The .44 Caliber Old Model Navy Revolver
The Revolver Said to Have Never Existed!
Historically, Colt did not mass-produce the 1851 Navy revolver in .44 caliber. The original Colt 1851 Navy revolver was exclusively manufactured in .36 caliber, designed as a lighter and more portable alternative to the larger .44 caliber Dragoon revolvers. The smaller caliber made it suitable for belt holsters, unlike the heavier Dragoon models that required saddle holsters.
However, there is evidence suggesting the existence of experimental or transitional prototypes of the 1851 Navy revolver chambered in .44 caliber. These prototypes were likely created during Colt's experimentation with rebated frames and enlarged cylinders, leading to the development of the New Model Army (1860 Army) revolver. One such prototype, described as a .44 caliber "Old Model Navy" with a rebated frame and fluted cylinder, was reportedly part of the Colt factory collection and later found in private collections like the Phillips collection at the Woolaroc Museum.
These experimental revolvers were not part of standard production and are considered extremely rare and unique examples. They reflect Colt's efforts to adapt the Navy frame to accommodate a larger caliber before fully transitioning to the 1860 Army design.
Today, replicas of the 1851 Navy revolver are often produced in .44 caliber for modern shooters, and these are historically accurate representations of the .44 caliber Old Model Nay prototypes.
We do not know who at Colt came up with the idea of rebating the OMN (Old Model 1851 Navy) frame and increasing the forward portion of the cylinder or when the innovation was made, but it was apparently in mid to late 1859. The Colt factory collection once held at least one revolver that best reflected the transition from the OMN to the NMA (New Model 1860 Army). This revolver is believed to be one listed in an inventory of the Colt Museum collection as either ''1 Navy pistol fluted cylinder enlarged bore 'with lever & link for ramrod'' or ''1 old model Navy with fluted cylinder, round barrel, enlarged bore." There is also one other possibility for the two listings and that would be the NMA (New Model Army) with the OMN serial numbered frame. None the less, both are chambered in .44 caliber.
One existing revolver that fits both of these brief descriptions is now in the Phillips collection at the Woolaroc Museum. This pistol is unmarked and unnumbered. It is essentially a .44 caliber OMN with a rebated, fluted cylinder and a rounded OMN barrel that has metal added to the lug to project it further toward the muzzle, as seen above. This added metal encloses a little more of the rammer than does the lug on the .36 caliber OMN. This may have been done to provide more support to the enlarged rammer and allow a larger loading cut for the .44 caliber bullet. The cylinder is somewhat longer than on the OMN, and tl1e barrel's forcing cone (the breech end of the barrel), was shortened enough to at least partially accommodate the longer cylinder. The arbor was also made a little longer than on the OMN.
The total number of these revolvers is believed to be extremely limited, likely numbering in the single digits. But they did exist even though not in production. So one really cannot say "Colt never made an 1851 Navy in .44 caliber, even though they were prototypes.
References:
Pate, Charles W., The Colt Model 1860 Army Revolver. Andrew Mowbray Inc., 2017, 2021, PP. 65-68
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