A Dream 1st Gen. Colt Single-Action Army in .44 Special & Russian

When I started collecting handguns, as opposed to just accumulating the firearms I carried or with which I went shooting, I decided to try to find examples of the guns I would have bought had I been around in the days before World War II. Don’t misunderstand; I have lots of modern handguns, rifles, and shotguns that I admire every time I take them out of the safe. For example, anyone who’s been reading my scribbling for a while knows my affection for SIG P210 autos, Browning High-Power autos, and Manurhin MR73 revolvers. But, those aren’t the ones I would have bought HAD I been around when they were new; they are the ones I did buy in my own time.

In some cases, I’ve bought the earlier versions of guns that are still around. For example, years ago, I had a chance to buy a used, but not abused, Belgian P35 that had been one of the original pre-WWII, military issued pistols. It is now in my safe with my High-Powers. I’ve been a fan of post-WWII S&W N-frame revolvers, especially the .41 Magnums, since I bought my first Highway Patrolman. But reading Elmer Keith’s Sixguns at least a dozen times also made me want a .44 Special S&W Triple Lock and a .44 Special Third Model (i.e., M1926) Hand Ejector. In both cases, I found refinished ones at first and later when I could afford them bought nicer examples.

One gun eluded me though. I grew up watching the westerns of the 1950s and 1960s so had predilection for Colt SAA revolvers. I had a couple of toy ones as a kid, but as an adult, I was mostly a double action revolver guy. There were exceptions. I liked Colt’s New Frontier revolvers, the modern incarnation of the pre-WWII Colt Flat Top Target. Converted by all those hours reading Sixguns, I normally bought them in .44 Special. Having started collecting British guns when I came back from living in the UK, I also traded for a cased Colt SAA in .450 Eley that went to Britain, probably for use by a British officer.

But always lurking was my desire for a Colt SAA like Elmer Keith would have had: a 1st Generation example in .44 Special. In particular, I wanted one with a 4¾-inch barrel. As I learned, after searching for years in vain, there were only 506 Colt SAA revolvers produced in .44 Special. That makes sense. The .44 Special was a Smith & Wesson caliber while .45 Colt and .44-40 were the normal calibers for a Colt SAA. Scarce calibers generally increase the value of a Colt Single Action—the scarcer, the pricier. I did occasionally see a .44 Special SAA sell in one of the big firearms auctions, but it was out of my price range. I also learned that there were Colt SAAs marked “.44 Russian,” some marked “.44 Russian and S&W Special,” and some marked “.44 S&W Special.” The latter two would both chamber .44 S&W Special. I’ll come back to these variations later.

I found a few 1st Generation Colt SAA .44 Special revolvers for sale over the last 30 years, but in each case the revolver was priced out of my range, did not have a 4¾-inch barrel, or both. .44 Special SAAs with 5½-inch barrels seemed to predominate. By three or four years ago, I had pretty much given up my search. I had my New Frontier in .44 Special to shoot, with the bonus of its adjustable sights. I had .44 Special S&W revolvers I shot all of the time. Then, one day, a friend of mine who haunts relatively obscure firearms auctions and attends gun shows every weekend called and said, “I have a 1st Generation Colt Single Action that might interest you.” I’d had those calls before, so I didn’t exactly ooze enthusiasm when I asked, “What is it?” When he replied, “a 4¾-inch .44 Special,” my ears did perk up more than my dog’s do at the word, “cookie.”

Next, I asked the price, which was about right for a 1st Generation SAA in 75–80% condition if it were a .45 Colt or .44-40. I told him I’d like to see it, which resulted in him coming by the next day. As many 1st Generation SAAs had been converted to the .44 Special, I first got out my reference books and examined the revolver with a magnifying glass. All indications were that it had indeed left the factory as a 4¾-inch .44 Special. Still, there was no factory letter, so it was a bit of a gamble. We agreed on a price, and I finally owned my 1st Generation .44 Special. Wait time on a Colt SAA factory letter is a few months so I stuck the Colt in the safe and waited. I’m happy to say the wait was worthwhile as the letter confirmed that the revolver was just as it had left the factory in 1927 on its way to upstate New York.

I mentioned earlier that there were various markings used by Colt for its .44 Special revolvers. Mine has the “Russian and S&W Special/ .44” marking, which it turns out is quite rare, with only a couple of dozen so marked. To be honest, all I cared about was that it said “.44 Special,” but serious Colt SAA collectors look for rare variants and my barrel markings probably make it worth at least twice what I paid for it.

Condition, of course, affects collector value. My .44 Special is in what I would call very good condition considering its 95 years old. There’s some bluing wear at the muzzle, probably from holster carry, and there is also some wear of the case hardening, but most is there. The most noticeable wear is to the right grip panel, which has wear to the checkering and even the Rampant Colt. That panel is also slightly warped. The grip wear might indicate that the revolver was carried beneath a Coat that rubbed against the panel. Most importantly, the cylinder locks up on each chamber with no play and the hand rotates the cylinder, which indexes correctly. My point is: my 1st Gen. SAA is in nice condition but not so nice I don’t want to shoot it, and it is in shootable condition.

When I’ve purchased a collectible handgun, if possible, I like to have the “proper” holster for it. For a military handgun, the “proper” holster usually means the one issued with the gun. However, for commercial handguns such as my .44 Special SAA, I consider the right holster a period one that might have been purchased for the revolver. During the first four decades of the 20th century, the SAA remained popular enough that most holster makers made leather for it. However, I decided that even though my revolver went to New York State, I’d stick with one of the Western makers famous for SAA holsters. My preference was for a holster from Brill, S. D. Myres, or Threepersons. A friend who has a couple of 1st Generation 4¾-inch SAAs brought along a Threepersons and an S.D. Myres to see how that fit my .44 SAA—they fit just fine.

He wasn’t interested in selling, but my same friend who had the Colt SAA I’m writing about here also had a suitcase full of holsters. Fortunately for me, one of them was the exact holster I would have bought to go with my .44 SAA. It’s a floral carved S. D. Myres holster canted perfectly for the draw. The only problem was S. D. Myres didn’t go into business until 1931 so I would have had to wait for a few years after buying my SAA in 1927! As many readers know, S. D. Myres became today’s El Paso Saddlery, still makers of fine holsters.

I took the .44 Special SAA to the range along with a box of Federal’s 200-grain SWHP .44 Special loads which I had found relatively accurate in my .44 Special New Frontier. My friend Tim also brought along some .44 Russian loads since the revolver’s barrel “informed” us it was chambered for that cartridge as well. For readers who are not familiar with shooting classic Colt Single Action revolvers, I’ll repeat the mantra I learned when I first started shooting SAAs. When loading: place the revolver on half cock; load the chamber exposed by opening the loading gate; skip loading the next chamber; load the next four chambers; cock the revolver and drop the hammer on the empty chamber. Sometimes called “The Cowboy Load,” this puts the hammer, the firing pin of which protrudes and would touch the primer of a cartridge, over an empty chamber.

I fired five rounds off hand at 25-yards at a silhouette target into five inches. The fixed sights of the SAA are not great, which didn’t help my group, but they also aren’t set to point of aim, patterning low and left. My friend Tim who fired using .44 Russian loads at 25-yards from a rest had a better group (about three inches), but also patterned low and left. I would also mention that .44 Russian caliber was noted for its accuracy. Trigger pull was very good on my .44 SAA. In fact, I’m virtually sure that the original owner had an action job done. As the .44 Special was to some extent a “cult cartridge” during the 1920s and 30s among Elmer Keith fans and others, I also think it is likely the original owner reloaded for the revolver. SAAs have a reputation for being good with recoil due to the shape of the grip. Certainly, with the loads we were shooting it was negligible.

I searched for my 1st Generation Colt SAA, .44 Special, for many years, and am happy I found it. Hearing those distinctive, smooth, mechanical Colt SAA sounds as I rotated the cylinder or cocked the hammer added an aural aspect to my appreciation of the gun’s weight in the hand and classic experience. It turns out that it is worth quite a bit more than I paid for it. That pleases me, but I have no desire to sell it. I also don’t feel any need to own another 1st Generation Colt SAA. I understand why there are so many collectors of Colt SAAs, but I’m happy with my collection of two—my .44 Special and my .450 Eley.

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