May 15, 2025 • 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, fetching $1.8 million at auction in 2018. Here to tell the story of the legendary Colt Walker revolver is Logan Metesh. Logan is the founder of High Caliber History LLC and has over 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 other 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
(01:06):
percussion revolver to legendary status. Sporting a nine inch 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
(01:28):
impressive eighty eight years from its introduction in eighteen 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
(01:52):
Walker of the Texas Rangers, began his military career 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,
(02:15):
fighting for the Republic of Texas against 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
(02:36):
and led a company during the 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
(02:57):
to the Inspector of Contract Arms, Captain William 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
(03:18):
discuss the shortcomings of the Patterson 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
(03:39):
allow your company to thus be armed, 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
(04:00):
in the world. This is the 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
(04:23):
out over the next few years. 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
(04:44):
came to be, and by the time it 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
(05:07):
a horse with a single shot as requested, 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
(05:27):
it lifestyle. Colt didn't have the capital to make 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
(05:50):
the manufacturing burden, the contract was split into two orders
of five hundred guns. Once the first order was successfully delivered,
the second would be approved. Most 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,
(06:12):
not only to save his own reputation, 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
(06:35):
gun had been completed in passed inspection. Try, 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
(06:56):
was paying as high as three and four dollars a
day to entice men to switch jobs and 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
(07:19):
missing the screwdrivers and powder flasks that were supposed to
come with them. The mechanism that held the 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,
(07:40):
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 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 sant Ana, Walker stated, if I had my revolving pistols,
(08:01):
I should feel strong hopes of capturing him or killing
him Alas Walker had no revolvers save 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 his Colt revolvers by his side,
(08:23):
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
(09:27):
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 Plinicetwood 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 other 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
(01:06):
percussion revolver to legendary status. Sporting a nine inch 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
(01:28):
impressive eighty eight years from its introduction in eighteen 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
(01:52):
Walker of the Texas Rangers, began his military career 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,
(02:15):
fighting for the Republic of Texas against 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
(02:36):
and led a company during the 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
(02:57):
to the Inspector of Contract Arms, Captain William 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
(03:18):
discuss the shortcomings of the Patterson 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
(03:39):
allow your company to thus be armed, 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
(04:00):
in the world. This is the 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
(04:23):
out over the next few years. 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
(04:44):
came to be, and by the time it 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
(05:07):
a horse with a single shot as requested, 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
(05:27):
it lifestyle. Colt didn't have the capital to make 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
(05:50):
the manufacturing burden, the contract was split into two orders
of five hundred guns. Once the first order was successfully delivered,
the second would be approved. Most 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,
(06:12):
not only to save his own reputation, 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
(06:35):
gun had been completed in passed inspection. Try, 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
(06:56):
was paying as high as three and four dollars a
day to entice men to switch jobs and 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
(07:19):
missing the screwdrivers and powder flasks that were supposed to
come with them. The mechanism that held the 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,
(07:40):
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 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 sant Ana, Walker stated, if I had my revolving pistols,
(08:01):
I should feel strong hopes of capturing him or killing
him Alas Walker had no revolvers save 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 his Colt revolvers by his side,
(08:23):
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
(09:27):
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 Plinicetwood 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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