July 24, 2024 • 10 mins
On this episode of Our American Stories, for a time, a near-mint Colt Walker held the distinction of being the most expensive gun ever sold after it was auctioned for $1.8 million in 2018. Here to tell the story of the legendary Colt Walker revolver is Logan Metesh. Logan founded and runs High Caliber History LLC and has more than a decade of experience working for the Smithsonian Institution and the National Park Service.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:10):
And we continue with our American stories. For a time,
a near mint cult Walker held the distinction of being
the most expensive gun ever sold, after it was auctioned
for one point eight million dollars in twenty eighteen. Here
to tell the story of the legendary cult Walker Revolver
(00:31):
is Logan Metish Logan founded and runs High Caliber History, LLC,
and has more than a decade of experience working for
the Smithsonian Institution and the National Park Service. Let's take
a listen.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Two of the most iconic words in the world of
gun collecting are cult walker. Only one thousand of the
Revolvers were ever made for the US military, and only
one hundred more were made for civilians. Of those, only
about ten percent survived. That scarcity has propelled this black
powder percussion revolver to legendary status. Sporting a nine inch
(01:10):
barrel and tipping the scales at four pounds nine ounces,
this forty four caliber wheel gun was huge and designed
not to ride in hip holsters, but in saddle mounted
holsters and to be used by cavalry troops on horseback.
It was the most powerful handgun in the world for
an impressive eighty eight years from its introduction in eighteen
(01:32):
forty seven until the three fifty seven Magnum cartridge hit
the scene in nineteen thirty five. It also saved Samuel
Colt from bankruptcy after his first commercial revolver design tanked.
So What's the deal with the Gun's name? Captain Samuel
Hamilton Walker of the Texas Rangers, began his military career
(01:55):
at nineteen with a brief stint with the Washington City
Volunteers during the Creek Indian Campaign in eighteen thirty six
in Alabama. He then traveled to Florida as a scout
and finally ended up in Texas in eighteen forty one.
He was in Galveston in eighteen forty two, serving under
Captain Jesse Billingsley, fighting for the Republic of Texas against
(02:17):
the Mexican Army. He was captured by the enemy in
December eighteen forty two and marched to Mexico City as
a prisoner of war. He escaped his imprisonment and fled
to Louisiana before joining the Texas Rangers in eighteen forty
four under Captain John Coffee Hayes. He was promoted to
the rank of captain and led a company during the
(02:38):
Mexican American War. Hayes was attempting to raise a new
regiment at the time, and Walker mentioned that Colt's first
revolver model Patterson, would be a good fit for this
new group. He was one of the very few to
use the revolver in combat, and he viewed it favorably.
When Walker sent a letter to the Inspector of Contract Arms,
(02:59):
Captain Willie Thornton, asking how he could go about procuring
one thousand Patterson revolvers, he learned that Colt's gun company
had since gone out of business. Here's where Walker and
Colt's paths cross, but not in the way that you
might expect. Most accounts would have you believe that Walker
initially approached Colt to discuss the shortcomings of the Patterson
(03:20):
and how it could be improved. This is only partly true.
Walker actually didn't make the first move. Colt did, and
he was hoping that Walker could put him in touch
with Hayes, saying in a letter, if you think sufficiently
well of my arms to urge the President and Secretary
of War to allow your company to thus be armed,
(03:42):
you can get them. Of course, Colt made no mention
of the dire condition of his business at the time,
and he was undoubtedly hoping that a military contract would
save his hide. In response to Colt's letter, Walker mentioned
that with improvements, I think this gun can be rendered
the most perfect weapon in the world. This is the
(04:02):
first time we see a relationship between Colt and Walker
begin to form, and it's also the first mention of
changes to the original Patterson revolver's design. This was the
start of a long drawn out and complex relationship among
Sam Colt, Eli Whitney Junior, Sam Walker, and countless military
and government officials that played out over the next few years.
(04:26):
When all the wrangling was through and everything was in place,
Sam Colt received a contract for one thousand revolvers in
the design that would eventually be known as the Colt Walker.
Today is one of the most legendary, sought after and
expensive models in the gun collecting world. However, the gun
almost never came to be, and by the time it
(04:46):
was all said and done, Captain Sam Walker himself probably
wished that it hadn't. The improvements included what we think
of as a standard trigger and trigger guard arrangement, as
the Patterson had a trigger that was housed in the
frame and only descended when the hammer was tocked. The
single action revolver was quite powerful enough to kill a
man or a horse with a single shot as requested,
(05:09):
and more robustly built than the previous Patterson Sam Colt
was one hell of a marketing genius, which helped keep
things going for him in the early years. But most important,
and much to the chagrin of anyone who ever did
business with Colt, he lived a fake it till you
make it lifestyle. Colt didn't have the capital to make
(05:31):
the one thousand guns that the government had contracted for,
so he turned to Eli Whitney, junior of Cotton gen
Inventing Fame, for help with the financial side of things.
He also leaned heavily on Whitney for the actual manufacturing
machinery and capabilities, since he didn't have any of those either.
To ease the manufacturing burden, the contract was split into
(05:53):
two orders of five hundred guns. Once the first order
was successfully delivered, the second would be approved. Almost from
the beginning, Colt over promised and under delivered. There was
always some excuse as to why certain parts weren't finished
and why production was lagging behind. Walker desperately needed the
batch of pistols, not only to save his own reputation,
(06:14):
but because his regiment was heading back to Mexico imminently
and they needed the revolvers. Even as production faltered, Colt
was still writing to Walker asking for help to increase
the size of the contract. Walker acknowledged that he was
doing all that he could, but that it was very
hard to convince the military to increase in order when
not a single gun had been completed in passed inspection. Try,
(06:39):
if possible, to have me one pair complete, and I
will be more certain to secure the order for a
larger number. Walker pleaded with Colt. Colt replied that he
was doing his very best, that he had quote as
many as fifty men engaged to work on them, and
that he was paying as high as three and four
dollars a day to entice men to switch jobs and
(07:03):
come work for him. The actual records tell the truth,
and Colt was lying on both counts. When the guns
did come in for military inspection, they were found lacking
the cylinders on some burst under fire and failed proofing.
Others were missing the screwdrivers and powder flasks that were
supposed to come with them. The mechanism that held the
(07:24):
loading lever against the barrel was weak. It would sometimes
allow the lever to pop loose under recoil, which could
block the cylinder from revolving. Some people using these early
models tied the lever to the barrel with a piece
of raw hide or string to keep it in place.
All the while, sam Walker was left trying in vain
to get a hold of the guns that would eventually
bear his name so that his company of men could
(07:47):
be outfitted with these incredibly modern firearms. In a letter
written to his brother regarding the desire to capture Mexico's
General Antonio Lopez de Santana, Walker stated, if I had
my revolving pistols, I should feel strong hopes of capturing
him or killing him Alas Walker had no revolvers save
(08:08):
for a single pair that eventually were sent directly to him.
On October ninth, eighteen forty seven, Captain Samuel Walker was
killed in action in Mexico, presumably with.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
His Colt revolvers by his.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
Side, and so of the one thousand military Colt Walkers
made and the one hundred guns produced for the civilian market,
Captain Walker's personal pair of pistols are the only examples
that he ever saw before he was killed in battle.
Soon after, the Walker was replaced by a parade of
different Colt dragoon models, often otherwise known as the Model
(08:45):
eighteen forty eight, that endeavored to fix the predecessor's shortcomings.
It didn't take long for the eleven hundred Colt Walkers
to enter the annals of gun history. In the first
half of the twentieth century, when gun collecting as a
whole was beginning to take shape, Colt Walkers had already
established themselves as key pieces to any Western military or
(09:06):
Colt collection. By the mid twentieth century. The outlaw Josie Wales,
starring Clint Eastwood, helped keep the allure of the gun
alive for another half century, and in twenty twenty one,
Texas Governor Greg Abbott named the Colt Walker to be
the official handgun of Texas. For a time, a near
mint Colt Walker held the distinction of being the most
(09:28):
expensive gun ever sold after it was auctioned for one
point eight million dollars in twenty eighteen. Its since been
eclipsed by another Colt, a later single action army model that,
while men Pat Garrett reportedly used to kill the notorious
outlaw Billy the Kid. That gun sold for an astonishing
six point zero three million in twenty twenty one. After
(09:51):
one hundred and seventy five years. The legend and the
legacy of the Colt Walker Revolver is still larger than life,
which I think is altogether fitting for a gun named
after a Texas Ranger.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
And a terrific job on the production and the storytelling
by Greg Hangler, and a special thanks to Logan Metish.
Logan founded and runs High Caliber History, LLC. And what
a story the legendary Cult Walker Revolver, which was the
most powerful handgun in the world from eighteen forty seven
(10:26):
till nineteen thirty five. But when the outlaw Josie Wells
was made Clinicetwood did the rest of the marketing for Colt,
thus the spiraling prices and that one point eight million
dollar price tag. The story of the Cult Walker Revolver
here on our American Story
And we continue with our American stories. For a time,
a near mint cult Walker held the distinction of being
the most expensive gun ever sold, after it was auctioned
for one point eight million dollars in twenty eighteen. Here
to tell the story of the legendary cult Walker Revolver
(00:31):
is Logan Metish Logan founded and runs High Caliber History, LLC,
and has more than a decade of experience working for
the Smithsonian Institution and the National Park Service. Let's take
a listen.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Two of the most iconic words in the world of
gun collecting are cult walker. Only one thousand of the
Revolvers were ever made for the US military, and only
one hundred more were made for civilians. Of those, only
about ten percent survived. That scarcity has propelled this black
powder percussion revolver to legendary status. Sporting a nine inch
(01:10):
barrel and tipping the scales at four pounds nine ounces,
this forty four caliber wheel gun was huge and designed
not to ride in hip holsters, but in saddle mounted
holsters and to be used by cavalry troops on horseback.
It was the most powerful handgun in the world for
an impressive eighty eight years from its introduction in eighteen
(01:32):
forty seven until the three fifty seven Magnum cartridge hit
the scene in nineteen thirty five. It also saved Samuel
Colt from bankruptcy after his first commercial revolver design tanked.
So What's the deal with the Gun's name? Captain Samuel
Hamilton Walker of the Texas Rangers, began his military career
(01:55):
at nineteen with a brief stint with the Washington City
Volunteers during the Creek Indian Campaign in eighteen thirty six
in Alabama. He then traveled to Florida as a scout
and finally ended up in Texas in eighteen forty one.
He was in Galveston in eighteen forty two, serving under
Captain Jesse Billingsley, fighting for the Republic of Texas against
(02:17):
the Mexican Army. He was captured by the enemy in
December eighteen forty two and marched to Mexico City as
a prisoner of war. He escaped his imprisonment and fled
to Louisiana before joining the Texas Rangers in eighteen forty
four under Captain John Coffee Hayes. He was promoted to
the rank of captain and led a company during the
(02:38):
Mexican American War. Hayes was attempting to raise a new
regiment at the time, and Walker mentioned that Colt's first
revolver model Patterson, would be a good fit for this
new group. He was one of the very few to
use the revolver in combat, and he viewed it favorably.
When Walker sent a letter to the Inspector of Contract Arms,
(02:59):
Captain Willie Thornton, asking how he could go about procuring
one thousand Patterson revolvers, he learned that Colt's gun company
had since gone out of business. Here's where Walker and
Colt's paths cross, but not in the way that you
might expect. Most accounts would have you believe that Walker
initially approached Colt to discuss the shortcomings of the Patterson
(03:20):
and how it could be improved. This is only partly true.
Walker actually didn't make the first move. Colt did, and
he was hoping that Walker could put him in touch
with Hayes, saying in a letter, if you think sufficiently
well of my arms to urge the President and Secretary
of War to allow your company to thus be armed,
(03:42):
you can get them. Of course, Colt made no mention
of the dire condition of his business at the time,
and he was undoubtedly hoping that a military contract would
save his hide. In response to Colt's letter, Walker mentioned
that with improvements, I think this gun can be rendered
the most perfect weapon in the world. This is the
(04:02):
first time we see a relationship between Colt and Walker
begin to form, and it's also the first mention of
changes to the original Patterson revolver's design. This was the
start of a long drawn out and complex relationship among
Sam Colt, Eli Whitney Junior, Sam Walker, and countless military
and government officials that played out over the next few years.
(04:26):
When all the wrangling was through and everything was in place,
Sam Colt received a contract for one thousand revolvers in
the design that would eventually be known as the Colt Walker.
Today is one of the most legendary, sought after and
expensive models in the gun collecting world. However, the gun
almost never came to be, and by the time it
(04:46):
was all said and done, Captain Sam Walker himself probably
wished that it hadn't. The improvements included what we think
of as a standard trigger and trigger guard arrangement, as
the Patterson had a trigger that was housed in the
frame and only descended when the hammer was tocked. The
single action revolver was quite powerful enough to kill a
man or a horse with a single shot as requested,
(05:09):
and more robustly built than the previous Patterson Sam Colt
was one hell of a marketing genius, which helped keep
things going for him in the early years. But most important,
and much to the chagrin of anyone who ever did
business with Colt, he lived a fake it till you
make it lifestyle. Colt didn't have the capital to make
(05:31):
the one thousand guns that the government had contracted for,
so he turned to Eli Whitney, junior of Cotton gen
Inventing Fame, for help with the financial side of things.
He also leaned heavily on Whitney for the actual manufacturing
machinery and capabilities, since he didn't have any of those either.
To ease the manufacturing burden, the contract was split into
(05:53):
two orders of five hundred guns. Once the first order
was successfully delivered, the second would be approved. Almost from
the beginning, Colt over promised and under delivered. There was
always some excuse as to why certain parts weren't finished
and why production was lagging behind. Walker desperately needed the
batch of pistols, not only to save his own reputation,
(06:14):
but because his regiment was heading back to Mexico imminently
and they needed the revolvers. Even as production faltered, Colt
was still writing to Walker asking for help to increase
the size of the contract. Walker acknowledged that he was
doing all that he could, but that it was very
hard to convince the military to increase in order when
not a single gun had been completed in passed inspection. Try,
(06:39):
if possible, to have me one pair complete, and I
will be more certain to secure the order for a
larger number. Walker pleaded with Colt. Colt replied that he
was doing his very best, that he had quote as
many as fifty men engaged to work on them, and
that he was paying as high as three and four
dollars a day to entice men to switch jobs and
(07:03):
come work for him. The actual records tell the truth,
and Colt was lying on both counts. When the guns
did come in for military inspection, they were found lacking
the cylinders on some burst under fire and failed proofing.
Others were missing the screwdrivers and powder flasks that were
supposed to come with them. The mechanism that held the
(07:24):
loading lever against the barrel was weak. It would sometimes
allow the lever to pop loose under recoil, which could
block the cylinder from revolving. Some people using these early
models tied the lever to the barrel with a piece
of raw hide or string to keep it in place.
All the while, sam Walker was left trying in vain
to get a hold of the guns that would eventually
bear his name so that his company of men could
(07:47):
be outfitted with these incredibly modern firearms. In a letter
written to his brother regarding the desire to capture Mexico's
General Antonio Lopez de Santana, Walker stated, if I had
my revolving pistols, I should feel strong hopes of capturing
him or killing him Alas Walker had no revolvers save
(08:08):
for a single pair that eventually were sent directly to him.
On October ninth, eighteen forty seven, Captain Samuel Walker was
killed in action in Mexico, presumably with.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
His Colt revolvers by his.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
Side, and so of the one thousand military Colt Walkers
made and the one hundred guns produced for the civilian market,
Captain Walker's personal pair of pistols are the only examples
that he ever saw before he was killed in battle.
Soon after, the Walker was replaced by a parade of
different Colt dragoon models, often otherwise known as the Model
(08:45):
eighteen forty eight, that endeavored to fix the predecessor's shortcomings.
It didn't take long for the eleven hundred Colt Walkers
to enter the annals of gun history. In the first
half of the twentieth century, when gun collecting as a
whole was beginning to take shape, Colt Walkers had already
established themselves as key pieces to any Western military or
(09:06):
Colt collection. By the mid twentieth century. The outlaw Josie Wales,
starring Clint Eastwood, helped keep the allure of the gun
alive for another half century, and in twenty twenty one,
Texas Governor Greg Abbott named the Colt Walker to be
the official handgun of Texas. For a time, a near
mint Colt Walker held the distinction of being the most
(09:28):
expensive gun ever sold after it was auctioned for one
point eight million dollars in twenty eighteen. Its since been
eclipsed by another Colt, a later single action army model that,
while men Pat Garrett reportedly used to kill the notorious
outlaw Billy the Kid. That gun sold for an astonishing
six point zero three million in twenty twenty one. After
(09:51):
one hundred and seventy five years. The legend and the
legacy of the Colt Walker Revolver is still larger than life,
which I think is altogether fitting for a gun named
after a Texas Ranger.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
And a terrific job on the production and the storytelling
by Greg Hangler, and a special thanks to Logan Metish.
Logan founded and runs High Caliber History, LLC. And what
a story the legendary Cult Walker Revolver, which was the
most powerful handgun in the world from eighteen forty seven
(10:26):
till nineteen thirty five. But when the outlaw Josie Wells
was made Clinicetwood did the rest of the marketing for Colt,
thus the spiraling prices and that one point eight million
dollar price tag. The story of the Cult Walker Revolver
here on our American Story
Host
Lee Habeeb
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