Colt 1878 DA 2nd year production

Recevied the letter. Went to Schuyler, Hartley and Graham, New York, May 20, 1879. .45/c, 5 1/2", Blue, Not Listed. 6 guns in shipment. With this information and the caliber it appears the Hartford/London addressed barrel was excess and used domestically. Regards.

The question made me hit the books. I have been reading Wilkerson and as Chafee said (and Wilkeson said): "The first 500 had some attempt to number the barrels. After 500 we seldom see a numbered barrel". The cylinder has the last 3 digits of the 4 digit serial number on the rear face (correct per Wilkerson). An interesting observation is that the 1878's used the oval ejector rod head which was not used on the SAA's until 1881. Regards.

coltsixguns said:

I've got a 6400 range nickel 45 but I haven't taken the housing off of it and didnt know if I wasting my time to look for a number or not.

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In reading Wilkerson I understand the barrels were finished prior to installing on the frame so there was no need to keep a specific barrel with a gun. He also said these prefinished barrels were binned and were used out of the bin on the SAA's as well as the DA's. On the gun I posted with the wood grips (preferred by the British) and the dual address on the barrel it could have been intended for a British order. However, since it is .45 colt with no British proofs it didn't go to London but instead stayed home and went to NY.