The first production Colt Single Action Army revolver, serial number 1, was lost for decades before being discovered in a barn in Nashua, New Hampshire, in the early 1900s. This specific firearm was chambered in .44 S&W, a centerfire design containing charges of up to 40 grains of fine-grained black powder and a blunt roundnosed bullet. Relative to period cartridges and most later handgun rounds, it was quite powerful in its full loading. The gun was designed for the United States government service revolver trials of 1872 by Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company and was 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 Colt quickly gained favor over the Smith & Wesson Schofield 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 number 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.
Inspectors And The Little Bighorn
All original, good condition, U.S. Cavalry and Artillery Single Action Armies are among the most valuable to collectors, often going for well over $10,000. Especially valuable are the OWA and the rare Henry Nettleton inspected Single Action Army Colts. The OWA Colt refers to the earliest issued Single Action Army guns, which were inspected by Orville W. Ainsworth. Ainsworth was the ordnance sub-inspector at the Colt factory for the first 13 months, from October 1873 to November 1874. It was Ainsworth who inspected the Colts used by Col. G. A. Custer's 7th Cavalry at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. The number range of possible Little Bighorn Colts is 4500 to 7527. 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, either OWA or HN, on the left side of the wood grip. 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. 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. The .45 Single Action Army revolver was still standard issue to the Infantry, Artillery and other branches of the U.S. Army.
The Frontier Six Shooter
The Colt Frontier or Frontier Six-Shooter was a Colt 1873 Model P manufactured in .44-40 Winchester caliber instead of .45 Colt so that it was compatible with the new, hugely successful Winchester Model 1873 repeating rifle. Users of both weapons in the Far West appreciated the convenience of being able to carry a single caliber of firearm ammunition. Production of the Model P began in 1877. Colt Frontier Six-Shooter was the actual name of the Colt pistol model, which was acid-etched on the left side of the barrel. After 1889, the legend was roll-stamped, with the designation .44-40 added in 1919. The combination of a Colt Frontier Six Shooter revolver and the Winchester Model 1873 chambered in .44-40 WCF was one of the most common seen in the Old West, carried, for example, by the two mounted Cowboys at the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Notably, Winchester never undercut itself by offering the M1873 chambered for .45 Colt. After the frontier days of the West had passed, the Winchester Model 1892 arrived, which joined the Model 1873 in also being offered in alternative .38-40 and .32-20 calibers, allowing the same convenience of carrying a single round for both revolver and rifle.
The Colt Bisley was introduced in 1894 as an accurate target pistol. The name Bisley came from the famous firing range in Bisley, England. The Colt Bisley can be distinguished by the longer grip, the wider hammer spur, and the wider trigger. The distinguishing feature of the Bisley Target Model is the topstrap, which is flat and fitted with a sliding rear sight, adjustable for windage only. The front sight is a removable blade, which fits into the slotted base attached to the barrel. The revolvers were supplied with different blades for elevation. The Bisley mainspring is longer than the SAA mainspring, and the two are not interchangeable. The serial numbers are stamped on the frame, the backstrap and the trigger-guard at the end of production, with tiny dies. Bisleys were serial-numbered in the range of 156300 to 331916, in the same sequence as the Single Action Army. All Bisleys after No. 161,376 had BISLEY MODEL with the caliber stamped on the left side of the barrel, which is rare for older Colt revolvers. A total number of 44,350 were manufactured. Production of the Bisley was terminated in 1912, but serial No. 331916 was shipped after the First World War. Surveys of existing Bisleys show that a much larger number, perhaps as high as 62%, have survived as compared to the 5 and 7.5 inch barreled guns.
The Buntline Special Myth
Wyatt Earp biographer Stuart N. Lake popularized the myth of the Buntline Special. In his highly fictionalized biography, Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal, published in 1931, he wrote that Earp and four other lawmen, Bat Masterson, Bill Tilghman, Charlie Bassett and Neal Brown, were each presented with a customized revolver with a 12 inch barrel. However, according to some other accounts, on the 26th of October 1881, the day of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Earp carried an 1869 .44 caliber Smith & Wesson American Model with an 8 inch barrel. The 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. 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.
The Mechanics Of The Peacemaker
The Single Action Army action is a refinement of the earlier Colt percussion revolvers and the Colt 1871 cartridge revolver. The cylinder is mounted on a central axis and operated by a hand with a double finger with which more extended action allows the cylinder-ratchet to be cut in a larger circle, giving more torsional force to the cylinder. Four notches on the face of the hammer engage the sear portion of the trigger, affording four basic hammer positions. The hammer rests within the frame when it is fully lowered. Drawn slightly to the rear, the hammer engages the safety notch of the sear and holds the firing pin out of direct contact with a chambered cartridge. Like the earlier percussion revolvers, the Single Action Army was designed to allow loading of all the chambers. The safety notch replaced pins on the rear of the percussion revolver cylinders, which served the same purpose as the safety position. According to the original instructions from Colt, as well as the U.S. Army Ordnance Department, the revolver was to be carried with all six chambers loaded and carried with the hammer half-cocked in the safety notch. However, beginning sometime after the Second World War and after the introduction of the Second Generation single action in the 1950s, some gun-writers began strongly advocating the practice of leaving one empty chamber under the hammer. It is likely this was recommended after the Second World War because with the changed tolerances of the re-designed Second Generation Single Action Army, a sharp blow could damage the re-designed half-cock mechanism and allow a fully loaded revolver to fire.
The .45 Colt Cartridge
The first Colt Single Action Army prototypes were manufactured in .44 American caliber for the 1872 government trials, as the .44 American was the cartridge used in the 1,000 Smith & Wesson Model 3 revolvers issued to the troops. After the tests, the Colt was declared the superior revolver and the government specified that a .45 caliber cartridge would be required. With the adoption of the Colt Single Action Army revolver in 1873, the service cartridges were Copper-cased .45 centerfire Benét inside primed Colt's Revolver Cartridges loaded with 30 grains of black powder and an inside lubricated bullet of 250 grain. They were manufactured at Frankford Arsenal, Philadelphia, PA, through 1874. In 1875, the cartridge was shortened so that it would also function in the newly adopted S & W Schofield revolver. It was designated Revolver Cartridge and loaded with 28 grains of black powder and a bullet of 230 grain. The Bénet-primed cartridges were manufactured until 1882 and then replaced by reloadable cartridges with brass cases and external primers. The original .45 Colt black-powder load propelled a bullet weight of 250 grain at a nominal velocity of 890 feet per second. Authors John Taffin and Mike Venturino have demonstrated that modern black-powder loadings of the .45 Colt cartridge frequently achieve velocities in the vicinity of 900 feet per second with the 7.5 inch cavalry barrel length, even though modern solid-head cases make it impossible to load a full 40 grains.
Patton And The Modern Legacy
The power, accuracy and handling qualities of the Single Action Army made it a popular sidearm from its inception, well into the 20th century. George S. Patton, who began his career in the horse-cavalry, carried a custom-made SAA with ivory grips engraved with his initials and an eagle, which became his trademark. He used it during the Mexican Punitive Expedition of 1916 in a gunfight with two of Pancho Villa's lieutenants and carried it until his death in 1945 shortly after the end of World War II. It remains on display, along with the SAA carried by actor George C. Scott portraying Patton in the 1970 film by the same name at the General George Patton Museum of Leadership at Fort Knox, KY. Villa himself used a 5 inch barrelled Colt Bisley in .44-40 caliber for the full length of his military career. In 2010, Arizona State Rifle and Pistol Association President Noble C. Hathaway and Cast Bullet Director Dan Walliser surveyed state residents to determine what Old West firearm should be named the official state firearm. The Colt Patent Firearms Single Action Army won by a 38% margin. Afterwards, Hathaway submitted a bill to the Arizona legislature, and on the last day of the 2010 to 2011 regular legislative session, Arizona Senate Bill 1610 was passed. Governor Jan Brewer signed the bill into law. Arizona is the second state to have an official firearm, following Utah's adoption of the Colt M1911 pistol.