Any Colt Single Action Army (1st, 2nd, or 3rd Gen) Love Around Here?

[Rampant Colt]

Just wondering if any of you are into these iconic revolvers. I’ve looked around and didn’t see much. Perhaps I missed it.

 

[gl89aw]

Can’t justify the price for an original but I do have an Italian made reproduction in .45 Colt that I really like

 

[Rampant Colt]

I’ll start.

This 1898 Colt SAA left the factory on February 04, 1898 destined for Chicago. At some point in time modifications were made to this SAA, which is certainly not uncommon. It retained its 4 3/4” barrel but was changed to .38 W.C.F. (38-40) instead of the .41 Colt it left the factory with.

At some point long after then someone purchased it and decided to have it completely restored (except for caliber). The purchaser chose Dave Lanara Colts which was an outstanding choice. Dave’s 30+ years of work on 1st Generation Colts exclusively is among the very best. His use of NDT, x-ray, and extensive knowledge of the model gives the customer peace of mind when completed. The service is not cheap and wait times can approach two years.

So, after going through NDT, authentication, and refinishing (including period correct CCH) the revolver is reassembled. In this instance a new .38 W.CF. barrel was installed with period correct roll marks.

All numbers matched, the 791 under the trigger guard and on the loading gate are correct. Dave’s “mark”, the stylized L (circled in red on the loading gate) ensures the work was performed by Dave (one man shop).

All Colt purists look down on restorations. Fact is, most of the original ones have been hacked up to one degree or another. To attain a SAA such as this one…but original…would be astronomical.

So here is the final view of it after purchasing it.

 

[Rampant Colt]

The Colt Archive letter for the above SAA…