Colt reintroduced the Single Action Army (SAA) revolver in 1955. It was a popular revolver, but even then, the price was high. THE AMERICAN RIFLEMAN magazine for December 1955 had an advertisement for the Colt SAA in .38 Special or .45 Colt for $125.00. Colt decided that they needed a .22 caliber single action revolver to capitalize on the interest in .22s and to compete with Ruger in the rimfire area. Thus, the Frontier Scout was created in 1957. The Frontier Scout was a little smaller than a SAA (7/8th scale) and weighed about 24 ounces. And the price was within the reach of most sportsmen, at $49.50 retail.
There were many variations of these .22 caliber single-action revolvers and they are described briefly below in the order of introduction by Colt.
The Q Series “Duotone” revolvers were introduced in November of 1957 (serial number 1000Q) and were characterized by "in-the-white" aluminum alloy receivers, grip frames, ejector rod heads and loading gates, and by serial numbers that ended with the letter "Q". The cylinders, ejector rod housings, base pins, screws, triggers and barrels were made of steel and blued. Q series revolvers were produced for only about five months with the last serial number being 16520Q which was recorded in March, 1958. The Q series revolvers were offered only in .22 Long Rifle (LR) and only with 4 3/4 inch barrels. Grips (or “stocks”, if you prefer) were molded checkered black plastic with the Rampant Colt in an oval at the top. Colt called the grip material “checkered ebony composition”. The guns were shipped from the factory in two-piece cardboard boxes with a top covered in a brown wood grain paper with the Colt logo in gold. The inside of the box was lined with green paper and usually had the Colt logos in gold. Some of the very earliest boxes did not have the interior Colt logos. An instruction sheet or booklet and warranty card were always included with the revolver. Other paper items were sometimes included such as NRA membership application cards and gun care flyers. Usually, a barrel cleaning brush also accompanied the revolver. The gun was wrapped in heavy brown, rust preventive paper. Serial numbers were usually marked on the outside bottom of the boxes in black marker.
F Series Frontier Scouts in Duotone finish followed the Q series revolvers. Initially, the F series had the same "in-the-white" receivers, grip frames, and other parts as the Q revolvers but in September 1958 the “all-blue” model was added to the product line. The aluminum alloy parts were colored dark blue to match the steel barrel and cylinder. Along with the all-blue finish, the Buntline Scout model was introduced in 1958 with a 9 1/2-inch barrel. Plain walnut wood stocks were also introduced in 1958. The factory-fitted wood stocks did not have medallions and were routed on the back (inside) to increase strength. When shipping Frontier Scouts with factory-fitted wood grips, the boxes were usually marked “WS” in black on the end label and on the outside bottom of the box along with the serial number.
In 1959, the .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire (WMR) chambering was added to the Frontier Scout and Buntline Scout lines. It is interesting to note that Colt never marked its .22 single-action revolvers with “WMR” or “Winchester Magnum Rimfire”. The marking used was always “.22 Magnum”. Because of the differences between the .22 LR and .22 Magnum cartridges, barrels for the latter had to be bored to different dimensions. The barrels were not interchangeable so, in order to facilitate identification by assemblers, barrels bored for the .22 Magnum were finished with a rounded crown. The crown on the .22 LR barrels remained flat. In 1961, the Duotone finish was discontinued with about 40,000 having been produced. In the same year, a decorative scroll pattern was stamped into the bottom of the grip frame.
The guns were shipped from the factory in two-piece cardboard boxes with a top covered in a brown wood grain paper with the Colt logo in gold. The inside of the box was lined with green paper and had Colt logos in gold. Later boxes lined with black paper did not have the logo on the inside bottom. An instruction sheet or booklet and warranty card were always included with the revolver. Other paper items were sometimes included such as NRA membership application cards and gun care flyers. Usually, a barrel cleaning brush also accompanied the revolver. The gun was wrapped in heavy brown, rust preventive paper. Serial numbers were usually marked on the outside bottom of the boxes in black marker. Later boxes with black bottoms had the serial number written in white marker.
In 1964 Colt introduced the “dual cylinder” Frontier Scout revolvers which were designed to fire the .22 LR or .22 Magnum cartridges by merely changing the cylinder in the gun. These guns had barrels bored for the .22 Magnum chambering and were marked “.22 CAL”. The dual-cylinder guns were shipped in a special tan two-piece box with a cut-out in the bottom for the revolver and for the accessory .22 Magnum cylinder. A small label was affixed to the end of the box stating the finish (blue) and the two calibers.
Another change initiated in 1964 was the pinning of barrels into the frame. Owners of these guns had found that the steel barrels tended to unscrew from the alloy frames with extended use. Colt fixed this problem by installing a transverse pin to prevent movement of the barrel. This change was made sometime in the serial number range of 175000F to 178000F.
Wood stocks were discontinued in 1965, although a small number of Frontier Scouts were fitted with rosewood grips with gold Colt medallions in 1967. In 1969, the .22 Magnum was discontinued as a specific caliber. Dual cylinder Buntline Scouts were introduced in 1969. The dual cylinder Buntlines were shipped in the same extra long wood grain boxes as the single cylinder Buntlines but a special label which indicated the finish (blue) and the two calibers was affixed to the end of the box and “DC” (for dual cylinder) was usually marked on the outside bottom of the box.
F series revolvers were sold from 1958 until 1971 with about 246,000 produced. The highest serial number known is 245423F.
There were many variations of these .22 caliber single-action revolvers and they are described briefly below in the order of introduction by Colt.
The Q Series “Duotone” revolvers were introduced in November of 1957 (serial number 1000Q) and were characterized by "in-the-white" aluminum alloy receivers, grip frames, ejector rod heads and loading gates, and by serial numbers that ended with the letter "Q". The cylinders, ejector rod housings, base pins, screws, triggers and barrels were made of steel and blued. Q series revolvers were produced for only about five months with the last serial number being 16520Q which was recorded in March, 1958. The Q series revolvers were offered only in .22 Long Rifle (LR) and only with 4 3/4 inch barrels. Grips (or “stocks”, if you prefer) were molded checkered black plastic with the Rampant Colt in an oval at the top. Colt called the grip material “checkered ebony composition”. The guns were shipped from the factory in two-piece cardboard boxes with a top covered in a brown wood grain paper with the Colt logo in gold. The inside of the box was lined with green paper and usually had the Colt logos in gold. Some of the very earliest boxes did not have the interior Colt logos. An instruction sheet or booklet and warranty card were always included with the revolver. Other paper items were sometimes included such as NRA membership application cards and gun care flyers. Usually, a barrel cleaning brush also accompanied the revolver. The gun was wrapped in heavy brown, rust preventive paper. Serial numbers were usually marked on the outside bottom of the boxes in black marker.
F Series Frontier Scouts in Duotone finish followed the Q series revolvers. Initially, the F series had the same "in-the-white" receivers, grip frames, and other parts as the Q revolvers but in September 1958 the “all-blue” model was added to the product line. The aluminum alloy parts were colored dark blue to match the steel barrel and cylinder. Along with the all-blue finish, the Buntline Scout model was introduced in 1958 with a 9 1/2-inch barrel. Plain walnut wood stocks were also introduced in 1958. The factory-fitted wood stocks did not have medallions and were routed on the back (inside) to increase strength. When shipping Frontier Scouts with factory-fitted wood grips, the boxes were usually marked “WS” in black on the end label and on the outside bottom of the box along with the serial number.
In 1959, the .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire (WMR) chambering was added to the Frontier Scout and Buntline Scout lines. It is interesting to note that Colt never marked its .22 single-action revolvers with “WMR” or “Winchester Magnum Rimfire”. The marking used was always “.22 Magnum”. Because of the differences between the .22 LR and .22 Magnum cartridges, barrels for the latter had to be bored to different dimensions. The barrels were not interchangeable so, in order to facilitate identification by assemblers, barrels bored for the .22 Magnum were finished with a rounded crown. The crown on the .22 LR barrels remained flat. In 1961, the Duotone finish was discontinued with about 40,000 having been produced. In the same year, a decorative scroll pattern was stamped into the bottom of the grip frame.
The guns were shipped from the factory in two-piece cardboard boxes with a top covered in a brown wood grain paper with the Colt logo in gold. The inside of the box was lined with green paper and had Colt logos in gold. Later boxes lined with black paper did not have the logo on the inside bottom. An instruction sheet or booklet and warranty card were always included with the revolver. Other paper items were sometimes included such as NRA membership application cards and gun care flyers. Usually, a barrel cleaning brush also accompanied the revolver. The gun was wrapped in heavy brown, rust preventive paper. Serial numbers were usually marked on the outside bottom of the boxes in black marker. Later boxes with black bottoms had the serial number written in white marker.
In 1964 Colt introduced the “dual cylinder” Frontier Scout revolvers which were designed to fire the .22 LR or .22 Magnum cartridges by merely changing the cylinder in the gun. These guns had barrels bored for the .22 Magnum chambering and were marked “.22 CAL”. The dual-cylinder guns were shipped in a special tan two-piece box with a cut-out in the bottom for the revolver and for the accessory .22 Magnum cylinder. A small label was affixed to the end of the box stating the finish (blue) and the two calibers.
Another change initiated in 1964 was the pinning of barrels into the frame. Owners of these guns had found that the steel barrels tended to unscrew from the alloy frames with extended use. Colt fixed this problem by installing a transverse pin to prevent movement of the barrel. This change was made sometime in the serial number range of 175000F to 178000F.
Wood stocks were discontinued in 1965, although a small number of Frontier Scouts were fitted with rosewood grips with gold Colt medallions in 1967. In 1969, the .22 Magnum was discontinued as a specific caliber. Dual cylinder Buntline Scouts were introduced in 1969. The dual cylinder Buntlines were shipped in the same extra long wood grain boxes as the single cylinder Buntlines but a special label which indicated the finish (blue) and the two calibers was affixed to the end of the box and “DC” (for dual cylinder) was usually marked on the outside bottom of the box.
F series revolvers were sold from 1958 until 1971 with about 246,000 produced. The highest serial number known is 245423F.