Colt 1851 Navy
- Category
- Pistol
- Barrel
- 190 mm
- Weight, empty
- 1.17 kg
- Introduced
- 1850
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Colt 1851 Navy is a .36 caliber, six-shot cap-and-ball percussion revolver designed by Samuel Colt. Introduced in 1850, it features a single-action mechanism, an octagonal 7.5-inch barrel, a loading lever beneath the barrel, and a cylinder engraved with a naval battle scene. Lighter and better balanced than the larger Dragoon revolvers, it became one of the most popular sidearms of the mid-19th century, widely carried during the American Civil War and the settlement of the American West.
Famous carriers of the 1851 Navy included gunfighter Wild Bill Hickok, Doc Holliday, and Confederate General Robert E. Lee; its balanced handling made it Samuel Colt's personal favorite among his revolver designs.
The cylinder is roll-engraved with a scene depicting the 1843 naval Battle of Campeche between the Republic of Texas and Mexico, which gave the model its 'Navy' designation despite being used heavily by army and civilian users.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Colt's Manufacturing Company LLC
- Category
- Pistol
- Country
- United States
- Status
- Discontinued
- Produced
- 1850 to 1873
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 190 mm
- Overall length
- 355 mm
- Weight, empty
- 1.17 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Revolving
- Firing mechanism
- Percussion
- Trigger
- Single action
- Capacity
- 6
- Magazine
- Rotary
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Brass
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Walnut
- Finish
- Blued
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 229 m/s
- Effective range
- 69 m
- Rate of fire
- 6 rpm
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
No load solved for this record yetThe flight path is computed from a cartridge and a bullet. This record has no ammunition filed against its chambering, so there is nothing to solve.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Octagonal barrel
Loading lever
Case hardened frame
Engraved cylinder
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 1,909 pistols | 1.17 kg | 794 g | Heavier than about 80% |
| Overall lengthAmong 1,911 pistols | 355 mm | 196 mm | Longer than about 90% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 1,941 pistols | 190 mm | 102 mm | Longer than about 90% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 1,962 pistols | 6 | 8 | Holds fewer rounds than about 70% |
Answers
Questions about the Colt 1851 Navy
How much does the Colt 1851 Navy weigh?
The Colt 1851 Navy weighs 1.17 kg (2.58 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Colt 1851 Navy?
The Colt 1851 Navy is chambered in .36 Caliber Percussion (Cap and Ball).
How many rounds does the Colt 1851 Navy hold?
The Colt 1851 Navy holds 6 rounds, fed from a rotary magazine.
How long is the Colt 1851 Navy?
The Colt 1851 Navy is 355 mm (14.0 in) long overall, with a 190 mm (7.48 in) barrel.
Who makes the Colt 1851 Navy?
The Colt 1851 Navy is made by Colt's Manufacturing Company LLC (United States). It was designed by Samuel Colt.
When was the Colt 1851 Navy introduced?
The Colt 1851 Navy was introduced in 1850 and discontinued in 1873.
How does the Colt 1851 Navy operate?
The Colt 1851 Navy uses a revolving action, and its firing mechanism is percussion.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- United States Army
- United States
- United States Navy
- United States
- Confederate States Army
- United States
- Imperial Russian Army
- Russia
Provenance
Confidence in this record
85%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/colt-1851-navy' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "colt-1851-navy", "name": "Colt 1851 Navy", "manufacturer": { "id": "colt", "name": "Colt's Manufacturing Company LLC", "countryCode": "US", "foundedYear": 1855, "website": "https://www.colt.com", "logoUrl": null, "description": "American firearms manufacturer headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut. Founded in 1855 and now a subsidiary of Colt CZ Group, continuing production of iconic firearms including the 1911 pistol.", "status": "active", "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-02-11 23:44:38", "updatedAt": "2026-02-18 03:43:38", "version": "7143c7ff3f7e156063a240f2df7b4746ee1c0394d7cd5f592d05bac43233d637" }, "category": { "id": "pistol", "name": "Pistol", "description": "Handguns designed to be fired with one or two hands" }, "country_of_origin": "US", "year_introduced": 1850, "barrel_length_mm": 190, "weight_empty_g": 1170, "action_type": "revolving"}