Colt No. 1 Baby Paterson
- Category
- Revolver
- Barrel
- 63 mm
- Weight, empty
- 370 g
- Introduced
- 1837
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Colt No. 1 Baby Paterson is a single-action, five-shot .28 caliber percussion revolver and the smallest of Samuel Colt's Paterson models. Built by the Patent Arms Manufacturing Company in Paterson, New Jersey around 1837-1838, it used a revolving cylinder aligned to a single octagonal barrel and the distinctive Paterson folding trigger that dropped down only when the hammer was cocked. As originally produced it had no attached loading lever, so the shooter had to partially disassemble the revolver to recharge the cylinder. Only about 500 were made, making it one of the rarest and most sought-after early Colt handguns.
The Baby Paterson was a pocket-sized companion to the larger belt and holster Paterson models. Its diminutive .28 caliber frame and folding trigger made it an elegant concealable arm, and its tiny production run of around 500 pieces has made it a prized centerpiece for Colt collectors.
Also known as the No. 1 Pocket Model. Barrel lengths varied among the roughly 500 examples produced, commonly around 2.5 inches but ranging from about 1.75 to 4.75 inches. Because it lacked a loading lever, later owners sometimes had one added.
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
- 1837 to 1838
- Variant of
- Pocket model
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 63 mm
- Overall length
- 178 mm
- Weight, empty
- 370 g
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Revolving
- Firing mechanism
- Percussion
- Trigger
- Single action
- Capacity
- 5
- Magazine
- Revolving cylinder
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
- 20 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
No loading lever
Concealed pocket frame
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 404 revolvers | 370 g | 1.05 kg | Lighter than about 90% |
| Overall lengthAmong 415 revolvers | 178 mm | 260 mm | Shorter than about 90% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 431 revolvers | 63 mm | 127 mm | Shorter than about 90% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 434 revolvers | 5 | 6 | Holds fewer rounds than about 90% |
Answers
Questions about the Colt No. 1 Baby Paterson
How much does the Colt No. 1 Baby Paterson weigh?
The Colt No. 1 Baby Paterson weighs 370 g (13.1 oz) empty.
What caliber is the Colt No. 1 Baby Paterson?
The Colt No. 1 Baby Paterson is chambered in .28 Caliber Percussion (Cap and Ball).
How many rounds does the Colt No. 1 Baby Paterson hold?
The Colt No. 1 Baby Paterson holds 5 rounds, fed from a revolving cylinder.
How long is the Colt No. 1 Baby Paterson?
The Colt No. 1 Baby Paterson is 178 mm (7.01 in) long overall, with a 63 mm (2.48 in) barrel.
Who makes the Colt No. 1 Baby Paterson?
The Colt No. 1 Baby Paterson is made by Colt's Manufacturing Company LLC (United States). It was designed by Samuel Colt.
When was the Colt No. 1 Baby Paterson introduced?
The Colt No. 1 Baby Paterson was introduced in 1837 and discontinued in 1838.
How does the Colt No. 1 Baby Paterson operate?
The Colt No. 1 Baby Paterson 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
- Civilian
- United States
Provenance
Confidence in this record
78%
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-no-1-baby-paterson' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "colt-paterson-no-1-baby-paterson", "name": "Colt No. 1 Baby 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": 1837, "barrel_length_mm": 63, "weight_empty_g": 370, "action_type": "revolving"}