Colt Walker Slix-Shot nipple test

Bishop Creek · May 10, 2015, 11:27 PM

Picked up a new (to me) Walker a week ago from my Brother, who bought it at a gun show over 10 years ago. He just put it away in his safe and never shot it, and as I always have wanted one, I made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.

It is an Uberti imported by Cimarron and after great effort with a magnifying glass, found the tiny date code stamped “BL” on the underside the frame, showing that it was made in 1998. At that time Cimarron was putting fake Colt stamps on their guns and this one has “ADDRESS SAML COTL NEY-WORK CITY” on the top of the barrel and “COTLS PATENT’” (LOL!) on the side of the frame. Only other visible marks on the gun are the “US 1847” on the right side of the barrel above the wedge. It is stamped “Cimarron Uberti” in very small letters under the loading lever. I'm not quite sure, but it appears to be in charcoal blue, though it may be more of a Colt blue, as the pictures don't really show the real color. It has a few rusty spots from long-term storage in a safe. I’m sure they will buff right out.

After pounding out the wedge with a rubber hammer, I took the pistol partially apart and it appeared to be unfired, no signs of powder and not a single mark of any kind on the cylinder. The slot in the arbor for the wedge had several burrs on it so I lightly sanded those down with one of my wife’s finger nail emery boards (don’t tell her!) and the wedge is much easier to take in and out now. I didn’t want to take off too much as I know from experience with Colt type models that the wedge will eventually loosen up the more I fire it.

My brother and I took it out to shoot last weekend I and discovered that that the nipples (called cones in the 19th Century) were not uniform in size and only three of the nipples would easily take my Remington #10 caps. None of the Remington #10 caps or any other sizes and brands of caps I tried fit properly on the other nipples so I forced some number 10s on those nipples (I know, I know) and aimed at some tin cans at 25 yards with 50 grains of Goex 3fffg powder dumped in each chamber under Wonder Wads and .454 round balls. WOW! What a ground pounder! The boom and flame were quite impressive even though it shot about 5 inches high at that distance. The loading lever did not drop, though it might if I were to use 60 grains. You can see it almost starting to drop under recoil in the photo of me shooting the Walker below.

I have been shooting cap and ball revolvers since 1969 and this was the most fun shooting that I’ve had in a long time, but after the problems with the nipples I ordered a set of Slix-Shot Walker nipples as all my other cap pistols use Remington #10 caps and I have nearly 2,000 of that size cap, which is why I didn’t order Treso nipples as they use #11 caps. I read Fingers McGee’s review of the Slix-Shot nipples on older threads on this forum and based on his recommendations will give them a try. If the weather holds (we had snow and heavy rain the last few days-I live in the mountainous Great Basin Desert on the Calif-Nevada border) I will try the Slix-Shot nipples out this weekend and report back here.

Fingers McGee · May 11, 2015, 11:38 AM

Looking forward to your review Bishop. I've been using the Slix Shot cones on my 2nd Gen 1861s for a while now & they still fire first time and don't jam.

Bishop Creek · May 11, 2015, 09:35 PM

Thanks Fingers! The Slix-Shot nipples (cones) came in the mail today and they look really good. Very well made. Kind of remind me of the old, was it “Hot Shot” nipples? With the ports on the side. I will install them in the Walker cylinder tomorrow night after work.

Bishop Creek · May 16, 2015, 07:48 PM

OK, installed the Slix-Shot nipples (cones) in my Walker cylinder. Put a little Young Country Lube 103 black powder lube on the threads and they fit perfectly.

I was a bit concerned about how the stainless steel nipples would look on the cylinder, but I think they look good, and according to a post by Fingers MCGee, they will darken in time with shooting the pistol.

Though it snowed again just a couple of days ago, the weather looks good for me to take it out tomorrow morning and test the Slix-Shot nipples..

The Walker compared to my 2nd Gen F Series Colt 1862 Police. (I know, the grips are bit beat up, but I only paid $250 for it and it's a shooter.) I only wish that Slix-Shot made nipples for the 1862 as it is a real cap eater.

Smokin'Joe · May 17, 2015, 08:49 AM

Make your own Slix-Shot style nipples. I drilled a small hole in a stock nipple using a hand drill. It would have been easier if I had a drill press.

rodwhaincamo · May 17, 2015, 10:00 AM

I bought nipples for my Ruger from Track of The Wolf. The exterior is like a Ruger but the interior is like a Treso. They claim to be made for a standard (non magnum) CCI #11 cap, but I can't seem to find any. They have worked very well with Rem #10's.

Bishop Creek · May 17, 2015, 12:02 PM

I've seen those on Track's website, did not know that they fit #10 Remington caps. I have never liked CCI #11 caps as they seem to jam my Colt type revolvers easier and I have had more than a few misfires from duds.

rodwhaincamo · May 17, 2015, 12:14 PM

They fit as though they were made for them. They couldn't fit any better in fact! Well worth the cost too.

I know of another with ToTW nipples (different gun?) that uses Rem #10's as well. I assume they all do but can't say for certain. Maybe you'd want to ask if the exterior dimensions are the same across the board (revolvers) to make sure.

Bishop Creek · May 17, 2015, 07:54 PM

Finally had a chance to test the Slix-Shot nipples on my Walker today. Very windy and cloudy this morning, so I waited till this afternoon just before the weather got worse. I only was able to shoot four cylinders worth (20 rounds) before the thunder started rolling in, but I am very pleased with the new Slix-Shot nipples. The Remington #10 caps fit perfectly, in fact, literally snapped into place onto the nipples. No way are these caps going to fall off or even be blown off.

I was wondering how the nipples would perform with the rather large flash hole but no problems with blowback or cap jams of any kind, a first for me with a Colt style revolver. Normally I do the "Colt flip" by tilting the pistol a bit to the right after each shot to dump spent caps, but not one fell off (or into the action). It seems that the little ported vent holes on the sides of the nipples really do the job even with 50 grains of 3fff powder in each chamber. Every cap went off and sent a ball down range without a hitch (though I didn't hit all of my targets). I normally am able to hit most of the tin cans I set up at 25 yards with my '58 Pietta Remington, but the heavy Walker makes it harder to hold a bead shooting one handed as is my preferred style of shooting, though I did manage to put two balls in the same spot through the bottom of one can. I'm glad that I took Fingers McGee's advice and bought a set of Slix-Shot nipples.

Bishop Creek · May 17, 2015, 08:14 PM

Quote:

Make your own Slix-Shot style nipples. I drilled a small hole in a stock nipple using a hand drill. It would have been easier if I had a drill press.

Smokin' Joe, I could have tried that but my problem with the Walker was that the stock nipples were not uniform in size.

Fingers McGee · May 17, 2015, 10:38 PM

Glad to hear you had a good time with the SlixShots in your Walker. The minute of tincan photo is pretty cool.

45 Dragoon · May 18, 2015, 06:24 AM

Yap! That's a big hole!!
Love them horse pistols!!!

Mike
www.goonsgunworks.com

Bishop Creek · May 18, 2015, 02:47 PM

Yeah, I love to make the cans bounce all over the hillside.

May 11, 2015, 11:38 AM	#2
Fingers McGee Senior Member Join Date: March 19, 2008 Location: High & Dry in Missouri Ozarks Posts: 2,113	Looking forward to your review Bishop. I've been using the Slix Shot cones on my 2nd Gen 1861s for a while now & they still fire first time and don't jam. __________________ Fingers (Show Me MO smoke) McGee - AKA Man of Many Colts - Alter ego of Diabolical Ken; SASS Regulator 28564-L-TG; Rangemaster and stage writer extraordinaire; Frontiersman, Pistoleer, NRA Endowment Life, NMLRA, SAF, CCRKBA, STORM 327, SV115; Charter member, Central Ozarks Western Shooters Cynic: A blackguard whose faulty vision see things as they are, not as they should be. Ambrose Bierce

May 17, 2015, 07:54 PM	#9
Bishop Creek Senior Member Join Date: March 20, 2011 Posts: 566	Finally had a chance to test the Slix-Shot nipples on my Walker today. Very windy and cloudy this morning, so I waited till this afternoon just before the weather got worse. I only was able to shoot four cylinders worth (20 rounds) before the thunder started rolling in, but I am very pleased with the new Slix-Shot nipples. The Remington #10 caps fit perfectly, in fact, literally snapped into place onto the nipples. No way are these caps going to fall off or even be blown off. I was wondering how the nipples would perform with the rather large flash hole but no problems with blowback or cap jams of any kind, a first for me with a Colt style revolver. Normally I do the "Colt flip" by tilting the pistol a bit to the right after each shot to dump spent caps, but not one fell off (or into the action). It seems that the little ported vent holes on the sides of the nipples really do the job even with 50 grains of 3fff powder in each chamber. Every cap went off and sent a ball down range without a hitch (though I didn't hit all of my targets). I normally am able to hit most of the tin cans I set up at 25 yards with my '58 Pietta Remington, but the heavy Walker makes it harder to hold a bead shooting one handed as is my preferred style of shooting, though I did manage to put two balls in the same spot through the bottom of one can. I'm glad that I took Fingers McGee's advice and bought a set of Slix-Shot nipples. Last edited by Bishop Creek; May 17, 2015 at 08:08 PM.

May 10, 2015, 11:27 PM	#1
Bishop Creek Senior Member Join Date: March 20, 2011 Posts: 566	Colt Walker Slix-Shot nipple test Picked up a new (to me) Walker a week ago from my Brother, who bought it at a gun show over 10 years ago. He just put it away in his safe and never shot it, and as I always have wanted one, I made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. It is an Uberti imported by Cimarron and after great effort with a magnifying glass, found the tiny date code stamped “BL” on the underside the frame, showing that it was made in 1998. At that time Cimarron was putting fake Colt stamps on their guns and this one has “ADDRESS SAML COTL NEY-WORK CITY” on the top of the barrel and “COTLS PATENT’” (LOL!) on the side of the frame. Only other visible marks on the gun are the “US 1847” on the right side of the barrel above the wedge. It is stamped “Cimarron Uberti” in very small letters under the loading lever. I'm not quite sure, but it appears to be in charcoal blue, though it may be more of a Colt blue, as the pictures don't really show the real color. It has a few rusty spots from long-term storage in a safe. I’m sure they will buff right out. After pounding out the wedge with a rubber hammer, I took the pistol partially apart and it appeared to be unfired, no signs of powder and not a single mark of any kind on the cylinder. The slot in the arbor for the wedge had several burrs on it so I lightly sanded those down with one of my wife’s finger nail emery boards (don’t tell her!) and the wedge is much easier to take in and out now. I didn’t want to take off too much as I know from experience with Colt type models that the wedge will eventually loosen up the more I fire it. My brother and I took it out to shoot last weekend I and discovered that that the nipples (called cones in the 19th Century) were not uniform in size and only three of the nipples would easily take my Remington #10 caps. None of the Remington #10 caps or any other sizes and brands of caps I tried fit properly on the other nipples so I forced some number 10s on those nipples (I know, I know) and aimed at some tin cans at 25 yards with 50 grains of Goex 3fffg powder dumped in each chamber under Wonder Wads and .454 round balls. WOW! What a ground pounder! The boom and flame were quite impressive even though it shot about 5 inches high at that distance. The loading lever did not drop, though it might if I were to use 60 grains. You can see it almost starting to drop under recoil in the photo of me shooting the Walker below. I have been shooting cap and ball revolvers since 1969 and this was the most fun shooting that I’ve had in a long time, but after the problems with the nipples I ordered a set of Slix-Shot Walker nipples as all my other cap pistols use Remington #10 caps and I have nearly 2,000 of that size cap, which is why I didn’t order Treso nipples as they use #11 caps. I read Fingers McGee’s review of the Slix-Shot nipples on older threads on this forum and based on his recommendations will give them a try. If the weather holds (we had snow and heavy rain the last few days-I live in the mountainous Great Basin Desert on the Calif-Nevada border) I will try the Slix-Shot nipples out this weekend and report back here. Last edited by Bishop Creek; May 12, 2015 at 02:22 PM.

May 11, 2015, 09:35 PM	#3
Bishop Creek Senior Member Join Date: March 20, 2011 Posts: 566	Thanks Fingers! The Slix-Shot nipples (cones) came in the mail today and they look really good. Very well made. Kind of remind me of the old, was it “Hot Shot” nipples? With the ports on the side. I will install them in the Walker cylinder tomorrow night after work.

May 16, 2015, 07:48 PM	#4
Bishop Creek Senior Member Join Date: March 20, 2011 Posts: 566	OK, installed the Slix-Shot nipples (cones) in my Walker cylinder. Put a little Young Country Lube 103 black powder lube on the threads and they fit perfectly. I was a bit concerned about how the stainless steel nipples would look on the cylinder, but I think they look good, and according to a post by Fingers MCGee, they will darken in time with shooting the pistol. Though it snowed again just a couple of days ago, the weather looks good for me to take it out tomorrow morning and test the Slix-Shot nipples.. The Walker compared to my 2nd Gen F Series Colt 1862 Police. (I know, the grips are bit beat up, but I only paid $250 for it and it's a shooter.) I only wish that Slix-Shot made nipples for the 1862 as it is a real cap eater.

May 17, 2015, 08:49 AM	#5
Smokin'Joe Senior Member Join Date: December 27, 2010 Posts: 211	Make your own Slix-Shot style nipples. I drilled a small hole in a stock nipple using a hand drill. It would have been easier if I had a drill press.

May 17, 2015, 10:00 AM	#6
rodwhaincamo Senior Member Join Date: July 7, 2009 Location: Texas Posts: 1,246	I bought nipples for my Ruger from Track of The Wolf. The exterior is like a Ruger but the interior is like a Treso. They claim to be made for a standard (non magnum) CCI #11 cap, but I can't seem to find any. They have worked very well with Rem #10's.

May 17, 2015, 12:02 PM	#7
Bishop Creek Senior Member Join Date: March 20, 2011 Posts: 566	I've seen those on Track's website, did not know that they fit #10 Remington caps. I have never liked CCI #11 caps as they seem to jam my Colt type revolvers easier and I have had more than a few misfires from duds.

May 17, 2015, 12:14 PM	#8
rodwhaincamo Senior Member Join Date: July 7, 2009 Location: Texas Posts: 1,246	They fit as though they were made for them. They couldn't fit any better in fact! Well worth the cost too. I know of another with ToTW nipples (different gun?) that uses Rem #10's as well. I assume they all do but can't say for certain. Maybe you'd want to ask if the exterior dimensions are the same across the board (revolvers) to make sure.

May 17, 2015, 10:38 PM	#11
Fingers McGee Senior Member Join Date: March 19, 2008 Location: High & Dry in Missouri Ozarks Posts: 2,113	Glad to hear you had a good time with the SlixShots in your Walker. The minute of tincan photo is pretty cool. __________________ Fingers (Show Me MO smoke) McGee - AKA Man of Many Colts - Alter ego of Diabolical Ken; SASS Regulator 28564-L-TG; Rangemaster and stage writer extraordinaire; Frontiersman, Pistoleer, NRA Endowment Life, NMLRA, SAF, CCRKBA, STORM 327, SV115; Charter member, Central Ozarks Western Shooters Cynic: A blackguard whose faulty vision see things as they are, not as they should be. Ambrose Bierce

May 18, 2015, 06:24 AM	#12
45 Dragoon Senior Member Join Date: June 14, 2013 Posts: 656	Yap! That's a big hole!! Love them horse pistols!!! Mike www.goonsgunworks.com

May 18, 2015, 02:47 PM	#13
Bishop Creek Senior Member Join Date: March 20, 2011 Posts: 566	Yeah, I love to make the cans bounce all over the hillside.