Colt Single Action Army handgun
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Also known as the Colt Peacemaker or Single Action Army, the most exotic of which being the Black Powder model, the Colt Single Action Army handgun is a single action revolver holding 6 rounds of ammunition, that was designed for the US cavalry by Colt's Manufacturing Company and adopted in 1873, and it was perhaps the most prolific pistol in the wild west.
It is sometimes referred to as the Colt .45, and should not be confused with .45 Colt ammunition or the M1911A1 semi-automatic pistol.
Ammunition
The Single Action Army uses .45 Colt (.45 SAA) cartridges, which should not be confused with the .45 Automatic Colt Pistol (.45 ACP) cartridge commonly used in semi-automatic pistols. Standard .45 ACP ammunition is regulated to under 21,000 lbf/in² (145 MPa), while .45 SAA must be kept under 14,000 lbf/in² (97 MPa) to be safe in older guns. Despite the lower pressure, the muzzle velocity of the Single Action Army is about the same as--or slightly higher than--many .45 ACP pistols, due to its longer barrel. Using the original load intended for the Single Action Army, a 250 grain (16 g) cast lead bullet over 40 grains (2.6 g) of FFg black powder, muzzle velocities of around 1000 ft/s (300 m/s) can be achieved. However, because that load pushed the chamber pressure limit of the original 1873 revolvers the government cut the powder charge down to 36 grains (2.3 g) of FFg black powder, which gave the bullet the 800 to 900 ft/s (240 to 270 m/s) muzzle velocity.The .45 SAA was chambered in 1873. The US Army approved a second standard military handgun of the same period, a Smith and Wesson No 3 "top break" single action with modifications by a US Army Major by the name of Schofield. That gun took a shorter slightly less potent version of the .45 SAA round which would also fit in the Colt SAA revolver.
By 1876 the Colt SAA was being offered from the factory in additional calibers for civilian and foreign military sales. Many were sold in .44-40 Winchester Center Fire (WCF) to allow cross-compatibility with the Winchester '73 lever action rifle. Additional period calibers for the SAA included .41 LC, .38 LC, .38-40 WCF (with ballistics surprisingly similar to modern police .40S&W semi-auto ammo), .32-20 WCF, .44Russian and .44Special. For the British market, Colt's offered .450 Boxer and Eley, .455 and .476 Eley. In 1875, a .44 Rim Fire variant was offered, serially numbered in a separate number range 1 through 1800, some revolvers were later converted to .22 RF. In the 20th century the SAA was sold in more modern calibers including .357Magnum, .38 Spl and . 45 ACP.
Operation
The term "single action" refers to the behavior of the trigger. Its hammer must be cocked manually before each shot, and the trigger performs only a single action, releasing the hammer. Most modern revolvers are "double action," as pulling the trigger will both cock and release the hammer.Like many other contemporaneous revolvers, the cylinder of the Single Action Army can hold 6 rounds. However, because there is no mechanism which prevents a round from discharging a loaded chamber if the hammer is struck forcibly, most prudent users will only load "five beans in the wheel." Although, the new Colt SAA "Cowboy" Model and many modern reproductions, such as those made by Beretta, utilize a transfer-bar safety which prevents such an accidental discharge, many people still choose to load only 5 cartridges for the sake of historical accuracy. In the popular sport of cowboy action shooting, even if one has a modern revolver, like the Ruger Vaquero, with the transfer bar safety (in which it is perfectly safe to load and carry six in the cylinder), they are only allowed to load five and keep the hammer on an empty chamber.
Loading
The common loading method is to halfcock the hammer, then load 1, miss 1, then load the rest, to fullcock the hammer and to release it carefully on the empty chamber. When the hammer is cocked, it will rotate the chamber to one with a round inside. Furthermore, as the swing-out cylinder had yet to be invented, Colt Peacemakers are loaded by opening a loading gate on the right side of the gun, behind the cylinder. Each round is loaded individually as the user turns the cylinder and ejects the casing with the built-in ejection rod attached below the barrel. Many cowboys, lawmen, and even cavalry soldiers preferred the Smith & Wesson line of top-break revolvers, including the .44 Russian and the Schofield revolver chambered for .45 Schofield, for their speed in reloading and for the ease with which they could be reloaded while mounted. However, because the Colt's cartridge was more powerful, and because the Colt revolver tended to be a more sturdy gun because of its solid frame, the Colt was the final choice for the U.S. Army and, therefore, for any peace officer or civilian who could afford one.The loading gate for rounds was on the right side as a nod to use on horseback. The user was supposed to hold both the reins and gun in the left hand and insert rounds with the right.
Legacy
The Single Action Army is still being manufactured today, although antique Peacemakers are obviously rare and highly regarded as collectors items. The gun is perhaps most widely associated with the wild west and spaghetti westerns, although many films and cultural shows still use this.All original, good condition first generation Single Action Armys, those produced between 1873 and 1941, are among the most valuable to the collector. Especially valuable, often going for well over $10,000, are the OWA and the Nettleton Single Action Army Colts.
The OWA Colt refers to the earliest issued Single Action Army guns which were inspected by Orville W. Ainsworth. Ainsworth was the ordinance sub-inspector at the Colt factory for the first 13 months (Oct. 1873 to Nov. 1874) of the Single Action Army's production. It was Ainsworth who inspected the Colts used by Col. G.A. Custer's 7th Cavalry at the Little Bighorn. The number range of possible Little Bighorn Colts is 4500 - 7527.
Henry Nettleton was the ordinance inspector in 1878 at the Springfield Armory. Second only to the OWA Colts, Nettleton Colts are prized by serious collectors. Both the Nettleton and OWA Colts have the cartouche (OWA or HN) on the left side of the wood grip.
Another historical military SAA revolver is the Artillery Model. It was issued to the rear-echelon troops, artillerymen, and such during the Spanish-American war period. Following the Indian wars, in 1895, the cavalry SAAs had fallen into disrepair and had been sent back to the Colt factory or Springfield Armory to be refurbished, fit with a shortened barrel, (cut from a 7 1/2 in (191 mm) to a 5 1/2 in (140 mm) ) and re-issued. Most of the Artillery Colts had mixed numbers. The standard military revolver at the time was the Colt double action New Army revolver chambered in 38 Colt. Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders charged up San Juan hill wielding the Artillery Model. Artillery models can usually be identified by the original inspector's cartouche (such as the OWA or HN) on the left side of the grips and the cartouche of Rinaldo A. Carr (RAC), the inspector who inspected the refurbished guns, on the right side. .
The Single Action Army has been copied by numerous makers both in America and in Europe. The two major makers of Colt replicas are Aldo Uberti in Italy, which is a property of Beretta, and United States Firearms Mfg. Co. in Hartford Connecticut. Both companies make superb replicas that are much more affordable than the real Colt.
A number of "near clones" of the Colt SAA have appeared which mimic the size and feel of the SAA while offering a modern transfer bar ignition system similar to modern Double Action (DA) revolvers. Unlike the SAA and "true clones", these can be carried with all six rounds loaded versus "five up carry and hammer on the empty cylinder". After Beretta bought Uberti they ordered a high-end SAA near-clone with a transfer bar known as the Beretta Stampede. The other two transfer bar SAA near-clones are the Ruger "New Vaquero" and the Taurus Gaucho. These three are much safer for the newbie "cowboy shooter" while being close enough to SAA ergonomics to fit in the same holsters. The Ruger "Original Vaquero" looks a lot like the SAA but is built on a bigger frame able to take the 44Magnum and is not considered an "SAA clone" like the "New Vaquero".
Famed British adventurer and soldier T.E. Lawrence ("of Arabia") had a special fondness for this weapon because it saved his life during one of his pre-World War I trips to Mesopotamia; he was jumped by an Arab bandit who stole the gun and tried to kill Lawrence, but Lawrence's assailant couldn't because he did not understand the revolver mechanism. Lawrence thereafter always carried one of these weapons for good luck. (see Lowell Thomas, With Lawrence In Arabia (1924)).
US Army General George S. Patton, who began his career in the cavalry, carried a custom-made SAA with ivory grips engraved with his initials and an eagle, which became his trademark. He used it during the Mexican Punitive Expedition of 1916 to kill two of Pancho Villa's lieutenants, and carried it until his death in 1945 shortly after the end of World War II.
In Popular Culture
- In the video game series Metal Gear Solid, the Single Action Army is used by Revolver Ocelot. He says of the weapon, "This is the greatest handgun ever made: the Colt Single Action Army. Six bullets, more than enough to kill anything that moves."
- In Resident Evil 2 it appears as an unlockable weapon for Claire Redfield.
- Marty McFly is given a brand new Colt Peacemaker in Back to the Future Part III, but he never fires the gun during the course of the movie. Instead, he gives it to Seamus McFly, who likely proceeded to sell it in order to buy more hats.
External links
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