What are 4th generation Colts?

[HKUriah]

  Starting at approximately ser. No. S34,000A, Colt reintroduced the full length cylinder bushing which had been eliminated in 1976, making these current 3rd Generation single Actions essentially the same as 1st and 2nd Generation guns. The factory still refers to these as 3rd Generation however, and not 4th Generation as some collectors are now calling them

The term 4th Generation is older than that.

I can't remember exactly when, but for a long time, 3rd Generation guns were a custom shop only gun.   Then, sometime in the late 80's (I think) it became a normal production gun again.   I remember reading an article in Guns & Ammo at the time, and the article concluded by refering to these now no longer custom shop only guns as "4th Generation" production.   The phrase was in quotes, and it was clearly just a phrase that the author used.   Since then, there have been several other "definitions" of the start of the 4th Generation, but none of them are offical or in use by Colt.   According to them, the currently made guns are still part of the 3rd Generatiation.

[acolle]

Hello All. This thread (though its a tad dated) has been very informative. Thank you. I'm going to attempt to provide a summary of all the comments above in hopes to verify I was tracking the conversation correct. Below I have a question that seems to challenge some the info in my summary... and I simply would like to see if somebody like Texas John Ringo might be able to verify I'm clear on the info.

Colt Pre War Single Action Army:
Generation 1, About 1873-1941, ser. No.  [no letters] XXXXX, production was stopped in 1941.

Colt Post War Single Action Army – New Model:
Generation 2, 1956 - 1976 :  Removable bushing, ser. No. 0001SA - 79,999SA
Generation 3, 1976 - 2002 : NO removable bushing*, ser. No. 80,000SA - 99,999SA. Serialization reached 99,999SA in 1978. The SA suffix changed to a prefix beginning with SA01,001. Serialization reached SA99,999 in 1993. Colt then started with the ser. No. S02,0001A.
Generation 3 [LATE], 2002 - Current : Starting at approximately ser. No. S34,000A [late 2002], Colt reintroduced the full length cylinder bushing that was eliminated in 1976.

The reason I'm asking is that I have a friend with eyes on SAA that appears to be Generation 3 with ser. No S 8,226 A. This particular gun has a removable bushing that seems to have been produced well before the speculated ser. No. S34,000A when the removable bushing was reintroduced in 2002/2003.

I'd appreciate any input/thoughts here...

Cheers!

[St. George]

A removeable bushing isn't all that difficult to install, if you've got a good machinist of a gunsmith with a working knowledge of a machine shop.

Many, many cylinders were thus fitted well after the fact.

The 'S' Prefix and 'A' Suffix on the other hand, were first introduced in 1993, and the serial numbering began anew -  starting with S02001A.

Scouts Out!