C480 COLT SAA REVOLVER IN SCARCE 44 RUSSIAN CALIBER [M]

Description

C480 COLT SAA REVOLVER IN SCARCE 44 RUSSIAN CALIBER; 7-1/2 inch round barrel chambered in the very scarce .44 RUSSIAN caliber with a shiny bore that has well defined rifling. Sights include a blade front and frame-top groove rear. Over half of the factory full nickel plating remains on the revolver with the balance a smooth gray and brown patina. One-line “COLT’S PT. F.A. MFG. CO. HARTFORD CT. U.S.A.” markings on top of the barrel and the rare marking “FOR 44 S&W CTG.” is on the left side. Colt two-line Patent date markings on left side of frame. Cylinder has some spots of wear and flaking. Correct factory checkered hard rubber grips with the Rampant Colt logos are very good with just a few small chips in the left grip and light handling wear. Very crisp functioning action. “For .44 Smith & Wesson Cartridge” refers to the .44 Russian cartridge which Colt accommodated in certain revolvers before later shifting their barrel roll-stamps to designate “.44 Russian CTG.” around 1901. Because Colt was a primary rival to Smith & Wesson, marking their barrels explicitly for a competitor’s cartridge using the “FOR 44 S&W CTG.” nomenclature is considered a scarce and collectible factory variation. This “Black Powder Transition” Colt was made in 1902. A hard to find .44 Russian Colt Single Action Army revolver as only 154 Standard Frame SAAs in the caliber were produced. A copy of the factory letter lists this revolver as shipped on January 22, 1902, to M. Hartley Company in New York City, in .44 Russian with a 7 1/2 inch barrel, nickel finish, and type of grips not listed, the only gun in the shipment.

MODERN   $ 7,950.