Item Description
Original Items: Only One Set Available. This is it! Every young "Old West" fans dream: A real Colt Six-shooter! This is a very nice original Colt Single Action Army "Frontier Six Shooter" Model Revolver, with the standard blued finish and "gutta percha" grips bearing the Colt logo.
The "Frontier Six Shooter" model was mostly identical to the .45 "Long Colt" chambered Single Action Army model, except that it was designed for Winchester .44-40 ammunition, also called .44 W.C.F., which was and is a popular "cowboy" ammunition. While some may question why colt made guns chambered for a competitor's cartridge, having a repeating rifle and revolver that took the same ammunition was a big selling point. This excellent example has a 4 5/8" barrel marked clearly with the Colt address:
- COLT'S PT. F. A. MFG Co. HARTFORD. CT. U.S.A. -
There is no "FRONTIER SIX SHOOTER" marking on the barrel, as during this time frame, the marking was not used. Colt considered these revolvers to be the same as the Single Action Army for record keeping, and they were grouped under the same serial number series. Between serial number 45000 and 65000, the "FRONTIER SIX SHOOTER" marking was etched onto the side of the barrel, but for many years it did not appear. This changed in 1889, when it returned, roll stamped onto all .44-40 versions of this revolver until the end of production. As this revolver was made in 1877, it doesn't have the marking, but it is definitely still that model due to the caliber.
This revolver's serial number is 40954, which indicates it was manufactured in 1877, and it is marked .44 CF on the front left of the trigger guard, indicating the caliber. The left side of the frame shows faint patent dates of 1871, 1872 and 1875. The trigger guard, frame, cylinder and grip bottom strap strap have worn serial numbers, but from what we can see, they are replacements, with later serial numbers.
The original blued finish has been polished to lovely bright steel color, that almost looks nickel plated. It may at one time have had that finish, but it is now bright steel. The original Colt "gutta percha" grips have the "Prancing Pony" at the top, the standard grips for this revolver. They appear to be completely original, and have the expected wear from use and age. There are no cracks, though there are some small chips and dents in areas, as shown.
Mechanically, the action is smooth, with a good cylinder lock up, and crisp dry fire. The ejector door swings open easily, and the ejector itself works flawlessly. It does need a bit of adjustment though, as the action is somewhat finicky, as expected of a revolver of this age and wear. The bore is crisp, with clear lands and grooves, and a mostly bright finish. This has the look of a well cared for gun that saw use on the frontier for years.
Pistols such as this are extremely difficult to find today at any reasonable price. This example is just ideal for any Wild West Collection! Ready to display and cherish for decades to come!
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.
Specifications:
Year of Manufacture: 1877
Caliber: .44-40 Winchester
Ammunition Type: Centerfire Cartridge
Barrel Length: 4 5/8 inches
Overall Length: 10 1/4 inches
Action: Single Action
Feed System: 6 Shot Revolver
- This product is not available for shipping in US state(s): New Jersey
This product is not available for international shipping.
IMA considers all of our antique guns as non-firing, inoperable and/or inert. Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 921(a)(16) defines antique firearms as all guns made prior to 1899. This law exempts antique firearms from any form of gun control or special engineering because they are not legally considered firearms. No FFL, C&R or any license is required to posses, transport, sell or trade Antique guns. All rifles and muskets sold by IMA that were manufactured prior to 1899 are considered Antiques by the US BATF (United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms). Therefore, all of IMA's Antique guns may be shipped to all US States and most nations around the world.
These antique guns are not sold in live condition. They are sold as collector’s items or as wall hangers. Any attempt at restoring an antique gun to be operational is strongly discouraged and is done so at the risk of the customer. By purchasing an antique gun from IMA you thereby release IMA, its employees and corporate officers from any and all liability associated with use of our Antique guns.
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