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. It was available in several chamberings, including the famous .45 "Long Colt", as well as those made for the very popular Winchester .44-40, known as "Frontier Six Shooters". 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 very nice Colt Frontier Six Shooter SAA (Single Action Army) Revolver has a full length 7 1/2" barrel, with a lovely worn gray patina on the metalwork and hand checkered walnut grip. This definitely looks to be an example that saw long use on the frontier, giving it an impossible to duplicate look!

The revolver's serial number is 58748, which dates production to 1880. It has the serial number on the frame, trigger guard, grip frame, and even 748 on the barrel under the ejector. The serial number on the cylinder has unfortunately been worn away, but it definitely looks to be original to the revolver. That makes this a very nice "Mostly Matching" example, and we do not believe any parts have been swapped out over the years. In 1883, Colt would stop marking the cylinders until 1912, mostly due to how often they wore away. There is also assembly number 1003 marked on the loading gate. It is in full working order and condition, with a great well 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 raised Colt seal. It is dated April 23, 2024, 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 Blue finish, and there is no listing for barrel length, which usually indicates the full length 7 1/2". There is no listing for the stocks, which usually indicates walnut during this period, so we believe it has the original grips. This means that the gun is still in the original sold configuration. The gun was shipped on September 30, 1880 as part of a shipment of 50 similar guns to J. P. Moores Sons in New York, New York. This firm was a major distributor of Colt firearms in New York City, and was in business from 1859 until 1888 when the business was sold to Schoverling, Daly & Gales.

The revolver is in full working Order and Condition, showing a gorgeous worn gray patina, with the single line Colt address marking on the barrel still clear:

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

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

The trigger guard is faintely stamped 44.CF. on the 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 checked the cylinder with a real cartridge and confirmed the caliber.

As this revolver was manufactured in 1880, it originally would have had an etched panel that read "Colt Frontier Six Shooter", as the serial number range for such marked revolvers was between 45000 and 65000. Unfortunately wear has completely removed this marking. Revolvers like this were marketed to the civilian frontier market, as the U.S. Cavalry issued the identical model finished in blue with U.S. marked rubber grips.

The revolver presents beautifully, and really has the look of a sidearm that was "really there" in the old west. The gray patina is lovely, showing much use, servicing, and cleaning during its life. There is some more advanced peppering and pitting on areas, such as on the left recoil shield, probably from contact with a leather holster. This is however nothing out of the ordinary for a revolver that has seen this much use. The walnut grip shows significant wear, and is a bit loose in the frame. It was checkered by the owner at some point, which is still well retained.

Mechanically, the action is relatively smooth, with a good cylinder lock up, and strong mainspring. The action has all four clicks, with a working loading position. There is definitely some slop in the action though, due to wear on the internal components, and it can be finicky at times. The action can bet "stuck" if the hammer is moved forward after the third click, necessitating removing the cylinder to free the hammer. 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, still showing clear rifling and a partly bright finish. There is definitely some wear and past fouling and oxidation, but overall it's definitely in very good shape for a frontier used black powder revolver. The ejector door swings open easily, and the ejector itself works great, though we believe it is a fabricated replacement. 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, ready to display along with the original Colt Letter.

Specifications:

Year of Manufacture: 1880
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.

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.