COLT

lightened version of Carbine.

.31 or .34 cal., single action with folding trigger, 5 shot, 3 1/2-5 1/2 in. octagon barrels, blue metal, a few having case hardened hammers. Varnished walnut grips. Serial range 1-approx. 850 which includes the Belt Model No. 2. All standa...

.31 cal., single action, 4, 5, or 6 in. octagon barrel, steel with steel grip straps, blue metal with case hardened frame, lever, and hammer, one-piece walnut grips, oval trigger guard.

soft military blue finish, oiled grips, converted from percussion U.S. Navy revolvers, inconsistent military markings, centerfire, set of extra serial numbers often seen on cylinder.

the italic style of lettering in the barrel address is changed to a block letter style in the 22000 range, the first two-piece Gutta Percha grips with eagle motif appear in 1882 and became the standard by 1888, the .44-40 (.44 WCF) caliber...

ejector tubes were stamped "J".

.32 Short and LC, or .32 Colt New Police cal., 2 1/2, 3 1/2, 5, or 6 in. barrel, first modern swing out DA, rubber grips, blue or nickel finish, round butt, last patent date on barrel was Nov. 6, 1888. Mfg. 1893-1905.

.52 smoothbore cal., 6 shot cylinder, 24 in. barrel, exposed hammer for cocking, walnut stock, blue finish. Approx. 950 mfg. 1838-1841. RF=4.

.22 Short or Long cal., 24 in. barrel, open sights, walnut straight stock, round or octagon barrel. Approx. 90,000 mfg. 1887-1904. RF=1.

without attached loading lever.

.44 cal., 6 shot, 7 1/2 in. round and octagon barrel, Texas Ranger and Indian fight scene on cylinder, most cylinders are marked "MODEL U.S.M.R." and "COLT'S PATENT" in two cartouches before the serial number (a more sca...

.36 cal., 6 shot, 7 1/2 in. octagon barrel and loading lever, blue metal with case hardened frame, lever, and hammer, one-piece walnut finished grips, cylinder scene of Texas Navy battle with Mexico, serial range 1-highest recorded number w...

.38 rimfire and centerfire cal., parts for 1862 Police, Pocket Navy, as well as 1849 Pockets are often intermixed. As parts bins were depleted, Colt used whatever components that would fit, resulting in a tremendous amount of minor variatio...

pre-1896 mfg. with old style black powder frame.

.32 Colt and .32 Colt New Police cal., 2 1/2, 4, and 6 in. barrels, fixed sights, same frame as New Pocket, except larger square butt gripstraps, rubber grips, last patent date on barrel was Nov. 6, 1888. Mfg. 1896-1907.

no loading lever.

.32 CLMR (.32-20 WCF), .38 CLMR (.38-40 WCF), or .44 CLMR (.44-40 WCF) cal., similar to Small Frame, except with 26 in. barrel and larger frame. Serial range 1-23000, did not have a dust cover. Approx. 90,000 mfg. 1884-1902. RF=1.

with attached loading lever and recoil shield milled for ease of capping (scarce).

small square back trigger guard, bottom wedge screw, serial range 1-1250. RF=3.

4 1/2 in. octagon barrel without ejector. Rebated Pocket Navy Cylinder.

many calibers from .22 rimfire to .476 Eley were available, target version of the SAA with flat-top frame and adj. sights, approximately 925 were manufactured from 1888-1896, both in 5 ½ and 7 ½ in. barrel and full blue finish, two-piece sm...

when military production resumed in the 30,000 serial range, the principal sub-inspectors during this eleven year period were John T. Cleveland (J.T.C.), Henry Nettleton (H.N.), and David F. Clark (D.F.C.). Starting in 1876, the marking pro...

.32 Colt cal., 6 in. barrel, blue, late models use New Police frame, but include transitional improvements from later Police Positive Target Model (First Issue), last patent date on barrel was Nov. 6, 1888. Approx. 5,000 mfg. 1897-1907. RF=...

similar to Medium Frame Rifle, with 20 in. barrel.

also known as "Texas Paterson" - .36 cal., single action with folding trigger, 5 shot, 4-12 in. octagon barrels, blue metal with case hardened frame and hammer. All cylinders bear the stagecoach hold-up scene. Varnished walnut gri...

small square back trigger guard, top wedge screw, serial range 1250-4000.

plug in rammer slot, ejector housing, loading cutout in right side of lug, barrel remachined from Pocket Navy percussion barrel, Pocket Navy rebated cylinder. Similar appearance to cartridge barrel variation.

three line patent date format changes to two lines with three dates, circled rampant Colt trademark is added to left side of frame, grips transition from wood and rubber with eagle to plain two-piece rubber by 1892, and caliber designation...

slightly less than 1% (approximately 3,400) Single Actions are thought to have been engraved at the factory or elsewhere by authority from Colt between 1873 and 1940. Between 1873-circa 1929 Colt offered three basic grades of engraving with...

these are the very first of the U.S. Cavalry models to be recorded in the Colt records and the first ones that can be lettered by the factory. Slightly more than 2,000 were delivered under government contract, and were inspected by John T....

.36, .44, or .56 cal., percussion, various barrel lengths and stock styles, 5 or 6 shot cylinder, blue with walnut buttstock, no forend. Mfg. 1856-1864.

lightened version of Medium Frame Carbine, one pound lighter.

without attached loading lever, round or square backed cylinder.

notice state markings on front portion of trigger guard, "MS" Massachusetts, "NEW HAMPSHIRE" marked on left side of barrel lug.

.36 cal., single action, 6 shot cylinder, 7 ½ in. octagon barrel, steel with brass or steel grip straps, blue metal with case hardened frame, lever, and hammer, one-piece walnut grips, small round brass trigger guard. Mfg. 1852-1858.

4 1/2, 5 1/2, or 6 1/2 in. barrels with 1862 Police percussion profile and added ejector housing. Has rebated Pocket Navy cylinder or rarer half fluted 1862 Police cylinder. 6 1/2 in. barrel will bring a premium.

several important physical characteristics were changed during this transition period. Most notably, in 1896 the vertical screw retaining the cylinder pin was eliminated in favor of the horizontal latch. This was identical to what had alrea...

Included in the approximate 3,400 factory engraved SAAs, there are a small number of one of a kind, custom special ordered guns. These are, of course, well documented in the Colt held factory archives by serial number and can be accessed th...

according to John Kopec's Cavalry and Artillery Revolvers Kopec's "Cavalry and Artillery Revolvers" there are a small group of known cavalry revolvers that were part of a large surplus of civilian SAAs inspected and accepted by the governme...

15, 18, 21, 24, 27, or 30 in. barrel, no forearm wood, non-fluted roll engraved cylinder, ser. no. range 1-1000, approx. 1,000 mfg. RF=3.

.38-56 WCF (approx. 540 mfg.), .40-60 Marlin (most common, approx. 1,888 mfg.), .45-60 WCF (rare, approx. 360 mfg.), .45-85 Marlin (approx. 1,079 mfg.), or .50-95 Express (rare, 629 mfg.) cal., large version of previously described Lightnin...

with attached loading lever, round backed cylinder and recoil shield milled for ease of capping.

.44 cal., 6 shot, 7 1/2 in. round and octagon barrel, same basic features as earlier models, but with round trigger guard and rectangular cylinder slots, most cylinders are marked "MODEL U.S.M.R." and "COLT'S PATENT" in...

large round brass trigger guard, serial range 85000-215348.

1862 Police profile barrel with ejector housing and rebated 1862 Pocket Navy cylinder.

the first three years of this period, 1896 to 1899, have recently become known as the "black powder transition" period, to distinguish Single Actions made with the modern, stronger frame and yet still considered "antique"...

value depends on when and where the engraving was done. Early "New York" or "dealer" engraved Single Actions done outside the factory were usually shipped from Colt in the "soft" and w/o finish. The majority of these were done in the 1870s...

- 24, 27, or 30 in. barrel, approx. 1,500 mfg. RF=3.

similar to Large Frame Rifle, 22 in. barrel.

most often seen in Fourth model.

1862 Police profile barrel with ejector housing and 1/2 fluted Police cylinder.

numbered in the same serial range as the standard Single Action Army, the Bisley model featured a more curved forward and longer grip strap and a smaller, raked back hammer. It was designed with the target shooter in mind and named after Bi...

21, 24, 27, 30, or 31 in. barrel, approx. 2,000 mfg. RF=3.

lightened version of Large Frame Carbine, one pound lighter.

brass or iron gripstrap.

a target version similar to the flat-top target Single Action with adj. sights. Available in all standard calibers with a 7 ½ in. barrel, blue finish and either walnut or rubber grips. Offered from 1894 to 1912, the most popular caliber was...

this was the last of U.S. Single Action production. Four thousand were inspected by Rinaldo A. Carr during this sixteen month period. As hostilities in the west subsided, demand decreased and many revolvers of this group went to state milit...

martially marked, 21-37 in. barrel, 9,310 mfg. RF=2.

similar to Medium Frame Rifle, with bayonet lug.

8 in. barrel.

First and Second type (like Third model Dragoon).

as with percussion revolvers and derringers, Colt shipped Single Action Army revolvers to England for sale through its London Agency. John Kopec, co-author of A Study of the Colt Single Action Army Revolver, estimates that 18% of production...

refers to U.S. government model SAA revolvers with 5 1/2 in. barrels, which were reworked and refinished between 1896 and 1903. In response to growing dissatisfaction with the stopping power of the newly adopted M1892 .38 LC cal. double act...

15, 18, or 21 in. barrel, 4,400 mfg. RF=2.

.44 CLMR (.44-40 WCF) cal., 26 in. round barrel Medium Frame rifle, with S.F.P. Police and rack numbers on lower tang, factory serial numbers under stock. Ser. no. range S.F.P. 1-S.F.P. 401. RF=4.

shoulder stock model.

four screw frame.

5 shot, 21 in. barrel with bayonet lug and forestock, approx. 64 mfg. RF=5+.

various cals. in the .45 range, hammers, very limited production between 1878-1880. Most guns were owned by friends of Caldwell Colt - Sam Colt's son, the original designer. Colt Double Rifles are extremely rare and desirable, and should be...

basically the same gun as the Hartford piece with London barrel address, with British proof marks in serial range 1-42000. Mfg. 1853-1857.

Must be authenticated and confirmed by 1896 Colt factory letter.

.58 cal., muzzleloader, 40 in. barrel, with 3 bands, white metal parts, white walnut stock. 75,000 mfg. 1861-1865. RF=1.

.44 cal., single action, 6 shot cylinder, 7 ½ in. part round/part octagon barrel, steel with brass grip straps, blue metal with case hardened frame, lever, and hammer, one-piece walnut grips, similar to Second Model Dragoon New Hampshire or...

brass grip straps and small trigger guard, serial range below 2000.

must be authenticated.

basically a Third Model Dragoon, assembled at Colt's London factory, with unique serial range 1-700, some were assembled from earlier parts inventories, easy to spot with British proofs of crown over V and crown over GP, the blue was of the...

balance of production, large round trigger guard, steel grip straps, all London parts.

in 1895 before work began on the artillery models, Colt refurbished 800 SAA revolvers supplied by Springfield Armory, especially for the New York State Militia. These guns retained their 7 ½ inch barrels and all original parts wherever poss...

.31 cal., 5 shot, 3, 4, 5, or 6 in. octagon barrels, most without loading lever, serial range 1-15500, a scaled down version of the .44 caliber Dragoons, early ones with Texas Ranger scene and later ones with the hold-up scene. RF=1.

.28 cal., had 3 1/2 in. octagon barrel, .31 cal. usually had 3 1/2 in. or 4 1/2 in. round barrel. Blue with case hardened lever and hammer, one-piece wraparound style walnut grips. RF=1.

throughout military contract production, a small percentage of SAAs did not pass inspection and were condemned, receiving a large "C" stamped on the frame, just over the serial number. These guns were set aside, and later complete...

left-hand barrel stamping, Texas Ranger and Indian scene and no capping groove in right recoil shield, cylinder has round stop notches, approx. serial range 1-150. RF=5.

.28 cal., 3 7/16 in. octagonal barrel, octagon load lever, Indian/cabin cylinder scene, Hartford barrel address. Serial range 1 to 384. RF=4.

with Texas Ranger and Indian scene, 11600 serial range, without loading lever.