Colt Walker Kit

BlackPowderBen · November 2, 2015, 09:46 PM

I was wondering if anyone has made the Uberti Walker Kit, It's $325 at Dixie Gun Works. Hovey Smith has a series of videos on it. What do you think?

45 Dragoon · November 3, 2015, 02:33 AM

I put together one from ASM about 30 yrs ago. If you take your time, they can be really nice. But, for 50 bucks, I'd rather have the factory finish (just my opinion, there are some very talented folks that can do amazing things!). There's plenty to "fix" with them in finished form!

The Super Walker that you mentioned is a pretty cool revolver!! It is an excellent hunting machine!! That is what Hovey was after with the build. The red dot sight system is awesome (first one I've seen in person). That's one way to "fix" the sights on these open tops!!! The finish is so hard, it feels like a Teflon coating! It is without a doubt the most modern Walker on the planet!!! Of course, after all was done and set up to Hovey's specs, the same "problems" that all open tops have were still there so, he sent the Super Walker to me. It no longer is the cap sucking, cap jamming hard to handle revolver they are. It's as sweet as a lady with a precise action with 3# trigger pull and a 3 1/2 # hammer draw. As far as I know, it's probably in the woods now dispatching deer!! The load is trip 7 with heavy Kaido bullets. He did tell me he wouldn't be fanning it lol!

Mike
www.goonsgunworks.com

Doc Hoy · November 3, 2015, 02:45 AM

I worked exclusively with kits as a way of saving money.

Every revolver, rifle or single shot pistol I owned started life as a kit with the exception of a Colt Ballister in .44.

I came to realize that there is an alternate and more appropriate rationale for building kits and that was that doing a pistol from a kit permitted the shooter to come up with a piece that was better looking than what was available in ready to shoot versions.

Two things have changed since then.

1. The care taken by manufacturers has increased, producing a better looking pistol at roughly equivalent cost.
2. Uberti wasn't doing kits then.

So at that time, I was able with my level of skill to put together a firearm that compared favorably to those non-kits that were available. Now I can't.

I think that if your goal is to wind up with a Walker that is more appealing than you could buy already finished, the kit is the best place to start. If you just want to save money in exchange for your time, you would be working awfully cheap.

45 Dragoon · November 3, 2015, 02:53 AM

Well said Doc, my experience exactly!

Mike
www.goonsgunworks.com

Hawg · November 3, 2015, 12:41 PM

You can get a new Uberti Walker from S&S for 379.00. I think you'd be spitting in the wind building one to save 55 bucks. http://www.ssfirearms.com/products.a...&filter=walker

BlackPowderBen · November 3, 2015, 12:46 PM

Good point. Midway has them on sale and williams sports online has them the cheapest of all, $365.
I remember a few months ago Midway had the dragoons on sale for $300. I wonder if their walker ever goes down that much

Hawg · November 3, 2015, 03:38 PM

I wouldn't count on it. I doubt you'll see Dragoons that cheap again.

Doc Hoy · November 3, 2015, 04:19 PM

Midway, Gander mountain, Bass pro, Cabelas can afford to put stuff on sale for prices you really can't touch elsewhere except in rare cases.

In the beginning I was ordering pistols from Shotgun News. That is when Shotgun News was a newsprint paper.

I was stationed first in Hawaii and then Guam and it was literally the only way to get stuff. People smuggled BP in from the mainland.

E.M.F. pistols in kit form were going from about 45.00 to 55.00.

I gave 55.00 for that Ballister and it was a piece of meat. When I got it the barrel was bent. (Yes....Bent.... take the barrel off of the pistol and lay it on a table and you could see light under the barrel. Turn it over and it was like a rocking chair.) I straightened the barrel with a jig I made so that it would shoot POA fairly well. It had a grip block made from the most hideous blond wood they could find. That was one I was not sorry to see go.

Magnum Wheel Man · November 4, 2015, 04:51 PM

but for different reasons... mine was for a custom cartridge conversion, & I wanted the non hardened frame ( so I could more deeply case harden it )... brass needed lots of polishing ( casting marks )... seems a lot of finish work, for not much difference in price...

November 2, 2015, 09:46 PM	#1
BlackPowderBen Senior Member Join Date: March 2, 2015 Posts: 380	Colt Walker Kit I was wondering if anyone has made the Uberti Walker Kit, It's $325 at Dixie Gun Works. Hovey Smith has a series of videos on it. What do you think? __________________ "If you have to shoot, shoot! Dont talk"

November 3, 2015, 02:33 AM	#2
45 Dragoon Senior Member Join Date: June 14, 2013 Posts: 656	I put together one from ASM about 30 yrs ago. If you take your time, they can be really nice. But, for 50 bucks, I'd rather have the factory finish (just my opinion, there are some very talented folks that can do amazing things!). There's plenty to "fix" with them in finished form! The Super Walker that you mentioned is a pretty cool revolver!! It is an excellent hunting machine!! That is what Hovey was after with the build. The red dot sight system is awesome (first one I've seen in person). That's one way to "fix" the sights on these open tops!!! The finish is so hard, it feels like a Teflon coating! It is without a doubt the most modern Walker on the planet!!! Of course, after all was done and set up to Hovey's specs, the same "problems" that all open tops have were still there so, he sent the Super Walker to me. It no longer is the cap sucking, cap jamming hard to handle revolver they are. It's as sweet as a lady with a precise action with 3# trigger pull and a 3 1/2 # hammer draw. As far as I know, it's probably in the woods now dispatching deer!! The load is trip 7 with heavy Kaido bullets. He did tell me he wouldn't be fanning it lol! Mike www.goonsgunworks.com Last edited by 45 Dragoon; November 3, 2015 at 02:49 AM.

November 3, 2015, 02:45 AM	#3
Doc Hoy Senior Member Join Date: October 24, 2008 Location: Naples, Fl Posts: 5,440	When I first started out in BP revolvers, in about 1975 or 6.... I worked exclusively with kits as a way of saving money. Every revolver, rifle or single shot pistol I owned started life as a kit with the exception of a Colt Ballister in .44. I came to realize that there is an alternate and more appropriate rationale for building kits and that was that doing a pistol from a kit permitted the shooter to come up with a piece that was better looking than what was available in ready to shoot versions. Two things have changed since then. 1. The care taken by manufacturers has increased, producing a better looking pistol at roughly equivalent cost. 2. Uberti wasn't doing kits then. So at that time, I was able with my level of skill to put together a firearm that compared favorably to those non-kits that were available. Now I can't. I think that if your goal is to wind up with a Walker that is more appealing than you could buy already finished, the kit is the best place to start. If you just want to save money in exchange for your time, you would be working awfully cheap. __________________ Seek truth. Relax. Take a breath.

November 3, 2015, 12:46 PM	#6
BlackPowderBen Senior Member Join Date: March 2, 2015 Posts: 380	Good point. Midway has them on sale and williams sports online has them the cheapest of all, $365. I remember a few months ago Midway had the dragoons on sale for $300. I wonder if their walker ever goes down that much __________________ "If you have to shoot, shoot! Dont talk"

November 3, 2015, 04:19 PM	#8
Doc Hoy Senior Member Join Date: October 24, 2008 Location: Naples, Fl Posts: 5,440	The big guys.... Midway, Gander mountain, Bass pro, Cabelas can afford to put stuff on sale for prices you really can't touch elsewhere except in rare cases. In the beginning I was ordering pistols from Shotgun News. That is when Shotgun News was a newsprint paper. I was stationed first in Hawaii and then Guam and it was literally the only way to get stuff. People smuggled BP in from the mainland. E.M.F. pistols in kit form were going from about 45.00 to 55.00. I gave 55.00 for that Ballister and it was a piece of meat. When I got it the barrel was bent. (Yes....Bent.... take the barrel off of the pistol and lay it on a table and you could see light under the barrel. Turn it over and it was like a rocking chair.) I straightened the barrel with a jig I made so that it would shoot POA fairly well. It had a grip block made from the most hideous blond wood they could find. That was one I was not sorry to see go. __________________ Seek truth. Relax. Take a breath.

November 3, 2015, 02:53 AM	#4
45 Dragoon Senior Member Join Date: June 14, 2013 Posts: 656	Well said Doc, my experience exactly! Mike www.goonsgunworks.com

November 3, 2015, 12:41 PM	#5
Hawg Senior Member Join Date: September 8, 2007 Location: Mississippi Posts: 16,188	You can get a new Uberti Walker from S&S for 379.00. I think you'd be spitting in the wind building one to save 55 bucks. http://www.ssfirearms.com/products.a...&filter=walker

November 3, 2015, 03:38 PM	#7
Hawg Senior Member Join Date: September 8, 2007 Location: Mississippi Posts: 16,188	I wouldn't count on it. I doubt you'll see Dragoons that cheap again.

November 4, 2015, 04:51 PM	#9
Magnum Wheel Man Senior Member Join Date: July 26, 2006 Location: Southern Minnesota Posts: 9,333	I recently bought one... but for different reasons... mine was for a custom cartridge conversion, & I wanted the non hardened frame ( so I could more deeply case harden it )... brass needed lots of polishing ( casting marks )... seems a lot of finish work, for not much difference in price... __________________ In life you either make dust or eat dust...