Guns of the Old West Fall 2020

There are two pivotal revolver patents in American arms-making history, each having a diverse affect upon the other. The first was Samuel Colt’s 1835-1836 patents for the revolver, which was in effect for 14 years. After that, Colt applied for an extension, which was granted, giving him another seven years, making the Colt’s patent enforceable from 1836 until 1857. This prevented any American arms-maker from manufacturing and selling a revolver without facing litigation. The second patent was filed by Colt employee Rollin White in 1855 for the manufacture of a breech-loading, bored-through cylinder to be used with a self-contained metallic cartridge revolver. Had Sam Colt taken White’s offer to purchase the patent rights, Colt would have had another stranglehold on American gun-making until 1869! But Colt refused White’s offer, and he…

Samuel Colt had died in January of 1862, but his name would continue to appear on all firearms produced by the company he had founded. However, most everything bearing the name of Col. Samuel Colt would be the work of other designers and craftsmen, some of whom had learned the crafts at his side. It was not by any coincidence that the last guns Sam Colt designed before his passing were typical of the pistols he was best known for: small, efficient, easily carried pocket models. Though he had designed and built handguns of all sizes and calibers during 27 years as an armsmaker, he had always favored pocket pistols. He had begun in 1836 with the small .28-caliber Paterson pocket model, followed by .31- and .34- caliber No. 2…

Ruger’s new entry-level, fixed-sights, lightweight .22 LR single-action revolver, the Wrangler, is an exceptional bargain and is proving very popular. Although inexpensive with its lack of polishing before the Cerakote finish is applied, I like my Ruger Wrangler so much that I upgraded it by replacing the black plastic factory grips with ones made of elk stag by Sack Peterson. Peterson markets his grips only via his website. With the restriction on importing the traditional Sambar stag from India that was commonly used for making pistol grips, a suitable alternative had to be found. Elk stag has turned out to be the best alternative material. Using only the best grade hand-selected, hard elk antler, which provides a superior antler quality, Peterson attempts to book match each pair of grips by having…

ONLY A COLT PEACEMAKER CAN BE CALLED A PEACEMAKER, or Single Action Army, but as far back as the 1950s that hasn’t stopped other gunmakers from building single-action revolvers that look, feel, sound and shoot like a Peacemaker. Colt can only trademark the name, not the design, and that patent expired well over a century ago. In the world of shotguns, Connecticut Shotgun is one of the most highly regarded names, building models right here in the United States that rival best guns from England and the finest European shotguns. Connecticut Shotgun builds its own famous A10 Deluxe, a double-barrel with an average price of $15,000 to $20,000, and American classics like the A.H. Fox, Parker and Winchester Model 21 series (Winchester Standard Grade models through Grand American in all chamberings,…

I’D SAY AS FANS OF THE OLD WEST, MOST READERS ARE FAMILIAR WITH ITS LEGENDARY CHARACTERS AND HAVE SEEN THE NAME NED BUNTLINE. His true name was Edward Judson and he was a popular writer and publisher specializing in dime novels. He became friends with Buffalo Bill Cody and supposedly Wyatt Earp. Earp and his biographer, Stuart Lake, claim that Buntline had Colt Patent Firearms make Single Action Army (SAA) revolvers with long barrels in .45 Colt that were presented to Earp, Bat Masterson, Bill Tilghman, Charlie Basset and Neal Brown—all well-known peace officers. This tale has never been truly substantiated, but it’s become an Old West axiom and Colts, along with other SA sixguns with long barrels, are generally referred to as “Buntline Specials” It was very recently brought to…

If you are into snakes but still want to keep them at a distance—especially the poisonous variety—you might be attracted to these NAA mini-revolvers offered by distributor Bill Hicks & Co. Called the Anti-Venom Snake Guns, you’ll immediately get it when you see them. There are two variations—one with a 1.625-inch barrel in .22 Magnum and one with a 1.125-inch barrel in .22 LR. Both have fixed rear sights and half-moon front sights. The Magnum Snake is fitted with boot grips giving it a square-butt profile, while the .22 LR model retains the birds-head grip outline. What grabs your attention about these two five-shot revolvers is the black, ivory and yellow snake scale pattern on the grips. These were done by Black Ice Coatings, a Utah-based company like NAA. The top…