Just looking for some discussion and information regarding an 1861 Navy Colt that was plowed up near San Angelo, TX (former location of Ft. Concho in the 1800s).
The pistol was plowed up in the late 90's. The hammer is down on the Patent No. line and there are six loaded chamber with caps intact. It is too rusted for any part to move and the wood in the grip rotted away. During uncovering, the metal in the handle was broken but it is still connected (see picture). Serial number is 28917 but I haven't built up the gumption to drop $300 on tracing it through Colt. Corrosion has made it difficult to tell but we figure this has the engraving on the cylinder so it isn't an extremely early model. It also isn't the model built to fit a shoulder stock. If it is a later serial we have wondered if maybe this was a rarity because Colt started modding this model for cartridges in the late 1860's yet this one appears to be black powder. Or is this interchangeable? I'm rather inexperienced in this timeframe to be honest.
If this pistol was taken in an ambush then they got him by surprise because all six chambers are loaded. We really ponder where this came from or how it came to be dropped like it did. What is the decomposition rate of a pistol like this? When could it have been dropped? Maybe a feller just squatted in the grass one day and walked off after it fell off of him and he wasn't able to find it. Ft. Concho also held quite a few Buffalo Soldiers so something else to ponder.
I'm sure we will never get all the answers we want but we wanted to put this out to the community to hopefully crowd-source some info. Monetary value isn't of concern but it is interested nonetheless. This is priceless to our family either way. Interesting relic to be sure....
Also, my father buffed a part of the handle to show the brass... mostly because he wasn't sure it was real. I mean seriously... who finds these things like this!!! Pretty amazing. The 1851 below is a reproduction for competition cowboy shooting.
Also also... why is the hammer all the way down between chambers?? Did it have a recess for the firing pin? I understand that SAA pistols had to leave a chamber empty to keep the hammer down? Maybe I'm way off base... Thanks! I can take better pictures if needed.
![Gun Revolver Airsoft gun Air gun]()
The pistol was plowed up in the late 90's. The hammer is down on the Patent No. line and there are six loaded chamber with caps intact. It is too rusted for any part to move and the wood in the grip rotted away. During uncovering, the metal in the handle was broken but it is still connected (see picture). Serial number is 28917 but I haven't built up the gumption to drop $300 on tracing it through Colt. Corrosion has made it difficult to tell but we figure this has the engraving on the cylinder so it isn't an extremely early model. It also isn't the model built to fit a shoulder stock. If it is a later serial we have wondered if maybe this was a rarity because Colt started modding this model for cartridges in the late 1860's yet this one appears to be black powder. Or is this interchangeable? I'm rather inexperienced in this timeframe to be honest.
If this pistol was taken in an ambush then they got him by surprise because all six chambers are loaded. We really ponder where this came from or how it came to be dropped like it did. What is the decomposition rate of a pistol like this? When could it have been dropped? Maybe a feller just squatted in the grass one day and walked off after it fell off of him and he wasn't able to find it. Ft. Concho also held quite a few Buffalo Soldiers so something else to ponder.
I'm sure we will never get all the answers we want but we wanted to put this out to the community to hopefully crowd-source some info. Monetary value isn't of concern but it is interested nonetheless. This is priceless to our family either way. Interesting relic to be sure....
Also, my father buffed a part of the handle to show the brass... mostly because he wasn't sure it was real. I mean seriously... who finds these things like this!!! Pretty amazing. The 1851 below is a reproduction for competition cowboy shooting.
Also also... why is the hammer all the way down between chambers?? Did it have a recess for the firing pin? I understand that SAA pistols had to leave a chamber empty to keep the hammer down? Maybe I'm way off base... Thanks! I can take better pictures if needed.
