Colt Single Action Army Revolver Options for Regular Joes

The pinnacle of western Americana, the Colt Single Action Army revolver served as the tool of homesteaders, Indian scouts, Saturday matinee cowboys, outlaws and the men who hunted them.

David F. Clark sub-inspected Colt Single Action Cavalry Model revolver with Gold Seal Kopec letter.

When was the Colt Single Action Army Revolver Invented?

First manufactured in 1873, the Colt Single Action Army revolver is still made today. The gun, presented to world leaders and presidents, is famous, highly sought-after, and extremely collectible, especially the black powder frame revolvers.

Famous ownership or historical provenance of a Colt Single Action Army can boost the price into the stratosphere. A well-preserved and well-documented black powder frame model can still draw five- and even six-figure prices, and numerous historic, rare, and high-condition Colt Single Action Army revolvers are some of the most expensive Colt revolvers at Rock Island Auction Company. Under the National Firearms Act, a firearm manufactured in or before 1898 is considered an antique.

Theodore Roosevelt Factory Engraved Colt Single Action Revolver

But what of the Colt Single Action Army owned by the shopkeeper, ranch hand, bank manager, or accountant? What of the ones that perhaps got stuck in a drawer and forgotten, or because of wear and tear received minor repairs? What of the sidearm of regular Joes?

Colt Single Action Army Options for the Regular Joe

The Colt Single Action Army revolvers owned by the everyman are still collectible but not out of reach of a collector looking to add one at a reasonable price. A gun enthusiast might want to add one to their collection as an opportunity to take an American legend to their local gun range.

A cased pair of engraved Colt Single Action Army revolvers in Lot 438.

Rock Island Auction Company offers Colt Single Action Army revolvers in every price range and rare caliber imaginable, providing everyone from the seasoned collector to the everyday shooter the chance to own one of these legendary guns. Some of the Colt Single Action Army pistols on offer are early models, manufactured in the 1870s. Three of the pistols are listed as being made in 1874.

Colt Single Action Army revolvers in Lot 413, Lot 414, and Lot 454.

Colt Single Action Army Celebrity Guns

The roster of Colt Single Action Army gun owners is a veritable who’s who of American lore, from celebrities to western heroes and villains and all those in between.

The Colt Single Action Army is the gun of entertainers, like John Wayne whose western movie bona fides are without measure. Gene Autry, the singing cowboy, owned a SAA as did jazz singer and gun-collector Mel Torme. Sammy Davis Jr., who was renowned for his trick draw moves had a gold inlaid six-shooter. All of them owned guns auctioned by Rock Island Auction Company. Wayne’s went for more than half a million dollars.

This Colt Single Action Army revolver is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection. The "cavalry" model was manufactured in 1874. It can be found in the museum's Ronald S. Lauder Gallery of Arms and Armor: American Swords and Firearms.

A Colt Single Action Army manufactured in 1874 is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection. For the handful of fancy and famous SAAs, there are vastly more that their owners used as they toiled in anonymity.

Colt Single Action Army Revolvers of Outlaws and Lawmen

You can hold the history of the Wild West in your hands with a Colt Single Action revolver. Guns owned by scoundrels and deputies have passed through Rock Island Auction Company. The Frontier six-shooter of Bob Dalton, carried the day of the infamous Coffeyville Raid, and the revolver of Bat Masterson, a legendary lawman of the Old West, who wrote to Colt using stationary from a Dodge City saloon, have been auctioned.

Less well-known men but still of historic countenance, like Navajo Chief Henry Chee and Civil War hero Emory Upton have also had their guns on auction at Rock Island Auction Company. The revolvers of both men sold for six figures each, with the under-appreciated general’s realizing a price of $345,000. Teddy Roosevelt's Colt Single Action Army set the firearms world on fire in December 2021 when it sold for seven figures at Rock Island Auction.

Antique Colt Single Action Army revolver with stock.

The price of a piece of American history is within reach at this auction. The highest estimated price for the Colt Single Action Army revolvers on auction Feb. 16-18 is $6,000.

A rarity for being chambered for .357 Magnum cartridges, Lot 136 also has engraving by master engraver Wilbur Glahn, one of only 2,500 first generation Colt Single Action Army revolvers with factory engraving.

Colt Single Action Army Revolvers of Hollywood Fame

In the movies, cinematic giants like Henry Fonda, Clark Gable, and Gary Cooper wielded the Colt Single Action Army in the 1940s and 1950s. Characters of the gritty classics of the 1960s and 1970s, like Butch and Sundance, “The Wild Bunch,” Rooster Cogburn, Navajo Joe, and The Man with No Name blazed across the screen with their six-shooters.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid go out firing their Colt Single Action Army revolvers.

The Slow Start of the Colt Single Action Army

The wild popularity of the Colt Single Action Army belies its slow start in life. Despite the success of the 1851 and 1860 model revolvers, a patent stopped Colt from making a bore-through cylinder revolver.

Colt Single Action Army revolvers in Lot 432, Lot 439, and Lot 428.

American gun inventor Rollin White, a one-time employee for Colt, patented a bore-through cylinder design and signed an agreement with Colt competitor Smith & Wesson to manufacture cartridge repeating revolvers. Colt was unable to use the bored through cylinder until the patent expired in 1869.

When that time did come, Colt designed a cartridge revolver for the U.S. government. The 1871-72 Open Top revolver was conceived but rejected. Ordnance officers wanted a more powerful cartridge and weapon. There was also concern about the lack of support for the cylinder.

A year later, Colt added a top strap to support the cylinder and a .45 caliber cartridge. The government adopted both of them.

Colt Single Action Army Revolvers in Lot 2375 and Lot 451.

The Colt Single Action Army

The Colt Single Action Army revolver started life as Colt’s New Model Army Metallic Cartridge Revolving Pistol with manufacturing starting in 1873. It was produced with barrel lengths of 7 1/2 inches, or the cavalry model, 5 1/2 inches for what was knows as the artillery model, and 4 3/4 inches aimed at the civilian market.

Twenty Colt Single Action Army revolvers were chambered for .44 Henry rimfire cartridges and shipped to a buyer in Mexico. Lot 3128 was one of the 20 shipped to Mexico.

Between 1873 and 1891, Colt shipped 37,060 Single Action Army revolvers to the U.S. government while nearly 100,000 were shipped to militaries and police abroad and to the civilian market. Initially the SAAs’ frame and hammer were case-hardened and the remaining metal parts were deeply blued. Stocks were either black walnut or black hard rubber. You could get one for less than $20.

A 1891 production Colt Single Action Army Cavalry Model in near mint condition.

The Peacemaker: The Single Action Army that Won the West

To the civilian market it was advertised colloquially as the “Peacemaker” and the "Frontier Six-Shooter." It was shown in an advertisement from October 1877. Across the West, the Colt was used by the Army, settlers, good guys and bad, as well as Native Americans. Thrilling Wild West tales in dime novels and harrowing news accounts of gun battles between cowboys and cattle rustlers likely drove the gun’s popularity.” Veterans appreciated the Colt Single Action Army revolver's accuracy, dependability, handling, and power.

Though initially chambered at .45 caliber, the "Frontier" was chambered at .44-40 Winchester caliber to share the same cartridges as the improved lever-action model 1873 Winchester rifle. That allowed cowpokes or desperados to only have to carry one type of cartridge for their weapons.

Colt produced 161 revolvers in .476 Eley, like Lot 127, and all were shipped to England. Only a handful have returned to the United States.

The Colt Single Action Army was chambered in various calibers over the years, 36 in total. One on offer at the February Sporting and Collectors Auction is a British .450 boxer caliber, one of only 2,697 made.

Colt Single Action Army revolvers in Lot 2380 and Lot 2404.

Black Powder Colt Single Action Army

For centuries, gun powder and black powder were synonymous. The recipe for gunpowder over the centuries was simply saltpeter, charcoal, and sulfur. Smokeless powder was introduced in the late 19th century as nitrocellulose. Nitrocellulose is a mixture of cellulose exposed to nitric acid and sulfuric acid – at one time called flash paper or guncotton.

For a more explosive effect, smokeless powder had to be tightly contained in a cartridge surrounded by the firearm chamber, increasing the pressure released.

As the 20th century approached, Colt certified the Single Action Army for use with smokeless gunpowder -- at about serial number 180,000. A minor mechanical tweak at about the same time denotes the SAAs made up until that time as black powder frames for collectors.

Colt Single Action Army revolvers in Lot 2403, Lot 2415, and Lot 2419.

The Colt Single Action Army Still Going Strong

The Colt Single Action Army is still made, and “Practically unchanged in all major respects, it still holds its popularity wherever a heavy serviceable arm is required for use under trying conditions and away from the possibility of repairs or replacement of broken parts,” wrote Charles T. Haven and Frank A Belden in “A History of the Colt Revolver.”

The revolvers manufactured from 1873 to 1941 are considered the first generation as Colt turned to war production. The draw of westerns at the movie box office reintroduced the gun to the public and Colt began manufacturing the SAA again, with the second generation running from 1956 to 1974.

Colt Single Action Army revolvers in Lot 4289 and Lot 4294.

Colt stopped production again, only to see interest increase along with the interest in cowboy action shooting matches. Production began for a third time in 1976 and is on-going. The company's website lists a new SAA at $1,799, so an historical piece is not far removed.

Colt’s website allows you to look up the serial number as well as request a letter of authenticity.

Colt Single Action Army revolvers in Lot 4316 and Lot 4291.

History in Your Hands

Books are filled with photos of Colt Single Action Army revolvers, whether they were engraved or gold-plated and meticulously maintained or show the rough use of the ranch hand or herder. Those same books show photos of lawmen, villains, scouts, and cowboys holding their Colt SAAs or wearing them on their belts.

Colt Single Action Army revolvers in Lot 4322, Lot 4323, and Lot 4335.

A tool that shaped the west and 19th century America, black powder frame SAAs lend a sense of history and manifest destiny to any gun enthusiast’s collection. The Colt Single Action Army revolvers on offer range from a boxed set, several with factory letters, or ones with engravings or inscription, and won’t empty your wallet. 2nd and 3rd Gen Colt Single Action Army revolvers have also been gaining popularity in recent years and can be found in abundance at Rock Island Auction Company.

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Sources

Colt’s Single Action Army Revolver: The Legend, The Romance and the Rivals, by Doc O’Meara

A History of the Colt Revolver from 1836 to 1940, by Charles T. Haven and Frank A. Beldon

Colt Single Action Army: Owning the Enduring Legend, by Josh Wayner, gundigest.com

A Look Back at the Colt Single Action Army, by Dave Campbell, americanrifleman.org