BEST POCKET PIECES

Colt spared no parts when making a plethora of conversion pocket pistols

By DENNIS ADLER

FOR MORE THAN A DECADE beginning in the early 1870s, Colt Pocket Pistol cartridge conversions had become an indispensable little sidearm for a vast number of people heading westward after the Civil War. Easily carried, whether simply dropped into a coat pocket or secreted in a variety of inventive holsters ranging from suspender rigs to leather-lined trouser pockets, the smallest of the Colt pocket conversions also gained popularity as a backup pistol for lawmen. The practicality of the little .38-caliber conversions wasn’t lost on those living on the other side of the law either. They were equally commonplace among the Old West’s endless assortment of nefarious characters who found them no less deadly at close range than full-size .38-caliber 1851 Navy and 1861 Navy conversions. The shortest barrel length rimfire…

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Guns of the Old West (Digital) - 1 Issue, Winter 2024

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