Why Colt’s 1873 Single Action Army Still Rules 150 Years Later

One hundred fifty years after its debut, Colt’s 1873 Single Action Army (SAA) still feels less like a relic and more like a benchmark. Part of its endurance is myth – movie posters, saddle scabbards, and Saturday matinees – but most of it is engineering. The SAA embodied an elegant solution to 19th-century problems: simple lockwork, robust metallurgy for the time, and ergonomics that made average troopers shoot above their pay grade. The remarkable part is how little you’d need to change to carry one today and feel competent. That’s not nostalgia; that’s good design aging well.

From “New Model Army” to “Peacemaker”

Colt’s marketing teams tried a mouthful at first – “New Model Army Colt’s Cartridge Revolving Pistol” – before history pared it down to “Peacemaker” and “Model P.” The revolver’s silhouette became a cultural shorthand for the American West, elevated by a century of film and, more recently, video games that introduced the gun to new audiences. Strip the romance away and you still have a revolver that pointed naturally, shot straight, and shrugged off life on horseback. That usability is why the name stuck long after the cavalry holsters were emptied.

Beating the Break-Top: Trials of 1872–73

When the U.S. Army called for trials in 1872, Smith & Wesson’s break-top American in .44 American had a head start and a loyal following. Colt arrived with a solid-frame, gate-loaded six-gun that didn’t hinge open and, crucially, wouldn’t loosen up the way many break-tops did after hard service. William Mason’s 1872 patent underpinned the Model P that went back for testing in a new caliber at the Army’s request. 

In 1873, the SAA won the contract; the Army ordered 8,000, and over the service life of the gun as a primary sidearm (through 1892), purchased roughly 38,000. The choice wasn’t just political; it was practical. The SAA’s solid frame and straightforward manual of arms made sense for troopers who were not full-time pistoleros.

The Cartridge Conundrum: From .44 American to .45 Colt

The Army disliked the .44 American round’s outside-lubricated heel bullet – it collected dust like flypaper and fouled fast. The solution was a new inside-lubricated .45 cartridge. Early military loads used soft copper, internally primed cases that look odd to modern eyes: a flat head with the primer “inside,” more akin to rimfire manufacturing than today’s Boxer primer cups. Out of a 7½-inch barrel, the original 255-grain, 40-grain-of-black-powder load reportedly topped 1,000 fps – brisk by service standards of the day – and too lively, the Ordnance Board decided, for average soldiers. The Army standardized a milder 250-over-30 load, still authoritative but easier to handle in formation and on horseback.

The Schofield Problem – and the 1882 Fix

Adopting Smith & Wesson’s Schofield in 1875 created a logistical headache: Schofield rounds didn’t always play nicely with Colt cylinders, and Colt’s small-rim .45 Colt didn’t work the Schofield’s star extractor. The Army’s elegant 1882 compromise was a shorter .45 round – Schofield length – with a “just-right” rim big enough for the Schofield’s extractor yet small enough not to overlap in a Colt cylinder. It also modernized the primer to Boxer style so units could reload in barracks. Pushed at about 760–800 fps, that 1882 .45 profile foreshadowed the .45 ACP’s man-stopping recipe a generation later.

Cavalry, Artillery, and the Two Great “Do-Overs”

Every military SAA left Hartford with a 7½-inch tube – what collectors call the “cavalry” length. But when the SAA was demoted to secondary status in the 1890s, the Army sent thousands back to Colt to be re-barreled to 5½ inches. Those “artillery” conversions saw real service, from the Spanish–American War to the Philippines, where .38-caliber double-actions underwhelmed against determined foes. It’s one of the great American ironies: the new tech underperformed, so the Army reached into the parts bin and rediscovered the virtues of big and simple.

Where the Civilian Market Took Over

The civilian SAA began life as a byproduct – early on, most “civilian” guns were military rejects polished up (often nickel-plated) and sold out the back door. Prices swung with competition: about $17 at the start, cresting to $20 in the late 1870s, then dropping to $16 by 1888. Savvy wholesalers turned the gun into a brand. A Cincinnati dealer, Benjamin Kittredge, popularized the “Peacemaker” nickname and helped cement the SAA’s status as the era’s default sidearm, from railroad agents to ranch hands.

Barrel Lengths and the Gunfighter Myth

For years, you could have any barrel you wanted – as long as it was 7½ inches. Exports to Britain quickly brought a 5½-inch option in .450 Boxer, and once domestic demand loosened, the 5½ joined the lineup stateside. In 1879 Colt added the 4¾-inch barrel, with the muzzle flush to the ejector housing – many a gambler’s favorite. Despite modern assumptions that the shortest tube sold best, the 5½-inch “artillery” length quietly dominated because it balanced speed, sight radius, and holster comfort. It still does. My own bias: 4¾ inches carries nicer under a jacket; 5½ shoots nicer on the range.

Little Changes, Big Personality

A century and a half of “small” revisions tells you how Colt thought about the SAA: don’t fix what isn’t broken; refine what can be better. Early frames were wrought iron with color case hardening; by 1883, frames went to steel. The bullseye-style ejector head (that pierced donut) gave way in 1881 to the crescent button most people picture today. One-piece varnished walnut stocks dominated at first; by 1881, hard-rubber two-piece grips became common. The base pin started life secured by a tiny set screw – annoying in the field – and finally got the transverse, spring-loaded latch in 1896. None of these tweaks changed the gun’s soul; all of them made living with it easier.

From Black Powder to Smokeless – Proceed With Care

Smokeless powder didn’t arrive all at once. Colt began advertising the SAA as “smokeless safe” in the late 1890s, and a conservative rule of thumb is to treat pre-1900 first-generation guns as black-powder pieces unless a competent smith verifies otherwise. That’s not superstition; it’s prudence. The iron-to-steel transition, case hardening, and heat-treat practices evolved, and the documentation is patchy. In a world where black powder loads are still fun and effective, there’s no reason to test a 19th-century icon’s limits to prove a point.

The Calibers That Mattered Most

Colt chambered SAAs for more than 30 cartridges, but five did the heavy lifting. The runaway leader, then and now, was .45 Colt, with roughly 158,884 first-generation examples. The runner-up was .44-40 Winchester (about 71,392), followed by the .38-40 (≈50,520) and .32-20 (≈43,284), which paired neatly with Winchester rifles to simplify ammo on the frontier. In fifth place, .41 Colt (≈19,676) served as the 19th-century analog to the modern .38 Special: mild recoil, adequate punch, and good accuracy. The breadth of chamberings – from .22 rimfire to .476 Eley – underscored the platform’s adaptability, but the SAA’s heart has always beat in .45.

Three Fascinating Branches: Sheriff’s, Flat-Top, and Bisley

Factory “sheriff’s” or “shopkeeper’s” models omitted the entire ejector housing and its mounting boss – a true no-ejector frame, not a parts-bin delete. Contrary to modern expectations, plenty wore medium-length barrels; 3½ and 4 inches were most common because they split concealment and sight radius. The flat-top target (1888–1896) flattened the frame’s top strap and added target sights; only a bit over 900 were made, with many in accuracy-minded .44 Russian. 

Then there’s the Bisley (1894), a genuinely different animal: straighter grip, lowered hammer spur, curved trigger, a unique frame and mainspring with a stirrup – built for fast lock time and target work. Some people shoot Bisleys brilliantly; others, like me, never quite gel with that grip. But as a design study, it’s Colt’s most intriguing SAA variant.

Three Generations, Three Personalities

Collectors divide SAAs into three eras. First Generation (1873–1940) is the classic frontier gun, where nearly all the organic, performance-driven evolutions occurred. Second Generation (1956–1974) owes its existence to a nationwide Westerns craze – and it shows in quality. Many shooters will tell you these are the sweetest-tuned Colts from the factory. 

Third Generation (1976–present) began with some rough patches; actions in the late ’70s and ’80s could feel gritty, a sign of tired tooling and a market that Colt assumed was more collector than shooter. By the early 2000s, the company had righted the ship – custom-shop attention and better QC brought the magic back. And like any SAA, even a “good” one becomes great after a knowledgeable single-action smith massages the internals.

Why It Still Rules

The SAA is immortal because it solves a timeless human problem – aim, press, hit – with the least possible drama. The “plow-handle” grip rolls in recoil, the sights sit where your eyes want them, and the single-action trigger breaks like glass when properly set up. Mechanically, it rewards discipline: you cock it with intent, you load it with care, you carry it with respect. Culturally, it’s a lingua franca. 

Everyone recognizes it, even if they’ve never fired one. And historically, it connects dots – from copper-cased black powder to Boxer-primed service rounds; from cavalry charges to railroad depots; from the Schofield compatibility puzzle to the .45 ACP’s future. That continuity is rare in small arms. It’s rarer still to feel it each time the hammer clicks through its four distinct notches.

If You’re Hunting One Down Today

Whether you’re drawn to a first-gen time capsule, a second-gen shooter, or a current-production classic, buy with a purpose. Want history? Condition and originality rule. Want a range companion? Seek a second-gen or later third-gen and budget for a competent action job. Want to carry? The 4¾ rides discreetly; the 5½ shoots a hair steadier. Above all, remember why the Single Action Army endures: not because it’s the newest or the fastest, but because it remains, after a century and a half, a beautifully human way to send a bullet exactly where you mean it to go.

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