Found this old Colt

[M. M. Wright]

[/IMG]

Found this old Colt at a recent gun show in Tulsa. It's nickel plated and has a Colt replacement barrel and cylinder in 38 special. Frame made in 1890, trigger guard 1876 and backstrap 1899. Hammer is late 1st generation. I think it's a prime candidate for a 44-40x4.75" barrel and cylinder. Got it REAL CHEAP!

M. M.

[Ysabel Kid]

Congrats - especially the "real cheap" part. Sounds perfect then for the project you envision! Looking forward to hearing about the results and seeing a range report!

[J Miller]

M. M. Wright,

That's a snazzy lil shooter. A parts gun extraordinaire. You know I have a lot of 38 Spcl ammo that I have nothing to shoot it from. We could get together and test that pistola out really good and burn it up.
Be lots of fun too.

Joe

[kimwcook]

Congratulations! I've always wanted a nickel SAA. I'd like to have scratches on it first though.

[jd45]

What a find! If the hammer is "A late 1st generation", does that mean it doesn't have the "straight-tapered" cone shaped firing pin configuration of the earliest SAAs? I'm a .45 Colt buff, but .44-40 would be REALLY nice, too! Good luck with it! jd45

[Griff]

Congratulations! I've always wanted a nickel SAA. I'd like to have scratches on it first though.

Patterned scratches, or random?

[earlmck]

Congratulations! I've always wanted a nickel SAA. I'd like to have scratches on it first though.

Well, now Old Law Dog, got just what you need!



This is the old clunk that prejudiced me toward nice double-action Smiths and Colts many years ago.

[Killer Kanuck]

If for some strange reason you decide you want to build your 44-40 on another frame, definitely let me know. I've been trying to find a pre-1898 frame set-up in 38 Special because they qualify as an antique here (meaning a lot less BS about where you can shoot it, how you can store it, etc.).

[SJPrice]

Congratulations! I've always wanted a nickel SAA. I'd like to have scratches on it first though.

Well, now Old Law Dog, got just what you need!



This is the old clunk that prejudiced me toward nice double-action Smiths and Colts many years ago.

I for one would like to hear the story behind this one?

[kimwcook]

Well, Earl, what do you have there? Talk to me.

[kimwcook]

Griff, I don't care for brand scratches, I actually prefer Rudolph Kornbrath's or American Scroll type scratches. So, in short, patterned.

[earlmck]

Well, Earl, what do you have there? Talk to me.

That "old clunk" goes back to early 1900's. Grandad was working for Green Cattle Co. in Mexico. Some banditos were being bothersome, and the company issued weapons to the cowboys. From that deal Grandad came home with a '73 Winchester that one of my cousins now has, and I ended up with this 45 Colt. As you can see from the pic, it was a stripped-down model -- no ejector. You just have to hope the emptys fall out OK. Probably you kept a long nail in your shirt pocket in case a little poking-out was needed.

My dad carried it in his toolbox for many years: yep, right in there with the crescent wrenches, big screwdrivers, etc. He usually kept it away from the pipe wrenches, though.

I never could hit anything with it, even after I got to be a fairly respectable pistol shot. Shoots so high you'd have to aim at the bad guy's knee to knock his hat off. Barrel bent?

Just thought you SAA aficianados would appreciate seeing a real working gun, complete with real scratches, as a contrast to that purty thing that started the thread...

[kimwcook]

Earl, that is to cool. Not many can say they have a piece from their grandfather, through their father and on to them. Let alone one with that history.

[M. M. Wright]

Yeah JD45, the firing pin is as you described and the checkering pattern has no border like a Colt of this vintage should have. It's just a parts gun shooter. Need to lighten up the action as it is very stiff, like it just came from the Colt shop and I like a much lighter action. A set of Wolf springs will no doubt help a lot.

M. M.

[SJPrice]

Earl,

Thanks for the story. Normally I would say that was a candidate for being carefully refurbished by Turnbull or some such, but in this case the "character" and the story make it one of the better Colts I have ever seen. Thanks again.

Steve

[earlmck]

Earl,

Thanks for the story. Normally I would say that was a candidate for being carefully refurbished by Turnbull or some such, but in this case the "character" and the story make it one of the better Colts I have ever seen. Thanks again.

Steve

Yeah, and Turnbull would get rid of those classic grips first thing. They were dad's birthday present from me back when I was maybe 11 years old. Cut 'em out of plywood on a friend's jigsaw. Waited 'till they were on the gun to put some varnish on them. But they were a big improvement for the gun because the originals had long since broke off. Dad seemed to be real pleased...

Now I have a couple of nephews in New Mexico who don't know they are going to end up fighting over which one gets the really neat '73 and which gets this super classic SAA.

Glad you fellows appreciated seeing this thing. Puts a whole new dimension on working gun, doesn't it?

Earl

[Sixgun]

M.M,
Nice snag. I hear 'ya on the possible conversion. As an "old Colt lover", I'm sure you feel that you need to make it a caliber that is suitable for a SAA. A .38 Spl. in a SAA is like a chevy motor in a Rolls Royce.

I'm not sure what generation your 38 Spl. barrel is in as I don't think a new barrel will screw on to your frame. But new 44-40 Colt barrels and cylinders are available and it would be kind of cool to have a blued cylinder and barrel on the nickeled frame.

Its a shame as a few years ago I had a first gen. barrel and cylinder in 44 WCF and let it go cheap -------------Sixgun

[Griff]

... is like a chevy motor in a Rolls Royce.

But darn if it wouldn't be just sooooo much cheaper to feed and repair!!!!

[Sixgun]

... is like a chevy motor in a Rolls Royce.

But darn if it wouldn't be just sooooo much cheaper to feed and repair!!!!

Ya know, I just knew Griff was going to respond to this one. -------Sixgun

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

Be a little bit careful of that 'parts' Colt. Even though the barrel and cylinder are probably modern steel, that 1890 frame is made of earlier steel. Colt did not factory warranty the SAA to shoot Smokeless Powder until 1900. While it is true that the cylinder is the pressure vessel in a revolver and takes the brunt of the pressure generated when a cartridge is fired, you still will not want to subject that earlier frame to a whole lot of heavy battering from recoil. Keep your loads down in the moderate range and you should be fine.

[damienph]

... is like a chevy motor in a Rolls Royce.

But darn if it wouldn't be just sooooo much cheaper to feed and repair!!!!

Have you ever owned a British car? Two words...Lucas Electrics... At least with the Chevy motor, it would start everytime!

[M. M. Wright]

Don't worry Driftwood, I shoot mostly black anyway. The change came at around serial no. 192,000 and smokeless guns will have a little bitty p in a triangle on the front left edge of the trigger guard (most of the time). The base pin retainer was changed from a screw in the front of the frame to spring loaded cross-pin in 1896. Had nothing to do with black or smokeless powder. The frame material was changed at about the same time to a stronger material to accomodate smokeless powder. Colt did not mark the smokeless warranted stamp on the trigger guard until 1901 and frames are not considered as smokeless until 1900 even though they have the cross-bolt instead of the screw. Probably a whole lot more than most people want to know, but you know how us old professors like spew out our knowledge.

M. M.