Original Item: Only One Available. This is every School boy's dream! A real Cowboy six gun! The Colt Single Action Army Revolver, often referred to as the SAA or M1873, was the first Colt cartridge revolver to see wide acceptance and use, having been developed to meet the needs of the U.S. Government. Dubbed the "Peacemaker", the design is a famous piece of Americana and the American Wild West era, due to its popularity with ranchers, lawmen, and outlaws alike. While Colt has fielded many other designs since its introduction, none have been able to capture the same type of romance, resulting in the design being reissued several times since originally being discontinued.

This great frontier used Colt SAA (Single Action Army) Revolver has an original long 7 1/2" barrel and lovely worn and yellowed ivory grips. Original blued from the factory, it now shows a worn oxidized patina overall from exposure and repeated cleanings, with some evidence of light pitting on the left side of the frame forward of the grip. This definitely looks to be an example that was carried for a long time on the frontier, giving it an impossible to duplicate look! The markings are all still relatively clear, so we do not see any evidence of any major restoration, just the usual wear from cleaning. The revolver's serial number is 147797, which dates production to 1892. It has the serial number on the frame, trigger guard, and grip frame, making this an "ALL MATCHING" example. 1883 was the last year that serial numbers would be stamped on the cylinder until 1912, so the lack of the serial number there is correct. There is also assembly number 217 marked on the loading gate. It is in full working order and condition, with a great patinated look, sure to delight any "Old West" Americana collector.

The revolver came to us with an original Colt Factory letter from the office of the Colt Historian Beverly Jean Haynes, which has her signature and correct raised seal applied in the lower left corner. The paper used is the correct Colt Letterhead and is dated March 13, 2026, indicating it is a COLT SINGLE ACTION ARMY REVOLVER, with the caliber listed as .45/c and finish listed as Blue. The barrel is listed as 7 ½", while the stocks are Not Listed, so these grips were definitely added to the revolver. The gun was shipped on September 13, 1892 as part of a shipment containing of 5 guns of this type to the Simmons Hardware Co. in St. Louis, Missouri. The dealer was a well-known retailer and hardware manufacturer founded in 1874, which at its peak had 6 locations. They often would buy up their suppliers to ensure the best quality merchandise, and purchased the Walden Knife company based in Walden New York. The company actually merged with Winchester Repeating Arms Co. in the early 20th century for a time.

The top of the barrel has a Colt single line address marking, correct for the full length barrel:-

The left side of the frame has the Colt patent dates present, though the last few numbers on the right side are missing.

These are the correct later pattern markings, and to the right is a Colt "Prancing Pony" logo on the frame, introduced in 1891. The left side of the barrel has a clear 45 COLT. marking, and wee have also checked the cylinder and barrel with real cartridges to confirm the chambering. 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 the great worn look that only use in service can give. The ivory grips have matured beautifully, with the grain visible, and there is age checking an cracking at the bottom, just like we love to see. There are some small chunks missing on the rear toe of the grip, but no major damage. We can see clear "Schreger's Lines" on the bottom and sides of the grips, which have some fantastic grain and checking. The grips look to have been worn down a bit and possibly resurfaced over the years.

Mechanically, this revolver functions very well, with accurate indexing, a solid cylinder lock up, and a crisp dry fire. There is some slop in the mechanics, and it is a bit clunky when cycling. The action has all four clicks with a functional loading position, and cycles correctly, without any of the finicky behavior we often see on revolvers of this age. As with all revolvers of this age we recommend being relatively gentle with cycling it, so we do not recommend "fanning" or "fan firing". The bore is in very good condition, showing a mostly bright finish with clear lands and grooves. There is some wear and past fouling and oxidation, now cleaned away, but overall it is definitely an impressive bore considering the condition of the exterior. The ejector door swings open easily, and the ejector itself works well, though it can stick a bit due to a bit of deformation in the channel.

Pistols such as this are extremely difficult to find today at any reasonable price. This honest "frontier used" example is just ideal for any Wild West Collection, especially with the aged ivory grips and factory letter! A great collector's revolver, ready to display!

Specifications:

Year of Manufacture: 1892
Caliber: .45 "Long" Colt
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.

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 possess, 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 most US States and most U.S. territories.

These antique guns are not sold in "live" condition, and are not tested for the the ability to feed or load any type of cartridge. They are sold as collector's items or as "wall hangers" not for use, and we make no guarantees regarding functionality aside from what is stated in the description. 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.

Pre-1899 Manufacture, no licenses required, allowed to ship to most addresses within the United States.