Colt Walker of Texas had been the major purchaser of the early Paterson Holster Pistol (No. 5 model), a five shot cal .36 revolver, and Samuel Walker became familiar with it during his service as a Texas Ranger. In 1847, Walker was engaged in the Mexican-American War as a captain in the United States Mounted Rifles. He approached Colt, requesting a large revolver to replace the single-shot Aston Johnson holster pistols then in use. The desired .44-.45 caliber revolver would be carried in saddle mounted holsters and would be large enough to dispatch horses as well as enemy soldiers. The Colt Walker
Starr revolver produce enough revolvers to be considered major players in the market. These sources claim that the first widely used DA revolver (sometimes called the first "modern" revolver) was the Colt 1889 .38 Government (.38 Long Colt) used by the Navy, and/or the improved version for the Navy and Army, the Colt 1892, because, despite wide adoption, the 1889 model was produced in relatively low numbers. For a time, the Pietta company manufactured a modern-day replica of the Starr double-action and single-action models. Aficionados generally consider the replica to be of lower overall quality than the original. The Starr DA is