Posted: 1/17/2025 2:10:41 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Yobro512][Edited]
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Recently did a year of genealogy work. ggGrandpa was a Texas Ranger company D Frontier battalion under captain Rufus Perry in 1874. So I’m learning that they basically used some of the OG SAA’s. So to honor him I’d like to see about buying the best likeness of his pistol that I can. Can y’all educate and help me? |
Shall we join the British or strive like men for the noble end for which we have done and spent so much?
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I'd go with Cimmaron. These models have the early features. 1st pattern Colt SAA Frontier model with 5.5 inch barrel Had the same bug bite me but I went with the 1890 version of the SAA re-issued to the US Volunteers in the Span Am war. |
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If you want to go “all out”, buy a real Colt from the time period in which he served. I sort of did that with/for the AZ Rangers. They only existed from 1901-1909 and were required to carry 2 Colt 45s, an 1895 Winchester and “a shotgun”. It took me a while but I eventually found one and then a second Colt from the correct period. The Winchester took a while (had to be 30 Army [30-40 Krag] as the AZ Rangers sought ammo resupply from Army forts in the area). Never found definitive information on their shotguns so I got an 1887 and a 97. |
I wanted a mission, and for my sins, they gave me one.
I love it. God help me, I do love it so. I love it more than my life
I love it. God help me, I do love it so. I love it more than my life
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Originally Posted By Yobro512: Recently did a year of genealogy work. ggGrandpa was a Texas Ranger company D Frontier battalion under Col. Rufus Perry in 1874. So I’m learning that they basically used some of the OG SAA’s. So to honor him I’d like to see about buying the best likeness of his pistol that I can. Can y’all educate and help me? You ever read about Rufus Perry? Dude was a legend, did like 40 years with the Rangers. Was left for dead, half buried. Saw him later wondering into town. |
| Buy a Colt, not a knockoff in this situation, you will regret it in the end and buy what you should have bought in the first place. |
Liberals are a curious mix of communism and fascism, they want to destroy you but want to use your own money to do it.
I'm getting down to the last box, the others have all been destroyed...
I'm getting down to the last box, the others have all been destroyed...
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Originally Posted By fxntime: Buy a Colt, not a knockoff in this situation, you will regret it in the end and buy what you should have bought in the first place. The question is….what Colt do I buy. What model best imitates that exact 1874 Ranger bought SAA. |
Shall we join the British or strive like men for the noble end for which we have done and spent so much?
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Originally Posted By Tango: You ever read about Rufus Perry? Dude was a legend, did like 40 years with the Rangers. Was left for dead, half buried. Saw him later wondering into town. Dude all those Rangers from 1835-1850 were like literal mythical warriors. From Ben McCulloch, Gillespie, Jack Hays, Walker. all of them stone cold killers with a death wish with real body counts. Pretty much all the 1880’s were dime store knock offs who got in like 2 gun fights in their life’s but they had better press. |
Shall we join the British or strive like men for the noble end for which we have done and spent so much?
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These are from the Texas Ranger Museum. Looks like they carried everything they could get up into 1873. I would get a clone either in ball and cap or a Colt SAA clone, and shop for the real deal later. I have some originals and I dont shoot them. They are a collectable. The clones are fun to blast and handle. |
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Originally Posted By Yobro512: Dude all those Rangers from 1835-1850 were like literal mythical warriors. From Ben McCulloch, Gillespie, Jack Hays, Walker. all of them stone cold killers with a death wish with real body counts. Pretty much all the 1880’s were dime store knock offs who got in like 2 gun fights in their life’s but they had better press. "South of San Antonio, in the early 50's, Perry was desperately wounded and apparently died. General Burleson and his rangers pronounced him dead, and attempted to dig a grave with their butcher knives, but the work was so difficult and slow, and fearing another assault by the Indians, they "cached" his body in rocks and brush to keep off the wolves, intending to return to from San Antonio, whither they were bound, to decently bury it. Four days after, they were astounded to see Perry wandering into San Antonio and in less than a month he was ready for service. During the night after the rangers left him he revived and struggled out of the "cache" and made his way to San Antonio, reaching there just as his companions were about to start for the Nueces to give him a decent burial. He left the ranger service in 1886. " |
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Originally Posted By Yobro512: The question is….what Colt do I buy. What model best imitates that exact 1874 Ranger bought SAA. The only variables are barrel length, finish and perhaps frame (i.e. early 1873s retained black powder frames). In the olden days, they tended to go with long barrels (7.5”). Finish most likely blue. |
I wanted a mission, and for my sins, they gave me one.
I love it. God help me, I do love it so. I love it more than my life
I love it. God help me, I do love it so. I love it more than my life
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Originally Posted By KILLERB6: Colt 1873…that’s it. The only variables are barrel length, finish and perhaps frame (i.e. early 1873s retained black powder frames). In the olden days, they tended to go with long barrels (7.5”). Finish most likely blue. In 1874 would it have been for sure black powder? |
Shall we join the British or strive like men for the noble end for which we have done and spent so much?
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In 1874 the Colt SAA was still very new on the frontier, and limited options were available. The "most likely" Colt would have been a standard 7 1/2 inch barrel with a blued and case hardened frame and hammer. The grips would have been smooth walnut unless he replaced them with something else. The most likely caliber would have been .45 Colt, but Rangers liked to have the same ammo for rifle and pistol, so it might have been in 44-40 Winchester, same as the Winchester 1973 rifle. All Colt's were black powder until the late 1890's so the frame would be a black powder frame with a screw in the lower front of the frame to retain the cylinder base pin. The ejector rod head would have been the full circular finger piece "bullseye" type with a hole in the middle. For more expert help, post on the Colt Forum 1st generation Single action forum...... https://www.coltforum.com/forums/1st-generation-colt-single-action-army.116/ |
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That early in 1874 a good number of people on both sides of the law could very likely still be carrying percussion revolvers mostly colts, such as the 1851 navy or 1860 army. Ammo was hard to come by and even Bill Hickock stuck with percussion guns well into the cartridge era. An original first to second year production Colt SAA will be very expensive even in rough shape ( a good functional SAA from that time period is likely to cost 5 grand or more) A good functional condition 1851 navy or 1860 army will be MUCH less expensive than a SAA from that era, and just as likely to be a gun carried and used in that time frame. And yes up to about 1903, the colt SAA was designed around black powder. It is wise to shoot guns from that era with black powder loads. Not a big deal, just clean after. I have owned multiple first generation colts and shot them with black powder. 10-15 minutes of cleanup is all it takes. |
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Originally Posted By dfariswheel: In 1874 the Colt SAA was still very new on the frontier, and limited options were available. The "most likely" Colt would have been a standard 7 1/2 inch barrel with a blued and case hardened frame and hammer. The grips would have been smooth walnut unless he replaced them with something else. The most likely caliber would have been .45 Colt, but Rangers liked to have the same ammo for rifle and pistol, so it might have been in 44-40 Winchester, same as the Winchester 1973 rifle. All Colt's were black powder until the late 1890's so the frame would be a black powder frame with a screw in the lower front of the frame to retain the cylinder base pin. The ejector rod head would have been the full circular finger piece "bullseye" type with a hole in the middle. For more expert help, post on the Colt Forum 1st generation Single action forum...... https://www.coltforum.com/forums/1st-generation-colt-single-action-army.116/ If I wanted to buy new the closest possible… would a COLT 7.5” SAA in .45LC be the best bet? |
Shall we join the British or strive like men for the noble end for which we have done and spent so much?
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Yes, but you'd want an authentic early type Colt replica. That would be a black powder type frame with the screw that retains the base pin, not the late 1890's smokeless frame with the push button retention. The frame would be color case hardened, barrel 7 1/2 inches, smooth walnut grips, the bullseye ejector rod head. Caliber .45 Colt or .44-40. Pretty exact replicas are made by Uberti and Pietta. These are sold by importers like Cimarron, Dixie Gun Works, EMF, Taylor and others. Some of the Uberti's have different actions that only have 3 "clicks" when cocked, the Pietta have the original Colt 4 clicks. There's also Colt if you have the big bucks and can wait for a special order. |
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Could you give us an idea of where your info is coming from? In the Study by Graham, Kopec, and Moore, on a discussion of a scandal involving revolvers issued to the State of Virginia, a letter is noted as being sent from a Texas Ranger to Colt in early 1876 complaining that the Rangers couldn't get SAAs at favorable prices. The letter came at a bad time. Colt was very pissed because Virginia had just gotten some U.S. SAAs for their militia and promptly turned around and sold them on the market. Since Colt had given the .gov very favorable pricing, VA turned a profit while at the same time undercutting Colt's private sales. So the Ranger letter was taken to imply that Texas was also angling to get some cheap revolvers they could then turn around and sell for a profit. In response, the Chief of Ordnance replied that no U.S. SAAs had been issued to Texas at that time. In fact, Texas only received U.S. SAAs for militia use in 1891. Thus, if Texas and/or the Rangers were using SAAs, they presumably would have to have been getting them commercially/privately. |
Res ad triarios rediit.
“Believe me, nothing except a battle lost can be half so melancholy as a battle won.” - Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
“Believe me, nothing except a battle lost can be half so melancholy as a battle won.” - Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
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Originally Posted By Polupharmakos: Could you give us an idea of where your info is coming from? In the Study by Graham, Kopec, and Moore, on a discussion of a scandal involving revolvers issued to the State of Virginia, a letter is noted as being sent from a Texas Ranger to Colt in early 1876 complaining that the Rangers couldn't get SAAs at favorable prices. The letter came at a bad time. Colt was very pissed because Virginia had just gotten some U.S. SAAs for their militia and promptly turned around and sold them on the market. Since Colt had given the .gov very favorable pricing, VA turned a profit while at the same time undercutting Colt's private sales. So the Ranger letter was taken to imply that Texas was also angling to get some cheap revolvers they could then turn around and sell for a profit. In response, the Chief of Ordnance replied that no U.S. SAAs had been issued to Texas at that time. In fact, Texas only received U.S. SAAs for militia use in 1891. Thus, if Texas and/or the Rangers were using SAAs, they presumably would have to have been getting them commercially/privately. Thanks for critiquing. Listening to a book on company D 1874 frontier battalion now. I have scraped a few sources from the web. But it’s hard to get this specific level of the exact colts they were buying. I’ve seen a few say SAA’s. Chapter 2 of “Winchester warriors” details company D buying and issuing I think “53 colt revolvers.” But what type they left out. But I’ll have to go confirm. Thanks. |
Shall we join the British or strive like men for the noble end for which we have done and spent so much?