Shown is one of the original 1876 Colt Centennials engraved by Cuno Helfricht. This may have been the only specimen without ivory handles. Note the similarity to patterns engraved and duplicated by Pietta’s master engravers in Italy for the Buntline Centennial.
The Colt models delivered to the U.S. Cavalry belonged to the first production run. Often referred to as the black-powder castle, the distinguishing features of the early Peacemakers were the use of a center shaft retaining screw threaded into the underside of the front of the castle, which was squeezed into a recess/groove in the drum pivot that secured it in place.
Disassembling the weapon to clean it required removing the screw so that the pin could be pushed forward and through the drum. If the screw was lost or the threads damaged, the weapon could not be reassembled safely, since there was no way to securely fasten the central shaft to the castle.
It was exactly the same problem that had affected the early Colt open top designs, which used a small blocking dowel to secure the barrel assembly to the center shaft. A wise soldier or cowboy would make sure to carry a spare in their saddle bag.
A solution came in 1892, a time after which Single Action revolvers used a new integrated locking pin to stop the drum pin.
William Mason received his first patent for Single Action on September 9, 1871. He was granted a second patent on July 2, 1872 with the weapons going into production, and a third on January 19, 1875 for improvements. Shown is Mason’s third patent from 1875.
All one had to do was simply to release the pin and withdraw the drum pin from the castle. Between 1873 and 1899 Colt made approximately 24 additional changes to the peacemaker, including variations in caliber, barrel length, front sight design, barrel engravings, patent dates, grip design (hard rubber eagle and shield grips were added in 1882, and were changed to hard rubber without eagle and shield in 1896) and specific variations to the SAA Target and Bisley model.
The U.S. Army continued to order Colt revolvers from 1873 until 1891, reaching a quota of more than 37,000 weapons. The longevity of their service was such that no more than 2,000 were sent back to the factory for refinishing, and this did not happen until 1895-96. The government arsenal in Springfield reconverted another 14,900 weapons in 1898, most of which were hardly used at the front. Many were modified in the armory to make them shorter, with 5.5-inch-long barrels before they were returned to service or sold.
Until 1900 Colt declared that its revolvers were not designed to use powder cartridges (smokeless). In October 1898 this was a known precaution of the owner, but with the proliferation of smokeless powders, Colt found it necessary to implement another change and beginning in 1900 announced that its revolvers (roughly starting with serial number 192000) were guaranteed against smokeless powder.
Changes and the Centennial Colts
The massive Colt display case first seen at the 1876 Centennial Exposition contained 18 Colt Single Action in a massive revolving display. The display case also showed other Colt revolvers, pistols and rifles along with early Buntline models, visible on the far right. The weapon was initially shown with a detachable shoulder stock and a 16-inch barrel. According to factory reports, the company also made long-barreled models in the early 1880s with 12- and 12-inch lengths in addition to 16-inch lengths. These were made again in the mid-20th century, in early 1957 as part of the Colt Single Action line of second-generation guns.
Between 1873 and 1899 the SAA was available in the following calibers: .45 Colt, .44 rimfire (1875), .44-40 (1878), .22 rimfire (1883), .38-40 and .32-20 (1884), .41 caliber (1885), .38 Colt (1886), .32 S&W and .32 Colt (1887), .44 Russian, .38 S&W, .32-44 S&W, .32 rimfire (1889), .44 S&W, .380 Eley and .450 Eley .44 smoothbore (1890), and .38-44 (1891).
Among the most significant changes made on SAAs during the 1870s and 1880s, one truly memorable variation stands out, which over time became known as Buntline.
The name is more a twist of fate than a decision on Colt’s part. Presented at Colt’s Exhibition gala at the 1876 U.S. Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, two of Colt’s only long-barreled revolvers with detachable, skeletonized shoulders were displayed next to a massive revolving display of hand-engraved revolvers with ivory stocks placed in the center of Colt’s massive display case.
Company notes indicate a total of 18 long-barreled guns with shoulder stocks and an assortment of guns with shorter 10- and 12-inch barrels. These unusual Colts with a flat top strap, retractable leaf rear sights, and detachable skeleton shoulder stocks were apparently introduced to notorious lawmen such as Wyatt Earp, Charlie Bassett, Neal Brown, Bat Masterson, and Bill Tilghman by writer, screenwriter, and columnist Ned Buntline.
None of the alleged recipients of the gifts claimed by Buntline has ever publicly acknowledged receiving them, nor is there any evidence that the previously mentioned lawmen were seen with them! The fact that these weapons really existed has never been in doubt, the photographic evidence from 1876 is irrefutable; the question is who owned them and what besides the connections Ned Buntline really had, beyond the fact that his name became famous because of the distinctive long-barreled revolvers.
Pietta Brothers’ Centennial models.
Italian gunmakers Fratelli Pietta have been making outstanding reproductions of the 1900 Colt Single Action since 2003, and to celebrate the 140th anniversary of the weapon’s 1872 patent, along with the magnificent engraved Colts shown in 1876 at the Centennial Exposition and the first appearance of the Buntline, the company presented its best examples of engravings and the first Buntline black-powder castle.
The new Buntline Centennial is hand-engraved in a style reminiscent of Helfricht’s arms shown in 1876. The patterns, based on Helfricht’s work, and the exceptional use of animal elements and scenes on the underside of the castle emphasize both sides of the Centennial weapon.
The black polvera-style ijn castle model comes with a 12-inch barrel, and the first examples will all be chambered in .45 Colt caliber, like the original 1876 guns. Made to order, Buntline Centennials will be sold exclusively by Dixie Gun Works in Union City, Tennessee. The models shown, laser engraved in luxury nickel, gold, and nickel, are also models available from Dixie. Prices for all luxury models and Centennials are made upon request. The Peacemaker is not only an American legend, but has quickly become an Italian legend as well!
Always number one
Colt has long realized that no matter how many guns they make, modern weapons, revolvers or semi-automatics, will never surpass the popularity nor the longevity of the Peacemaker. Between 1900 and 1940 Colt produced more than 165,000 Single Action revolvers. From 1956 to 1970 he produced another 59,000 second-generation ones.
Production numbers of the current model line continue to grow with no end in sight. In the past 140 years since Single Action production began in late 1972, there have been very few changes to William Mason’s fundamental design, the most significant improvements concerning operations and variations in the design of the castle and clamps
to meet changes in Target and Bisley models. With only a brief period between World War II and 1955, when production of the Peacemaker was temporarily halted, it was built by Colt longer than any other revolver ever created in the world, and remains, to this day, along with the 1873 Winchester model, the most recognizable symbol of the American West.
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Excerpts from this article are from the author’s 2007 book Colt Single Action – From Patersons to Peacemakers, published by Chartwell Books, and from the third edition of The Book of Colt Firearms by R. L. Wilson (with additional photography by Dennis Adler) Blue Book Publications, Inc. 2008. The author would like to express his thanks to Alessandro Pietta and F.lli Pietta and to R. L. Wilson for the use of archival images: the Dr. Joseph A. Murphy collection.
