GUNS OF THE WEST

Appears in Gunslinger #1: MASSACRE TRAIL Trail by Charles C Garrett.

John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Abraham Lincoln at 10:15 PM on Friday, April 14, 1865, at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., using a .44-caliber, single-shot, percussion-cap, Henry Deringer (only one "r" in the middle) pistol from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with a two-and-a-half-inch, rifled barrel. This photo was taken by the FBI laboratory in 2004 when the pistol was authenticated.

Christian Sharps (1811-1874) was the originator of a line of sturdy, practical, and popular military and sporting rifles and handguns that were associated with several events that shaped American history in 19th century, including armed conflict in Kansas during the 1850s, the Civil War, the era of the Plains buffalo hunter, and the rise of modern long-range competition shooting during the 1870s. Many of the New Model versions were later converted for use with .50-70 and .52-70 caliber metallic cartridge ammunition in the years following the Civil War. The New Model 1869 Carbine and Rifle, available in .44-77, .50-70, and .60 calibers, were the first Sharps arms designed for use with metallic cartridges.

This unique sidearm was also known as the "Grape Shot Revolver." It was developed in New Orleans in 1856 by Jean Alexandre LeMat. There are two barrels: one conventional .42 or .36 caliber cap & ball, serving the nine-shot cylinder and featured an unusual secondary 20 gauge smooth-bore barrel capable of firing buckshot. The hammer had a hinged extension to its nose, which could be angled up or down to fire either barrel. It was a favorite among Confederate cavalry officers.

The Tranter revolver was a double-action cap & ball revolver invented around 1856 by English firearms designer William Tranter. As a reliable, functional, and proven design, Tranter revolvers soon enjoyed a great popularity among the Confederate military. The Tranter was originally produced in six calibers, with .36, .442, and .50 being the most popular, while Tranter developed an Army model (.44 caliber) and a Navy model (.36 caliber) for the American market.

The Colt Model 1862 Police Percussion Revolver was manufactured from 1861 through to circa 1873. The Police was in .36 caliber with a five shot rebated and half fluted cylinder. It had a round barrel with the creeping style loading lever in barrel lengths of 3½, 4½, 5½ and 6½ inches. A slightly smaller version of the Army in .36 caliber was adopted by the US Navy in 1861. That same year, an improved version of the Colt 1849 was introduced. It was still small and still a five-shot gun, but it packed 36 caliber killing power. The new gun was intended for the civilian market and for the New York Metropolitan Police, who wanted a bit more power than what the little 31 caliber 1849 could offer. As it turns out, what would be called the Navy and Police revolvers were the last that Sam Colt lived to see entering the market as he died in January 1862.

Features in Gunslinger #3: WHITE APACHE Trail by Charles C Garrett.

Considered one of the most accurate arms of the Mexican-American War, the Model 1841, originally a .54 bore, patched round ball muzzleloader, was by the mid-1850s, largely being rebored to .58 caliber, and converted to fire a modified Minie bullet. These updates gave the model, already considered a long-range rifle, effectiveness out to around 500 yards. Thus, the famed "Mississippi" became the U.S. government's first muzzle-loading Minie rifle.

Features in Gunslinger #3: WHITE APACHE Trail by Charles C Garrett.

The Lindner carbine was an early US cavalry carbine used during the Civil War. Unlike the many metallic cartridge firing carbines that would follow, it was a breechloader that used .58 caliber paper cartridges. An initial order for 892 of them was delivered to the Army, and Lindner went on to make some improvements to the design. By the time his improved version was ready, the paper cartridge had been rendered obsolete by metallic cartridges, and the Army was no longer interested in the guns.

Sam Colt created the 1851 Navy. There was no more famous pistol caliber in its time. In 1855, Samuel Colt's .36 caliber Model 1851 Navy was adopted by the U.S. military as its standard issue sidearm. It became the first Colt pistol to be so designated. The Model 1851 Navy began an unbroken chain of standard issue Colt sidearms for the next 130 years. Wild Bill Hickok made the .36 caliber Colt pistols immortal.

The Gallager Carbine, designed by Mahlon J. Gallager and patented in 1860, was an American Civil War era breechloading carbine. Produced by Richardson and Overman of Philadelphia (through a Federal contract) the Gallager was one of the rarer firearms used in the conflict, with fewer than 23,000 purchased at the time. The Gallager was not particularly popular. Despite being well made and rarely had issues with the mechanisms it had been fitted with, shooters were often presented with difficulties with extracting a spent cartridge.

During the Civil War, the Spencer showed itself to be very reliable under combat conditions, with a sustainable rate-of-fire in excess of 20 rounds per minute. Compared to standard muzzle-loaders, with a rate of fire of 2–3 rounds per minute, this represented a significant tactical advantage. The design of the rifle was completed by Christopher Spencer in 1860, and was for a magazine-fed, lever-operated rifle chambered for the .56-56 Spencer rimfire cartridge.

The .54 caliber Burnside carbine was designed and patented by Ambrose E. Burnside. The Burnside was the third most used carbine utilized by the Union cavalry, exceeded only by the Sharps and Spencer carbines. The most serious complaint about this carbine was the tendency of the cartridge to stick in the breech once it was fired.

The Henry rifle was the immediate forerunner of the famous Winchester rifles, made by the New Haven Arms Company. The Henry rifle was developed from the Volcanic firearms system and was built around the .44 rimfire cartridge. Both the new rifle and the cartridge were designed by B. Tyler Henry. A basic feature of the .44 rimfire cartridge was the use of a metallic casing, rather than the undependable, self-contained powder, ball, and primer of the Volcanic bullet. Loading continued to be from the muzzle end of the magazine. Although a revolutionary weapon in Civil War service, it was made in relative limited quantities.

The Savage Navy Model, a six shot .36 caliber revolver, was made from 1861 until 1862 with a total production of only 20,000 guns. This unique military revolver was one of the few handguns that was produced only for Civil War use. Its design was based on the antebellum Savage-North "figure eight" revolver. The Savage Navy had a unique way of cocking the hammer. The shooter used his middle finger to draw back the "figure 8" lever and then released it forward to cock the hammer and rotate the cylinder.