Gun Heaven Co2 Powered 1873 Single Action Airsoft Revolver (Color: Worn Finish)

The Filly Single Action Ground forces, also known as the "Peacemaker", is a unmarried action revolver. Information technology was designed for the U.South. cavalry past Filly and adopted in 1873, and it was perhaps the near prolific handgun in the Wild West.

It is sometimes referred to as the Colt .45, and should not be confused with .45 ACP ammunition or the M1911 semi-automatic pistol.

i Design details
2 Functioning
- 2.1 Loading
3 Legacy
4 Gallery
5 References
vi External links

Design details

The Single Action Army uses .45 Colt cartridges (oft known every bit '.45 Long Colt' or '.45 LC'), which should not exist confused with the .45 Automated Colt Pistol (.45 ACP) cartridge commonly used in semi-automatic pistols. Standard .45 ACP armament is regulated to nether 21,000 lbf/in² (145 MPa), while .45 Colt must be kept nether 14,000 lbf/in² (97 MPa) to be condom in older guns. Despite the lower pressure, the muzzle velocity of the Single Action Army is about the same as—or slightly higher than—many .45 ACP pistols, due to its long barrel length. Using the original load intended for the Single Activity Army, a 250 grain (16 g) cast lead bullet over forty grains (2.6 g) of FFg black powder, muzzle velocities of around 1000 ft/s (300 m/s) can exist achieved. However, because that load pushed the chamber force per unit area limit of the original 1873 revolvers the government cut the powder charge downwardly to 36 grains (two.iii g) of FFg black powder, which gave the bullet the 800 to 900 ft/south (240 to 270 m/s) muzzle velocity.

The .45 LC was the initial cartridge the SAA was chambered for in 1873. The US Army approved a second standard military handgun of the same catamenia, a Smith and Wesson "breaktop" single action with modifications past a U.s.a. Ground forces Major by the proper name of Schofield. That gun took a shorter, slightly less potent version of the .45 LC, called the .45 Schofield, which would also fit in the Filly SAA. The Filly quickly gained favor over the S&W and remained the chief US military sidearm until 1892. Which was replaced by the Colt M1892, so the US Army temporary used the Peacemaker for a brusk time.

The_Colt_Model_of_1873_Single_Action_Army-0 — The Filly Model of 1873 Single Action Army-0

By 1876 the Filly SAA was being offered in additional calibers for civilian and strange war machine sales. Many were sold in .44-40 Winchester to allow cantankerous-compatibility with the Winchester '73 lever activity rifle. Boosted calibers for the SAA included .38-xl (with ballistics similar to modern police force .40 South&W semi-automobile ammo), .32-20, .44 Russian and .44 Special. The SAA is at present sold in more than modern calibers equally well, including the .357 Magnum.

Performance

The term Single action refers to the beliefs of the trigger. Its hammer must exist cocked manually before each shot, and the trigger performs merely a single action, releasing the hammer. Nearly modern revolvers are "double action," as pulling the trigger will both erect and release the hammer.

Like many other contemporary revolvers, the cylinder of the Single Action Army can hold 6 rounds. Withal, considering there is no machinery which prevents a round from discharging a loaded sleeping room if the hammer is struck forcibly, five rounds are unremarkably loaded. Although many modern reproductions, such every bit those made past Beretta, utilize a transfer-bar condom which prevents such an accidental discharge, many people still choose to load only five cartridges for the sake of historical accurateness. In the pop sport of cowboy activity shooting, even if one has a modern revolver, like the Ruger Vaquero, with the transfer bar condom (in which it is perfectly safe to load and carry six in the cylinder), they are only allowed to load five and keep the hammer on an empty chamber.

Loading

The common loading method is to load one, miss 1, then load the residuum. This causes the empty sleeping accommodation to be nether the hammer. When the hammer is cocked, it will rotate the chamber to one with a circular within. Furthermore, every bit the swing-out cylinder had nonetheless to be invented, Colt Peacemakers are loaded by opening a loading gate on the right side of the gun, behind the cylinder. Each round is loaded individually every bit the user turns the cylinder and ejects the casing with the born ejection rod attached beneath the butt. Colt's cartridge powerful, and because the Colt revolver tended to be a more sturdy gun because of its solid frame, the Colt was the final choice for the U.Southward. Army and, therefore, for any peace officer or civilian who could afford one.

The loading gate for rounds was on the correct side equally a nod to employ on horseback. The user was supposed to agree both the reins and gun in the left hand and insert rounds with the right.

Legacy

The Single Action Army is still beingness manufactured today, although antique Peacemakers are obviously rare and highly regarded as collectors items. The gun is maybe nearly widely associated with the wild west and spaghetti westerns, although many films and cultural shows still use this.

All original, good condition commencement generation Single Action Armys, those produced betwixt 1873 and 1941, are amongst the about valuable to the collector. Peculiarly valuable, often going for well over $10,000, are the OWA and the Nettleton Unmarried Action Ground forces Colts.

The OWA Colt refers to the earliest issued Single Activity Army guns which were inspected by Orville Westward. Ainsworth. Ainsworth was the ordnance sub-inspector at the Colt factory for the showtime 13 months (Oct. 1873 to Nov. 1874) of the Single Action Army's production. Information technology was Ainsworth who inspected the Colts used past Col. G.A. Custer'due south 7th Cavalry at the Footling Bighorn, oddly Custer himself never carried a peacemaker on the 24-hour interval of the boxing, instead he carried a pair of English built Bull domestic dog revolvers.

Henry Nettleton was the ordinance inspector in 1878 at the Springfield Armory. 2nd but to the OWA Colts, Nettleton Colts are prized past serious collectors. Both the Nettleton and OWA Colts have the cartouche (OWA or HN) on the left side of the wood grip.

Some other historical military SAA revolver is the Artillery Model. It was issued to the rear-echelon troops, artillerymen, and such during the Spanish-American war period. Following the Indian wars, in 1895, the cavalry SAAs had fallen into disrepair and had been sent back to the Colt factory or Springfield Arsenal to exist refurbished, fit with a shorter barrel, (from a vii 1/2 in (191mm) to a five ane/2 in (140mm) barrel) and re-issued. The standard military revolver at the time was the Filly double action New Regular army revolver chambered in 38 Colt. Theodore Roosevelt'due south Rough Riders charged up San Juan loma wielding the Artillery Model. Artillery models tin can usually be identified by the original inspector's cartouche (such as the OWA or HN) on the left side of the grips and the cartouche of Rinaldo A. Carr (RAC), the inspector who inspected the refurbished guns, on the correct side.

The Single Activeness Regular army has been copied by numerous makers both in America and in Europe. The ii major makers of Filly replicas are Aldo Uberti in Italy, which is a property of Beretta, and Usa Firearms Mfg. Co. in Hartford Connecticut. Both companies make superb replicas that are much more than affordable than the real Filly.

A number of "near clones" of the Colt SAA have appeared which mimic the size and feel of the SAA while offering a mod transfer bar ignition system similar to modern Double Action (DA) revolvers. Unlike the SAA and "true clones", these tin can be carried with all 6 rounds loaded versus "five upward deport and hammer on the empty cylinder". Later on Beretta bought Uberti they ordered a high-end SAA near-clone with a transfer bar known as the Beretta Stampede. The other ii transfer bar SAA about-clones are the Ruger "New Vaquero" and the Taurus Gaucho. These three are much safer for the newbie "cowboy shooter" while existence close plenty to SAA ergonomics to fit in the aforementioned holsters. The Ruger "Original Vaquero" looks a lot similar the SAA but is built on a bigger frame able to take the .44 Magnum and is not considered an "SAA clone" like the "New Vaquero".

Full general Patton carried an ivory handled Colt peacemaker which he used in the Mexican Castigating Expedition of 1916 likewise as carrying one during the 2d earth state of war.

Famed British charlatan and soldier T.E. Lawrence ("of Arabia") had a special fondness for this weapon, because it saved his life during one of his pre-Globe War I trips to Mesopotamia; he was jumped by an Arab bandit who stole the gun and tried to impale Lawrence, but Lawrence's attacker couldn't considering he did not empathize the revolver mechanism. Lawrence thereafter always carried one of these weapons for skilful luck.^[i].