Question on barrel length in old west

[Capt'n Jack]

Been wondering what was the preferred barrel length for the Colt 1873 in the old west.  Does any one have production figures that show what lengths were made?  Looking at period from 1873 to pre WWII.  Guess I just want to know if it is more correct to display the longer or shorter barrel guns.  Thanks for all answers, John McP

PS Congrats to Rattlesnake on his latest addition.  Good show.

[St. George]

Most available references cite calibers and not barrel lengths.

When you look at the collections, you'll see a preponderance of 5 1/2" barrelled revolvers.

The longer 7 1/2" Colts are seen almost as often, but the shorter ones seem to become more prevalent later in the Frontier era.

On the practical side, it's easier to hit consistently with longer-barrelled revolvers, and the 5 1/2" would seem to've been a nice compromise in accuracy and balance for the average man of the time.

Vaya,

Scouts Out!

[Tascosa Joe]

The earliest 4 3/4 inch barrel that I have seen documentation is either 1875 or 1876.  The pistol was the proto type for the .44RF.  It is in "The 36 Calibers of Colt" by David M. Brown.  I am away from home and cannot get to my books to give the exact page number and year. 

T-Joe

[Fox Creek Kid]

Most of the earliest 4 3/4¨ guns went to the U.K. as true gentlemen thereabouts did not bandy about with a pistol on their hip but rather discreetly carried inside a coat or vest. These were also in proprietary British calibers, e.g., .450. etc.

Statistics are in the Kopec book if I remember correctly but as I am abroad I don´t have access.

[Wild Billy Potts]

Don't quote me here, and I'm no expert.  But I remember reading somewhere a few years back that the 7.5" barrel predominated until the early 1880s, after that the 5.5 took the lead. Hope someonecomes along with hard data soon and sets us straight.

[Tascosa Joe]

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to view an 1884 model with a 4 3/4 inch barrel and ivory grips.  The gun appeared to be original except for the Base Pin and the hammer was boogered up.

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

   Good subject

      My Granddad was in the Cavalry in WW1, his outfit used 7 1/2" barreled 45 long colt ,Colt SAA, his personal firearm was a 5 1/2" 45 long Colt SAA. which he carried before the war and after as a rancher in Nebraska and Colorado, he prefered the 5 1/2" for every day wear, but found the longer barrel of his issued Colt to be more accurate at longer distances, he said he wore his Colt Artillery model every day except when going to town for supplies, he would then take his rifle or Greener 10 gauge shot gun along, he told me folks weren't scared back then, just prepared. in regards the the barrel lengths, he said most the ranchers and towns folk had gone to the shorter length barrels, they were easier to holster or carry in a coat.


            tEN wOLVES

[Hangtown Frye]

Ten Wolves, any idea as to what unit your Granddad was in?  I know that some of the National Guard units were still issuing the long-barreled SAA's well into the 20th Century (NYNG for one, as there are holsters extant made as late as 1908 for them marked as such).  I would love to find out if he was in a Regular Army, National Army (aka the Army other than Regulars during WWI) National Guard unit or what. It's always cool to discover that stuff was still being issued LONG after the "experts" have decided that it was no longer in the inventory, and thus "couldn't have been" issued!

Anyway, great story about the old fellow.  It's great to hear stuff like that, how they preferred one style over another and gave their reasons!  Such things always make sense... 

Cheers!

Gordon

[Shotgun Franklin]

From all I understand the 7 1/2" was the most popular, especially here in Texas. The Army rebarrelled a huge number of 7 1/2" Colt's to 5 1/2" and the Artillery Model was born. I believe that most people who wanted a shorter barrel just bought a smaller gun. Except for the Army I don't get the idea that most people worried as much about knock down power as we do now.
I also understand that UK Military Officers could carry the handgun of their choice, very many bought Colt's.

[Hangtown Frye]

Except for the Army I don't get the idea that most people worried as much about knock down power as we do now.

If old Elmer Keith was any judge as a ranch-man (and I would like to think that he was) then the old-time cowboys were quite  concerned about knock-down power, but not necessarily against humans.  Mean cows and horses were something not to be taken lightly, and a big Colt .45 could save your life when your foot was caught in the stirrup of a half-wild horse, trying his best to drag and stomp you to death while you're in about the most vulnerable position imaginable.

Those fellows carried a big revolver as a tool of the trade, which was as important as their lariat, boots and saddle.  Of course if you weren't in the cattle business, you're right, .32's were considered plenty big for city work.

Cheers!

Gordon

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

Ten Wolves, any idea as to what unit your Granddad was in?  I know that some of the National Guard units were still issuing the long-barreled SAA's well into the 20th Century (NYNG for one, as there are holsters extant made as late as 1908 for them marked as such).  I would love to find out if he was in a Regular Army, National Army (aka the Army other than Regulars during WWI) National Guard unit or what. It's always cool to discover that stuff was still being issued LONG after the "experts" have decided that it was no longer in the inventory, and thus "couldn't have been" issued!

Anyway, great story about the old fellow.  It's great to hear stuff like that, how they preferred one style over another and gave their reasons!  Such things always make sense... 

Cheers!

Gordon

    Gordon, I believe he was reg. Army, I don't know what unit he was in, being in the Calvary, his outfit was concerned with the first side arms that were issued, and I don't remember what gun he said that was, but he said no one did very will with them, and they were only fairly good at very close range, because there were still a lot of Calvary model Colt SAA's in the Armory, they requested them instead, as I posted earlier, his outfit did very well with the SAA, and it was deadly at longer distances. I'm sure it wasn't easy to get this switch done, but he didn't  make any mention of it, he said at that time the men weren't happy at all with the first issued side arms, this conversation all came about when as a youngster, I asked him about his money belt and two loop holster, and that broke into a long conversation , I got to know more than most about there Granddads, I would work for him every summer from the age of ten through sixteen, we talked about a lot of things, but me being interested in Cowboys and Indians the talks usually went in that direction, in a way he was a lot like Elmer Kieth, he believed in big bore guns when it came to a life or death situation, he said the 45 long colt would get the job done, he convinced me, and I've been shooting the 45 a little over fifty years now.


                        Regards

                     tEN wOLVES 

[Hangtown Frye]

Thanks for the info Ten Wolves. That's pretty neat.  I got to be with my own Grandfather a fair amount, but he died when I was 12 so I didn't get nearly as much time with him as I would have liked.  He spent time on the Border in 1916 with the California National Guard, and had some fun stories about that (and in France in 1918 too!), but again, not nearly as many as I would have liked to have heard!  It's comforting to know that your Granddad got to pass on lots of good stories and information to you, and you can pass them on to your own grand-kids.  As a friend of mine said when my own Grandson was born, "Traditions don't get passed from Father to Son, they get passed from Grandfather to Grandson".

Cheers!

Gordon

[Jake MacReedy]

Good point, Hangtown!  My grandson, Hayden, will eventually wind up with Grandpa's 3rd Generation Black Powder frame 5 1/2" .45 Colt SAA.  And I'm telling him all the stories I can remember for him to have as his tradition!

Regards,
Jake