[victorio1sw]

POTD: Poking Holes in Clouds Since 1877 ~ The Colt Rainmaker

Here we have one of the rarest Colt double-action revolvers. This is a Colt 1877, but the thing that makes it rare is that it is chambered for the .32 Colt cartridge. Its more considerable and much more common brothers are dubbed the “Lightning” – which is a .38 caliber revolver – and the “Thunderer” – which was a .41 caliber revolver.

This little .32 Colt 1877 is lovingly named the Rainmaker. Out of roughly 166,849 Colt 1877 double-action revolvers, only 200 Rainmakers were produced. Last year, I had the great pleasure of seeing one at the Cody Firearms Museum in Cody, Wyoming. The Model 1877 as a whole had a sort of tumultuous production run and today is regarded as a bit of a mechanical folly.

Lot 331: Colt 1877 Revolver 32 Colt – Scarce Cased Colt Model 1877 .32 Colt Caliber “Rainmaker” Double Action Sheriff’s Model Revolver. (n.d.). Rock Island Auction Company. photograph. Retrieved July 31, 2022, from https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/65/331/colt-1877-revolver-32-colt.

Source: POTD / All Outdoors.com

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I wonder what this 32 S&W Long would have been dubbed? Or maybe that is not a fair question, since this may be the only one known?