Among Colt Single Army Action revolvers, certain variations stand clear as collecting classics whether through design, history or both.

The epic tale of the Single Action Army from its introduction in 1873 through three generations of production make it one of the most important firearms ever made. Some of the finest and rarest Colt SAA revolvers are offered in Rock Island Auction Company's upcoming August 15-17 Premier Auction in Bedford Texas.

Single Action Army: Pinched Frame

The name of this collecting rarity is a bit deceiving in that the frame isn’t pinched, but rather the pinched sighting groove found on extremely early production of the Colt SAA. The rear sight is located forward of the standard frame position at the extreme rear of the top strap. While it was discontinued on the Single Action Army, the pinched frame  remained a feature on the Cloverleaf and House revolvers being produced at the same time.

The pinched frame is only known on the civilian Colt Single Action Army revolvers with serial numbers below 200 manufactured before mid-July 1873. How many have survived is unknown. J.R. Edie, Captain of Ordnance at Springfield Arsenal wrote to his boss in Washington, D.C., on July 22, 1873, “The change in the sight is slight but is quite an improvement.” The full grooved top strap became standard on the Army contract of July 23, 1873.

Single Action Army: Cavalry Model

The Cavalry Models of the Colt Single Action Army are martially-approved revolvers with 7 1/2-inch barrels chambered in .45 Colt manufactured between 1873 and 1892. There were 12,500 made under contracts with the United States government. The lowest known serial number for a Cavalry Model is 179. Rock Island Auction sold the SAA with the third lowest known serial number, no. 189, in May 2021.

The Cavalry Model is ripe with sub-genres of Single Action Army collection, whether they are marked by the various sub-inspectors, like Orville W. Ainsworth who inspected the earliest Cavalry Colts or those that followed like Henry Nettleton, David F. Clark or Rinaldo Carr, or where and when they were issued, like Lot 5 revolvers of the ill-fated 7th Cavalry led by George Armstrong Custer at the Little Bighorn.

Martially condemned parts that made it to the civilian market and guns that were part of an overrun are also areas of SAA Cavalry Model collecting worth investigating. As the authors of “A Study of the Colt Single Action Army Revolver” wrote, “The reader should be reminded that in nearly every instance where a revolver is encountered with strange characteristics, these characteristics in turn will “tell a story” and much knowledge may be learned by careful examination and reconstruction of the events which lead to certain Ordnance marks which were, or were not applied to any specific Colt Single Action revolver.”

Non-martial Colt Single Action Army revolvers with 7 1/2 inch barrels continued to be produced. The example below was shipped on May 13, 1919 to 101 Ranch artist and cowboy Emil W. Lenders, partner of famous trick shooter Lillian F. Smith with an exceptionally rare smoothbore barrel.

According to 'The 36 Calibers of the Colt Single Action Army,' author David Brown states, "Colt records show that only four Standard Frame and two Bisley Model Colt Single Action Armys were made in the .45 Smoothbore caliber. These were made on special order for Pawnee Bill and Buffalo Bill, and were used in their Wild West Shows for the breaking of aerial targets (glass balls) tossed in the air and smashed in flight when hit by the tiny shot pellets with which these cartridges were loaded.

Colt Single Action Army: Rimfire Chamberings

Colt Single Action revolvers chambered for rimfire cartridges are extremely rare. 1,863 Colt SAA's chambered in .44 Henry rimfire were produced from 1875 to 1880. These were serial numbered in their own range from 1 to 1863, with most examples sold to South and Central America.

For these revolvers, a cut was made in the top of the frame behind the firing chamber to allow the hammer to hit the rim of the cartridges. The hammer also had to be shaped to include a rimfire striker and struck the cartridge two places for centerfire and rimfire so it could fire more than one type of ammunition.

In 1888, Colt had around 107 unsold .44 rimfire SAAs with standard frames that were converted to plinkers by replacing them with .22 caliber barrels and cylinders. The .22 RF Colt Single Action Army revolver pictured below was shipped in 1888. .22 RF was officially added to the line as a standard caliber the following year 1889, but was not considered popular at the time. Comparatively few have survived, making them all the more rare today.

An included November 11, 1995, dated handwritten letter addressed from noted author and Colt researcher Ron Graham to Douglas R. Carlson states in relation the .22 RF Colt SAA featured here, "It is the finest, factory nickel plated, .22 Rimfire-.44 Rimfire serial number ranged, Colt Single Action Army Revolver known to more than thirty-five years of research."

Single Action Army: Target Models

Target pistol shooting came into popularity in the late 1880s, especially in England after the National Rifle Association opened up the Wimbledon Commons and the shooting matches held there for pistol shooters. Shooting quickly became the British national pastime.

In 1890 marked the opening of the new shooting range at Bisley, where Colt won 14 of 16 prizes in the first series of matches. Colt advertised its Single Action Army for target shooting in a number of chamberings including .32 Colt, .32 S&W, .23-44, .38-44, .44 Russian and .44 Special. The company introduced its flattop frame for mounting adjustable rear sights in 1888 and ultimately offered it in 22 different calibers including British calibers.

Of the flattop frame, a Colt advertisement stated “the frame has a flat top instead of the half-round top through which is a lateral sliding bar rear wind-gauge sight which is capable of fine adjustment. The front sight is arranged by a base attached to the barrel into which are fitted fine pin-head sights. Several sights of different heights are provided which enable the marksmen to use various loads from the light gallery charge up to the full charge.”

A report from 1890 about Colt’s target shooting success read, “It will be noticed that the Colt revolvers are leading all others. This is a dismal year for the Webleys. Not only has the Colt won all prizes in the Officer’s revolver matches at Bisley, but it also carried off all but the smallest prize at Dublin, and at Edinburgh Midlothian Rifle Association revolver competitions took all, without exception. It is now, by all fair-minded men over here, conceded to be ahead of any English revolver.”

Colt named a specially made target SAA revolver its Bisley model after the British competition shooting range when it went on the market in 1896. The grips were larger with a sharper drop so the hand could sit deeper in the hand so the gun doesn’t rock back under recoil. The trigger was set back and more curved as well as widened. The hammer was lower and flatter and the revolver came offered in English calibers like the .455 Eley and .455 Enfield. Production of the Bisley model ended in 1912.

Single Action Army: Sheriff Model

The first Sheriff Model, or “storekeeper’s model,” shipped in 1882, recognizable by not having an ejector rod assembly and generally, a 4-inch or shorter barrel. Fifty-one percent of the Sheriff Models shipped had 4-inch barrels while one-third shipped with 3 1/2-inch barrels. The vast majority of the Sheriff Model were chambered in .45 Colt or .44-40 WCF though later calibers were added. The guns were easily concealable and frequently served as a secondary arm for law enforcement, earning their nickname.

Colt advertised the ejectorless Single Action Army for sale with short barrels for 10 years, from 1888 to 1898, though a survey by Kopec, Graham and Moore recording Sheriff Model revolvers spans 45 years, from 1882 to 1927. About 1,000 to 1,200 were estimated to have been manufactured, but at least one survey puts the number produced at fewer than 600.

Improvements to ammunition, from black powder to smokeless and better primers, made smaller calibers like the .38 and .32 caliber more capable with smaller double action revolvers, and then in the early 20th century small semi-automatic pistols were the final nail in the Sheriff Model’s coffin. After 1909, production was one order, one revolver until 1927.

Some Colt SAA Sheriff Models had “fluted frames” that is an early production feature of the ejectorless revolvers. The fluted areas on either side near the cylinder pin were for the clearance of the ejection rod, unnecessary on ejectorless revolvers.

Single Action Army for Sale

Perhaps the most easily recognizable and iconic firearm in history, the Colt Single Action Army revolver offers so many variations for collectors to explore. Whether it is a Cavalry or Sheriff Model, a rimfire chambering, or a target pistol with a flattop frame or Bisley features, these are guns that are rarities within the Single Action Army family and they are available in Rock Island Auction Company this August.

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Sources:

"A Study of the Colt Single Action Army Revolver," by Ron Graham, John A. Kopec and C. Kenneth Moore

"The 36 Calibers of the Colt Single Action Army," by David M. Brown