Colt 1878 DA Sheriff/Storekeeper model

[Zip Wyatt]

I've posted this elsewhere so if you've seen it before I apologize - I'm just trying to find as many 1878 owners/experts as I can to make sure I understand this revolver.  Plus, this was one of my holy-grail guns - always wanted an 1878 sheriffs model - got to show it off a little.

I've acquired one of these with the four-inch barrel - no ejector - 45 cal - was blued. As far as I can tell the gun was stored badly, hence it has some finish freckling and minor pitting, but appears that it was never shot, hence it has a 9.5 out of 10 bore and beautiful, smooth cylinder chambers. I grabbed this one because it was a heck of alot less than the going rate for these sheriffs - these things are regularly just to danged expensive!

Anyway, I've had a chance to examine and clean it and have some basic 1878 DA questions for those of you that collect or have these. First, with the hammer down the cylinder moves a little in rotation - this is maybe 1/32" or less - the same amount of rotation movement can be gotten when it is pulled back to full SA and the cylinder moved. However, when the trigger is pulled and the hammer falls and if the trigger is held back then the cylinder is rock solid - no movement at all.  Is all this normal?

I've ordered Wilkerson's book but it will take a week to get here and I'll probably get it lettered from Colt archives because ole-Wyatt probably had it on his person at the OK Corral but the ruckus was over too quickly for him to skin it .

I'd appreciate any help or observations about this gun.

Thanks!

Zip

[Books OToole]

The man you want to talk with is Jerry Gull aka Frog.  He competes regularly with model '78s.

One thing I have learned from him is: NEVER SHOOT IT SINGLE ACTION!!!

Books

[St. George]

That sort of movement is to be expected - especially after this many years.

Those old revolvers never locked up as tightly as some of the modern ones will, today.

After this time - the springs are tired, and are prone to some breakage - single action firing places more of a load on them than double action will.

The freckling is also to be expected - bluing of the era wasn't the deep commercial bluing currently used.

You 'do' know that Colt charges about $150 for a Letter - don't you?

See if you can backtrack it through your dealer before you go to the expense - sometimes, the piece stayed in a family, and the dealer knows this.

Vaya,

Scouts Out!

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[Frog69]

Ah…. The perfect western revolver the 1878 colt…. Like a good bowl of ice cream or a sunny day at the range… its just right.
Well to answer some questions about the 1878 colt DA. From the very beginning colts perceived intent was to offer a faster shooting but most of all easer to operate revolver.
You can draw a comparison of a DA to a SA simply put by comparing a manual or straight stick ( SA) to a automatic transmission   ( DA) each have their pros and cons.
First I will say that it is very apparent from the designs of the early DA that they were not designed to be used as a SA but on an only once in a while application. My first recommendation is learning to shoot the early DA as a DA only (Its fun and challenging) when cocking an early DA as a SA it has a tendency to over work the springs and seems to have the effect of shorten the life of them. As a testament to this I have a 1878 That is not show room condition but is a good shooter that I have shot in DA only easily 5000+ rounds on the original springs and its still going.
Well as for the 1878 colt I would recommend black powder or subs of black powder only for shooting (even light loads in smokeless is a little harsh for old guns).
Sound like your Gun Could be a good shooter The most important part of if it’s a good shooter or not is the lock up on a 1878. To check this the pull and hold the trigger all the way back in DA. With trigger back the cylinder should be tight with little to no play and lined up with the bore. It is interesting to note that the hand that rotates the cylinder plays the majority role in the cylinder lock up on the model. It to, the hand, is the reason when the gun was new that the cylinder would lock when the hammer was at rest not allowing the cylinder to free spin. This was achieved with the interaction of the hand and the back of the cylinder. There is no cylinder stop notches or approaches around the cylinder. On the free spin issue it seem that the majority of the examples that I have seen have free spinning cylinders (only clock wise) There are several beliefs for this one is that the tips of the hand is worn allowing this to happen or the second and more practical thought is that the cylinder stop on the hand has been removed the reason for this is simple it adds to the ease of loading. With the hammer down you may insert 5 rounds with out putting the hammer at half cock. The cylinder with five rounds stops at the hammer that has been left at rest. Though you will need to put the hammer at half cock to unload.
 I have handled more that one almost mint examples that have had the cylinder stop removed from the hand. The loading gate doesn’t play a major role in the lock up. The little bump that is on the loading gate is there most generally to align the pedal shape arms on the rear of the cylinder. If you have trouble with the hand not addressing the back of the cylinder properly check the bump to see if it is very worn it should be a perfect circle. The bump can be replaced.
 The old DAs are so much fun to shoot
I have had numerous experience shooting the early colts 1877, 1878, 1892, New services at cowboy shoots and find for me the experience to be well worth any and all effort I have invested…. Good Luck one and all
 Thanks
 Frog

[Dr. Bob]

Frog,

Great info, as usual.  Thanks for sharing!!