The .44 Caliber Old Model Navy Revolver
The Revolver Said to Have Never Existed!
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.
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