Original Item: Only One Available. This is every School boy's dream! A real Cowboy six gun! This great frontier-worn Colt SAA (Single Action Army) Revolver has a "gunfighter friendly" original short 4 3/4" barrel and lovely worn Colt hard rubber grips, bearing the iconic Colt "Pony" on top. Blued from the factory, it still retains some of that finish, but has definitely been worn and had the finish retouched over the years. It now shows a faded gray / blue patina over the entire exterior.

The revolver's serial number is 154644, which dates production to 1894. It has the serial number on the frame, trigger guard, and grip frame, making this a very nice "ALL MATCHING" example, without any parts swapped out over the years. This revolver was made after 1883, when Colt stopped marking the cylinders, which they did not do again until 1912. There is also assembly number 422 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 a Colt Factory letter from the office of the Colt Historian Beverly Jean Haynes. It is dated September 12, 2014, and indicates 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 4 ¾", while the stocks are "not listed" which usually means, so this revolver is still completely in the original configuration as shipped from Colt.

The gun was shipped on February 5, 1894 as part of a shipment of 15 similar guns to the Simmons Hardware Company 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 original double line address marking on the top of the barrel, correct for this length of barrel, is still clear:

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

PAT. SEPT. 19. 1871.
JULY. 2.72. JAN. 19.75

These are the correct later pattern markings, and originally there would have been a "Prancing Pony" to the right, however it has worn away on this example. The markings definitely show wear on the revolver overall, so it definitely has seen a lot of service and cleaning over the years. The left side of the barrel is marked 45 COLT, and we also have checked the cylinder and barrel with real cartridges to confirm. 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 original Colt hard rubber grips have a fantastic "broken-in" look, with the original checkering and logos still clearly visible, but worn. There are a few scratches and small gouges, and the usual wear around the bottom of the grips. There is a crack on the right side grip, but is stable.

Mechanically, the action is smooth, with a good cylinder lock up, and a strong mainspring. The action does only have 3 clicks, and is missing the loading position on the hammer due to wear. Aside from that it cycles correctly and has just a bit of slop in the lockup. 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 bore is in very good condition, showing strong lands and grooves with a partly bright finish. There is some wear and oxidation, but it's definitely in great shape for a black powder frontier era revolver. The ejector door swings open easily, and the ejector itself works great. Overall this is a great pistol!

Pistols such as this are extremely difficult to find today at any reasonable price. This honest worn example is just ideal for any Wild West Collection. A great collector's revolver, complete with a Colt factory letter and 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.