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The 1873 Colt .45 Single Action Army revolver is the most famous handgun in the world. No Hollywood Western movie would be complete without one. The.45 Colt was owned by a multitude of notable people including Buffalo Bill, John Wesley Hardin, Theodore Roosevelt, Wyatt Earp, Pat Garrat, Sam Bass, Judge Roy Bean, Billy The Kid, The James Brothers, The Dalton Gang, John Wayne, Robert Mitchum and many many more. The .45 Colt was easy to shoot, regardless of your marksmanship skills, your height or weight, be you a strong man or a 7 stone weakling...the Colt .45 made all men equal and consequently it was known as " The Equalizer"
The US Military saw the potential of the Revolver and adopted it straight away as did the Cavalry, Lawmen, Outlaws, homesteaders, prospectors and well almost everyone. The revolver fired a powerful cartridge, it was accurate and it was deadly...a true "manstopper" Even today, handguns that fire this round are revered highly by the shooter. .45 Long Colt Cartridge shown below at about actual size depending on you monitor size @ 17" + is ok give or take a couple of mil.
The Colt .45 SAA Single Action Army is one of the worlds longest lived production revolvers of all time, such was and still is its popularity. The US Army welcomed the Colt .45 and adopted two versions, the Army with 5½ in barrel and the Cavalry with a 7½ in barrel. Both of these guns fires the .45 Long Colt cartridge, the Civilian models were sold in a variety of different barrel lengths from 4 inches up to 12 inches and a target shooting version called the Colt Bisley ( seen below) with a lowered hammer spur and different shaped grip was manufactured. About 40,000 Bisley's were produced.
Some 37,000 Colt .45 SAA Revolvers were sold to the US Army from 1873 to 1893 and production didn't stop until December 1941 when America joined WWII. At this time about 400,000 Colt .45 SAA's had been made. In the mid 1950's there was a sudden surge of demand for the Colt .45 SAA due to the publicity gained with all the Western Movies and TV series. The Colt .45 SAA is also made under license by several manufacturers to this day.
First production Colt .45 SAA Revolvers were made from 1873 until 1941 with serial numbers all below 357860. Second Production Colt .45 SAA Revolvers were made from 1955 until 1974 with the serial number 0001SA to 73319SA. Third Production Colt .45 SAA revolvers were made from 1976 until 1981 and were offered in a variety of calibers including .44 special, .357 Magnum, and 38 special. At this present time Colt are again manufacturing the SAA, for how long until they stop and then take it up again is anyone's guess. The Colt .45 SAA is a very robust gun, it is made from three major components, the cylinder frame, the handle frame with trigger guard and the barrel. These are simply held together with several screws, the same system that is used today on modern revolvers. The revolver is loaded by pulling the hammer back half cocked then opening the swing out port gate on the rear right side of the revolver housing and simply dropping in each bullet in turn. To fire a shot, the hammer is pulled back full cock by the thumb or fanned back by the palm of the hand and the trigger is pulled. If the trigger is already pulled then simply fanning back the hammer and releasing it will fire the gun. To unload the gun, the hammer is set to half cock then the gate is opened and the ram under the barrel is pushed up to shove the empty cases out one at a time. The Cylinder can be taken out by unscrewing the base pins and pulling them out, the cylinder then falls out. There is no safety catch on a revolver so people in gun clubs normally only load 5 shots instead of 6, leaving an empty chamber under the hammer.
Below I present the entire 105 years of serial numbers for the Colt Single Action Army from 1873 up to 1978
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