#Colt

Welcome everyone to the 71st edition of ‘Hot Gat or Fudd Crap?’, one of our many series here on TFB. If you’re new to the series, this is where we look at the most obscure firearms that are actually for sale and ask the question – is this Gat a sweet deal or only has Fudd appeal?  Each week the TFB staff weighs in with their thoughts, but readers get the final say in the poll at the bottom of each article.

When it comes to wheelguns we can all argue the merits of what is the best revolver… who makes the best revolvers… and what company is #1? A lot of those conversations are boiled down to opinions because everybody has something different that trips their trigger (pun intended). One opinion I am always willing to offer up to my wheelgun friends is that Colt is one of the most important revolver companies to have ever existed for several reasons. One monstrous reason is Samuel Colt, who needs no introduction, but also the value that Colt revolvers fetch. If you have a Snake Gun, as many of the Colt models lend their names to snakes and are affectionately referred to, then you have something truly valuable. That is why when Colt even is not making revolvers they are a topic for discussion. With that being said, I have a bold prediction (or maybe a far-fetched wish): next year in 2021 the Colt Anaconda will return!

The venerable 1911: love it or hate it, view it as outdated or enduring, it’s hard to argue against the design’s historical importance. It served as the US military’s standard issue sidearm for the majority of the 20th century, through multiple conflicts including two World Wars (not that any 1911 fanboy would ever let you forget that fact). Millions have been made and sold, from the original version to more modern takes on it from companies like Wilson Combat, Springfield, and many more. While plenty of them have been intended as hard-use handguns, others have been more artistically inclined and meant to be admired more than fielded. With a September 15th press release, Davidson’s has announced a collaborative version with Colt and Baron Engraving which falls squarely in the latter category. The release reads:

Welcome back to another installment of TFB’s  Wheelgun Wednesday series of articles. Today we’ll talk about revolvers embellished by Tiffany & Co. This article is based on the six Tiffany Colt and Smith & Wesson revolvers that are consigned to the  upcoming September 2020 Rock Island Premier Firearms Auction, as well as Tiffany wheelguns sold during past RIAC auctions. The six lots in the current catalog pretty well demonstrate the differences in host firearms, embellishment styles, ways of the company’s collaboration with gun makers and cover a wide period of time in the history of Tiffany embellished revolvers.

Besides being fun to shoot, guns can also be works of art or marvels of engineering.  Understanding the man or men who designed a particular firearm can give one a better appreciation for the firearm in one’s hand.  Whether its Peter Paul von Mauser, John Moses Browning, Hiram Maxim, or our subject for today, Samuel Colt, it is incredibly interesting to read the writings of their journals and actions of their lives.  Understanding the who, when, where, and why paints a much fuller picture of the “what” – the gun in one’s hand.  In this case, that gun is an icon of America: The Colt Revolver.

There are many good ways to flex on people at the range or on social media. You may choose to show off night vision equipment like TFB writer Nick, mountainous piles of suppressors like Editor-in-Chief Pete, or reveal an alarming amount of thigh meat like short shorts aficionado and town drunk TFBTV ringleader, James. A more common firearms flex, however, is simply to use nice guns. Custom Glocks? Classic. A SCAR Heavy in 6.5 Creed? Not cheap. A Barrett fifty-cal? Head-turning. But consider a bit more flashy option…

“Well, you gonna pull those pistols or whistle ‘Dixie’?” Moments after delivering this line in the 1976 film “The Outlaw Josey Wales”, Clint Eastwood (playing the titular character) deftly draws a brace of Colt revolvers and opens fire. With assistance from his Cherokee friend, Lone Waite (played by late Chief of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, Dan George), Wales employs his pair of Colts to dispatch a group of Union soldiers who are hesitatingly preparing to attempt to take the infamous outlaw into custody. One of the guns in this iconic scene was an 1847 Walker which is set to be sold at an auction that will be held next month, August 26th-27th.

At the beginning of last month, we took a look at some of the rarest and most obscure firearms consigned to the Spring 2020 Poulin Firearms Auction. Initially planned to be held in April, this auction was postponed due to the Coronavirus Pandemic and took place in mid-June 2020. Like other auction houses, Poulin also publishes the list of prices realized shortly after the end of each auction. And as usual, we used that list to find out which lots contained the most valuable firearms. In this installment of our article series dedicated to the firearms sold in major American auction houses, we’ll take a look at the top 5 most expensive guns that went under the hammer at Spring 2020 Poulin Firearms Auction.

The venerable 1911 – you’d be hard-pressed to find a shooter who isn’t at least broadly familiar with this classic design. Through 75 years of military service and countless variations on John Moses Browning’s original model, some have hated it and many have loved it. As it has aged, the 1911 has come to spark some division among gun tribes between its impassioned adherents and modernists who believe it has outlived usefulness in this day and age.

Welcome to another Wheelgun Wednesday, where we cover all things of Wheelgunnery. In my “One Handed Revolver Drills” article from last year, readers mentioned that the article skimmed over the whole process of reloading with only one hand. There was another question posed in the comment section that I’ll address here as well, so if you’re new to the defensive revolver, or just want to brush up on the topic of one-handed revolver manipulation, then I hope both articles will be of some assistance.

While browsing the catalog of June 2020 Rock Island Premier Gun Auction, I came across this rather interesting lot which we’ll take a look at in today’s Wheelgun Wednesday. The lot consists of a factory engraved Colt Single Action Army revolver and a half-scale miniature replica that perfectly copies the full-scale gun down to smallest details of the engraving and grip carving. The miniature gun is so well executed that the above-embedded picture almost looks like a Photoshopped one.

First off, huge thanks to Alex Young for allowing us to share his amazing COLT roll die collection. For those of you not familiar with Alex, he is a contributor to the Larry Vickers’ AR-15 book. Alex helped write 22 pages just on the evolution of the AR-15 magazine for Vickers’ book.

The US Department of Defense has announced that Colt’s Manufacturing and FN America have been selected to compete for Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contracts worth up to $383,311,941 to produce M16A4 rifles for US allied nations including Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon and Nepal. The companies will bid for each of the orders.

See the entire history of the Colt Single Action Army (S.A.A.) pistol in one man’s collection! From the earliest models that were issued to the United States cavalry, to $20,000 pistols with engraving and pearl grips, and S.A.A’s that were owned by celebrities, this is an incredible collection that spans from the 1870s to the 1970s! The Colt Single Action Army is an incredible piece of Americana which revolutionized firearms design near the turn of the 19th century and set a new standard for reliability and effectiveness. If you’re a fan of history, westerns, or beautiful handguns, check out this video!

Freshly home from SHOT 2020 and my decidedly disappointing first shots with the “New” Colt Python, I was in need of some nostalgia.  A fresh outing with my 80’s vintage 6″ blued Python was just the ticket, much like taking a ’60’s Mustang out for a spin can drive the memory of the Mustang II from one’s mind.   A fresh trip to the range with this classic helped remind me of its idiosyncrasies and the little details that make shooting experiences with this revolver stand out.