Original Item: Only One Available. The Walch Revolver was a .36 caliber cap and ball black powder revolving action handgun, designed by Walch Firearms & Co, a company started to market this design. Production was done under contract by the Union Knife Company in Naugatuck, Conn., as John Walch did not own production facilities. He had received a patent in 1859 for this unique design, which utilized the rarely seen "superimposed charge" design, which allowed two cap and ball charges per chambers. These were available in both a five and six chamber models, and the six chamber revolver featured two hammers and two triggers, which definitely made it quite a bit more complicated in terms of loading and firing than a "regular" revolver. Only 200 Walch revolvers were produced between 1859 and 1862, making them exceedingly rare!

Like the later Lindsay "Two-Shot" Superimposed charge rifle, this design proved that a better design often isn't, particularly when dealing with this style of increasing the firing capacity of black powder firearms. Aside from the difficulties in correctly loading the revolver, there were also significant issues with using the revolver, which led to a large lack of interest by military and others. As with other percussion revolvers of the period, the Navy designation as only due to the .36cal chambering, favored by the U.S. Navy in their martial revolvers, and not due to any contracts.

In design, the revolver was fairly similar to the Colt design, except that everything was doubled: two triggers, two hammers, and two cap nipple cones per chamber. The cone for the front charge is offset to the right and closer to the outside of the cylinder, as it sends its ignition charge down a tube on the outside of the, which then discharges the flash into the front of of the cartridge, igniting the front charge. The rear charge cone is directly in line with the chamber, and sends the flash to the rear of the chamber, as is correctly. To make the system work correctly, the 6-chambered cylinder of the Walch had to be loaded with a "stacked" load, but in such a way that the front charge could not ignite the rear charge. This was accomplished by using specialized type of ball ammunition, which had grease / soap on the interior, so when it was rammed down the cylinder, it would seal the bore below the front charge, which then could be installed more easily.

Firing the weapon involved pulling back both hammers, which advanced the cylinder into the battery position. The triggers are set up so that the right trigger, which fires the front charge, is in front of the left trigger, which fires the rear charge. Pulling back on the triggers will discharge the front charge before the rear trigger is even touched, which to Walch's mind "confirmed" that it was a safe system, however it is unfortunately anything but. If the shooter was not paying attention and pulled the wrong sequence of triggers, the rear charge would discharge first, most likely with catastrophic results, both for the revolver and the hand that held it. This situation was also easily possible should the front charge misfire, not a rare occurrence, making any Walch loaded as intended into a VERY dangerous weapon to use. It's relatively easy to see how these ended up being not very well received, and subsequently very rare on the collectors market. We can also assume more than a few were destroyed due to failures of the system.

Here we have a lovely patinated example of a Walch 12 Shot "Navy" revolver, which looks to have been exposed to the elements for a time, or possibly kept in a holster. The cylinder shows overall oxidation on the exterior, with some past peppering and pitting evident, while the frame shows less oxidation, and the barrel shows the least of all. The grips are in great shape, though they definitely look to be period replacements. We checked all over the revolver, and were not able to see any maker markings, however this is normal, as it looks like some of the very early examples did not have a barrel address marking, per Flayderman’s Guide to Antique American Arms. The barrel is about 5 7/8" long, just a bit under the 6" it should be, but this is also a variation that is known.

The serial numbers on these revolvers were usually marked on the bottom of the grip, and we can see a 20 or 2O marking on the bottom of the grip amidst the acanthus leaf engraving. It almost looks like they used two half circle stamps to make the zero. We checked on the frame under the replacement grips, and we did not see any markings on the grip frame, however we did note another 20 marking on the right side of the right hammer, as well as a 20 marking on the front of the cylinder, so we believe that this the serial number, and that the stamp they had at the time was a very round zero. That makes this a very early example, provided that is the serial number, and not an assembly number.

It does function relatively well, with accurate indexing, though the cylinder lock is either very weak, or possibly it doesn't have one. The hammers line up relatively well with the cap nipple cones, and they fire in the correct sequence when pulled. We checked the bore, and it is in very good condition, showing a partly bright finish with crisp lands and grooves. There is a bit of overall oxidation, but this looks to mainly be from lack of cleaning and moisture exposure, not from actual use.

A very nice example of an exceedingly rare Walch 12 Shot Navy Percussion Revolver, the only example that we have ever had! Definitely a great collector's opportunity! Ready to research and display!

Specifications:

Years of Manufacture: 1859-1862
Caliber: .36cal
Ammunition Type: Cap and Ball - Superimposed Charges
Barrel Length: 6 inches
Overall Length: 12 inches
Action: Single Action
Feed System: 12 Shot Revolver

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Pre-1899 Manufacture, no licenses required, allowed to ship to almost any deliverable address across the globe. Please note that for international shipping, these MUST be shipped using UPS WW Services. International customers should always consult their country's antique gun laws prior to ordering.