Only One Available. This is a great U.S. Colt M 1873 Single Action Army replica gun, made by the well-known Model Gun Corporation of Japan. This example is marked on the side of the frame with:

After WWII in Japan, firearms ownership was extremely restricted, so a booming "Modelgun" industry arose. By the 1960s, they were well set up, regulated, and had a booming export industry going. A lot of these ended up being used in the old Western Movies of the 1960s, as they were far cheaper and safer to work with than the real thing, especially for background characters.  Company director Christian Cranmer remembers fondly how much he would have loved to have one of these while in boarding school.

This example is fairly typical, and is about 11 inches long, with a 5 1/2 inch fully solid barrel. This indicates it was made in the mid 1960s, when this requirement was added by the Japanese government.

In nice condition and just what you need whilst watching the TV. Nice, romantic and ready too display!

NOTICE: Sold AS IS. Not available for export or shipment to certain U.S. locations. Blank Fire ONLY. Cannot be converted to a functional weapon. Please read legal information for safety guidelines prior to purchasing. 

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.