improvements, and THE SPINNER SPUN!

Well presented. Thanks.

That first chronograph sequence was impressively consistent

Thanks for another great video, Karl!

You and Kevin got me into to the two gun and this walker! Love you guys

Holy Crap! I know the Walker was powerful for its time but I didn't know it could shoot a .45 bullet at 1000-1300fps in 1847. That's insane! 🤯🤯🤯

Great video! My first percussion revolver is an 1860 in .44. Love to shoot it every so often. Never shot conicals out of it though; just round ball. The walker and the LeMat are my dream guns though. Thanks for the video and the tips and tricks to make it work better. Cheers!

I really loved your video. I felt I learned a "bunch-load" of great, and practical stuff on an iconic firearm, in a clear and pleasant presentation. Thank you, sir!

Extremely well presented video. Great viewing and history lesson, thank you.

Love your black powder videos, you have definitely inspired me to getting my own. Probably not the walker, too much gun for me, but ever since you did the video on the 1862 Colt police revolver that's one I could see my self using.

The only BP revolver I ever had a chain fire with was my Walker (greased round balls in use). A little testing after showed that on my gun some of the Remington caps would shake off during firing. I recommend a bit of testing and perhaps checking for oversize caps before trusting them. A chain fire (4 cylinders in my instance) is a real attention getter on a Walker.

Pretty cool thanks for teaching so much in such a short vid.

Good stuff Karl!

great video, more like this please

I bought my dad an 1858 Remington for his birthday couple years back and we loved shooting it so much I bought myself a walker and while they are troublesome every now and then it’s been a blast to own

Very instructive, and delivered with authority!

Wow, still more power than most handguns carried today. Good video, well done.

Had someone made a cartridge conversion from a copy of this behemoth? Not for a standard cartridge but one that takes the maximum usable length of the cylinder. That must be monstrous!

That was a great pleasure to watch.👍

I have been shooting black powder for almost 50 yrs. and I have to say after watching you there is always something to learn. Keep it up.

10:57 Holy shit, that sounded like a howitzer. I wish I lived in America and could own such a cool gun

My walker was actually my second cap and ball I got. Love shooting it I usually use 40-45 gr.

a general thank you for all tips given in this vid.

Thanks for sharing

Wow...I'm AMAZED by the consistency!! And, man...260gr at a hair over 1000fps is...like...modern subsonic 300BLK performance. lol

Ideal for a bunch of mounted scalp hunters. Desert Brutality is an apt description of Cormac McCarthy's great novel Blood Meridian. I'm pretty sure this is the gun that the gang carry, the narrator mentions how much damage the conical bullets cause, they also mention steadying the gun for aim by using the loading lever as a support.

Cool! Well done.

Great video!

Another great video 👏 I can echo the 'start with a later Colt' advice; my first percussion revolver was a Le Mat and it just wasn't particularly fun to use. Huge, heavy hammer, loading lever likes to fling the ramrod when you shoot, shotgun is unreliable... Got a Colt 1851 Navy and it's far less of a hassle, I can only imagine the 1860 has further quality of life improvements.

Haha, can feel your glee when you finally vanquished that spinner at the end !

Karl Thanks again for your honesty and knowledge diffidently not a beginner gun.

Enjoyed this!

Best conceal carry revolver

These videos are the best.

Beautiful spin at the end. Worth it :)

Hello, I am French and a shooter for almost thirty years now, I thank you for your video and I agree with you in every way. No stuffing, no grease like back then. I started with a Colt Dragoon and quickly moved on to the Walker which remains my favorite weapon due to its power and precision. Weight isn't really a problem if you build enough muscle and get into the habit of shooting regularly. I had a bit of an argument with a very dogmatic French RU-vidr who absolutely wanted to use stuffing and grease to, according to him, "avoid chain starts" which has never happened to me in thirty years of use. So thank you for confirming what I intuitively thought.

This might sound stupid... ...but to protect the de-blued cylinder from rust, it could be sprayed with automotive "caliper paint", which is a very thin and high-temp lacquer intended for keeping brake rotors shiny. We use it at college to protect weld samples from rusting, it's very hard to tell that there is any sort coating on there at all.

That pistol really looks like a hand cannon! The size of that gun barrel makes me think of Clint Eastwood's cop character, "Dirty Harry" and his phrase, "Do you feel lucky punk!"

Very well done on that last spinner! Really goes to show that the hard thing about the spinner is how consistent you have to be.

That was cool, subscribed

I got my Replica Arms Walker in 1970 or 1971. Stupidly I have overcharged it a few times so it not only blew the cap off the nipple the force blew the hammer back ready for the next shot. Less powder of subsequent shots but the gun held together.

It appears the Walker was to revolvers what the Bowie was to knives -- BIG and deadly (ETA: but at times, a bit impractical). Thanks for this informative tutorial. Most informative and entertaining.

Brilliant video, thanks!

Absolutely amazing! I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of the Walker. Thanks for sharing that video with us.

Thanks for the chronograph readings. Always heard these where powerful, but DAMN, thats about twice the energy on target as the 1860 Army right?

It's the first percussion revolver I bought and I love it lol, mainly got it because of Blood Meridian though.

Fifty years ago I had a Navy Arms 36 and the damn thing was notorious for firing all of the cylinders at once. Scary as hell. I sold it before someone told me about greasing the cylinders. Never once missed it.

So much information and so very well-explained impressive presentation and narration.

A hollow loading rod would be much lighter and probably a lot less likely to be jerked around by recoil. I think it should also be possible to make a longitudinal lightening groove in the rod with an angle grinder. Of course, a spring loaded locking lug in the front would be even better.

I have a replica 1858 Remington. Got that because of the top strap. Friend of mine got a replica Walker. We got out and shot them together. Was a lot of fun. This was back in the 1990's. I saved that site. I will check it out when I have the money for anything. The most interesting thing about my replica Remington is the instructions said to wash it with hot water and soap and then bake it in the oven to dry it out.

Excellent piece 👍👍👍

Great video.

Great video. I am lucky enough to have held an original Walker. I still haven’t bought a repro yet. I’ll remedy that one of these days. I’ve really been enjoying .36 caliber guns lately. Colt and spiller and burr. Haven’t found anything to beat my ruger old armies though. They really feel like I’m cheating but damn, they shoot well.

If you believe movies, the Walker does pretty good in whacking surly bartenders too.

I watch hundreds of gun videos per year. This was probably the most interesting, entertaining, and educational one I've seen this year.

Another excellent video.

You should recreate the scene from the good the bad and the ugly where Tuco shoots his Colt from under the soap suds. See if it’d work?

With all due respect…this was the most powerful handgun until 1899. That is when the Mars pistol and the .45 Mars Long was developed. This semi-auto pistol fired a 220 grain bullet at 1200 fps, generating 700 ft. lbs. of muzzle energy. This was an astounding level of handgun power for it's time, considering that smokeless powder was still in it's infancy. It was very risky to load the Walker with a full charge of black powder, as many cylinders burst from the pressure. They were made of wrought iron, and not a very good grade at that.

Nice shootin' Tex.

Facts I want to know. And to the point. Great video.

big

Karl I mainly use the grease for keeping the fouling soft and making the cleaning experience much easier. The trade off is you got your hands messier for sure though lol. Old Ranger was experimenting with one he could disperse using a oral syringe I know. I've been just using mink oil for bullet lube and sealing the chambers. Are you just not a fan of it when shooting these revolvers recreational?

Awesome video.

Holy cow! I'm amazed at how consistent those velocities are!

Black powder firearms are no joke, yes they are more complicated to load and keep clean, but if you treat them with respect and train with it you can get excellent results with it.