Original Items: Only One Set Available. This is it! Every young "Old West" fans dream: A real Colt Cowboy Six-shooter! This very nice Colt Frontier Six Shooter SAA (Single Action Army) Revolver has a full length 7 1/2" barrel, with a lovely worn patina on the metalwork and lovely walnut grips.

The revolver's serial number is 100599, which dates production to 1883. It has the serial number on the frame, trigger guard, grip frame, and even 0599 on the cylinder AND underside of the barrel. In 1883, Colt would stop marking the cylinders until 1912, making this a rare treat as a confirmed "ALL MATCHING" revolver. There is also assembly number 8322 marked on the loading gate. It is in full working order and condition, with a great lightly patinated look, sure to delight any "Old West" Americana collector.

The revolver came to us with a Colt Factory letter from the office of the Colt Historian Beverly Jean Haynes. It is dated April 13, 2022, and indicates it is a COLT SINGLE ACTION ARMY REVOLVER in .44/40 caliber, also known as a Frontier Six Shooter. The gun was made with a blued finish, 7 1/2" barrel, and wood stocks, and is still in that configuration. The gun was shipped on June 18, 1885 with 28 other guns of the same type to Hartley & Graham in New York City, a very prestigious outfitter founded in 1854. The revolver looks to have spent some time in the Colt warehouse, possibly because the hard rubber grips were more popular, and when an order for 28 came in, all available guns that met the criteria were sent.

The revolver is in full working Order and Condition, showing a gorgeous worn patina. The original single line Colt address marking on the top of the barrel is still fully present and legible:

COLT'S PT. F. A. MFG. CO. HARTFORD. CT. U.S.A.

The left side of the frame has the Colt patent dates still mostly legible:

The trigger guard is faintly stamped 44.CF. on the left side, indicating the .44-40 WCF caliber. The "Frontier Six Shooter" model was almost 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. We have also confirmed with real cartridges that it is in .44-40.

As this revolver was manufactured in 1883, it never had an etched panel that read "Colt Frontier Six Shooter", as the serial number range for such marked revolvers was between 45000 and 65000. Revolvers like this were marketed to the civilian frontier market, as the U.S. Cavalry issued the identical model finished in blue.

The revolver presents beautifully, and really has the look of a sidearm that was "really there" in the old west. The dark oxidized patina is lovely, showing much use, servicing, and cleaning during its life. There is a bit of light pitting in areas such as the muzzle, probably from contact with a holster. The walnut grips are in very good condition, and look to have been varnished at some point, some of which is still retained.

Mechanically, the action is smooth, with a strong cylinder lock up, and crisp dry fire. The action has all four clicks, and we did not notice any finicky behavior during cycling, as we often would on a revolver from this time period. The bore is in good condition, showing that it definitely saw much service on the frontier. There is still rifling present, however it is worn, and there is fouling and oxidation on much of the interior surface, along with a few spots of deeper rust. However we do not see any bulges or other structural issues. The ejector door swings open easily, and the ejector itself works great. Overall this is a great pistol with loads of patina and history.

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 collector's revolver, complete with a factory letter and ready to display!

Specifications:

Year of Manufacture: 1883
Caliber: .44-40 Winchester
Ammunition Type: Centerfire Cartridge
Barrel Length: 7 1/2 inches
Overall Length: 13 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.