Colt Paterson
- Category
- Revolver
- Barrel
- 191 mm
- Weight, empty
- 1.20 kg
- Introduced
- 1836
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Colt Paterson was the first commercially successful repeating firearm to use a revolving cylinder with multiple chambers aligned to a single barrel. Patented by Samuel Colt in 1836 and built by the Patent Arms Manufacturing Company in Paterson, New Jersey, it was a single-action, five-shot percussion revolver with a distinctive folding trigger that dropped down only when the hammer was cocked. Early guns were chambered in .28 caliber, with the larger .36 holster model following.
The Paterson's success with the Texas Rangers led Captain Samuel Walker to seek out Samuel Colt and co-design the massive Walker revolver, reviving Colt's business after the original Paterson company had already gone bankrupt.
About 2,800 revolvers of all types were produced before the company failed in 1842. The Texas Rangers' use of the .36 No. 5 'Texas' model, notably at the Battle of Walker's Creek in 1844, demonstrated the revolver's combat value and helped revive Colt's fortunes.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Colt's Manufacturing Company LLC
- Category
- Revolver
- Country
- United States
- Status
- Out of production
- Produced
- 1836 to 1842
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 191 mm
- Overall length
- 349 mm
- Weight, empty
- 1.20 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Single action
- Firing mechanism
- Single action
- Trigger
- Single stage
- Capacity
- 5
- Magazine
- Rotary
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- Blued
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Effective range
- 50 m
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.
Revolving cylinder
Folding trigger
Single action only
Percussion cap ignition
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 27 .36 Caliber Percussion (Cap and Ball) revolvers | 1.20 kg | 1.13 kg | Heavier than about 90% |
| Overall lengthAmong 27 .36 Caliber Percussion (Cap and Ball) revolvers | 349 mm | 330 mm | Longer than about 90% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 28 .36 Caliber Percussion (Cap and Ball) revolvers | 191 mm | 183 mm | Longer than about 90% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 29 .36 Caliber Percussion (Cap and Ball) revolvers | 5 | 6 | Holds fewer rounds than about 80% |
Answers
Questions about the Colt Paterson
How much does the Colt Paterson weigh?
The Colt Paterson weighs 1.20 kg (2.65 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Colt Paterson?
The Colt Paterson is chambered in .36 Caliber Percussion (Cap and Ball).
How many rounds does the Colt Paterson hold?
The Colt Paterson holds 5 rounds, fed from a rotary magazine.
How long is the Colt Paterson?
The Colt Paterson is 349 mm (13.7 in) long overall, with a 191 mm (7.52 in) barrel.
Who makes the Colt Paterson?
The Colt Paterson is made by Colt's Manufacturing Company LLC (United States). It was designed by Samuel Colt.
When was the Colt Paterson introduced?
The Colt Paterson was introduced in 1836 and discontinued in 1842.
How does the Colt Paterson operate?
The Colt Paterson uses a single action, and its firing mechanism is single action.
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
- Republic of Texas (Texas Rangers)
- 1839
- United States
- United States
Provenance
Confidence in this record
70%
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-paterson' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "colt-paterson", "name": "Colt Paterson", "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": "revolver", "name": "Revolver", "description": "Handguns with a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers" }, "country_of_origin": "US", "year_introduced": 1836, "barrel_length_mm": 191, "weight_empty_g": 1200, "action_type": "single_action"}