Colt revolver ident.

the hawken shop
Shop deals on ebay
L & R
Muzzleloading Forum

Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Status
Not open for further replies.
SLOTHEAD

SLOTHEAD

40 Cal
Joined
Jan 5, 2023
Messages
130
Reaction score
54
Location
FREDERICK, MD
Here is a photo of my grandfather’s oil drilling team in 1902 Kansas. My grandpa is the guy with the rolled up sleeves and dark suspenders. Directly above him is the [fully loaded] gunbelt and adjacent to that on the right is what appears to me to be a single action army colt revolver. You can barely make out the Colt logo near the top of the grip panel. Can anyone identify the exact model of the revolver?

Given the looks of the crew, I assure you that this not an outlaw gang. The next photo is some of their handiwork.

99F33E78-5F83-4EA9-9FE9-0CDC36C8147C.jpeg
 
Last edited:
I wasn't going to say anything, but me, too.
Frank's gun from Once Upon a Time...
Nickel plated. Hard to tell if that one above is plated or worn, but it appears to be plated to me.
IMG_1476.jpg
 
Looks like a 7 1/2" Colt SAA to me, but if you can make out a Colt logo in that halftone image, then you have either really good eyes or a good imagination! ;)
 
Nah… 5.5 or that’s the longest ejector rod housing in history. Custom probably… made for one year only, worth billions! ;-)

It’s impossible to make out the markings as Dale points out. But back when the photo was taken there weren’t many copiers made as close as that one seems to be. ;-)

7.5”
6F2F0316-0767-4422-AE3D-9F8322114AB7.jpeg


5.5”

79A0A8B9-4B2B-4435-AAB1-6B46B25C7D57.jpeg
 
SLOTHEAD said:
Here is a photo of my grandfather’s oil drilling team in 1902 Kansas. View attachment 192636 My grandpa is the guy with the rolled up sleeves and dark suspenders. Directly above him is the [fully loaded] gunbelt and adjacent to that on the right is what appears to me to be a single action army colt revolver. You can barely make out the Colt logo near the top of the grip panel. Can anyone identify the exact model of the revolver?

Given the looks of the crew, I assure you that this not an outlaw gang. The next photo is some of their handiwork.

View attachment 192637
Click to expand...
 
Dale Allen Raby said:
Looks like a 7 1/2" Colt SAA to me, but if you can make out a Colt logo in that halftone image, then you have either really good eyes or a good imagination! ;)
Click to expand...
I have the original image. And I can’t imagine grandpa having a gun plated or buying one that was plated.
 
They came in a number of calibers, too. I have a friend who has old papers relating to the '98 Gold Rush; one is a report to, I think, a railroad, stating that a Colt revolver was stolen or missing. Such items have a way of disappearing if not looked after! Nice photo! Nowadays that item would be snatched in a second! :)
 
springfield art said:
They came in a number of calibers, too. I have a friend who has old papers relating to the '98 Gold Rush; one is a report to, I think, a railroad, stating that a Colt revolver was stolen or missing. Such items have a way of disappearing if not looked after! Nice photo! Nowadays that item would be snatched in a second! :)
Click to expand...
Well I can’t see any cal engraved on the gun, but the cart’s on the belt look to me to be 44 or 45.
 
Bad Karma said:
Nah… 5.5 or that’s the longest ejector rod housing in history. Custom probably… made for one year only, worth billions! ;-)

It’s impossible to make out the markings as Dale points out. But back when the photo was taken there weren’t many copiers made as close as that one seems to be. ;-)

7.5”
View attachment 192675

5.5”

View attachment 192676
Click to expand...
Based on these two images I would guess the 5.5 since the ejector is nearly the length of the barrel.
 
Photo was taken in 1902. Were there any toy guns available back then? The proportions of the gun DO seem a little off. At first I wondered if it could be a distortion caused by the focal plane shutter in a Graflex Speed Graphic, but nothing else is distorted. Maybe it ISN'T a Colt at all...
 
Most of the distortion is probably due to the fact that it’s a picture of a picture displayed on a computer monitor. It’ll get you every time.

BTW, Who is Thomas Manson? 🤔
 
The ejector rod ends under the front sight so 5 1/2" even though-upside down it looks like a longer barrel. The rounds in the belt seems large so 45 Colt or 44/40- hard to tell. It looks the there is a screw to hold the grips but I'm not sure when the screws started being used.
Off hand, folks were rough on their gear years ago so if the photo is 1902 the revolver may well date 1892 to 1902. Just a guess. Do you have any other information? Any idea where he bought the gun? The Colt historian might be able to run it down that way.
 
Bad Karma said:
Most of the distortion is probably due to the fact that it’s a picture of a picture displayed on a computer monitor. It’ll get you every time.

BTW, Who is Thomas Manson? 🤔
Click to expand...
A NASA Engineering consultant, the grandson of the subject guy in the first photo. And now that you’ve seen it, that photo is coming dow, it served its purpose.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Back
Top