Target Sports

BLACK POWDER: A COLT CLASSIC

Created on 29th May 2009

DEREK LANDERS looks at the latest recreation from Uberti

IN THE February 2006 issue of Target Sports, we looked at the Uberti recreation of the Colt Paterson revolver without an attached loading lever or rammer. While the pistol was a revelation in the 1830s era of arms production, it is less satisfactory for today's target shooters as it uses a separate tool to load the cylinder. The principle drawback is the need to remove the barrel in order to accomplish the loading sequence. While loading levers are rare on original Colt Paterson pistols, such models were produced. Praise must go to Uberti for producing another variation on this complex revolver, to cater for lovers of both models.

With a short production life (1838-1840) and a total quantity of around 1,000 units, it seems unusual that there should be more than one type of Paterson Holster pistol. There are those with and without attached loading levers but the levers themselves come in two variations; there were also two types of cylinder design, along with blue or case-hardened frames. Most of the pistols produced without the loading lever had a cylinder with square shoulders at the rear and a blue frame. Later pistols, including all of those with the attached lever, had rounded shoulders in the area between the nipple cut-outs and were accompanied by case-hardened frames. Originally, only those revolvers fitted with loading levers had a capping cut-out on the right side of the frame, whereas all of the Uberti recreations have this facility. All of the Holster pistols shared the same three-piece frame and internal lock work. The standard barrel lengths were 7½" and 9" with 11-groove rifling. The customary grips were varnished walnut, comprising two panels glued to a central spacer; rare options had ivory or mother-of-pearl grips.

There is little doubt that Uberti can, and does, produce some fine weapons. It also makes guns that are pleasing to the eye; the Uberti charcoal-blue finish is combined with some beautiful case colours and the result is impressive. While I prefer the cleaner lines of the Paterson without the loading lever, the colour combination on the test revolver makes for a really handsome piece. The case-hardened finish is applied to the loading lever, back strap, trigger, hammer and the top plate of the frame. The rest of the metalwork, including the screws, is charcoal blue. The standard black finish, which is probably a little more hardwearing, is available on all Uberti pistols. The cylinder is rolled with a traditional scene showing a stage coach hold-up, as on the originals. The one-piece walnut grip (as opposed to the original's three-piece) has the usual Uberti red/brown gloss finish. The metal-to-metal fit, however, is very good, with nice sharp edges throughout. The sight arrangement follows the normal Colt percussion-era pattern for the rear, comprising a V-notch in the top of the hammer. The front is a small ramped blade which looks like German silver. These blade foresights were carried over into the 19th Century Walker and Dragoon revolvers, but by the time the 1851 Navy arrived they had been replaced by a conical brass post. This was probably done for financial reasons, but the blades were restored with the introduction of the 1860 Army pistol.

The loading lever arrangement on this revolver is the three-piece type, with the plunger section being hinged at its centre. This is a more complex arrangement than later Colt percussion revolvers, but it works very well. The revolver has no latch and catch set-up to hold the lever in the closed position. Instead, a small piece of spring steel is screwed to the bottom of the barrel and locates into a slot on the lever itself. This method is more effective than that used on the later Colt Walker revolver, and one wonders why it was changed. The lever on the test pistol held firmly in place during shooting, whereas that on the Walker drops with every shot. This is probably due to the excessive recoil of the larger revolver.

The cylinder locking bolt and its corresponding notches in the cylinder periphery are circular, with no ‘lead-in' ramp for the notches as on later models. This requires the timing to be a little more precise and the beginnings of drag lines on the cylinder showed that the bolt was rising a tad too soon, just before it located in the notch. With the hammer on full-cock there was a barely perceptible side-to-side movement of the cylinder, but absolutely no fore and aft movement. The trigger broke at a shade under 4lb, slightly more than the earlier model we tested, with no perceptible creep.

As good as it looks

The chamber capacity in the five-shot Paterson cylinder is slightly less than a standard .36 calibre Navy revolver, so we were limited to a lighter load comprising 17gn of Henry Krank's fine black powder, a lubricated wad and a .375" lead ball. The lack of a catch at the front end of the loading lever made for a slightly more comfortable hold when ramming the ball home, particularly on the odd occasion where a little more force was required. The tip of the lever travels about 2", less than the lever on the 1861 Navy revolver at maximum compression. On test, I used Remington number 11 percussion caps behind the aforementioned load. The pistol proved ever so slightly more accurate than the model without the loading lever. The cylinder-to-barrel gap on this pistol was initially around .010" and sufficient fouling built up around the cylinder arbour after 20 shots that the arbour needed to be removed and cleaned. Tapping the wedge in a little decreased the gap to .005" and I found that I could get 30-35 shots without the strip down. Removing the cylinder on this pistol was easier than on the other Paterson, as the loading lever can be used for this purpose. After tapping out the wedge, simply place the pistol on half-cock, rotate the cylinder so that the lever will connect with a wall between the two chambers, and a little pressure on the lever will push the barrel off the frame. Although several of the percussion caps splintered on impact, none fell into the hammer channel.

Comparing this pistol to a Colt-type Navy model, the grips look smaller (the wood is half an inch shorter, top to bottom) but the drop from the top of the frame to the butt-plate is almost identical. I also measured the pull length - from the tip of the trigger horizontally to the back of the grip - and found that the Paterson is a good half-inch longer when the pistols are cocked. This makes for quite a comfortable hold, for everyone except those with the largest hands, with the pad of the forefinger falling nicely on the trigger.

The mechanics of the Paterson are a little over-engineered and not for the faint-hearted when it comes to a complete strip down. Nevertheless, if you are a Colt fan, or merely wish to own a reproduction of a pistol which was a milestone in firearms development, Uberti provides quality, value-for-money examples of the design genius of Sam Colt.

Although this model is more convenient to load than its predecessor and slightly more accurate, the model without the loading lever is more aesthetically pleasing. If I were to buy a Paterson revolver as a fun gun, I think I would opt for the latter.

I would like to thank Henry Krank for the loan of the pistol for this review.

Technical Specification

Make: Uberti
Model: Colt Paterson
Type: 5-shot revolver
Calibre: .36 BP
Barrel length: 7½"
Overall length: 12¼"
Weight: 2lbs 10oz
Trigger pull: <4lbs
Price: £286

Distributor: Henry Krank
T: 0113 2569163
W: www.henrykrank.com

BLACK POWDER: A COLT CLASSIC

Related Links

BEGINNING BLACK POWDER PART FIVE: MILES OF STYLE

JAPANESE MATCHLOCK: THE REAL THING

BEGINNING BLACK POWDER PART FOUR: KEEP IT CLEAN

BELGIAN PISTOL: THE REAL THING

BEGINNING BLACK POWDER PART THREE: LOADS OF FUN

BEGINNING BLACK POWDER PART TWO: BACK TO BASICS

BEGINNING BLACK POWDER PART ONE: MAKING A START

CLASSIC SHOOTING: THE REAL THING

BLACK POWDER: 'BUFFALO GUN' BOASTS ACCURACY

BLACK POWDER: WHERE THE BUFFALO ROAM

Get a copy of Sporting Rifle

BLACK POWDER: A COLT CLASSIC

Related Links

Newsletter