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Posted: 11/25/2011 10:52:10 PM EDT
Why was the Colt 1873 Single Action Army so much more popular than the Remington 1875 pistol? Was the Remington inferior in some way?
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I think both have nice lines, but I never did understand the belly fin on the Remington.
Loved the Colts, though, since the old Dragoon and Pocket Model 1848/9, is it? |
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Original Remingtons were offered in .44 Remington, .44/40, and rarely, in .45 Colt
The bore diameter remained basically the same for all three calibers so the .44/40s din't shoot well. .44 Remington was an oddball loading which worked well in the gun but none of the commonly available .44 centerfire cartridges would and the .45 Colts were never sold in enough quantities before the .gun was discontinued. The commercial .45 Colt load was the powerhouse round of the day and Colt correctly bored and rifled the guns that were chambered in Winchester cartridges so it shot to an accuracy standard that was considered target grade in that era. Many original handguns from that era shot no where near as good. |
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the Rem is ugly ? the Colt is a thing of beauty..... Really? I like the look of the Remington! Remington http://www.icollector.com/images/1618/17522/17522_1628_1_lg.jpg Colt http://picturearchive.gunauction.com/2212200913/8733444/acfec39.jpg Yeah , mark me down for the Remington camp too , I always thought it was a bit prettier as well . ( Not to shit on the SAA , which is a very pretty piece) Quoted:
S&W Model 3 Schofield ftw! Another gorgeous piece of history Personally , I'm partial to converted Walkers and Dragoons |
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Remington seemed to always be just a few years behind the curve
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Colt had better advertising and I belileve there was some issues with Remingtons ( a few lemons that gave them a bad reputation). I read about it many years ago and cannot remember exactly why.
Also in sheer numbers Colt exceeded Remingtons production. |
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I've always liked the look of the frame web on the Remingtons, too. And according to "Little Bill" in Unforgiven, the Colt Walkers blew up in people's hands. Is any of that true?
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Remington seemed to always be just a few years behind the curve Not always the case. Some might argue that because of the top strap the Remington 1858 was superior to the Colt 1860 and it came out two years ahead. |
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The Remington was in Raiders of the lost Ark, in the beginning, Indy whips it out of the guys hand and it lands in the water at the edge.
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Remington had good features, ammo and Colt marketing sealed the deal.
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I have an original of each. Thought I would prefer the Rem before I had either, but just something magical about the 19th century Colts.
I've fired about every gun I own, but could not bring myself to fire either. Bob |
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I have an original of each. Thought I would prefer the Rem before I had either, but just something magical about the 19th century Colts. I've fired about every gun I own, but could not bring myself to fire either. Bob Your picture arent loading |
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The Colt is an elegant looking pistol and stands at the acme of revolver design.
The collectibility of Colt SAA's should leave no guessing as to its desirability! The Remington gives up nothing and, I think, has better balance and stability because of that wedge beneath the barrel. As explained, Colt accuracy was pushed to its limit and simply exceeded Remington's. Quality wise, Colt may have surpassed the Remington as there are so many more Colt SAA's from nearly all era's... Colt's success in military and commercial sales may have contributed to its longevity and market quantity. From earlier designs, specifically the black powder period, the Remington's top strap was considered a point of strength over the Colt's open top. I do look forward to getting a nice Colt SAA... more so than a Remington. |
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I dont think Remington could keep up with Colt Manufacturing.
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Hey! What are you doing with my 5 1/2"? Nick
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the Rem is ugly ? the Colt is a thing of beauty..... Really? I like the look of the Remington! Remington http://www.icollector.com/images/1618/17522/17522_1628_1_lg.jpg Colt http://picturearchive.gunauction.com/2212200913/8733444/acfec39.jpg Yeah , mark me down for the Remington camp too , I always thought it was a bit prettier as well . ( Not to shit on the SAA , which is a very pretty piece) Quoted:
S&W Model 3 Schofield ftw! Another gorgeous piece of history Personally , I'm partial to converted Walkers and Dragoons http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y214/ultramagbrion/walker-1.jpg http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y214/ultramagbrion/Walker45BPM-1.jpg Anybody make those for sale? A quick Google didn't turn up much and I want to hit this thread before it disappears. Always wanted one but was smart enough to know I would shoot a black powder pistol about twice and then put it up. |
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Quoted: Hey! What are you doing with my 5 1/2"? Nick I don't think I have any pistol w/ 5 1/2" barrel, actually.... this one is 4.75" I have a '70's 7.5" barrel in .45 that my wife & I enjoy shooting at steel outdoors. |
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I think both have nice lines, but I never did understand the belly fin on the Remington. Loved the Colts, though, since the old Dragoon and Pocket Model 1848/9, is it? The BELLY FIN remained after the 1858 new army revolver.. It was than to make the lever stronger. |
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I don't care for the lines of the Remington compared to the Model P. I'd take the S&W over both. However, I will take a cap & ball Remington over a cap & ball Colt any day.
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Original Remingtons were offered in .44 Remington, .44/40, and rarely, in .45 Colt The bore diameter remained basically the same for all three calibers so the .44/40s din't shoot well. .44 Remington was an oddball loading which worked well in the gun but none of the commonly available .44 centerfire cartridges would and the .45 Colts were never sold in enough quantities before the .gun was discontinued. The commercial .45 Colt load was the powerhouse round of the day and Colt correctly bored and rifled the guns that were chambered in Winchester cartridges so it shot to an accuracy standard that was considered target grade in that era. Many original handguns from that era shot no where near as good. Best response so far and "almost" right. Originally made only in .44 Rem - a true .44 cal with healed, outside lubricated bullets (like .22 LR). These picked up grit when carried in open cartridge belt loops popular at the time and rapidly ruined the accuracy of the guns. Rem then switched to .44-40. They did use correct .427 barrels but the cylinders were .44 Rem cylinders just re-chambered. So the cylinder throat was way over size and accuracy - even new - was non-existant. I've never seen or heard of original 1875 Remingtons in .45 Colt so they must have been rare indeed. The '73 Colt was fairly accurate and worked like a champ in .45 Colt. The bottleneck cartridges like .44-40 and .38-40 had a reputation (deserved or not - I do not know) for backing out against the recoil shield when fired and tying up the cylinder at the worst possible time. So a lot of serious gunmen stuck to .45 Colt in spite of foregoing the convenience of sharing ammo with his '73 Winchester. |
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How about modern reproductions? Does anybody have a modern Remington 1875 chambered in .45 Colt and a modern reproduction 1873 Colt in .45 Colt that could give aside by side comparison?
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I like the look of the Remington more too
which is why I bought one from EMF (I think it's just a rebranded Uberti) edit: just saw the OP's last question I don't have a colt or reproduction of the colt to compare to, but I like my Remington reproduction. I also got a .45acp cylinder for it but I have never shot acp from it |
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Really? I like the look of the Remington! So do I, don't feel bad. |
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the Rem is ugly ? the Colt is a thing of beauty..... Really? I like the look of the Remington! Remington http://www.icollector.com/images/1618/17522/17522_1628_1_lg.jpg Colt http://picturearchive.gunauction.com/2212200913/8733444/acfec39.jpg Yeah , mark me down for the Remington camp too , I always thought it was a bit prettier as well . ( Not to shit on the SAA , which is a very pretty piece) Quoted:
S&W Model 3 Schofield ftw! Another gorgeous piece of history Personally , I'm partial to converted Walkers and Dragoons http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y214/ultramagbrion/walker-1.jpg http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y214/ultramagbrion/Walker45BPM-1.jpg That is a beautiful conversion. Now,What if I were to buy a cap and ball pistol,what would I need to do to legally convert it? |
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I don't see it either. I've had one of those Uberti Cabelas.45 copies plain jane ones (1873) If I ever went that period again I'd go here,
http://www.ubertireplicas.com/revolver-top.php#prod The smiths loading and unloading is so superior in every way Maybe the Russian too... http://www.ubertireplicas.com/revolver-toprussian.php#prod |
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I'm sure the large military contracts that Colt had also helped.
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Closer look-yep, you're right.
Mine looks exactly like mine down to the grips, but mine is a 5 1/2. 1897 build date. Nick
Quoted: Quoted: Hey! What are you doing with my 5 1/2"? Nick I don't think I have any pistol w/ 5 1/2" barrel, actually.... this one is 4.75" I have a '70's 7.5" barrel in .45 that my wife & I enjoy shooting at steel outdoors. |
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Quoted: Remington had good features, ammo and Colt marketing sealed the deal. +1 |
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The Army had adopted the Colt SAA.
Military weapon fans then were just like the military weapon fans of today? The Colt handles better for me. Have to admit I've only fired modern Italian clones of the Remington. |
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Put me into the Remington camp, I have always enjoyed the lines of the Remington. Some day I'll have me a 1875 Remington to go along with my Remington rolling blocks.
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Anybody make those for sale? A quick Google didn't turn up much and I want to hit this thread before it disappears. Always wanted one but was smart enough to know I would shoot a black powder pistol about twice and then put it up. Quoted:
That is a beautiful conversion. Now,What if I were to buy a cap and ball pistol,what would I need to do to legally convert it? In 1871, Colt employee Charles Richards was awarded a patent for converting Colt percussion models to breech loading cartridge revolvers. The Richards cartridge conversion was an instant success. On July 2, 1872, William Mason, another Colt employee, was awarded a patent for an improvement to the Richards model. As percussion parts ran short, the 1860 Richards-Mason barrel was changed from the profile of the earlier percussion model, to the sleek profile found on the 1871-72 Open Top.
Conversion models remained popular with cowboys (many originals will be found with imprints of fence staples on the butt) even after the introduction of the 1873 Colt®. This was due to the low cost of conversion models. I havent done it myself , yet . . . but I'll probably go with a Kirst Konverter for my Walker , and am looking at complete , converted revolvers from Cimarron The parts are HERE for the Dragoons and Walkers , and HERE for the 1858 Remingtons . The gunsmithing required can also be done by Kirst , and looks like it's done by Raven Roost , a sub-division of Kirst . . . . Info HERE The IMFDB site for the movie "The Outlaw Josey Wales " HERE , lists many of the pistols used in the film , with excellent pictures and stills . They talk of the Richards-Mason Cartridge conversion A very good article is HERE on the RM conversions I think the ultimate , would be a pair of these 1858 Uberti conversion Remington replicas sent through Turnbull to be color case hardened |
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I've always been a little wary of a revolver without a top strap.
Kharn |
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