The very first production Single Action Army, serial number 1, thought lost for many years after its production, was found in a barn in Nashua, New Hampshire, in the early 1900s.[8] This gun was chambered in .44 S&W, a centerfire design containing charges of up to 40 grains (2.6 g) of fine-grained black powder and a 255-grain (16.5 g) blunt roundnosed bullet. Relative to period cartridges and most later handgun rounds, it was quite powerful in its full loading.[7]
In 1896, at serial number 164,100, a spring-loaded base pin latch replaced the cylinder pin retaining screw and by 1900, at serial number 192,000, the Colt Single Action was certified for use with smokeless powder.[8] In 1920, larger, highly visible sights replaced the original thin blade and notch. The revolvers remained essentially unchanged from that point until cessation of manufacture at the beginning of World War II.[10]
colt handgun history by serial number
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The Bisley mainspring is longer than the SAA mainspring, and the two are not interchangeable; it is attached to the hammer with a stirrup via a forked upper end. The serial numbers are stamped on the frame, the backstrap and the trigger-guard at the end of production, with tiny dies.[20]
These Second Generation Colt Single Action Army revolvers were produced from 1956 to 1974 and carried serial numbers in the range of 0001SA to 73,205SA. Due to the popularity of the television show, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Colt introduced the aforementioned Buntline Special as a Second generation offering from 1957 to 1974.[23]
The Third Generation began in 1976, characterized by a change in barrel thread pitch and a solid cylinder bushing replacing the removable/replaceable part from the first and second generations. This series ran until 1982 as a limited-issue product with the serial number range of SA80,000 to SA99,999.
The above chart shows the approximate first serial number shipped for the indicated year. This number should be used as a point of reference only. It is not necessarily the very first serial number shipped, but it can be used to determine the approximate year your Ruger firearm was shipped.
Ruger does not necessarily produce firearms in serial number order. There are occasions when blocks of serial numbers have been manufactured out of sequence, sometimes years later. Also, within a model family the same serial number prefix may be used to produce a variety of different models, all in the same block of serial numbers. And in some cases, firearms may be stored for a length of time before they are shipped.
For serial numbers manufactured prior to our electronic records, or for an official letter confirming the details on your firearm please download and mail in the Request for Letter of Authenticity form.
Shipment was received October 23rd by Peter Von Frantzius Sporting Goods of 608 Diversey Parkway, Chicago, Illinois, a noted Sporting Goods dealer in the area. On October 23rd, a "dummy" box was shipped by Railway Express to one Victor Thompson (aka Frank V. Thompson), of Fox Hotel, 100 Douglas Avenue, Elgin, Illinois. This entry in the ledger would account for the destination of the three guns. As agreed the serial numbers were filed off by gunsmith Valentine Guch at a cost of two dollars for each gun.
An extremely rare, historic, well-documented Colt Model 1851 Navy experimental prototype .40 caliber percussion revolver, serial number 1, formerly of the Colt Factory Museum Collection. Matching serial number 1 markings are visible on the loading lever, cylinder, barrel, frame, trigger guard, and back strap.
An early competitor to the Colt SAA, the Smith & Wesson First Model Schofield revolver was introduced in 1875 as an improvement to the No. 3 American. These big iron, .45 caliber revolvers became popular across the American frontier for their fast reload and found a market with outlaws like the notorious Jesse James. With a production run of only 3,000, the Schofield First Model revolver is already among the rarest guns of the Wild West. Offered below is the first production gun, Smith & Wesson Schofield serial number 1, an award-winning piece that has been featured in numerous books, museums, and television segments.
An NRA Silver Medal award-winning, serial number 1 Smith & Wesson U.S./Wells Fargo First Model Schofield single action revolver, a truly rare gun from a legendary lineage. As the first production gun, this Schofield almost certainly saw military service during the Indian Wars before finding its way into civilian service with the famed Western express and banking enterprise Wells Fargo.
A battle-proven gun design and a Cold War classic, the SKS rifle in 7.62 mm is a favorite for many shooters and gun collectors around the world. Originally designed in the Soviet Union by Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov as a replacement for the Mosin-Nagant in 1945, the Chinese would adopt the weapon in the mid-1950s and begin producing millions of SKS rifles for the next two decades. The Norinco Type 56 SKS rifle was sold to numerous countries in Asia, including Korea and Vietnam. As the first production gun in such a long-running and influential line of semiautomatic rifles, the Norinco SKS semi-automatic, serial number 001 holds broad appeal for any serious military collector.
Before turning his attention to the lever action rifles that would later define his brand, John Marlin produced several types of derringers, single shot pistols, and revolvers in a tiny shop in Hartford, Connecticut. Around 19,500 No. 32 Standard 1875 revolvers were manufactured by Marlin between 1875 to 1887, and offered here is the first production revolver of this model, serial number 1. The revolver was on display at the NRA National Sporting Arms Museum from 2013-2022 and is pictured in the book 'Guns of the NRA National Sporting Arms Museum' on page 200.
From experimental models to popular mainstays, each serial number 1 gun holds an important place in firearms history. The first production gun represents the foundation of a legacy, a new model emerging from the blueprints and being accepted as the cornerstone for an entire line to follow or an experiment in arms innovation cut short of its full potential.
4th Model Deringer Chambered in .22 RF short. Serial numbers have N or D suffix.D serial number suffix manufactured 1959-1963.N serial number suffix manufactured 1960-1963. Total production (D suffix) about 89727.Total production (N suffix) about 22880.
Model 1861 Navy Circa 1872-1878. Calibers .38 rim fire & center fire, serials from 1-3300, shared with 1851 Navy conversions, and range of percussion arms below number 10356. Mostly center fire. Total production about 2,200.
WHEN WAS MY COLT MADE?WHAT COLT MODEL DO I HAVE?A common first question for a Colt owner is "When was my Colt made". The second question is often "What Colt do I have"?And therein lies a real can of worms.Before you can determine when a Colt was made, you first have to determine WHAT Colt model you have.This can be a most difficult question to answer.First, identifying a Colt revolver can be frustrating because beginning in 1840 Colt always started each new model at serial number "1", and progressed upward until the model was discontinued, OR until the mid-1960's when the serial number system changed to meet Federal law.Since all Colt's started off at number "1" it's possible to have a number of older Colt firearms all with the same serial number.In 1968 the Gun Control of 1968 was passed. This law mandated that from then on all new firearms had to have a serial number and that number had to be unique.To comply with the law, Colt began adding letters to the serial numbers as prefixes and suffixes to make each firearm have a unique number.An added issue is Colt's often confusing serial number system. Colt often mixed several models in the same serial number ranges or split models out by caliber.During the mid-1950's the serial number data is so mixed as to be almost incomprehensible.As example you may have a model of revolver made in .22 and in .38 Special, with the .22 revolver serial numbers mixed with a different model Colt, and the .38 caliber version of that model in yet a different model range.Even after Colt began using unique serial numbers in the 1960's, Colt often combined a number of models into one serial number range.As example in the late 1960's Colt started combining all small "D" frame models like the Detective Special, Cobra, Agent, Diamondback, Viper, Police Positive Special, etc in the same serial number ranges.Because of Colt's serial number systems it may not be possible to identify what model a Colt is based on just the number.Since many of these guns used the exact same barrel except for the model name stamped on it, we have situations where an owner is convinced he has a rare, unknown model of aluminum frame Detective Special.In fact, he doesn't. What he has is an aluminum frame Cobra someone installed a Detective Special barrel on.When he attempts to determine when his Colt was made, it comes back as a totally different model than what is stamped on the barrel.Since these guns shared the same serial number ranges, it can be quite confusing as to just what you have.
2) Colt M1911A1 Canadian Contract: S/N 930,000 to 936,000 = 1943 ( 1,515 military model pistols were shipped to Canada through the Lend-Leased Act from this serial number range.) Caliber .45 ACP
4) Colt M1911 British RAF Contract: S/N W91,100 to W110,696 = Jan. 22, 1918 to April 28, 1919 (Approx. 10,000 pistols were shipped to the Royal Air Force from this serial number range and were .455 Webley caliber.)
According to "The Colt U.S. General Officers Pistol" by Horace Greeley IV, the pistol's original GO1 serial number was hurriedly changed to GO178 to discourage a visiting dignitary, who asked to see the new pistol, from taking the weapon. 2ff7e9595c
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