Colt cowboy single-action army saa revolver

Colt cowboy single-action army saa revolver

 · The Colt Single Action Army is indelibly associated with the romance and adventure of the Wild West. Sitting through countless cowboy themed television shows and Saturday afternoon matinees in the s and 60s meant that every small boy (and even some discerning small girls) became familiar with the SAA, even if most of us didn’t know what it actually was Modern Colt SAA Revolvers. Colt SAA revolvers of the modern period (since production resumed in ) have been produced as Single Action Army and Buntline models. Standard models have a round top frame; barrel lengths are 4 3/4, 5 1/2, and 7 1/2 inches. The Buntline model came with a 12 inch barrel but was otherwise similar to the regular SAA  · Colt attempted to circumvent this patent with the Theur and Richards conversions of the M Navy and the M Army revolver. In , Colt brought out the Open Top Frontier revolver in rimfire. This was made obsolete the very next year, for in , Colt improved on it, bringing out the Colt M Single Action Army revolver

Colt Single-Action Army Revolver - The Saga

The Colt Single Action Army is indelibly associated with the romance and adventure of the Wild West. It somehow looked right and the evocative and distinctive click, clack, click, clack of the hammer being cocked became a kind of aural shorthand for manliness, excitement and danger, colt cowboy single-action army saa revolver.

However, colt cowboy single-action army saa revolver the s, 50s and 60s, when many cowboy movies and television programmes were being made, Colt SAAs were more readily and cheaply available than most other guns of the frontier period and so were most often used as props.

For this reason the Colt SAA will always be the pistol most people associate with the Wild West. The cast of the Maverick television show demonstrate their Colt SAAs, circa However, in addition to fuelling adolescent cowboy fantasies, the Colt SAA was also an important handgun. It may not have been the first revolver or even the first handgun to use a self-contained cartridge but it combined these things in a simple, rugged and enduring design which provided reliable firepower to very large numbers of people.

Who was that masked stranger? Up to the late s and early s, most handguns were single-shot, muzzle loading designs which used sparks from a piece of flint to ignite black powder. There were multi-barrel pistols, but on most, pulling the trigger fired all the barrels simultaneously, colt cowboy single-action army saa revolver.

Reloading was slow and cumbersome and even a light shower of rain could render a pistol incapable of firing. However, in a patent was accepted for the percussion cap. This was a small copper cap filled with percussion sensitive material such as mercury fulminate or potassium chlorate.

If the percussion cap was struck by the hammer of a pistol, it produced a small explosion which was then used to fire the main charge. A number of muzzle loading pistols were produced which used percussion caps, but most were still single-shot designs. Ina young American, Samuel Colt, was sent to spend some time as begin a seafarer. His ability to produce spectacular explosions and fireworks had made him very popular with his friends at school, until one of his experiments led to a fire which resulted in his expulsion.

Samuel joined the small brig Corvosailing between the US and Calcutta. He later claimed that he whittled a prototype pistol with revolving barrels from wood while on the ship to confirm that this was possible.

Colt returned to the US in and began refining his design. This incorporated a revolving cylinder rather than the rotating barrels of his first prototype and used percussion caps to ignite the powder charge in each chamber of the cylinder. In Colt formed the Patent Arms Manufacturing company in Paterson, New Jersey and began manufacture and sale of the five-shot Colt Paterson pistol, which is claimed to be the first practical revolver.

Initially the Colt Paterson was offered in. Each pistol was hand-made, which meant it was expensive compared to other contemporary handguns and it proved to be fragile and unreliable in use.

Colt was forced to sell the company and abandon manufacture of this revolver in However, some people saw the possibilities inherent in the concept of a revolver. Captain Samuel Walker of the Texas Rangers was one of these. He contacted Colt to discuss ways of improving the Colt Paterson design one of his suggestions was that a larger projectile would make the pistol capable of killing not just people, but horses too, an important consideration for the Rangers who often found themselves fighting mounted opponents.

Inthe Walker Colt appeared. This massive it weighed four and a half pounds six-shot pistol was a clear improvement on the first revolver. The design of the internal mechanism was simplified to make it more reliable and the new pistol was chambered for a.

This was still a percussion cap design where black powder, a percussion cap and a bullet had to be separately loaded into each cylinder, colt cowboy single-action army saa revolver. When it appeared, the Walker Colt was the most powerful handgun available, and it would remain so until the introduction of the.

The Walker Colt also used a number of machine-made parts an innovation in which meant that parts were more uniform and could safely be interchanged between pistols.

The Walker Colt proved to be much more reliable and its use by the Texas Rangers provided positive publicity. Commercial success followed and Colt was able to build his own firearms manufacturing plant. Clint Eastwood as The Outlaw Josey Wales with a pair of Walker Colt revolvers.

Colt continued to evolve and refine his designs, supervising the production of a number of percussion cap revolvers up to his death in However, another important innovation appeared in the early s: the centre-fire cartridge. This was a self-contained cartridge where a charge of gunpowder and a bullet were mounted in a brass casing which also incorporated a percussion cap in its base.

The centre-fire colt cowboy single-action army saa revolver allowed much faster reloading and was virtually impervious to rain and damp. Like all previous Colt revolvers, the new design was single action only but colt cowboy single-action army saa revolver allowed the loading of up to six centre-fire cartridges via a loading gate on the right side of the frame.

For the first time on a Colt revolver, the SAA included a top-strap on the frame to provide additional strength to deal with the power of the. Colt entered the new design into the US Army trials in and it was adopted as the M and used as the main US military sidearm until its replacement in by a Colt double-action revolver. The Colt Single Action Army revolver also proved massively popular as a civilian weapon.

It was rugged, reliable, easy to repair if it did fail and its machine-made internal parts could be interchanged between weapons. Other versions followed including the Flat-top Target with a decent notch rear sight and the Bisley Target Model with a longer grip, wider hammer and trigger and a rear sight which was adjustable for windage.

However, although these later developments were in many ways more practical, especially as target shooters, none could match the rugged simplicity of the original SAA, colt cowboy single-action army saa revolver. A number of finishes were offered including blued and colour case hardened though limited numbers with nickel, gold or silver plating or other unusual finishes were also produced.

Standard grips were either black hard rubber or walnut though other exotic woods, ivory, mother of pearl and staghorn were also used for grips on special models. In the third generation SAA was introduced, and this version remains in production to the present day. All versions of the SAA are single action only and all have a delightfully light around 3lbs pull and a crisp and consistent release. When you compare the profile of the SAA to any modern handgun, it looks kind of odd.

The grip has an elegant if rather unusual curve. And yet it does. Which is lucky, because the sights especially on first generation models are rudimentary. The tall foresight is lined up with a V shaped groove in the top of the frame. Windage adjustment is done by bending the foresight in the required direction. Elevation adjustment is done by either filing down the foresight, or squeezing it in a vice to make it taller.

The SAA is also lefty-friendly. Because there is no manual safety or cylinder release on the left side of the pistol, it can be used comfortably in either hand. And the loading gate on the right is especially easy to use for colt cowboy single-action army saa revolver. But though it may not have provided pinpoint accuracy, if you did hit something with a Colt SAA you were going to do some serious damage.

Those soft. Remember all those movies and television shows where the good guy would get shot in the left arm? And he would either ignore this or perhaps pause briefly while he or his adoring girlfriend tied a handkerchief colt cowboy single-action army saa revolver the wound before he continued to battle the bad guys? This gun had stopping power long before that term was invented. The sights were basically useless and accuracy especially with early cartridges was poor. Adequate if you were trying to shoot the hombre with aces up his sleeve on the other side of a poker table, less so if you were trying to hit a man-sized target at anything over 20 feet.

Both emptied their revolvers at each other from a range of a few feet. When the smoke cleared, it became clear that both had missed with all their shots so colt cowboy single-action army saa revolver went for a drink instead.

The SAA had no manual safety and no drop safety, but it was provided with a half-cock position for the trigger, which allowed the gun to be carried safely. Sort of. After a number of US Cavalry troopers and civilians shot themselves or their horses while galloping with a half-cocked SAA, it was decided that it was safer to load with just five cartridges and keep an empty cylinder under the hammer.

The Colt SAA has become one of the most collectible handguns from the Wild West period, colt cowboy single-action army saa revolver. Very large sums indeed are paid for examples with well-documented provenance. So, for many people, replicas are the only way to enjoy the SAA experience without spending a great deal of money. There have been a number CO2 and gas-powered replicas of the Colt SAA over the years there have also been several spring powered versions, colt cowboy single-action army saa revolver, but really?

All shot pretty well, but they looked slightly odd due to the CO2 cartridge being located under the barrel. Tanaka produced a beautiful gas-powered SAA replica using their Cassiopeia system in the early s where compressed gas was stored in the removable shells.

Unfortunately, these proved to be unreliable and shot with all the power and authority of a gnat breaking wind. They were also discontinued fairly quickly due to concerns in Japan that they could be converted to fire real cartridges.

Tanaka responded with a redesigned SAA using their Pegasus system and Marushin have also produced a removable shell SAA replica. These colt cowboy single-action army saa revolver beautiful-looking replicas, colt cowboy single-action army saa revolver, though neither are particularly satisfactory shooters. If you want an SAA replica that you can also enjoy shooting, this is currently the only option.

For me, the Colt SAA is one of those replicas which no collection should be without. Whether you are interested in the history of this iconic handgun or you just want to practice your quick-draw technique, the Colt SAA does it all. Umarex Single Action Army revolver review. Colt SAA on the Umarex website. Pingback: Refurbishing and repairing a Crosman Model 44 Peacemaker The Pistol Place.

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The cast of the Maverick television show colt cowboy single-action army saa revolver their Colt SAAs, circa However, in addition to fuelling adolescent cowboy fantasies, the Colt SAA was also an important handgun. Development Up to the late s and early s, most handguns were single-shot, muzzle loading designs which used sparks from a piece of flint to ignite black powder.

Classic Handguns; The Colt Single Action Army Revolver | The Pistol Place

The Colt Single Action Army revolver is the most recognized, famous and collectible handgun of all time. Its history is fascinating, spanning years and continuing. It has served honorably in the hands of horse soldiers, world war veterans, lawmen and detectives, cowboys, big game hunters, African hunters, explorers, generals, target and exhibition  · Talo Distributors teamed up with Colt Manufacturing Company to produce a limited edition Single Action Army (SAA) revolver that commemorates the hard-working men and women that are still employed in this profession today. Named the Colt Last Cowboy, this new LC revolver features a number of fine embellishments that will likely attract the Colt Single Action Army Revolver 2nd Generation – 2nd Generation Grips Also Fit Colt Cowboy Colt SAA 3rd Generation: to Present, Including New Colt SAA