First off, I know there was no such revolver put out by Colt back in the mid 19th Century. BUT, they are all over the place as "reproductions" today. Is it basically an 1851 Navy with a 44 caliber octagon barrel and the stepped cylinder of the 1860 Army? I've never seen one other than on the computer screen, as far as I can tell. Curiosity demands I finally ask and see if anyone can tell me more about them.

The .36 is much more economical to shoot ... works just as well as the .44 for what I do with them today. If I had my way I would have 2 ... one with the factory length barrel and one with a custom 4" or 4 1/2" barrel and no rammer. And an extra cylinder. For walking around carry.

Despite the (in)historically correction stazi castigations, nothing balances and points as well as the '51 .44.....But.....there is the odd pietta grip flare on all their .51s that needs shaping on a belt sander if you find it bothers or makes you shoot wonky horizontally.....

To come up with the 1860 Army, Colt use the 1851 Navy frame and cut a step in it on the water table, then they made the front part of the cylinder slightly larger in diameter to accept a .44. So they are basically the same gun. This picture shows the step in the cylinder and the larger diameter of the cylinder out the front.

PIETTA has corrected this

I picked up a couple extra barrels from VTI Gun Parts and shortened them for easy carry. I'll try to find the picture.

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YES

NOTICE HOW COMPACT THE FIVE-SHOT 1862 IS

diameter? Don't know why all of a sudden these popped up in my mind, but I've never had the chance to compare them side by side. I really like the look of the 1851 and there's a lot to be said for the 36 Colt. It was enough gun for William Hickok to take out Davis Tutt at 75 yards. Both my cap and ball sixguns are in 44 though. That doesn't keep me from eyeing what's on the market.

Not quite. But almost. They went with a round barrel as it was much cheaper to produce and then they carried this same profile over to their 1861 Navy.