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 lovely nickel-plated Colt SAA (Single Action Army) Revolver has a "gunfighter friendly" replacement 5 1/2" barrel and cylinder in .38 Special, a chambering developed by Smith & Wesson for its service revolvers. This was originally a black powder cartridge, and still remains one of the most popular cartridges in the world. The revolver looks to have been completely restored and refinished in Nickel Plate at some point, probably with the original grips replaced. We can see some past oxidation under the nickel plate in areas, so it looks to have been nickeled during the 20th century after having the barrel replaced. Really a fantastic looking revolver!

Of note: the chambering of an SAA revolver was easily changed, as the frame and mechanics were identical, with the cylinder and barrel being the parts that required changing. The .38 Special chambering was not offered officially by Colt until the 1956 "Second Generation", however this example looks to be from before that, utilizing aftermarket components. This was more economical than purchasing a complete new revolver, and also meant you could have a great shiny revolver that was also "really there" during the "Old West" period.

That is most likely exactly what happened with this revolver, which really is a lovely example. The revolver's serial number as marked on the frame is 33408, which dates production to 1877. The trigger guard and grip frame however are marked with 62020, which indicates production in 1881. As the barrel and cylinder are both replaced, they would not have any serial number markings present. There is also assembly number 847 marked on the loading gate. It is in full working order and condition, with a lovely finish, replaced barrel and great grips, sure to delight any "Old West" Americana collector.

As an aftermarket replacement barrel, there is no address marking on the top of the barrel, or any signs that there was one. It is however marked on the side with 38 SPECIAL, indicating the new chambering, while the trigger guard is marked 45 CAL, the original chambering. The left side of the frame has the Colt patent dates present, which are also a bit worn from cleaning and past oxidation:-

These are the correct early pattern markings, used up until around 1891 when the "Prancing Pony" logo was introduced on the frame. The revolver is in very nice condition, with the nickel plating well retained, except on the front of the cylinder, which has seen plating loss due to wear and powder burn. There is also some powder fouling on the inside if the frame near the forcing cone, so it definitely saw some use after being converted and nickeled. The grip look great, showing no damage or any type of real wear, and they have a lovely color. 

Mechanically, this revolver functions very well, with accurate indexing, a solid cylinder lock up, and a crisp dry fire. The action has all four clicks with a functional loading position, though if the hammer is pulled back hard when fully cocked it can over advance the cylinder. 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 revolver can still be taken down by removing the cylinder base pin, though it will require a brass drift to get it out, as it is VERY tightly fit. The bore is in excellent condition, showing a bright finish with clear lands and grooves. There is a bit of wear making the edges of the lands a bit soft, however we can also still see some of the cutting marks in the grooves.

Pistols such as this are extremely difficult to find today at any reasonable price. This lovely restored example in .38 Special is just ideal for any Wild West Collection. A great collector's revolver, ready to display!

Specifications:

Year of Manufacture: 1877 - converted later.
Caliber: .38 Special Black Powder
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.

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.