FALL 2019
Barrels typically ranged from
2-1/8 to 2½ inches. More than
111,000 were made.
In 1874, Colt revis-
ited its old Police and
House revolvers using
the basic New Line design,
but with a larger square-grip frame
and hard rubber grips. The New
House Pistol had the typical New-
Line-style stubby barrel and was
chambered in .38 or .41 rimfire or
centerfire. About 25,700 were made
through 1886. The New Police was
the same as the New House, but it
was only available in .38 rimfire or
centerfire with a 4½-, 5- or 6-inch
barrel. The New Police was equipped with
a shrouded ejector rod like the one onthe
Peacemaker, introduced the previous year.
Large & n Charge
Colt’s first belt pistol designed specifically
for metallic cartridges was the evolution
of the work done by Richards and Mason
on their conversions of the 1860 Army,
the last of Colt’s open-top belt revolvers.
Collectors refer to this transitional design
as the Model 1871-72 Open Top. It was
a .44 rimfire with a new frame specifi-
cally for metallic cartridge use, withprovi-
sion for a loading gate in the recoil shield;
a new straight, full-length cylinder; afiring
pin on the hammer; and a barrel developed
so mewhat earlier when the factory stocksof
old percussion barrels were exhausted.Both
front and rear sights were mounted onthis
barrel, along with the Mason-type ejector
housing on the right-hand side. Becauseit
was purpose-designed as a cartridgearm,
its barrel had no hole for a loading lever
or cutout for front-loading a ball. Standard
lengths were 7.5 and 8 inches, with thesame
handling characteristics of the 1860 Army
from which it evolved. About 6,800 were
made in 1872 and 1873, which suggeststhe
enthusiasm that the public was showingfor
the new metallic cartridges.
Both the conversions and Model1871-
72 were commercial stopgaps whileColt
new weapon with an
eye toward more of
the lucrativemilitary
contracts that brought
the company its first great
success. In 1872, Colt submit-
ted its new design for trials,
and in 1873 won a contract
for 8,000 .45-caliber pistols for
the U.S. cavalry. At the time,
that metallic cartridge revolv-
ing pistol was called the New
called the Peacemaker, or the
Frontier Six-Shooter in .44-40
Winchester. Today we call it th
It’s been in production at Colt
for most of the last 145 years and
is the company’s most celebrated
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- Colt Model 1873 Single
Action Army 2. Colt Model 1878
- Colt Model 1871-72 Open Top
- Colt Model 1877 Lightning
- An 1884 ad for Colt’s double-
action Models 1877 and 1878
