[Serial Number Colt Single Action Army 45l
Laurice Whack
The Colt SAA has been offered in over 30 different calibers and various barrel lengths. Its overall appearance has remained consistent since 1873. Colt has cancelled its production twice, but renewed it due to popular demand. The revolver was dubbed the "Peacemaker", and is a famous piece of Americana and the American Wild West era, due to its popularity with ranchers, lawmen, and outlaws alike. Today, it is mainly bought as memorabilia by collectors and re-enactors. Its design has influenced the production of numerous other models from other companies.
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.[5] 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,[6] also referred to as the "New Model Army Metallic Cartridge Revolving Pistol".[7]
The 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.[8] This gun was chambered in .44 S&W, 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.[7]
The Colt Single Action Army revolver, along with the 1870 and 1875 Smith & Wesson American and Model 3 "Schofield" revolvers, replaced the Colt 1860 Army Percussion revolver. The Colt quickly gained favor over the S&W and remained the primary U.S. 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.[9]
A "Flattop Target Model" was listed in Colt's catalogs from 1890 to 1898. Colt manufactured 914 of these revolvers with a frame that was flat on top and fitted with an adjustable leaf rear sight. The front sight consisted of a base with an interchangeable blade.[12]
In 1896, at serial number 164,100, a spring-loaded base pin latch replaced the cylinder pin retaining screw and by 1900, at serial number 192,000, the Colt Single Action was certified for use with smokeless powder.[8] In 1920, larger, highly visible sights replaced the original thin blade and notch. The revolvers remained essentially unchanged from that point until cessation of manufacture at the beginning of World War II.[10]
All original, good condition, U.S. Cavalry and Artillery Single Action Armies (those produced between 1873 and 1891) are among the most valuable to collectors. Especially valuable, often going for well over $10,000, are the OWA (Orville Wood Ainsworth) and the rare Henry Nettleton inspected Single Action Army Colts.[13]
Henry Nettleton was the U.S. Principal Sub-inspector in 1878 at the Springfield Armory. Second only to the OWA Colts, Nettleton Colts are prized by serious collectors. Both the Nettleton and OWA Colts have the cartouche (OWA or HN) on the left side of the wood grip.
By the mid-1870s, the Army had purchased a significant number of Smith & Wesson Schofield revolvers chambering a shorter .45 round.[5] Logistical problems arose because the ammunition was not interchangeable. The Colt revolvers would accept the shorter round, but not vice versa.[5] For a time, the Government stopped orders for the longer Colt cartridge and used the Smith & Wesson round exclusively. The Schofield was soon retired and sold to the civilian market.[5]
The largest group of U.S. Colt Cavalry revolvers was inspected by David F. Clark, his D.F.C. cartouche being encountered on revolvers inspected from 1880 to 1887.[8] During 1893, the .45 U.S. Colt Single Action Army revolver was retired by the Cavalry and replaced by the .38 caliber Colt Model 1892 Double Action Army revolver.[14] The .45 Single Action Army revolver was still standard issue to the Infantry, Artillery and other branches of the U.S. Army.
The Artillery Model usually had mixed numbers. It can be identified by the U.S. on the frame, the inspector's stamps on different parts (such as a tiny A for Orville W. Ainsworth, DFC, HN, RAC for later inspectors and K for replacement parts) and the cartouche of Rinaldo A. Carr (RAC), the inspector who inspected the refurbished guns, on the grip.[17]
The Colt Frontier or Frontier Six-Shooter was a Colt's 1873 "Model P" type revolver manufactured in .44-40 Winchester caliber instead of .45 Colt (in which configuration it was called the Single Action Army) so that it was compatible with Winchester Model 1873 ammunition. Production began in 1877. Colt Frontier Six-Shooter was the actual name of the Colt pistol model, and this was acid-etched on the left side of the barrel. After 1889, the legend was roll-stamped until 1919, when the caliber designation ".44-40" was added. Later Colt M1878 Double Action Army Models also wore this designation on the barrel when chambered in .44 WCF/.44-40 Winchester. The Bisley 1895 Model was the final Colt to wear the Frontier Six Shooter designation.[18]
The 44-40 was also promoted as the standard chambering for the new, hugely successful, Winchester Model 1873 rifle. Users of the .44-40 Winchester cartridge in the Far West appreciated the convenience of being able to carry a single caliber of ammunition, which they could fire in both revolver and rifle. The Colt Frontier Six Shooter Revolver and the Winchester Model 1873 or the Winchester Model 1892 in .44-40 WCF caliber were one of the most common combinations seen in "the Old West".[18] For example, the two mounted "Cowboys" at the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral were armed with this rifle and pistol combination. .38-40 and .32-20 (.32 WCF) also qualify as "Frontier Calibers" because 1873 and 1892 Winchesters were made in these calibers, offering the same convenience as the 44-40 (44WCF) caliber, namely using the same cartridge in both revolver and rifle.
The Bisley mainspring is longer than the SAA mainspring, and the two are not interchangeable; it is attached to the hammer with a stirrup via a forked upper end. The serial numbers are stamped on the frame, the backstrap and the trigger-guard at the end of production, with tiny dies.[20]
At the beginning of World War II, Colt ceased production of the Single Action Army revolver to devote more time to filling orders for the war. When the war ended, no plans were made to revive the Single Action Army revolver as the design was seen as obsolete. However, the advent of television and Western-themed movies created customer demand for the revolver, so Colt resumed manufacture in 1956 with the Second-Generation line of Single Action Army revolvers.[22]
These Second-Generation Colt Single Action Army revolvers were produced from 1956 to 1974 and carried serial numbers in the range of 0001SA to 73,205SA. Due to the popularity of the television show The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Colt introduced the aforementioned Buntline Special as a Second generation offering from 1957 to 1974.[23]
From 1961 to 1975, Colt offered an adjustable-sight model known as "The New Frontier", capitalizing on President John F. Kennedy's campaign slogan. Colt manufactured 4200 of these revolvers, including 70 built on the Buntline frame.[23]
The Third Generation began in 1976, characterized by a change in barrel thread pitch and a solid cylinder bushing replacing the removable/replaceable part from the first and second generations. This series ran until 1982 as a limited-issue product with the serial number range of SA80,000 to SA99,999.
Colt manufactured Third Generation Buntlines and New Frontiers through the Colt Custom Shop, as well as many engraved pistols. In 2010, Colt released a "revival" of the Frontier Six Shooter with a nickel finish.[24]
Starting in 1999, Colt began manufacturing a version of the Single Action Army revolver with a modern transfer bar safety, allowing it to be carried with the hammer resting on a loaded chamber. The Colt Cowboy, as it was named, was designed to be more affordable than the Single Action Army. It was offered with barrel lengths of 4.75", 5.5", and 7.5". The 7.5" variant was discontinued in 1999, as was the 4.75" variant, which was reintroduced in 2002. Manufacturing of the Colt Cowboy was discontinued in 2003.[25]
Colt engraved about one percent of its first-generation production of the Single Action Army revolver, which makes these engraved models extremely rare and valuable with collectors.[8] Engraved pieces were often ordered by or for famous people of the day, including lawmen, heads of state, and captains of industry.[26] This tradition began with the founder, Samuel Colt, who regularly gave such examples away as a means of publicity for Colt.
Colt employed a number of engravers, many of whom were trained artisans who emigrated from Europe.[26] These artisans, such as Gustave Young, Cuno A. Helfricht, Rudolph J. Kornbrath and Louis Daniel Nimschke, were known for inlaying gold, silver, and precious stones in their work. Many of these engraved pieces were adorned with stocks made of ivory or pearl, with engraving and inlays as well.[27]
About 400 of the Second Generation Colt Single Actions were factory-engraved by Colt. The factory engravers of the period were Alvin Herbert, Earl Bieu, Dennis Kies, Robert Burt, Steve Kamyk and Leonard Francolini. One of the most sought-after engravers who have worked on Colt revolvers was Alvin White and the shop of A. A. White Engravers.[28]
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