Original Item: Only One Available. This is an original U.S. Colt Open Top Pocket Model .22 Short single action revolver, serial number 36077, manufactured in 1874. It retains matching serial numbers on the bottom of the grip and underside of the barrel lug, a 2 3/8" barrel, its original style barrel wedge takedown system, walnut grips, and a very good bright bore with clearly defined rifling.

This is an antique black powder firearm manufactured before 1899. Under federal law, it may generally be owned within the United States without a special license or permit and does not require transfer through a Federal Firearms Licensee. However, state and local laws may vary. This firearm is sold solely as a historical collector’s item and has not been test fired or inspected for firing safety by a professional gunsmith. Any mechanical or bore observations provided below describe only its present condition and should not be interpreted as confirmation that the firearm is safe to load or fire. The purchaser is solely responsible for complying with all applicable federal, state, and local laws.

The Colt Open Top Pocket Model was introduced in 1871 and was among Colt’s earliest metallic cartridge revolvers. Compact and chambered for the .22 rimfire cartridge, it represented an important transition away from the percussion pocket revolvers that had dominated Colt production during the preceding decades.

The matching serial number:

36077

is stamped on the bottom of the grip and on the underside of the barrel lug, indicating manufacture in 1874.

The barrel is the shorter 2 3/8" length and is chambered for .22 Short. The cylinder length is too short to accommodate .22 Long, confirming the shorter cartridge chambering.

The top of the barrel retains the original Colt address, fully legible between cross pattée marks:

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

The left side of the frame is correctly marked:

22 CAL

The rotating barrel wedge functions correctly, allowing the barrel assembly to be removed for takedown and cleaning.

The revolver has developed an attractive aged appearance overall. Traces of the original blue remain on the barrel and cylinder in protected areas, while most exposed steel surfaces have faded to a gray oxidized patina with scattered evidence of old peppering and service wear. The brass frame has lost nearly all of its original plated finish and now displays a mature mustard colored patina.

The walnut grips are in good condition with expected handling wear but no cracks, major chips, or previous repairs. Approximately 40% of the original piano varnish finish remains.

Mechanically, the revolver presently cycles correctly with generally accurate indexing and a strong cylinder lockup. It will occasionally over rotate, and there is some mechanical play from wear, but the action remains functional. The revolver can still be disassembled correctly through operation of the barrel wedge.

The bore is in very good condition with a bright surface and clearly defined lands and grooves. There is evidence of old fouling and oxidation that has since been cleaned, but the rifling remains strong and well preserved. These observations describe only the revolver’s present mechanical and bore condition and should not be interpreted as confirmation that it is safe to load or fire.

With its 1874 manufacture date, matching serial number 36077, correct .22 Short chambering, fully legible Colt barrel address, surviving original blue in protected areas, functional takedown system, walnut grips, and very good bore, this is a strong example of Colt’s early metallic cartridge pocket revolver production. The occasional over rotation, mechanical play, finish loss, old peppering, and reduced grip varnish are all fully disclosed. It would fit especially well in a Colt Open Top Pocket, early metallic cartridge, .22 rimfire, or advanced 19th century American revolver collection.

Specifications:

Year of Manufacture: 1874
Maker: Colt's Patent Firearms Mfg. Co.
Model: Open Top Pocket Model .22
Serial No.: 36077
Caliber: .22cal Short
Ammunition Type: Rimfire Cartridge
Barrel Length: 2 3/8 inches
Overall Length: 5 5/8 inches
Action: Single
Feed System: 7 Shot Revolver
Federal Classification: Pre-1899 Antique

History and Design of the Colt .22 Open top Revolver:
Designer : William Mason and Charles Brinckerhoff Richards
Designed : 1871
Manufacturer: Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company
Produced: 1871-1877
Number built: 114,200

The Colt Open Top Pocket Model Revolver was a single action pocket revolver introduced by the Colt's Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Company in 1871. Introduced a year before the Colt Open Top (a model from 1872) and two years before the Colt Peacemaker and the Colt New Line (both introduced in 1873), the Colt Open Top Pocket Model Revolver was, alongside the Colt House Revolver, one of the two first metallic cartridge rear-loading revolvers manufactured by Colt's. It also was one of the first pocket metallic cartridge revolvers made by the company.

When the Rollin White patent for metallic cartridges firearms manufacture expired (c. 1870) the Colt's Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Company started working on its own metallic cartridge revolvers (Colt had previously been manufacturing the so-called Richards-Mason conversions). Thus, Colt introduced its first rear-loaders in 1871: the Colt House/Cloverleaf and the Colt Open Top Pocket Model Revolver.

In the 1870s the firearms market was awash with cheaply made knockoffs of the .22 caliber Smith & Wesson Model One which sold for about $2. Colt's president Richard Jarvis decided it would not compete directly with the knockoffs; that its .22 would be of Colt quality. The Open Top Pocket was priced at $8.

The frame was brass and sometimes silver or nickel plated. The barrel and cylinder were either blue or nickel plated. Rosewood or walnut grips on a bird's head style frame made for a comfortable pistol to shoot.

Loading was accomplished via a groove in the frame rearward of the cylinder and early models incorporated an ejector rod until 1874. After that, a shooter would need to remove the cylinder to empty the brass casings.

Cheap copies imported from Spain and Belgium drove down the demand for these revolvers and Colt stopped manufacturing them by 1877.

Calibers
The Open Top Pocket Model was chambered in .22 Short and .22 Long, both using black powder as the propellant. It was equipped with a 7-shot non-fluted cylinder and two different barrel lengths: 2 3⁄8 in (60 mm) and 2 7⁄8 in (73 mm). NOTE: It is highly questionable that any modern .22 ammunition would be safe to use in antique firearms.

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 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.