Welcome to the Forum from mid-Michigan! That’s a heck of a long shot but you never know…. Good luck!

 

Welcome! Colt can get you a letter stating where and when it was shipped when new. After that it would be a one in a million chance to find any information on a single random gun. With some good pictures we can tell if the gun is original or if it has been refinished or perhaps has any replaced parts.

 

Thanks everyone! A few years ago we got the letter from colt. It says it was shipped to Simmons hardware company in St. Louis in 1900. I noticed there were some other threads where people had a list of serial numbers and past owners. Was hoping that there was some kinda of long shot info anyone had between 1900 and the 40s.

another thing I was wondering: on the letter from colt it says the finish is “blue”. Now I know about blued guns, is that what it was referring to. If so is it completely worn away except those small dark patches on the cylinder and some other spots on the gun. Thank you all for your wisdom

 

actually, if it was ever lettered....you fill in the blank.

 

That's a nice looking gun! It is nickel plated so it has been refinished at some point. It looks like it was a very good job because there is very little evidence of buffing or polishing. It looks like it says 38 WCF on the barrel which is 38 Winchester Center Fire also known as 38-40. The nickel is worn to a pleasing patina and has been on the gun for a long time. Most modern plated guns have more of a chrome look. The patent dates and rampant Colt on the frame are nice and sharp. good pictures of the barrel marks would help a little in determining how much it was polished. This one is one of the best polishing jobs on an early refinished nickel gun i have seen. I would say it was done by Colt but it does not have the star on the trigger guard that usually goes with a Colt refinish. Check the front of the cylinder for a number probably 3 digits and maybe a letter. Also inside the grips on the sides of the straps may be a matching number. This would indicate a Colt refinish. The grips are real mother of pearl aka oyster shell. Be careful with them as they are brittle and prone to crack. It most likely had black hard rubber stocks when new. If you have some more pictures showing the details we would love to them. It is a very nice and interesting gun. Simmons hardware was a large retailer and bought many Colts for resale. It is a very common destination.

 

here ya go. I didn’t see any numbers anywhere. I’m a little confused as to what the original finish looked like?

 

By the way blue would have been a color case hardened frame and hammer with the remainder of the parts blued.

 

I don't think Colt would have washed out the letters and numbers that way but still a nice looking job. While the markings are partially removed they do not show the typical buffing marks which ruin a gun for many of us. Most aftermarket nickel jobs look terrible. This gun is later then yours by a good bit but yours was finished very similar to this when new.

 

Welcome to the forum from West Virginia. Very nice Colt SAA.

 

Should you decide to remove the grips remember, when reassembling to just snug the screw. Those grips are, IMO, worth 1000.00 - 1200.00. If cracked almost nothing.

 

Welcome to the Forum from (northern) South Texas!

Your Granddad left you a really nice looking 120+ year old Colt and your Great Granddad had good taste in guns and calibers.
Since it was originally shipped to Simmon's Hardware, the trail from St. Louis to your Great Granddad will probably remain a mystery. No matter, it is still a family heirloom and a nice gun.

 

Hello and welcome to the Colt Forum from West Virginia. Glad you have joined us all here. You are lucky that a letter was available. I too have a 1900 Colt SAA in 32/20 in nickel and a 4 3/4 barrel as yours. When I sent for a letter from Colt they said there was no records on their files for it. By the way….. Nice looking gun you have there. Thanks for sharing it with us.

 

Welcome to the COLT Forum from the Cradle Of Liberty...Pennsylvania !!

Enjoy Our Community Sir...and Congrats on that new to you 1st Gen Colt SAA !!

 

Nice old, refinished gun you have there P16. And a great family story to go with it! Congrads. The 38-40 was the then "new" magnum caliber of the day and very popular in 1900. In fact the most popular caliber by 1903 and 2nd most popular in 1900. Colt made 11,000 SAA guns in 1900. And 1900 was one of the better years for quality from Colt. In all of the 1st Gen production Colt made 38,240 SAA guns in 38-40. between 1878 and early 1950s.

Although this one is in 45 and not 38-40, this is how your gun looked when it left the Colt factory. Serial number on this one is #1975XX. It was shipped to
George Tritch Hardware Co., Denver CO, July 18, 1900.


Below is a 1901 38-40 that I still shoot a lot. Finish is well worn but original. The factory rubber grips have been replaced with bone.

Serial #-2084XX
Caliber-38/40
Barrel length-4 ¾
Finish-Blue
Stocks-not listed
Shipped to- Richards Conover, Kansas City, MO
Date-Apr-1901

 

The screw nearest the Rampant Colt on the left side of the frame is not correct for the gun. I suspect that when the gun was being nickel plated, the plater lost the screw and made one from another screw. The head appears to be depressed instead of being domed.

 

It seems as if it could of been an original screw but someone nearly rounded it out using the wrong size screw driver. Thanks for the insight!

 

As far as Ik my grandpas father bought it from a hitchhiker somewhere in texas in the 40s-50s.

Texas gun? Simmons was a major wholesaler for Colt firearms. They would and did ship to anyone, pretty much anywhere. Easy enough from the original shipping destination to imagine the gun ending up anywhere including Texas. Some antidotal info for you. 38-40 was a very popular caliber in 1900. A good many lawmen on the Southern border used the 38wcf. Nickel and pearl were also a very popular combination in that same border areas, back in the day. Nice piece of history you have there.

 

Wow very interesting, thank you! That could be very possible.

 

Here are some pics of the holster and belt. Seems that someone with the initials HLC owned this gun at one point, or atleast the holster. The note was from my grandpa so that clears up a few pieces of info that I got wrong regarding the years enjoy

p.s. what does “type of stocks: not listed” mean on the authenticity paper?

 

Here are some pics of the holster and belt. Seems that someone with the initials HLC owned this gun at one point, or atleast the holster. The note was from my grandpa so that clears up a few pieces of info that I got wrong regarding the years enjoy
View attachment 767316
View attachment 767317
View attachment 767315
p.s. what does “type of stocks: not listed” mean on the authenticity paper?

Very cool gun! Welcome to the forum!

 

Stocks/Grips? Common on a Colt letter for a "blue" gun. It means the frame was color cased and the gun blue. Stocks "not listed" are then considered rubber. No question the pearl grips are after market and not from Colt. Common pearl for the day (1920s or '30s). But pearl was not a common grip to have on a Colt.

Your gun lived a hard life (used and carried a lot) if it was nickeled in the late 20s. Gun was barely 30 years old by then.

Does the belt fit the holster slot? I don't think it goes with the holster, but I could be wrong. I would guess it is a bronc belt used for support and repurposed as a gun belt if it fits the holster loop.

HLC cared enough to get a nicely carved holster with his initials carved on it. And someone took the time to have the gun nickeled and preserved as well as adding the pearl. None of that was ever cheap.

Holster was likely the best that could be done at the time. Nickel and pearl as well.

 

Not listed means they were the black hard rubber stocks shown in several pictures posted by myself and others. The gun is great and the holster is icing on the cake! Very nice.

 

Nothing I can add except that in addition to really liking the gun...the belt and holster are just icing on the cake!
The whole package is a great family heirloom!

 

Hey everyone, sry to rebump a forum but I was wondering if y’all could help me with an ammo question for this same gun I originally posted about. I stumbled upon some black hills ammo 38-40 180 grain fpl smokeless and was just wondering if this is good to use in such an old gun. I know I’ve heard people say you don’t want to use super powerful rounds in old guns, so I guess I’m wondering whether this stuff is too much or just right. I’ve also had some weird rubbing on the back of the bullets when it is loaded in the cylinder. I am able to rotate the cylinder but it rubs so much where I couldn’t spin it freely while loaded.

 

I am able to rotate the cylinder but it rubs so much where I couldn’t spin it freely while loaded.

Serials numbers say 192,000 and up should be good with smokeless. With a 45 I would error on the side of caution. But with a 38-40 you have a little more leeway on the strength of the cylinder and a lighter bullet. Most any commercial modern "cowboy style" ammo you should be fine. Black Hills is one of them.

I doubt you have high primers with that ammo. But you could easily have dirty chambers or a slightly off case size or cylinder chambers. Any of the three could be causing the problem you have described. Make sure there are no high primers first. Then I would start with a really good cleaning of the chambers with some steel wool and a light gun oil on an electric drill and see if it makes a difference in how easily the ammo seats in the chambers.

 

Thank you for the responses. By high primers do you mean the primer sticking out so that it is not flush with the rest of the casing?

 

Yes, a high primer would drag on the recoil shield of your Colt and make it difficult to rotate the cylinder. A mis-sized case or chamber would keep the round from fully seating and also make the cylinder difficult to rotate because the case head would drag on the recoil shield.

 

preach it saa haysoose.

 

Just thinking out loud here. Check the cylinder revolves smoothly unloaded. Your cylinder pin/bushing may be incorrectly fitted or extremely dry. I would also check to ensure that is the correct cylinder for the 38-40 and not one someone may have dropped in there at some unknown chain of ownership custody.

 

Thank you for all the tips. Would you guys think it’s dumb to shoot such an old gun? I really wanna shoot it atleast once but don’t wanna mess it up. I don’t believe it is the wrong cylinder and it spins fine unloaded.

 

Just thinking out loud here

Smart and good advice.

 

Would you guys think it’s dumb to shoot such an old gun?

Does the gun have 4 solid click when cocking the hammer? Did you steel wool the inside of your cylinders? Check for high primers on the ammo? Looks like the case isn't fully chambered from what little I can see. Dirty chamber of bad ammo? I'd bet dirty chamber.

Posted this prior. But I shoot a couple of mine of similar age all the time. Hundreds of rounds a year. One thing I would not do?! Is shoot the gun with the pearl grips on it. Get a pair of period correct black rubber grips and shoot the gun with those bolted on. The pearl will eventually chip if not crack in half if you keep shooting them. Replacements if you cna find them will run you close to $1K.

Serial #-2084XX
Caliber-38/40
Barrel length-4 ¾
Finish-Blue
Stocks-not listed
Shipped to- Richards Conover, Kansas City, MO
Date-Apr-1901