NIB 3rd Gen 45 Colt

[TXGunNut]

Went to my local Cabelas this afternoon with the intention of trading for what appeared to be a pretty strong 95% Early 3rd Gen SAA in 45 Colt w/ a 4 3/4" bbl. Gun Library mgr made a reasonable offer on my trade so we went to look at the SAA. Turns out it had a blemish on the backstrap and fit of the grips was average-to-poor. Luckily the mgr had recently purchased a large collection of SAA's and there just so happened to be a NIB specimen nearby for only $100 more. :mrgreen: Unfired, didn't even have a visible ring around the cylinder! We agreed on a price but he was a bit taken aback when I told him I'd be shooting this old girl, and with BP under lead boolits to boot!
Poor guy didn't seem to realize what this gun was built for. :drinks:

[larryp]

Nothing like being the first one to fire a NIB Colt! A couple of years ago I bought a NIB 3rd Generation gun with a 5 1/2" barrel in .44 special. It still had the factory zip tie locking the hammer down. It lost it's unfired status within 2 hours of getting it home,lol! It's now my constant companion when in the woods.

[DaveCampbell]

I am in general agreement regarding safe queens--booo hiss! Never had the bucks to invest in an SQ anyway. About three years ago I bit the bullet and bought a matched pair of SAAs in .44-40 WCF. Have shot nothing but black in them, mostly for CAS. The reason guns like this become iconic is because they were shot and performed well. No regrets whatsoever.

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A pen in the hand of this president is far more dangerous than a gun in the hands of 200 million law-abiding citizens.

[44man]

I have safe queens because they sit and beg to be shot when I take another to shoot. It's OK, they get their turn too.
A gun is 100% useless if not fired. If I could afford one of those gold plated, engraved things, it would also be shot, shot a lot. Life is short and a gun not used is a piece of your life gone forever.

[TXGunNut]

Nothing like being the first one to fire a NIB Colt! A couple of years ago I bought a NIB 3rd Generation gun with a 5 1/2" barrel in .44 special. It still had the factory zip tie locking the hammer down. It lost it's unfired status within 2 hours of getting it home,lol! It's now my constant companion when in the woods.


I'll invite an old buddy to help break her in, I doubt very seriously she'll ever see copper or nitrocellulose. I finally convinced him BP and lead is the way to go in our old single actions and now we make it a regular outing.
Funny thing the Gun Library guy said, seems BP and lead wear out a gun faster. :???: Told him it simply wasn't possible, could be that BP & lead shooters shoot more, tho.
There was a pretty sweet 44spl nearby but it was a 1st or 2nd gen, Larry. Pretty sweet price as well. :mrgreen: Can't recall a 44-40 in the whole collection, Dave. Seems rather odd but I may have missed a few. Just as well, would rather not invest in a new cartridge right now. Brass, dies and moulds these days add up to more than I used to pay for pretty decent guns. I have a certain fondness for both cartridges but I'm pretty much committed to my beloved 45 Colts. This one makes four, five if you count leverguns. My budget mandates the KISS approach to new cartridges, I'd rather buy powder and primers than dies and moulds.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

I have been the first to shoot eight brand new Colt SAA's. There are some Colt SAA's that should not be shot, keep them away from me.

[TXGunNut]

I'm sure there are Colts that shouldn't be shot, have seen a few so worn out that it wouldn't be safe. Don't see the point in buying one like that unless I figured on fixing it. Have seen others that were built to be eye candy but they're pretty safe from me, I can't justify the price of admisssion to that club. I can't see any reason why most 1st and 2nd gen Colts can't be shot. I don't think I'd start an active SASS career with one but a few hundred rounds per year followed by a gentle cleaning will do them more good than harm.

[Trey45]

I feel like I'm in good company here, I don't own any safe queens.

[Catshooter]

No safe queers here either.

"Black powder & lead wear 'em out faster." That's funny right there. Well he'd be right if he'd said 200,000 rounds will wear 'em out faster. :)


Cat

[Silver Jack Hammer]

Colt's that should not be shot are those old guns owned by characters in history that should be preserved. I’ve seen the guns used in Bonanza, I would not shoot those because they were beat. Thrown down on the recording set too many times, used to fire blanks which are filthy and never cleaned. James Arness’ gun from Gunsmoke didn’t look too bad and Cary Cooper’s gun from High Noon has been refinished and the guys at Colt did extra work for him. It looks pristine with a deep blue finish. I’m not worthy to shoot it and no one else should. We have Colts from history characters that are or are not household names not that should not be shot for posterity.

Then there’s the story of the Colt’s that failed in the Philippines. From what I gather these were the guns used on the American frontier, mothballed and then pulled out and sent to the humid climate without being refurbished. They should have been shot but they should have been refurbished first. Especially before going into battle.

[TXGunNut]

Heard from my buddy today, looks like we may break in a 20 yr old former safe queen this weekend.

[DaveCampbell]

"Funny thing the Gun Library guy said, seems BP and lead wear out a gun faster. Told him it simply wasn't possible, could be that BP & lead shooters shoot more, tho."

Well, maybe...if a guy doesn't clean them after they've been shot. 'Course, I'm just a beginner--been foolin' with SAs for near 50 years--but I haven't worn one out yet.

Re: safe queens: Yep, some of the old guns prolly shouldn't be shot, like this one: http://www.americanhunter.org/blogs/a-very-rare-colt/

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A pen in the hand of this president is far more dangerous than a gun in the hands of 200 million law-abiding citizens.

[x101airborne]

When my Great-Great Grandfather came from Germany into the Magnolia Seaport, the first things he bought when he got off the boat was a wagon, a horse, and a Colt. A few years later, he traded it in on a nickle Colt because he took up womanizing and gambling and couldn't be seen with a rusty, blued gun. This was one of only 4 nickle pistols ever shipped to the general store in Magnolia Texas. The gun has three notches cut in the front strap of the grip. I am sure it is not from shooting coyotes since he was hung for murder 10 years after buying the revolver. The caliber is 32-20 and has a HAIR trigger. The Colt historian said this was common on gunfighting revolvers and gave us a lot of information along with the Proof Letter from Colt saying where, when, and to whom it was shipped. Too bad the Magnolia Seaport was destroyed in something like Nineteen-O-something. Would be neat to get the general store records to tie in the story.

And YES. We usually shoot this weapon every year around Thanksgiving or Christmas when all the family gets together. Due to the trigger, it is the most dangerous handgun we have and we strongly watch new shooters when they want to shoot that weapon. I need to ask my Dad's permission to take a couple photos of that revolver. If he lets me, I will post em here.