10 GUNS OF THE OLD WEST FALL 2019
I
recentlyfounda pairof
ColtModel 1860 Army
“SamColt”Signature
Seriescap-and-ballrevolvers
at a Missouri Arms Collectors
Association gun show. They
were inexpensive because
someone had modified them.
The loading lever and rammer
assemblies had been removed
and the barrels shortened
to approximately 5 inches.
Dovetail-mounted bladefront
sights had been installed, and
the two exposed frame screws
for mounting a removable
buttstock were missing.I felt
these two percussion sixguns
were perfect candidatesfora
“belly gun” conversion.After
a bit of haggling, I wasableto
purchase one of the guns at
what I felt was a great price.
The previous owner had
removed one of the nipples
from the cylinder so that only
five chambers could be loaded
safely with the hammer rest-
ing on the unloaded chamber.
While this could easily be
changed, I chose to leaveit this
way. It should be noted that this
high-quality copy of the 1860
Army revolver has the safety
pins in the cylinder for securing
the hammer nose between cyl-
inder chambers. But resting the
hammer on an unloadedcham-
ber has proven more reliable.
There are several theo-
ries surrounding second-
generationColtpercussion
revolvers.Somebelievethey
wereimportedfromItalyand
finished at the Colt factory, or
Italian parts were assembled
and finished by Colt. It
should also be noted that the
serial numbers started where
the first-generation mod-
els stopped. And all but the
Signature Series guns may be
factory lettered by Colt.
Signature Series revolv-
ers, which have a facsimile
of Samuel Colt’s signature
engraved on their backstraps,
were assembled and finished
for Colt, most likely using at
least some parts from Italy, by
the Colt Blackpowder Arms
Company. Signature Series
guns are considered third
generation and will notfacto-
ryletterwithColt.However,
theywereproducedunder
licensebyColtandare con-
sidered genuine Colts. They
were manufactured between
1994 and 2002.
Colt Blackpowder Arms
was founded by Lou Imperato,
who went on to found Henry
Repeating Arms, which he was
the chairman of until hisdeath
in 2007. The Signature Series
Colts were fully assembled
and hand finished in the old
Iver Johnson Arms plant in
Middlesex, New Jersey. They
have no foreign proof marks—
only correct Colt markings.
To produce this bellygun,
I first cut the barrel back
to 2-3/8 inches, trued it up
with a file, then polished and
crowned it with emery paper.
I leftthemuzzlebright so it’s
highlyvisibletoany “bad guy”
it’spointedat.Italso took
severalattemptsto obtain
the correct stock-mounting
screws missing from the frame.
VTI Gun Parts indicated that
Uberti had supplied the origi-
nal screws for Signature Series
guns and was able to provide
me with two. This seems to
indicate that at least the frame
came from Uberti. Finally, I
slightly rounded the rear bot-
tom edge of the backstrap.
The one-piece wooden
grip was very plain and of
unknown origin, so I decided
to replace it. This was the
perfect time for me to try the
synthetic Resin-Ivory blanks
that I had recently obtained
from Guitar Parts and More.
This synthetic ivory comes in
slabs and has a visible grain
much like genuine elephant
ivory. It was much easier to
SINGLE-ACTION
SALUTE
Turning a classic Colt replica into a belly gun and replacing ugly grips
BY BOB “JAYHAWKER” ARGANBRIGHT
• COWBOY STUFF •
FORMORE
INFORMATION
CONTACT:
Altamont
altamontco.com
800-626-
Guitar Parts
and More
guitarpartsandmore.com
330-852-
Theauthor’slatestbellygunmarksthe14thinhiscollection.
