2nd Generation Colt Navy

[44-henry]

I just acquired a new 2nd generation Colt 1851 Navy without the box. Now I have the problem of deciding whether to shoot it, or keep it in unfired condition. The gun is basically mint, what would you do?

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

I have mine tucked away. I have shot it quite a bit in the past. It has some special significance to me, and it made the trip across the Pony Express Trail many years ago.
I have a few Italian copies I shoot now. I like the Uberti types best. :thumbsup:

 

[Al Cummins]

What fun would it be if you didnt shoot it.........

 

[arcticap]

It depends on the purchase price and whether I could afford to lose the amount of money that it would be devalued by firing it.
Some guns would be a real privilege to fire, while others are better off being preserved for posterity.
I could see firing it if I really wanted it as a keeper and a shooter, and if I thought that the money loss was secondary to the pleasure gained.
But on the other hand, while a new gun can always be fired at the will of the owner, it can only be kept in unfired factory new condition once.
Without the box it's already at less than maximum value. If it's been turned then it's value as a collectible is even less.
Some folks would rather fire any other reproduction but their Colt, while others wouldn't want to fire anything but their Colt.
It's very personal and requires deep consideration of where a person is in life and to weigh the options of what else they would do with it if they make the choice to shoot it or if they chose not to. If you ask me it's easier to just go ahead and fire it then it is to not fire it. That can require some real restraint and a purposeful decision not to.

 

[Poor Private]

The next big question is-- how many of those buggers are out there? I just saw 2 at a gun show yesterday. And I know a local gun store that has 3 more. It's all about how rare they are. Obviously in my small corner of the world they arn't.

 

[arcticap]

That's true.
It's either going to be fired or primarily admired for its aesthetics.
I think that the OP should fill in the following blanks...
"I would rather blank it because blankety blank.....yada yada yada!"

 

[mazo kid]

I had a NIB 2nd Generation Navy that I sold to a friend. When I asked him if he was going to put it away in his safe, he responded "it's a gun and guns are made to be shot". I gave him a good price on it, so he would only lose a little. Plus he has the box and it should be worth considerably more than a imported repro.

 

[marwin95]

As already said, I have mine "tucked away". I have a Uberti that I shoot. I probably should sell the colt...but than again probably not.

 

[Mike Brooks]

I really don't value the 2nd, 3rd, etc. colts very highly, I think prices are way high on these when you consider they are made of italian parts assembled by colt.
In a nut shell, I don't buy them as they are still just an over priced italian repop. I suspect I'll not ever have one. They are widely available around here.

 

[muzzelloader69]

i have a very early one, when they first came out , actually i had 2 but sold one and i kept one, i got the back strap engraved with my name on it , and i shoot mine all the time , i shoot my guns , i don't let them sit. go ahead , shoot the lands out of the barrel.

 

Shoot it, they are only a slight premium over the other Italian guns. Colt tooling, Italian made, Colt assembled with serial number continueation from Colt. Good fun shooter. It only pulls the premium in some gun shops, and an occasional auction. It's still considered a real Colt though.

Bill

 

[44-henry]

That's pretty much my feeling. I came into it at a good deal and have always liked the 51's. It is not the first of these Colt's that I have owned, but I have never shot any of the others so why not. Thanks for all the feedback.

 

I would sure shoot it . I have certain guns I shoot alot , some still unfired too , but that is only because they haven't been brought to the range yet . A gun is a gun and if it is mechanically sound it should be shot , unless your into the buy and sell thing .

Kelly Reb :wink:

 

Shoot it! People place way too much value on, well, value. Firearms are one of very few things folks expect to be able to own and enjoy without ever losing any money. How much is your enjoyment really worth? If you spend 20yrs enjoying it as a shooting firearm, is it not worth the couple hundred bucks you lose in value? Life is short, shoot the damn thing and put some holster wear on it! :thumbsup:

 

[nit wit]

Good job MB, look under the loading lever.
Nit Wit

 

[M. De Land]

I have two of the Cabella's revolvers that make up into pretty good guns if you give them a good going over.I did have to make a new trigger for the Colt to hold the the full cock notch on the hammer.
All will need a trigger job and deburring but both my 1860 Colt and the 1858 Remington reproductions are excellent shooters.
I also have a Ruger Old Army that I like and use the most.
Wish they still made the Ruger.
I bought a spare cylinder for the 58 and it shoots to a different point of aim using the second cylinder. MD

 

[Gatofeo]

Not all of the Colt 2nd generation parts were made in Italy. Those that were made in Italy were made rough, then finished in the U.S.
Contrary to the perception, Colt reissue revolvers are not just "Ubertis with the Colt name on them."
I have a Colt 2nd generation 1851 Navy. It is the finest-made cap and ball revolver I'd owned. The fit and finish are second to none.
I've put about 2,500 shots through mine, since buying it new in 1982. That doesn't sound like much in a modern arm, but in a cap and ball revolver that's a fair amount of shooting.
My 1851 has a silver patina now, with the dark bluing worn off. It looks like an old original.
Incidentally, I live near the Pony Express Route in the northwestern Utah desert. The riders carried the Colt 1851 as they carried the mail between California and Missouri. This area remains the most remote of the entire route, virtually unchanged from 1860 and 1861 when the riders came through.
The Pony Express route in this area is now a dirt road, with no towns and only a few ranches dozens of miles apart. Between Vernon, Utah and the Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge, there are about 80 miles of remote, open road with no ranches or habitation between them.
Run out of gas in this area, or break a leg, and you can die out there if no one comes along or you're off the main route.
I've shot my Colt 1851 many times along the route, and brought friends out to do the same. It's quite a feeling to stand along the old Pony Express Route, Colt 1851 in hand, desert mountains and sagebrush around you, and send lead balls and conicals downrange into a can.

 

[Hipshot]

I had two, a 1851 Navy and a Pocket Police both second gen. I never shot them and later sold them. Now there gone. I wish I had kept them and shot them. I made a few bucks on them, not much and that's gone too :rotf: I was friends with a gun engraver who lived in Hamilton Mt. He had a table next to me at the Missoula gun show when I got the Colts in a trade. He said to me; When we gonna shoot them new Colts? I said I thought I'd keep em unfired in their boxes, to which he replied; Who you savin em for? In retrospect he was right IMO.

 

[TFoley]

I just acquired a new 2nd generation Colt 1851 Navy without the box. Now I have the problem of deciding whether to shoot it, or keep it in unfired condition. The gun is basically mint, what would you do?

'sup to you, but, me, I'd shoot it.

I have a Second generation Walker, complete in box, with all the paperwork the whole 9 yards, and shoot the bejasus out of it almost every guest day. For some reason it seems to be more impressive than a .36cal..... :idunno:

According to the serial number, it was made in 1980, so is one of the first of the Uberti-supplied component 'Colts'.

It is to blame for me getting on this forum, too.

It will be shot again tomorrow - VIVA #1816!!

tac

 

[Rev_William]

I always have thought of guns as you have'm shoot'm lol. You don't buy a great beer and just show off the bottle you drink it for full appreciation lol.