Original Item: Only One Available. This is every School boy's dream! A real Cowboy six gun! This fantastic Colt SAA (Single Action Army) Revolver has a "gunfighter friendly" factory replacement 5 1/2" barrel and lovely Colt hard rubber grips, bearing the iconic Colt "Prancing Pony". The cylinder was most likely worn or damaged, so it was also replaced when the barrel was, and both replaced items have a lovely blued finish. The rest of the metalwork shows a lovely aged plum patina.

The Colt Single action army's "First Generation" of production spanned over 65 years, from 1873 to 1941. The model was then discontinued in 1941, so they could focus on WWII production and more modern weapons. However, classic Western Themed movies and shows on the new television medium resulted in a huge resurgence of popularity in the design. In 1956 Colt re-launched the "Single Action Army" revolver, in what is referred to as the "Second generation".

As part of this, many owners of older Single Action Army revolvers began sending their older revolvers ;with worn barrels and other components to the factory to have replacement parts fit. This was more economical than purchasing a new one, and also meant you could have a functional revolver for "Wild West" shooting that was also "really there" during the "Old West" period. These are somewhat easy to spot, as the "Second Generation" barrels had slightly different address markings, and has a larger "Shark Fin" front sight. They also were marked COLT SINGLE ACTION ARMY .45 in modern print on the left side of the barrel.

That is exactly what happened with this revolver, which really is a lovely example. The revolver's serial number is 66860, which dates production to 1881. It has the serial number on the frame, trigger guard, and grip frame, making this an "ALL MATCHING" example, except for the replaced barrel and cylinder. There is also assembly number 827 marked on the loading gate. It is in full working order and condition, with a fantastic finish and great grips, sure to delight any "Old West" Americana collector.

The Colt address marking on the right side the barrel is still clear:

The left side of the frame has the Colt patent dates mostly legible, with some fading due to wear:

PAT. SEPT.19.1871.
  "     JULY. 2.   --72.
  "     JAN. 19. --75.

These are the early pattern markings, and this was made before the "Prancing Pony" logo began appearing on the frame. The markings are all clear, ;so the frame does not look to have been refinished at any time. The caliber marking .45 is clear on the left side of the barrel as part of the 2nd Gen Roll Stamp, and we also have checked the cylinder and barrel with real cartridges to confirm. There is also the correct 45 CAL on the left side of the trigger guard. This revolver is definitely chambered for .45 Colt, also known as .45 "LONG" Colt, one of the most legendary handgun cartridges of the old west. When you hear people talk of a "Colt 45", this model gun is the reason why.

The revolver has a great look, with the replacement barrel and cylinder retaining their blued finish very well. The front sight was filed down a bit to make it less likely to catch during drawing, and also probably to more correctly match the first generation style. The frame and other parts have a lovely patina of age. The Colt hard rubber grips have a lovely color, with some chips at the bottom, and an area around the screw on the left side that was ground away a bit during servicing. It looks like the left grip may be a period replacement, as it is more of a black color, and shows less wear to the checkering to the right side, which is more of a dark brown color. The Colt "Prancing Pony" is still clear on both grips, with some wear on the right side. The revolver disassembles correctly, with a worn original cylinder arbor pin and replacement securing screw.

Mechanically, the action is smooth, with a good cylinder lock up, and strong mainspring. The action only has 3 of the 4 clicks, missing the "safety" click closest to the frame, which in many ways was not really useful, as it was not an effectively safety, enough so that most users only loaded 5 chambers, as the hammer could be knocked forward. Otherwise it lacks the usual finicky behavior we usually see with revolvers of this age. As with all revolvers of this age we recommend being very gentle with cycling it, so we do not recommend "fanning" or "fan firing". The bore is in excellent condition, with a bright finish and clear rifling, showing little to know wear. The chambers on the replacement cylinder show just a bit of dirt and light fouling from use. The ejector door swings open easily, and the ejector itself works great.

Pistols such as this are extremely difficult to find today at any reasonable price. This example is just ideal for any Wild West Collection. A great example with a factory replaced cylinder and barrel, ready to display!

Specifications:

Year of Manufacture: 1881
Caliber: .45 "Long" Colt
Ammunition Type: Centerfire Cartridge
Barrel Length: 5 1/2 inches
Overall Length: 11 inches
Action: Single Action
Feed System: 6 Shot Revolver

History of the Colt Single Single Action Army

Bound by the Rollin White patent (#12,648, April 3, 1855) and not wanting to pay a royalty fee to Smith & Wesson, Colt could not begin development of bored-through revolver cylinders for metallic cartridge use until April 4, 1869. For the design, Colt turned to two of its best engineers: William Mason and Charles Brinckerhoff Richards who had developed a number of revolvers and black powder conversions for the company. Their effort was designed for the United States government service revolver trials of 1872 by Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company and adopted as the standard military service revolver. Production began in 1873 with the Single Action Army model 1873, also referred to as the "New Model Army Metallic Cartridge Revolving Pistol".

The very first production Single Action Army, serial number 1, thought lost for many years after its production, was found in a barn in Nashua, New Hampshire in the early 1900s. It was chambered in .45 Colt, a centerfire design containing charges of up to 40 grains (2.6 g) of fine-grained black powder and a 255-grain (16.5 g) blunt roundnosed bullet. Relative to period cartridges and most later handgun rounds, it was quite powerful in its full loading.

The Colt Single Action Army revolver, along with the 1870 and 1875 Smith & Wesson Model 3 "Schofield" revolver, replaced the Colt 1860 Army Percussion revolver. The Colt quickly gained favor over the S&W and remained the primary US military sidearm until 1892 when it was replaced by the .38 Long Colt caliber Colt Model 1892, a double-action revolver with swing-out cylinder. By the end of 1874, serial no. 16,000 was reached; 12,500 Colt Single Action Army revolvers chambered for the .45 Colt cartridge had entered service and the remaining revolvers were sold in the civilian market.

The Colt .45 is a famous piece of American history, known as "The Gun That Won the West". The Single Action army is a very popular firearm, even today, and it continues to be produced in various configurations.