Original Items: Only One Set Available. This is it! Every young "Old West" fans dream: A real Colt Six-shooter, complete in a lovely tooled leather holster and ammo belt rig! This is an incredible original Colt Single Action Army "Frontier Six Shooter" Model Revolver, nickel-plated with custom stag horn grips. The lovely included holster rig has a belt that can accommodate a full 30 rounds, for 5 full reloads. Overall, this is just an incredible, almost "Museum Quality" set. Everything is in great condition, with just a bit of honest wear.

The "Frontier Six Shooter" model was mostly 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. This excellent example has a 5 1/8" barrel marked clearly with the Colt address:

The side of the barrel bears additional roll stamped markings:

This is the "official" model of the revolver, while the .45LC version was the "Single Action Army". However, Colt considered these to be the same internally, and they were grouped under the same serial number series. Between serial number 45000 and 65000, this same marking was etched onto the side of the barrel, but for many years it did not appear, until 1889, when it returned, roll stamped onto all .44-40 versions of this revolver until the end of production.

This revolver's serial number is 167437, which indicates it was manufactured in 1896, and it is marked .44 CF on the rear left of the triggerguard, further indicating the caliber. The Nickel plating is almost entirely intact, with just some scuffing on the cylinder from the cylinder locking pawl. The left side of the frame shows the Colt "Prancing Pony" logo, and shows patent dates of 1871, 1872 and 1875. The trigger guard, frame and grip bottom strap strap have matching serial number 167437, so this is an all matching revolver.

The custom stag-horn grips are in excellent condition and fit tightly to the revolver. There is no real staining or wear to speak of. The rest of the revolver is also in very good condition, with the nickel plate being close to 100% on the barrel and frame of the revolver. The only rear wear has been on the cylinder exterior, just from cycling the revolver apparently.

Mechanically, the action is smooth, with a good cylinder lock up, and crisp dry fire. It makes all 4 clicks, and holds at place. The ejector door swings open easily, and the ejector itself works flawlessly. The bore is crisp, with clear lands and grooves, and a bright finish. Looking at the condition of the entire revolver, especially the bore and other components, it seems unlikely that this revolver was used much, if at all. There is just the tiniest bit of powder residue on the front of the cylinder. The machining marks are still fully visible inside the cylinder,  Probably the best example of a Frontier Six Shooter that we will ever have!

Also included are an original excellent condition open-top leather holster, and leather 30 loop pistol belt. These loops are all in one row, which would be over the left hip of the wearer, while the holster would be to the right. It is a right hand holster, intended to be slung somewhat low. The belt and holsters are both marked by "OLD WEST OUTFITTERS" in Scottsdale, AZ, and are in very good shape. They are relatively recent production, but do show some age. There are some stains where cartridges had been stored previously in the belt. The belt is marked size 36, and seems to be adjustable from 34 to 38 inches.

Pistols such as this are extremely difficult to find today at any reasonable price, especially with a matching holster and belt set. This example is just ideal for any Wild West Collection! Ready to display and cherish for decades to come!

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.

Specifications: 

Year of Manufacture: 1896
Caliber: .44-40 Winchester
Ammunition Type: Centerfire Cartridge
Barrel Length: 5 1/8 inches
Overall Length: 11 inches
Action: Single Action
Feed System: 6 Shot Revolver