[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Check out my old Colt Revolver! (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 5/27/2011 12:43:45 PM EDT
I think its an 1861 Navy model but I really don't know a whole lot about these old beautys. I inherited from my grandpa who had a fine collection of antique firearms, my uncle has the two other Colts, an 1860 Army and 1851 Navy. It appears to be all numbers matching and its in pretty good shape for how old it is. I'm not sure if its the original finish or not. The action is still very tight, I think it would shoot just fine. It even has 3 notches on the grip Can anyone tell me anything about this old Colt or maybe point me to someone or somewhere who would know?
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What caliber is it? If I'm not mistaken 1861 Navy is .36 cal......1860 Army is .44 cal
ETA: I saw an 1861 Navy at Cabelas the other day, they wanted $1,600 for it and it was in a lot worse shape than that.....the finish was completely worn off down to bare metal and the grips were beat up a lot worse. |
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Are you gonna shoot it? No I don't think I will. I just like to look at it for the time being. My grandpa passed away about 10 years ago and after he died my uncle took everything. Which isn't a bad thing, hes taken care of it all and hasn't sold anything. My mom finally got her act together and they are going to start to divide the collection up. She surprised me with it the other day, she called and said she wanted me to come over so she could show me something. Man was I surprised! I haven't seen this gun in probably 15 years, it's nice to have it for the collection. Great piece of history. |
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Get a letter from Colt, they can research the gun and tell you where it was sold, etc. If I remember right it'll cost you $200. That gun would bring a nice chunk of money. Never selling this one 
I might look into the letter from Colt, that would be really neat. But $200 seems a little high....... |
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It's a .44 caliber 1861 Army. The "Navy" is .36 caliber & has an "un-stepped" straight cylindrical cylinder. I figured it was a Navy model because it had the ship battle engraving on the cylinder? Both the Navy and the Army have the naval battle engraved on the cylinder. "Most 1860 Armies are found with the six shot rebated round cylinder with the roll scene that depicts the battle between the Texas Navy and the Mexico Navy" (Same with the Navy) http://www.coltcollectors.com/models/07-5b-091.shtml http://www.coltcollectors.com/models/13-1861-navy-perc.shtml |
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Its an Army, even though the engraving does seem odd. The area just in front of the forcing cone and loading lever pivot are a dead giveaway. On the army its got a much more smooth flow in that area whereas the navy is rather blocky I'm pretty sure the 1861 Navy and 1860 Army had the same loading lever design but the 1851 Navy was different |
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It's a .44 caliber 1861 Army. The "Navy" is .36 caliber & has an "un-stepped" straight cylindrical cylinder. I figured it was a Navy model because it had the ship battle engraving on the cylinder? Both the Navy and the Army have the naval battle engraved on the cylinder. "Most 1860 Armies are found with the six shot rebated round cylinder with the roll scene that depicts the battle between the Texas Navy and the Mexico Navy" (Same with the Navy) http://www.coltcollectors.com/models/07-5b-091.shtml http://www.coltcollectors.com/models/13-1861-navy-perc.shtml Interesting, I had thought only the Navy models had the engraving. Learn something new everyday. Thanks! |
| That thing is just...wow. I would highly suggest that first, you obtain the letter from Colt in case that thing is ever stolen or destroyed you will have a better value for it. Second I would contact a professional firearms restoration shop and have them professionally clean and preserve it for either storage or display. This is not the time for breaking out the Dremel tool and WD40. Phenomenal revolver. So jealous. |
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That thing is just...wow. I would highly suggest that first, you obtain the letter from Colt in case that thing is ever stolen or destroyed you will have a better value for it. Second I would contact a professional firearms restoration shop and have them professionally clean and preserve it for either storage or display. This is not the time for breaking out the Dremel tool and WD40. Phenomenal revolver. So jealous. Beautiful gun, and I would do what the above poster recommends. |
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Very nice, it needs some TLC to get the rust under control. Any tips on cleaning this thing up without damaging anything? I'm not sure where you are at. Classic Guns is in Illinois by Crete. They do work as good as anyone in teh business - including Turnbull. I'd give them a call. 708-367-1620. They will know about preservation techniques. I'd just dunk it, personally. Pat it with an extremely soft cloth. Dunk it again. |
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That thing is just...wow. I would highly suggest that first, you obtain the letter from Colt in case that thing is ever stolen or destroyed you will have a better value for it. Second I would contact a professional firearms restoration shop and have them professionally clean and preserve it for either storage or display. This is not the time for breaking out the Dremel tool and WD40. Phenomenal revolver. So jealous. Beautiful gun, and I would do what the above poster recommends. Any recommendations for a reputable shop who could do this for me? Also what would a "professional" clean and preserving entail? I was going to detail strip it and go to town on her with some CLP and maybe a little mineral spirits where nessecary and call it a day......but i'm open to suggestions as I would like to keep this in the family for generations to come. |
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Very nice, it needs some TLC to get the rust under control. Any tips on cleaning this thing up without damaging anything? I'm not sure where you are at. Classic Guns is in Illinois by Crete. They do work as good as anyone in teh business - including Turnbull. I'd give them a call. 708-367-1620. They will know about preservation techniques. I'd just dunk it, personally. Pat it with an extremely soft cloth. Dunk it again. Awesome. Thanks for the heads up, I'm over in Naperville so it's pretty close. I'll definately look them up. |
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Take care before trying to take it apart. If you look at the pictures that Derek45 posted, you will see how the wedge is correctly positioned in the barrel. Your wedge is either backwards or upsidedown or a smaller replacement. Kind of hard to see from your pics. In the 4th pix down you posted, the wedge should be sitting on the outside of that screw, not on the inside of the screw. Again, look at the pix Derek45 posted.
Very nice looking pistol by the way! If you want to shoot it, I would get a replica model for that. They are rather neat to shoot! |
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Take care before trying to take it apart. If you look at the pictures that Derek45 posted, you will see how the wedge is correctly positioned in the barrel. Your wedge is either backwards or upsidedown or a smaller replacement. Kind of hard to see from your pics. In the 4th pix down you posted, the wedge should be sitting on the outside of that screw, not on the inside of the screw. Again, look at the pix Derek45 posted. Very nice looking pistol by the way! If you want to shoot it, I would get a replica model for that. They are rather neat to shoot! I was actually going to bring that up about the wedge. I did have it installed the wrong way in the pics that I took earlier, however it is unlike all the other wedges that I have seen by looking at other pics. It seems to be smaller than the other ones i've seen. It's the same thickness from side to side and doesn't have that larger block sized end on the right left side (for lack of better terms)  The wedge number does match the rest of the gun though. Perhaps it was broken or modified for some reason? It does seem to pop out rather easily.......
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Very nice, it needs some TLC to get the rust under control. Any tips on cleaning this thing up without damaging anything? Do not try to oil it, or run a patch down the bore, or any other crap. that old finish ( patina ) is what makes it a historical firearm. find a collector/appraiser and have them recommend someone who can instruct you in the proper way to care for it. |
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I'd say since the wedge number matches the gun, then it is the original one and appears to have been modified for some reason.
Since it works, I'd leave it be. Just wondering about the finish. Do you think it might have been reblued at some point in time? Reason I ask is, the frame appears to be blued. A typical 1860 should have a color case hardened frame and no bluing on it. Kind of like this picture I found online 
Still think its a nice gun btw! 
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Very nice, it needs some TLC to get the rust under control. Any tips on cleaning this thing up without damaging anything? Do not try to oil it, or run a patch down the bore, or any other crap. that old finish ( patina ) is what makes it a historical firearm. find a collector/appraiser and have them recommend someone who can instruct you in the proper way to care for it. Active rust is not patina and oiling and taking care of a firearm is not destroying it. OP, I do agree with an above poster that it may have already been refinished, likely many years ago. |
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Very nice, it needs some TLC to get the rust under control. Any tips on cleaning this thing up without damaging anything? Do not try to oil it, or run a patch down the bore, or any other crap. that old finish ( patina ) is what makes it a historical firearm. find a collector/appraiser and have them recommend someone who can instruct you in the proper way to care for it. Active rust is not patina and oiling and taking care of a firearm is not destroying it. OP, I do agree with an above poster that it may have already been refinished, likely many years ago. That was my thought when I looked at the pix. Beautiful piece of history. |
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That's a nice looking Colt Model 1860 Army there. Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Very nice, it needs some TLC to get the rust under control. Any tips on cleaning this thing up without damaging anything? Do not try to oil it, or run a patch down the bore, or any other crap. that old finish ( patina ) is what makes it a historical firearm. find a collector/appraiser and have them recommend someone who can instruct you in the proper way to care for it. Active rust is not patina and oiling and taking care of a firearm is not destroying it. OP, I do agree with an above poster that it may have already been refinished, likely many years ago. You might try contacting Dixie Gun Works or Track of the Wolf to see if they can refer you to a good gunsmith who can properly preserve it. There's a good chance that its refinished. If so, and you have it cleared by a gunsmith familiar with cap and ball revolvers, IMO there's no harm in shooting it occasionally with proper loads.
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Very nice, it needs some TLC to get the rust under control. Any tips on cleaning this thing up without damaging anything? Do not try to oil it, or run a patch down the bore, or any other crap. that old finish ( patina ) is what makes it a historical firearm. find a collector/appraiser and have them recommend someone who can instruct you in the proper way to care for it. Active rust is not patina and oiling and taking care of a firearm is not destroying it. OP, I do agree with an above poster that it may have already been refinished, likely many years ago. it's had that "active rust" for decades. It won't get any worse in the two weeks it takes to find and get advice from the right person. or, you can just jump on it with some solvents and hope you did the right thing. |