The Guns of Porter Rockwell: What History and Legend Tell Us

Orrin Porter Rockwell was a man of paradoxes—both lawman and outlaw, saint and gunslinger. As a bodyguard to Joseph Smith, enforcer for Brigham Young, and deputy U.S. marshal on the Utah frontier, Rockwell developed a reputation for being deadly, fearless, and practically unkillable.

But for all the stories told about his character and deeds, relatively little is concretely known about the guns he carried. Still, scattered references in biographies, museums, and historical accounts allow us to piece together a reasonable portrait of the firearms likely wielded by “the Destroying Angel of Mormondom.”

Colt Revolvers: Rockwell’s Sidearms of Choice

The most consistently reported firearms linked to Rockwell are Colt revolvers—specifically large-frame models like the Colt 1860 Army and possibly the Colt 1851 Navy. In his authoritative biography, Orrin Porter Rockwell: Man of God, Son of Thunder, author Harold Schindler notes that Brigham Young gifted Rockwell a pair of Colt revolvers, likely chambered in .44 caliber, sometime in the mid-19th century. This account is echoed in materials from IntermountainHistories.org, which reports:

“He carried two Colt .44 caliber revolvers given to him by Brigham Young, which he used in protecting the prophet and later the Utah territory.”
—IntermountainHistories.org, ID: 54

One of these revolvers may have been a Colt 1860 Army, which became a favorite among Union officers, Western lawmen, and civilians alike. These six-shot, black powder, percussion revolvers were powerful and well balanced—but their standard 7.5″–8″ barrels were long by today’s standards.

Cut-Down “Snubby” Colts: Rockwell’s Custom Touch

According to Schindler—and affirmed by several sources—Porter Rockwell was known to shorten the barrels of his revolvers to roughly 3 inches. This uncommon modification made them easier to carry in pockets and quicker to draw, making Rockwell one of the earliest adopters of what we now call “concealed carry tactics.”

The Temple House Gallery offers a reproduction of what they call Rockwell’s “sawn” pistol, modeled on a Colt Army with a dramatically shortened barrel. A plaque from the Hutchings Museum in Lehi, UT displays a similar artifact labeled as a “Black Powder Percussion Cap and Ball Army Colt Revolver – Reported to have belonged to Porter Rockwell.”

While the provenance is not definitive, the consistency of design—Colt frame, large caliber, modified barrel—strongly supports the historical accounts.

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Auction Records and “Avenging Angel” Guns

Multiple firearms auction houses have listed short-barreled Colt 1860 Army revolvers dubbed “Avenging Angel” pistols, a term associated with Mormon enforcers like Rockwell. For example:

• A 2016 Holabird auction featured a 3″ barrel Colt Army revolver with Gaelic markings, referencing the “Avenging Angel” nickname and Rockwell’s legendary status.

• A GunsInternational.com listing describes another 3″ snub-nose Colt Army, explicitly linking the firearm style to both Porter Rockwell and Dallas Stoudenmire, another famous frontier lawman.

  “Known as an ‘Avenging Angel’ gun, this style was associated with Mormon enforcers like Orrin Porter Rockwell.”

Though no firearm sold at auction has been proven to be Rockwell’s personal weapon, they reflect the distinct style of cut-down Colt revolvers he was known to use.

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Other Possible Firearms: The Colt Navy & Long Guns

There is at least one reference to a Colt 1851 Navy revolver—slightly smaller and chambered in .36 caliber—potentially connected to Rockwell. In a 2019 Salt Lake Tribune article, columnist Robert Kirby writes:

“There’s also a Colt Navy revolver in the Church History Museum that may have belonged to Orrin Porter Rockwell.”

While Kirby admits to speculation, it’s plausible that Rockwell carried a Navy revolver at some point, given their widespread availability and popularity in the 1850s and 1860s.

I contacted the Church History Museum to inquire and on May 12th, 2025 I received a response confirming “…we do have Porter Rockwell’s pistol in the collection. It’s currently in storage.”

As for long guns, Rockwell was a frontiersman who likely used black powder rifles common to the era—possibly Hawken rifles or other muzzle-loading arms favored by scouts and mountain men. These, however, are not well documented in association with his name.

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The Verdict: Armed, Deadly, and Practical

While we lack a definitive inventory of Rockwell’s guns, the surviving evidence gives us a profile of a man who:

• Carried multiple Colt revolvers, most notably the .44 caliber 1860 Army

• Personally modified his pistols by cutting down barrels to 3 inches for concealment

• May have also carried Colt Navy revolvers and long guns suited to his wilderness work

His weapons were an extension of his mythos: powerful, practical, and unorthodox—just like the man himself.

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Sources Cited

• Harold Schindler, Orrin Porter Rockwell: Man of God, Son of Thunder (1983, University of Utah Press)

• IntermountainHistories.org, ID #54: “Rockwell’s Pistol”

• Hutchings Museum, Lehi, UT (artifact label image)

• Temple House Gallery, Replica Pistol

• Holabird Western Americana Auction #2472 (Dec 2016)

• GunsInternational.com Listing: Avenging Angel M1860 Colt Army

• Robert Kirby, Salt Lake Tribune, “Joseph Smith’s gun: A relic of faith and violence” (May 5, 2019)