Another gun I inherited from my dad. It is a Colt .45 with a patent stamp date of 1871,72,75.
The handgun is in pretty good shape and is fully operational. It has a 4" barrel and has the serial number stamped 3 times on it. The patent date stamp and the Colt circled logo are both very clear and in good shape.
You have a Colt Model 1873 Single Action Army chambered in the beloved .45 Long Colt. The serial number dates to 1898. These are quite collectable and can go for quite a bit of money. Condition is everything, and there are members who are more versed in these than I am.
That being said, yours is dinged up. It looks like one of the trigger guard screws is loose and the cylinder pin is pretty chewed up. Does it cycler properly and how is the lock up?
Thank you for the response. Yes, it cycles properly and if fully workable. The barrel and the bottom of the hand grip are a bit banged up and grips a bit worn. There isnt any pitting or rust on the gun but is tarnished in some areas.
I remember seeing westerns where the cowboy used his pistol to drive in fence nails. Wonder if that is what happened to the barrel? Someone hit is with something more than once.
How are you measuring the barrel? You should measure from the end of the forcing cone (where the bullet enters the barrel) to the muzzle. The barrel length should be around 4.75".
Colt 1873 SSA's can range anywhere from $3,000 for poor condition to $25,000 in excellent condition. Establishing the condition of yours is what you need to do. Try taking pictures without a flash and using natural light. Take pictures of the whole gun, not just close ups.
I would say your falls in the fair to poor, but I am not an expert by any means.
The original finish is pretty much gone - and I agree with Bill that someone has buffed it - but over all, for it's age, it looks pretty good. I'd say it is more like 'fair' in condition. I've seen SAAs in a little worse condition go for $1500 to about $1750, but that was about 10 years ago. Everyone seems to want an original "six-shooter".
One thing I hate to see on old guns like this one are buggered screw heads. Sure sign that someone who didn't know what they were doing was tinkering with it. This is a very nice piece of history, and the owner should be proud to have it. I doubt that I'd try shooting it because of the fact that it was made for black powder, and also the steel is pretty old. This one was made about the time when firearms were changing from black to smokeless powder, but again - I'd strongly caution against ever shooting this gun with modern ammunition.
Not only that but the scratches from the wire wheel and it looks like it was rusted up at some point and somebody beat the bejeezus out of it trying to get it apart.
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