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 "gunfighter friendly" 4 3/4" barrel and and lovely Factory installed mother of pearl grips which is clearly remarked on the Colt archive letter as "Type of stocks: Pearl". Originally nickel-plated, it has now lost all of that finish from use and cleaning. It now displays a very nice polished patina from decades of oxidation and subsequent cleaning. The markings are still mostly visible, and we do not see any evidence of restoration. The revolver's serial number is 154994, which dates production to 1894. 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 900 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 October 13, 2023, indicating it is a COLT SINGLE ACTION ARMY REVOLVER, with the caliber listed as .45/c and finish listed as Nickel. The barrel is listed as 4 ¾", while the stocks are Pearl, so this revolver is still completely in the original configuration as shipped from Colt. The gun was shipped on February 10, 1894 as part of a shipment of 2 similar guns to Montgomery Ward & Company in Chicago Illinois, the world famous and pioneering catalog ordering company. In the early days there was not much that you could not order by mail.

The original double line Colt address marking on the top of the barrel is still fully legible, correct for the shorter length barrel:

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

These are the correct later pattern markings, and to the right is the correct Colt "Prancing Pony" logo on the frame, introduced in 1891. The left side of the barrel is clearly marked 45 COLT., and we 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 factory-fitted pearl grips have a fantastic broken in look, showing discoloration and wear around the edges, with some chipping present. We can see that some paint or filler was used on the rear and front toes of both grip scales to improve the appearance.

Mechanically, this revolver really is "tight as a drum"! The action is smooth, with a solid cylinder lock up, crisp dry fire, and just a bit of slop in the mechanics. 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 good condition, showing signs of heavy use while in service. There is still rifling visible, but the finish is relatively dark, and we can see past light pitting over much of the surface. The ejector door swings open easily, and the ejector itself works great, with no sticking or other issues.

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

Specifications:

Year of Manufacture: 1894
Caliber: .45 "Long" Colt
Ammunition Type: Centerfire Cartridge
Barrel Length: 4 3/4 inches
Overall Length: 10 1/4 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.