Working the Colt Paterson Percussion Revolver

This was it! Colt’s original production revolver was the weapon that started revolver manufacture and the gun that would revolutionize firearms forever. Sam Colt’s revolver was first patented in England in December 1835 and then patented in America a year later in 1836. These revolvers were produced at Colt’s factory in Paterson, New Jersey’from which they acquired the now popular title of "Paterson Colts""from 1836 until 1842.

Today, we can only imagine the reaction these repeating weapons must have caused in the 1830s. Remember, at this time, the best firearm anyone could buy held a single shot (or two shots, at best, in a doublebarreled gun). These very first Colts were manufactured in several sizes and variations, although the total numbers of all types manufactured were limited to just a few thousand. Colt assigned the revolvers numerical model names from the No. 1 through the No. 5 to designate their size.

They ranged from the smallest (No. 1), a tiny pocket Right top: This is a shootable, modern replica of the Colt No. 5 or Texas Paterson’one of the earliest of all revolvers’produced in Italy by Pietta. Right bottom: Without caps, no percussion revolver can be fired, so before disassembly, always look at the nipples to be sure there are no percussion caps on them.

Author photos. pistol of .28 caliber, up to what has become known as the Texas Paterson or No. 5, which was the largest frame size and made in .36 caliber. Regardless of the size or caliber, Paterson revolvers were all percussion ignition and were equipped with fiveshot cylinders. Some Paterson revolvers had attached loading levers and some were made without levers. Original Pattersons often turn up as cased sets, sometimes equipped with extra cylinders or even an accessory barrel of a different length.

As you might guess, because of the limited numbers that were manufactured and all the time that’s passed’ not to mention their unique and sig-

nificant place in history’original Colt Paterson revolvers are quite rare. As such, they are highly prized by collectors, making them valuable in the extreme. As a consequence of this high value and extreme rarity, the only Paterson revolvers most of us will ever see are replicas. Fortunately, however, there are enough good replicas on the market today to satisfy the whims of the modern-day shooter who yearns to see what it must have been like to actually fire a Paterson.

The revolver pictured here is a modern-day replica of the .36-caliber No. 5, or Texas Paterson. It was manufactured in Italy by Pietta. This particular revolver has the long, 9-inch barrel and was made without a loading lever. Disassembly procedures for the Paterson replicas are virtually identical to that of the original Colt revolvers.

Takedown Instructions Since any Patterson you encounter is likely to be a replica, to avoid confusion in the text that follows, I’ll use the parts nomenclature used by Uberti, another Italian maker of Paterson replicas. 1. Before beginning any disassembly, be absolutely sure this revolver you are about to handle is not loaded. Hold the revolver firmly by its grip, keep your fingers away from the trigger (#10), and point the muzzle in a safe direction. Pull back on the hammer (#2) until you hear one audible click.

This takes the revolver to the loading position.

Now check to be sure that the cylinder (#5) is unloaded by carefully examining the rear of the cylinder at each chamber to ensure there are no percussion caps on any of the nipples (#14) and then, looking at the front of the cylinder, make sure that there are no charges in the cylinder’s chambers. (A good indication that a chamber is loaded would be bullets or balls showing at the front end of the chamber, or if the front of the chamber is covered with grease or a wad.

If there are percussion caps on the nipples, you should consider this a loaded firearm and should not attempt further disassembly. A loaded revolver can be emptied by taking the gun to a range where it can be safely fired until it is empty. As an alternative, the cylinder can be carefully removed without firing the revolver. To render the revolver safe for further operations, remove the cylinder by following the instructions in the next step below. 2.

The barrel (#3) can be separated from the frame (#1) by first pushing or driving the wedge (#4) out as far as it will move towards the left side of the barrel.

Often, the wedge will be so tight that it won’t move by hand pressure, so you may have to use a small nylon drift punch struck by a small hammer to break the wedge free. (I like to use a nylon punch for this because it lessens the chance of damaging either the wedge or the surrounding metal.) The hammer (#2) should remain in the loading position so that the cylinder will rotate freely.

If the revolver is equipped with a loading lever (not illustrated), rotate the cylinder so that the rammer pin contacts the cylinder between two chambers, then operate the rammer so that the barrel loosens and moves forward from the frame slightly.

On revolvers without ramrods, once the wedge has been removed, hold the gun by the barrel, muzzle up over a well-padded bench top. (I like to place an old bed pillow on the bench for this.) Use a plastic mallet to strike the front face of the cylinder a few short, sharp blows to cause the frame and cylinder to fall back down onto the padded bench. The barrel can now be removed from the frame by pulling it straight forward.

The cylinder assembly is now free to be removed from the frame by pulling straight forward and off the base pin (#21). Colt called this part an "arbor." 3. Disassembling the barrel and cylinder is the next step. The wedge is removed from the barrel by first un-

screwing and removing the wedge screw (#33) from the left side of the barrel, then pulling out the wedge. If your gun is so equipped, the loading lever is removed from the barrel by unscrewing and removing the loading-lever screw. The only disassembly possible on the cylinder is the removal of the percussion nipples (#14). This step is accomplished by using a special tool called a "nipple wrench." Percussion nipples are screwed in and have righthand threads, meaning they unscrew in a counter-clockwise direction.

On original Colt and other vintage percussion revolvers, the nipples are probably hand fitted to each specific chamber, so care should be taken that these nipples are reinstalled in the exact chamber they came from. 4. To remove the grip, grip strap, and the mainspring, start by pulling the hammer all the way to the rear and In this photo, the handspring is still within the frame, but the screw that holds it (far left) has been removed.

The leaf-type spring shown above the frame is the handspring, which fits in from the rear (left). holding it with your thumb. Maintain control of the hammer and then pull the trigger (#10), allowing the hammer to ease all the way forward by slowing its motion with your thumb. Unscrew and remove the two backstrap screws (#32) from the top-rear of the backstrap (#8.) Next remove the single connect screw (#455) from the butt (bottom) of the backstrap.

The backstrap and the one-piece grip (#11) can now be removed by pulling them down, then to the rear as a unit. Once the backstrap and grip are off

Colt Patterson Percussion Revolver (Specifications subject to change without notice) (Uberti Nomenclature) 1 Frame 2 Hammer 3 Barrel 4 Wedge 5 Cylinder the frame, the grip itself is pulled down slightly at the top to separate it from the backstrap, then straight forward off the backstrap. The main- 7 Hand 8 Backstrap 10 Trigger 11 Grip 12 Bolt 14 Nipple 15 Front Sight 18 Hand Spring spring (#20) should be detached from the stirrup (#115) before it can be removed from its seat on the frame.

Removal is accomplished by pressing 20 Mainspring 21 Base Pin 28 Cylinder Pin Lock Pin 32 Backstrap Screw 33 Wedge Screw 37 Hammer Screw 38 Trigger Screw 40 Bolt Screw 112 Stirrup Plug (pin) 115 Stirrup 125 Hand & Sear Spring Screw 174 Sear 175 Sear Spring 214 Frame Plate Screw 455 Connect Screw 492 Breech Assembly 612 Frame Plate 613 Toothed Rack (ratchet) 614 Toothed Rack Link 615 Toothed Rack Link Pin 616 Toothed Rack Latch 618 Sear Lever 620 Sear Pin 621 Sear Screw 622 Breech Screw 623 Trigger Spring down on the upper portion of the mainspring using both thumbs. (Often the springs can be so stiff that a small machinist’s clamp is needed to

compress the spring. Pad the frame with a leather strip to prevent marring it.) Once you have the mainspring compressed enough, the stirrup is pivoted forward and the spring is released. Now the spring will slide down far enough so it can be unhooked from the mainspring seat and removed. 5. Before disassembling the action, carefully note the position of all the associated parts for later reassembly. Unscrew and remove the two breech screws (#622).

One breech screw runs straight up from the bottom of the frame, located just behind and to the left of the trigger. The other breech screw runs up at an angle. This one is accessed inside the right-hand grip circle, at the lower-rear portion of the frame. The breech assembly (#492) with the base pin attached is now free to be removed by pulling it straight up and off the frame. Further disassembly of the breech is not recommended unless you area skilled gunsmith with experience with Patterson-type revolvers.

Next, loosen the hand and searspring screw (#125). You’ll find this screw located just behind and below the hammer, facing up. Unscrew and remove the hammer screw (#37), and then lift the hammer straight up and out the top of the frame. Be aware that the hand (#7) will come with it. The handspring (#18) will now slide to Binder Ad (p/u from page 18, AGM-April 08) They are shown here laid out as they were disassembled from the frame. the side, and can be lifted up and out of the frame opening. 6.

As in the previous step, before disassembling the bolt and the trigger, pay careful attention to the relationship of the parts. (A drawing or, better yet, a digital photo will aid in later reassembly.) Unscrew and remove the two frame-plate screws (#214) from the bottom-front area of the frame while, at the same time, maintaining a downward pressure on the frame plate (#612.) After the screws are out, turn the frame right-side up.

The frame plate can now be lifted straight up and off the frame, which will expose the bolt and trigger mechanisms. The trigger spring (#623) is now loose, so it can be lifted up and out of its seat with the frame (paying attention to its position for later reassembly). Now loosen the bolt screw (#40). This will be the tiny screw nearest the top of the frame. The bolt (#12) can then be lifted straight up out of the frame opening.

The rear and lower of the two tiny screws in the right side of the frame is called the sear screw (#621). Once this screw is loosened by several turns, the sear/trigger-bar assembly (#618 & #174) can be lifted up and out the top of the frame. Now unscrew and remove the trigger screw (#38), which is the forward-most screw located in the right side of the frame. Once out, the trigger (#10) can be lifted up and removed from the frame. Finally, unscrew and remove the hand and searspring screw.

You will then be able to lift the hand and sear spring (#19) up and out of the frame. You shouldn’t run into any serious snags with reassembling the revolver, assuming you’ve made sketches or taken photos of the relationship of the parts noted above. Generally, all you have to do is reverse the order of disassembly. I