Colt .45 Caliber Single Action Artillery

Description:
Colt Patent Firearms Manufacture Co. Single Action “Artillery” Model.
Case colored frame s/n: 10280 w/ two line - two patent dates (Pat. Sept 19,1871 over Pat. July 2, 1872”) next to a “U.S.” stamp w/ blue trigger guard s/n: 93575, and blue backstrap s/n: 119788. Blue fluted six shot cylinder. The number “41” stamped on the loading gate.
One-piece walnut grips have “R.A.C.” stamp on the bottom of each panel for inspector: Rinaldo A. Carr.
The barrel is blue, 5 ½ inch w/ a single line address, “Bullseye” ejector rod, and blade front sight.
The serial number on the frame, 10280, would put the frame’s production in 1874 or 1875 and those records have been lost, but the accompanying factory letter says the revolver was included in a  shipment to the commanding officer at Springfield Armory in Springfield, MA in April of 1903. In this letter, the gun is listed as a .45 caliber w/ blue finish but the barrel length and stock type is not listed.
The gun was probably made originally as Colt Cavalry model w/ a 7 ½” barrel and then refurbished and cut to 5 ½” barrel by Colt and colloquially known as an Artillery model. Reportedly, the light or “horse” artillery found the 7 ½” barrel of the Cavalry model cumbersome whilst they rode the artillery that was pulled by a team of horses. In the 1890’s, the Ordnance Department determined that the Cavalry models that were being transitioned out as the cavalry’s side arm, after adoption of Colt’s M-1892 .38 Caliber revolver, could have their barrels cut down to 5 ½” w/ no appreciable loss of performance in the cartridge. This is an explanation of the mismatched parts as they were stripped, serviced, barrels cut, and reassembled w/ no effort to match parts back up by serial number to make the process speedier.
 The gun remains in good condition w/ a good bore. The barrel retains lots of blue on its right side that was protected from rubbing in the holster due to the space created by the ejector rod housing. Some blue left on the trigger guard and backstrap. Frame is mostly a mottled gray w/ faint case colors in some protected areas. The cylinder is mostly gray w/ original blue left protected inside the flutes. The grips have a small chip at the left toe and show various scratches and are in a condition consistent w/ the rest of the gun.
Gun indexes properly when cocked and seems to be fine mechanically.

 


Price: $5,500.00