1875 Remington `Outlaw` by A. Uberti,Rediscovering

1875 Remington ‘Outlaw’ by A.
Uberti
Uberti 1875 Remington New Army Revolver
Between 25,000 and 30,000 Remington revolvers were
manufactured during the years 1875-1889 in three different
ammunition sizes: .44 Remington Center fire; .44-40; and .45
Long Colt. These were not optional; rather, the caliber of
production models was determined by their date of manufacture.
These revolvers were manufactured to be in direct competition
with the new Colt Single Action Army that was introduced in
1873.
In 1868, Remington began offering five shot metallic cartridge
conversions of the revolver in .46 rim fire. Remington paid a
royalty fee to Smith & Wesson, owners of the Rollin White
patent (#12,648, April 3, 1855) on bored-through revolver
cylinders for metallic cartridge use. The 1858 Remington Army
cartridge-conversions were the first large-caliber cartridge
revolvers available, beating even Smith & Wesson’s .44
American to market by nearly two years.
When Rollin White’s request of extension for his breechloading revolvers patent was rejected by the American
Government in January 1870 the Colt’s Patent Fire Arms
Manufacturing Company started working on its own metallic
cartridge rear-loaders. Up until then, it had been only
practicing the so-called Richards-Mason conversions. Colt
continued converting muzzle-loading percussion revolvers into
rear-loaders until 1878, but in 1871 Colt’s had patented at
least two rear-loading revolvers using metallic cartridges:
the Colt House Revolver and the Open Top. The House revolver
went into production the same year in 1871 but the Open Top
didn’t start production until 1872.
Uberti 1871-1872 Colt Navy Revolver
It was a failure of the 1871-1872 Colt Open top revolver in
qualifying for the U.S. Army’s demand for a robust revolver
that led Colt to design a completely new revolver that became
the ‘standard’ from which other single-action revolvers are
measured – the 1873 Colt Single Action Army.
The 1858 Remington Army conversions were considered by some
superior revolvers to the Colt and many were carried by
civilians, law enforcement, and soldiers. However, the 1873
Colt Single Action Army was the Army’s choice of revolvers and
Remington took a back seat. The 1875 Remington New Army;
however, was still considered by many as the better revolver.
In a sense, the Remington revolver was the Chevrolet to the
Colt’s Ford.
Uberti 1858 Remington Army Conversion Revolver
Uberti 1875 Remington New Army Revolver
The 1875 Remington New Army differed from the 1858 Remington
Conversion in a few areas;
7-1/2 inch round barrel as compared to the 1858 8-inch
barrel octagon
Updated front sight
A fluted cylinder
Walnut grip panels
Blued or nickel-plated finish with case-hardened hammer
and loading gate. (The color-case hardened frame on the
Uberti reproduction is not period correct – but it looks
nice and has nice patterning.)
Spring-loaded cartridge ejector rod replaced the no
spring ejection rod of the 1858 model
A completely redesigned frame. (Note that the cylinder
pin lock on the Uberti reproduction is not correct, but
was added by Uberti and is similar to the Colt).
The 1875 Remington New Army was designed as a true
cartridge revolver rather than a conversion like the
1858 model
The loading gate was redesigned and resembles that of
the Colt 1873 Single Action Army
The firing pin is hammer mounted and protrudes through
the frame; The 1858 Remington’s firing pin was internal
to the frame.
Lanyard ring
Standard barrel length was 7-1/2 inches (as with my model
that, in the real world, would have been considered as the
“Improved Army” revolver), although a very few revolvers were
produced with 5-3/4 inch barrels (Uberti calls this the
“Frontier” model). The familiar ‘sail’ was retained; however,
and was perhaps a means to distinguish the Remington revolvers
from the Colt line. The 1875 Remington New Army was the last
revolver manufactured by Remington that incorporated the
‘sail’ in its design.
The 1875 Remington New Army was a robust revolver and tipped
the scales at about 2.8 pounds (unloaded) as compared to the
1873 Colt Single Action Army that weighed about 2.3 pounds
(unloaded).
The Uberti 1875 Remington ‘Outlaw” is a very close
reproduction of the original revolver. With this version, the
lanyard ring does not exist, as it was removed by many users
at the time (honest folks as well as outlaws), and was not
needed. However, some lanyard rings remained because many
could not afford a good holster and these revolvers were
stuffed into trousers and sashes; a makeshift lanyard could be
used to keep from losing the revolver.
1875 Remington New Army Grip
1873 Colt Single Action
Army Grip
If one compares the 1875 Remington New Army with the Colt 1873
Single Action Army, one thing is apparent – the difference in
grip. The 1873 Colt single Action Army back strap is more
swept back, which allows the revolver to ‘roll’ or ‘plow’ in
the hand. The back strap of the Remington 1875 Remington New
Army is more downward and slightly inward. Although the grip
is flared at the bottom, it is in my mind, more comparable to
the Smith & Wesson No. 3 and Colt ‘Bisley’ revolvers, though
not so pronounced. When shooting the Remington, it seems that
the hand plays more of a part in recoil control than the Colt.
The grip of the 1875 Remington New Army fits my hand better
than the 1873 Colt Single Action Army. The front of the grip
is also set back more than Colt revolvers; a feature that
works well in my hands when on rare occasions when I shoot a
single-action revolver two-handed.
Load One, Skip One, Load
Four in the Massive Chambers
for .45 Colt
With any single-action revolver based on early designs, the
‘load one-skip one-load four’ principle still applies. I do
this even with modern single-action revolvers like the Ruger
Blackhawk and other single-action revolvers – just to keep the
habit alive. Also, I must be noted that the Uberti version of
the 1875 Remington New Army does not incorporate and ‘hammer
block’ safety as does the 1873 Colt Single Action Army and the
Remington 1858 New Army Conversion model. The revolver
definitely dictates the ‘load one-skip one-load four’
principle.
Spring Loaded Cylinder
Base Pin Lock
Cylinder Base Pin Extends
Fully Into The Sail
You might take note of the cylinder base pin on the 1875
Remington New Army revolver. Unlike the short cylinder base
pin of the 1873 Colt Single Action Army, the cylinder base pin
of the 1875 Remington New Army inserts into the long ‘sail’ of
the revolver. On the original 1875 Remington New Army, the
cylinder base pin was held into place by a spring latch system
at the front of the cylinder base pin. The Uberti model
differs from the original in that a spring loaded detent pin
is used, like that found on the Colt 1873 Single Action Army.
Grip Panels Removed for Edge
Smoothing. Note the Robust
Main Spring.
The fit and finish on the Uberti 1875 ‘Outlaw’ model is very
good but just short of excellent. While the bluing on the
barrel assembly is excellent, the cylinder bluing is not
uniform. This; however, is not a game stopper and in no way
takes away from the performance of the revolver. The grip
panels, at the back strap, are slightly rough and not exactly
matched to the back strap. Some very light sanding and buffing
are needed to smooth out the fit. Again, this is not a game
stopper.
Nice Patterning on the
Color Case Hardened
Frame is a Nice Contrast
With the Bluing of the
Rest of the Revolver
The ‘color case hardened’ frame (not period correct, by the
way) and hammer is nicely patterned and lends a nice contrast
with the blue-steeled barrel assembly, trigger guard assembly,
and the nicely-grained, two-piece grip panels. The grip panels
are the only items that I would like to change on this
revolver. As is common to Uberti firearms, the grip panels
just seem too red to me. While I don’t think that a nice set
of ‘aged stag’ grips would look good on this revolver, a nice
set of dark walnut grip panels might. By the way, although
Uberti also makes an 1875 Remington New Army revolver with a
brass trigger guard, it is not period correct; the original
revolver was all steel.
At the range, the Uberti 1875 Remington New Army is a pleasure
to shoot. It is surprising how accurate these reproductions
actually are and keeping all shots in a 4-inch circle at 15
yards, one-handed, is easy to do if you do your part.
Tall Front Sight of the 1875
Remington New Army revolver
The front sight was spot-on for a 6 o’clock hold with the POI
about 1.5 inches high from POA at 15 yards. After shooting
revolvers and pistols with a short sight radius, the 7.5-inch
barrel on this beast is welcomed by my old eyes and I can see
why folks of the past who carried these revolvers liked their
accuracy.
The trigger pull on my particular revolver is just over 2.5
pounds of pull and has a crisp let-off with virtually no overtravel. The cylinder locks up tight and the ‘flash gap’
measures less than .004 inches. Using ‘Cowboy Grade’ 250-grain
loads from PROGRADE, the Uberti 1875 Remington ‘Outlaw’
performed without a hitch.
Placing the hammer at half-cock and using the shell ejector,
each expended shell ejected nicely and cleanly. In some cases,
due to the light loads used, the expended .45 Colt shells just
fell out from the chambers without prompting with the ejector
rod. Load one, skip one, load four more and close the loading
gate, pull the hammer to its full-cock position, control the
hammer drop while pulling the trigger to place the firing pin
on an empty cylinder, and you are ready to shoot again.
Use Snap Caps for Dry Fire
Practice to Prevent Damage
to Firing Pin
If you decide to practice (dry fire) with the revolver, I
highly recommend the use of ‘snap caps’ and I prefer the AZoom snap caps over all others. Dry-firing these revolvers
without ‘snap caps’ is not recommended, as it could damage the
hammer-mounted firing pin. In fact, I use ‘snap caps’ for dry
firing in any firearm to prevent possible damage to the
firearm.
RANGE UPDATE 09/27/2015:
My second trip to the range revealed a flaw with the revolver.
With the light loads of the ‘Cowboy Grade’ 250-grain loads
from PROGRADE, there seemed to be no problem that I could
detect. However, I was shooting a hotter 250-grain ‘Cowboy’
load from Georgia Arms (725 fps) on the second trip and this
is when the problem reared its ugly head.
When attempting to
unload the second round fired, the cylinder would bind to the
point that it had to be removed. I looked closely at the base
of the ammunition being fired and the recoil shield of the
revolver. There was a step that was quite dominant in the
machining of the frame. The step was dominant enough to catch
my fingernail, and it seemed, dominant enough to catch the rim
or primer of an expended shell casing.
The frame was obviously machined this way by the manufacturer.
In essence, the frame’s recoil shield is thicker behind the
cartridge to be fired than in other places. I really don’t
mind this at all, as this area takes the brunt of the
recoiling shell casing and thicker is better. However, a
graduated thickness is better than a step thickness.
Now, I could either send the revolver back for
replacement/repair or attempt to rectify the situation myself.
I decided on the latter. I needed to bevel the edge enough to
allow a fired case and primer to slide over the step rather
than coming to an abrupt stop.
A
jewelers flat file and a piece of extremely fine Emery cloth
came into play. I lightly filed the offending step at about a
45-degree angle until the cylinder would not bind on any of
the expended shells. This meant filing and fitting often. I
did not want to remove too much metal, but just enough metal
where I could not feel my fingernail catching on the step and
cylinder drag could not be felt when the cylinder was rotated
with expended cases. Once the step felt smooth, the very fine
piece of Emory cloth was placed on the file and the step
rubbed to remove file marks and lightly polish the surface of
the now beveled edge. I finally reached a point where no
binding was detected as the cylinder was rotated with once
fired casings. At this point, it was time to stop any further
filing and go for polishing only.
Sometimes you just have to go for it and hope for the best.
By the way, the first shot of Georgia Arms ‘Cowboy’ ammunition
hit the ‘X’ at 15-yards. Subsequent shots were all in the ‘X’
ring from a standing “Duelist” position. This not a testament
to my shooting, but it is a testament to the accuracy this
revolver is capable of. With the 2.5 pound trigger in this
revolver, one has to be cognizant of trigger control at all
times when the hammer is cocked because surprise breaks are
the norm.
WRAPPING IT UP:
Uberti 1875 Remington New Army Revolver Reproduction
There were many for whom the 1875 Remington New Army was the
weapon of choice; among them are Buffalo Bill Cody (whose
piece is in the Cody Museum with a hand-written note by Cody
“It never failed me.”) and by outlaws Frank and Jesse James.
The 1875 Remington New Army was also carried by the agents who
murdered Chief Sitting Bull. The 1875 has been featured in
numerous films, including being carried by Ned Pepper (played
by Robert Duvall in the early version of True Grit) and
carried by Bruce Dern in the western “Will Penny”. The
Remington 1875 SAA was Sheriff Seth Bullock’s firearm
throughout the series “Deadwood”.
After the 1875 Remington New
Army, Remington No Longer
Used the “Sail”
The 1875 Remington New Army revolver was, in my mind, that
last ‘true’ Remington revolver as the ‘sail’ was non-existent
with Remington’s 1888 (New Army Pocket) and 1890 (New Model
Army) revolvers. I do have to say that having a reproduction
of the Remington 1890 New Model Army revolver is tempting, as
the original was manufactured in limited numbers and is a
highly desirable collectible. I; however, would have to settle
with an excellent reproduction of this revolver and that is
fine with me.
Uberti
1875
“Outlaw”
Remington
The Uberti 1875 Remington “Outlaw” New Army revolver is a fine
example of the original only with modern materials and
manufacturing. Take a break from modern firearms, slow down,
and step back into history for a bit while shooting
reproductions of the revolvers that helped to bring handguns
into the modern age. A time when real ‘gun control’ was
determined by how well you handled a handgun, rifle, and
shotgun. Come to think of it, that fact remains still today.
RESOURCES:
Remington
Model
1875:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remington_Model_1875
Outlaw,
Frontier
&
Police
Revolvers:
http://www.uberti.com/outlaw-frontier-and-police-revolvers
A-Zoom Snap Caps: http://www.azoomsnapcaps.com/home/
Rediscovering
Revolvers
(Early)
There are several things that I love (among others, of course)
and two of those are “Period Correct” movies (firearms and
manner of dress) and firearms used during those periods. The
period that I am addressing is a short period prior to and
after the “War of Northern Aggression”, which I feel brought
about the greatest change in personal weaponry with regards to
revolver firearms – the metallic cartridge.
I have shot a percussion
revolver (reproduction of an
1851 Navy Colt in .36 caliber)
although I have never owned one.
I have several modern Ruger
single-action revolvers, but
they are far removed from those that were available to both
the North and the South during the period of, say, 1851 and
1890. At that time in history, there were three American
firearm manufactures that played leading roles in the
advancement of the revolver; Smith and Wesson, Remington, and
Colt. Colt was a leader in American ‘wheel guns’ as percussion
revolvers like the Colt Paterson (1836), Colt’s Dragoon
(1848), and ‘Walker’ Colt (1847) were already major players.
Smith & Wesson; however, held one of the major keys to the
advancement of the revolver – the Rollin White patent.
SMITH & WESSON:
Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson came from old
New England families. Horace learned the firearms
trade while working at the National Armory in
Springfield, Massachusetts. Daniel’s experience
came from apprenticing with his brother Edwin
Wesson, the leading maker of target rifles and pistols in the
1840s.
The two men formed their first partnership in 1852 in Norwich,
Connecticut, with the aim of marketing a lever action
repeating pistol that could use a fully self-contained
cartridge. This first pistol venture was not a financial
success, and by 1854 the company was having financial
difficulties.
The
original
Smith
&
Wesson
Factory
in
Springfield,
Massachusetts, when faced with their financial difficulties,
were forced to sell their company to a shirt manufacturer by
the name of Oliver Winchester. In 1866, using the original
lever action design created by Smith & Wesson, Winchester’s
company emerged as the famous Winchester Repeating Arms Co.
In 1856 Smith & Wesson formed their second partnership to
produce a small revolver designed to fire the Rimfire
cartridge they patented in August of 1854. This revolver was
the first successful fully self-contained cartridge revolver
available in the world. Smith & Wesson secured patents for the
revolver to prevent other manufacturers from producing a
cartridge revolver – giving the young company a very lucrative
business.
The partners realized that when their patents expired they
would need a new design to maintain their market superiority.
The new design was completed in 1869 and the company began
marketing it in 1870. The Model 3 American, as it became known
in the United States, was the first large caliber Original
Smith & Wesson Factory in Springfield, Massachusetts cartridge
revolver and established Smith & Wesson as a world leader in
handgun manufacturing. The two most important customers for
the new revolver were the United States Cavalry, which
purchased 1,000 units for use on the Western Frontier, and the
Russian Imperial Government.
Colt; however, had been around earlier than Smith and Wesson,
but up until 1870 Smith & Wesson held one key that was crucial
to Colt moving forward.
COLT MANUFACTURING COMPANY:
The Colt revolving cylinder concept is said to
have occurred to Sam Colt while serving as a
seaman aboard the ship Corvo. He observed a
similar principle in mechanical workings of the
ship, generally believed to be the capstan or the
windlass. It was on the ship that Sam carved the wooden
representation of his idea. While the design was simple &
applicable to both longarms & sidearms, his idea was not an
instant success. Many people still preferred traditional
flintlock muskets or pistols to the revolver.
In 1836, Sam’s entrepreneurial career began at age 22, opening
his first plant in Paterson, New Jersey with the help of a
successful uncle. He soon developed & produced the pocket,
belt, and holster model pistols along with two types of
rifles. In these models, known as percussion guns, the
gunpowder & bullets were loaded into the revolving cylinder,
the primer was placed in a nipple on the outside of the
cylinder, and then the primer would be struck by the hammer
when the trigger was pulled. Despite favorable performance,
sales were sluggish & the plant closed in 1842. After the
closing of the Paterson plant, Sam began focusing on other
ideas, including waterproof ammunition, underwater mines, and
also worked with inventor Samuel Morse on the telegraph.
In 1845, units of the US Dragoon forces & Texas rangers were
fighting the Indians in Texas, and contributed their success
to Colt’s firearms. As a result, Captain Samuel H. Walker of
the US Army collaborated with Colt in designing a new, more
powerful revolver. Dubbed the “Walker”, the US Ordnance
Department ordered one thousand of the new pistols. Without a
factory, Colt turned to Eli Whitney Jr. who had a factory in
Connecticut, to fill the thousand gun order in 1847.
In 1851, Sam became the first American manufacturer to open a
plant in England, solidifying his reputation in the
international market. Sam also began purchasing land on the
South Meadows, an area of Hartford on the Connecticut River.
The factory became operational in 1855, incorporated as Colt’s
Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Company. Colt, aware of the
achievements made in New England’s machine tool industry,
specified interchangeable parts for his guns. Colt’s
aggressive marketing campaigns were just as important, and
many of his highly decorated & engraved guns won prizes at
international fairs, and were also presented publicly to heads
of state, including Czar Nicholas I of Russia, King Frederick
VII of Denmark, and King Charles XV of Sweden. By 1856, Colt
was producing 150 weapons a day, and the reputation of models
like the 1851 Navy and 1849 Pocket as accurate, reliable, and
of the finest workmanship & design had spread throughout the
world.
Colt’s success brought him fame & fortune. He became one of
the ten wealthiest businessmen in the US, became a pillar of
the Hartford community, and was awarded the honorary title of
“Colonel” by the governor of Connecticut. He and his wife
Elizabeth built Armsmear, his private mansion with greenhouses
& formal gardens at the western edge of the armory property,
where it still stands today.
Sam’s health began to fail in 1860 as the country moved
towards the Civil War. Prior to the formal declaration of war,
Colt continued to supply his customers in the southern states.
Once official, Colt supplied only the Union forces. By the end
of 1861, the factory was running at full capacity with over
one thousand employees and annual profits exceeding a quarter
million dollars. On January 10, 1862, at age 47, Samuel Colt
died, having produced over 400,000 firearms and building a
fortune worth fifteen million dollars, an incredible sum for
the time.
Sam’s early death left his industrial empire and fortune to
his widow Elizabeth Hart Jarvis Colt. Elizabeth’s inner
strength and deep love for her husband gave her the
determination to maintain ownership of the company and see
that his legacy lived on.
In 1864, the Colt Armory burned to the ground, causing the
suspension of all but limited military production for three
years. Under Elizabeth’s direction, the factory was rebuilt
and made to be as fireproof as possible. Just after the
rebuilding of the factory, Colt began building Dr. R.J.
Gatling’s machine guns, a semiautomatic firearm operated by a
hand crank that turned a cluster of six to ten barrels while
feeding ammunition into the breech.
Further change & growth came in the 1870’s when Colt began to
manufacture revolvers that used self-contained metallic
cartridges. This change gave birth to the famous Colt Single
Action Army Revolver, which was introduced in 1873. The Single
Action Army was an immediate sales success and soon became
known as “the gun that won the West”. Between 1873 and 1941,
Colt produced more than 350,000 Single Action Army revolvers,
including about 40,000 of the .45 caliber model produced for
the U.S. Government. Famous proponents of the revolver include
Buffalo Bill Cody, Bat Masterson, General George Patton, and
Teddy Roosevelt. Single Action Army production continues to
this day. Product expansion continued through the end of the
19th century to include the Model 1877 and Model 1878 double
action revolvers, the New Army & New Navy models with the
first swing out cylinders, concealable derringers, shotguns,
and rifles.
In the mix; however, was Eliphalet Remington
REMINGTON ARMS:
Legend has it that a young Eliphalet Remington II
believed he could build a better gun than he could
buy, and he set out to craft such a gun on his
father’s forge located at Ilion Gulch, New York.
In the autumn of 1816, Eliphalet entered a
shooting match with his new flintlock rifle, and while he only
finished second, his handmade rifle was a success. Orders for
new Remington-made rifles and barrels began to accumulate from
the many other contestants, and before Eliphalet left the
shooting field, he was in the gun business.
In 1828, Remington moved its operations from Ilion Gulch to a
site close to the newly constructed Erie Canal. This site, in
Ilion, New York, is part of the property on which the Ilion
firearms plant sits today.
In 1865, the partnership of E. Remington & Sons was
incorporated as a stock company. Over the years, the
partnership and the succeeding corporation developed the first
hammerless solid breech repeating shotgun, the first
hammerless autoloading shotgun, the first successful highpower slide action repeating rifle, and the first lock breach
autoloading rifle. In 1865-66, Remington produced the stateof-the-art Rolling Block Rifle.
In an effort to diversify their holdings, Schuyler, Hartley &
Graham purchased two small New England cartridge companies in
1867I. These companies were later closed, and the equipment
moved to a new site in Bridgeport, Connecticut. On August 9,
1867, the Union Metallic Cartridge Company was incorporated.
It was particularly noted for its development of metallic
cartridges. It and its successor company subsequently
developed the first paper shotshells successfully manufactured
in the United States, the first primer adapted to smokeless
powder; the first battery cup for best quality paper
shotshells; the first cartridges for automatic pistols; the
first standard high-power smokeless cartridges for big game
autoloading rifles; the first .410 bore gauge shotshell in the
United States; the first nickeled primer; the first oil-proof
automatic pistol cartridges; and the first completely wetproof
loaded shells, including top wad, crimp and body.
In 1873, E. Remington & Sons embarked on a new venture, and in
September of 1873, the first Remington typewriters were
produced. However, firearms will still being manufactured.
1886 – Remington sells the typewriter business. This business
would later become Remington Rand, then Sperry Rand.
1888 – In March 1888, E. Remington & Sons was acquired by
Marcellus Hartley and partners. E. Remington & Sons was
reorganized, and the new company was named the Remington Arms
Company. In later years, in order to better utilize the
potential of the Remington Plant, the company would produce
sewing machines and cash registers.
MY PERSONAL SELECTION:
While I could never be able to shoot nor own all of the
handguns available to man at this early time in history, there
were five revolvers that stand out in my mind that, and that I
believe, shaped the future of revolvers:
1858 Remington Army Conversion
1870 Smith & Wesson Model 3 “American”
1871-1872 Colt Open Top Revolver Conversion
1873 Colt Single Action Army
1875 Remington New Army
It is my goal to have a reproduction of all five of these
firearms, and thanks to “Spaghetti Westerns” and companies
like Uberti and Pietta, reproductions of past revolvers is
within my reach. I don’t want “Hollywood” guns; I want
something as close to the originals as possible, but with
modern materials, manufacturing, and ammunition.
1858 REMINGTON NEW ARMY:
My first attempt of having a reproduced piece of history, was
acquiring the 1858 Remington Army Conversion although full
production of the revolver did not start until 1861. The 1858
Remington New Army Model was the first revolver to be
“converted” from a percussion piece to a revolver that
utilized a cylinder housing 6 self-contained cartridges. This
was a milestone for Remington, as Remington was able to
purchase cylinders from Smith & Wesson by paying royalty fees
to Smith & Wesson; whereas, Colt did not. Both Colt and
Remington produced percussion revolvers, but many felt (as I
feel now) that the Remington was a better and more durable
unit due to its top-strap, which the Colt revolver did not
incorporate until 1873. Both revolvers; however, shared battle
in field and aboard ships throughout the Civil War. In 1864,
Colt’s plant burned to the ground and only military-use models
of firearms were produced. Remington took the lead on and off
of the battlefield in “cartridge” revolvers with the 1858
Remington New Army Model.
As a side note, the 1858 New Army Conversion rev9olver was
used by Clint Eastwood in the movie ‘Pale Rider’ (1985)
1870 SMITH & WESSON MODEL 3 “AMERICAN”:
It wasn’t until after the Civil War (1861 – 1865) that Smith
and Wesson was able to revolutionize the revolver and did so
with the 1870 Smith and Wesson Model 3 revolver. The Smith &
Wesson Model 3 was a single-action, cartridge-firing, topbreak revolver produced by Smith & Wesson from circa 1870 to
1915. It was not; however, known as the “Schofield” revolver
until 1875 when the US Ordnance Board granted Smith & Wesson a
contract to outfit the military with Model 3 revolvers
incorporating the design improvements of Major George W.
Schofield (known as the “Schofield revolver”), providing that
they could make the revolvers fire the .45 Colt (AKA “.45 Long
Colt”) ammunition already in use by the US military. Smith &
Wesson instead developed their own, slightly shorter .45
caliber round, the .45 Schofield, otherwise known as the .45
S&W.
The Smith & Wesson Model 3 revolver was the first to utilize a
“Top Break” top strap that enabled the user to quickly un-load
and load cartridges from the rear of an exposed cylinder.
1871 – 1872 COLT OPEN TOP REVOLVER:
Whe
n Rollin White’s request of extension for his breech-loading
revolvers patent was rejected by the American Government in
January 1870 the Colt’s Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Company
started working on its own metallic cartridge rear-loaders. Up
until then, the Colt Company continued converting muzzleloading percussion revolvers into rear-loaders until 1878, but
in 1871 Colt’s had patented at least two rear-loading
revolvers using metallic cartridges: the Colt House Revolver
and the Open Top. The House revolver went into production the
same year in 1871 but the Open Top didn’t start production
until 1872. The major distinction between the 1871/1872 Colt
open-top revolvers over previous endeavors at open-top
“conversions” was that the 1871/1872 Colt Open Top revolver
was the first revolver from Colt that was a true “cartridge”
revolver.
But why is the Colt 1871 – 1872 Open Top revolver such a key
revolver for Colt? It was actually the failure of the revolver
that led to the most popular single-action revolver of all
time.
You see, up until the Colt 1871 – 1872 Open Top revolver both
Colt and Remington was updating old percussion revolvers to
accept the new metallic cartridges. Revolvers circa 1851 and
1860 were updated after Remington began updating the 1858
Remington New Army.
Bound by the Rollin White patent (#12,648, April 3, 1855) and
not wanting to pay a royalty fee to Smith & Wesson (as did
Remington), Colt could not begin development of bored-through
revolver cylinders for metallic cartridge use until April 4,
1869.
The 1871/1872 version of the open-top revolver, then chambered
for the .44 caliber rounds, was submitted to the US Army for
testing in 1872. The Army rejected the pistol and asked for a
more powerful caliber with a stronger frame. Mason redesigned
the frame to incorporate a topstrap, similar to the Remington
revolvers, and placed the rear sight on the rear of the frame;
he consulted with Richards on some other improvements. The
first prototype of the new gun was still chambered in .44 rim
fire, but this new gun was chambered for the newest caliber
known as the .45 Colt. This new design started production in
1873, giving birth to a new model, the Colt Single Action
Army, and a new serial numbering. The 1871/1872 Colt Open Top
revolver was the last of its kind for Colt. This, to me, the
fact that the 1871/1872 Colt open top revolver was the first
of Colt’s cartridge revolvers, and that actually led to the
development of the Colt 1873 Single Action Army revolver, is
why I have a reproduction of this revolver – it was an end of
an era for Colt revolvers.
As a side note, the 1860 Richards-Mason conversion was used by
Clint Eastwood (and several other actors) in the film ‘Outlaw
Josie Wales’ (1976) during scenes that actually called for
firing the revolver (blanks, of course); otherwise, 1860
percussion revolvers were used for ‘static shots’. In
actuality, the Richard’s conversions did not take place until
after 1870 – long after the time period depicted in the movie.
1873 COLT SINGLE ACTION ARMY:
The original
1873 Colt New Action Army had a top strap, sported a 7.5-inch
barrel, and was chambered for six .45 Colt cartridges. Many
variations have been manufactured since by many companies and
the sheer numbers of reproduction revolvers testify to the
staying power of the original Colt “Peacemaker” revolver.
There are actually 3 “generations” of the 1873 Colt Single
Action Army revolvers; the Pi, P2, and P3. P1 revolvers were
manufactured from 1873 through 1941. P2 revolvers were
manufactured from 1956 to 1974. P3 revolvers have been
manufactured from 1976 through today’s time.
As with most revolvers, various barrel lengths and
configurations apply to the 1873 Colt Single Action Army
revolver. I’ll touch on that later.
Although I have Ruger single-action revolvers that are a
modern take-off of the original colt design with modern
material and manufacturing, plus the addition of safeties that
are a slap-in-the-face of true single-action connoisseurs, the
desire to have a 1873 Colt Single Action Army reproduction in
my possession has driven me to find one. As of this writing, I
have a reproduction by Uberti on order. While many favor the
shorter barreled version, I wanted one as close to the
original as modernly possible; 7.5-inch barrel and chambered
in the original production .45 Colt. Hopefully, I’ll be
shooting one soon.
REMINGTON MODEL 1875 SINGLE ACTION ARMY:
Remington Model 1875 Single Action Army (a.k.a. Improved Army
or Frontier Army) was a revolver by the E. Remington & Sons.
It was a based upon the successful Remington Model 1858 with
both revolvers having the same size, appearance, and the
removable cylinder. The new 1875 Remington differed mainly
from the older 1858 percussion model by having a bored through
cylinder chambered for metallic cartridges. Thus, in 1875,
Remington entered the cartridge revolver market with this bigframe, army style revolver, intended to compete with the Colt
Peacemaker. Ordinary citizens and Old West lawmen alike
recognized the sturdy quality of the new Remington revolvers.
This design was followed by the Model 1888 and the Model 1890.
So why do I consider the Remington Model 1875 Single Action
Army over the 1888 or 1890 models? The 1875 Remington New Army
was a first true cartridge revolver for Remington and not a
conversion as was the 1858 version. The Remington Model 1875
Single Action Army has a fluted cylinder, a round barrel (a
change from the octagon barrel), and the barrel shortened to
7.5 inches. The main reason for my selection; however, was
because the Remington Model 1875 Single Action Army was the
last revolver to incorporate the “sail” in its design. The
“sail” as it is sometimes called (also a “web”) added to the
structural integrity of the revolver and also set it apart
from the Colt design. I would imagine that the “sail” was also
extremely hazardous to a foe’s head when it was cracked over
his numb skull; something that “Wild Bill” Hickock was famous
for (yes that is recorded history and not speculation on my
part). An intermediate (transitional) model of cartridge
revolver was introduced in 1888 called the “New Model Pocket
Army”, which lacked the “sail” and the 1890 Remington singleactions kept the solid frame and similar styling of the 1875
model, but lacked the large web under the ejector rod housing
and equipped with checkered rubber grips.
SIZE DOES MATTER:
It seems that a common theme runs through early revolvers and
later semi-automatic pistols – and that is barrel length.
With revolvers, the “Calvary” model was usually a revolver
with an 8” or 7.5” barrel. This could equate to the
“Government” model colt sizing for the 1911 semi-automatic
pistol with a 5” barrel.
Artillery models of early revolvers usually had a 5.5” barrel,
which would equate to the “Commander” size Colt 1911 pistol
with its 4.25” barrel.
Shorter barreled versions of early revolvers were sometimes
referred to as “Civilian”, “Gun Fighter” or “Sheriff” models,
which might be compared to the “Officer” version of the Colt
1911 pistol with a 3.5” barrel.
ONWARD AND BACKWARD:
Perhaps there is an iconic reason for
owning reproduction firearms of original
barrel length, as well as a trip down
memory lane. Matt Dillon (Gunsmoke) packed
a Colt single action model 1873 71/2 inch
barrel in 45 caliber. It was an actual
antique made in 1895, not a modern day
copy. When it sold at auction along with
the gun and holster were papers from
Stembridge stateing it was the gun used in
the series along with an affidavit from James Arness himself.
It sold for $15,000.00.
Clint Eastwood used reproductions of Colt Open Top and
Remington closed top revolvers in several movies and included
both percussion and cartridge revolvers as the scenes
demanded. Most notable was; Outlaw Josie Wales, Man with No
Name, and Pale Rider.
The Smith & Wesson No. 3 revolver was seen in the movie
“Unforgiven” and which was used in scenes with the ‘Schofield
Kid’ (Jaimz Woolvett) and William Munny (Clint Eastwood).
Of course, reproductions of the 1873 Colt Single Action Army
revolver have been used (with various barrel lengths) in too
many western films and T.V. series to count.
Reproductions of early revolvers are simply fun to shoot and
are a welcome break from shooting my more modern pistols. The
problem is that having reproductions of early revolvers is
habit forming and sometimes you have to decide when to draw
the line They are like potato chips because you just can’t
have one, and like “National Treasure”, one mystery leads to
the next.
The details for my personal selections are shown below:
1858 Remington Army Conversion, .45 Colt, steel, 8”
barrel (Calvary)
1870 Smith & Wesson Model 3 “American”, .45 Colt, steel,
6.5” barrel
1871-1872 Colt Open Top Revolver, .45 Colt, steel frame
and barrel, brass backstrap and trigger guard, 5.5”
barrel (Artillery)
1873 Colt Single Action Army, .45 Colt, 7.5” barrel
(Calvary)
1875 Remington Single Action Army, .45 Colt, steel, 7.5”
barrel (Calvary)
Although these reproductions can be found in various calibers,
I wanted to stick with one (the .45 LC) throughout the
collection. Note that none of the above are in stainless
steel, and as much as I like stainless steel in any handgun or
rifle, stainless steel was not around in those days and nickel
plating just does not wear well with time. There is nothing
like a worn blued-revolver with a fine patina, developed over
years of wear and tear and a great set of wood stocks to hold
it with.
Although the Ruger “Vaquero” might have been a better choice
for the 1873 Colt Single Action Army, it is no longer
manufactured in the original 7.5” barrel length, is very hard
to find in that barrel length, and much more expensive than
the Uberti model. Also, even though the “Vaquero” is a Ruger,
“Cowboy” ammunition is still recommended – and that, as far as
I’m concerned, puts it on par with Uberti’s version of the
1873 Colt Single Action Army.
There has to be other singleaction cartridge revolvers that
interest me, and of course,
there are many. For example, who
would
not
want
a
Colt
“Birdshead”
single-action
revolver, a Colt “Bisley”, or a “Man with No Name” 1860 Colt
revolver? Who could pass up the chance to own a six-gun that
was carried by the likes of ‘Bat Masterson’, ‘Billy the Kid’,
‘Wild Bill Hickock’, or even ‘The Duke’? A modern reproduction
of these firearms makes that possible.
And, who says that a single-action revolver cannot be used for
self-defense? A pair of 5.5” barreled 1873 Colt “Peacemakers”
in a bedroom drawer, with each stoked with 5 rounds of
ammunition, are as effective today as they were in the past.
After all, 230-grain .45 LC bullets are still 230-grain .45 LC
bullets when traveling at 850 fps or so.
WRAPPING THINGS UP:
While my current interest lies in enjoying ‘conversion’
revolvers, I also have in interest in building and shooting my
own brace of post-revolutionary, muzzle-loading ‘Kentucky’
pistols or maybe a brace of flintlock ‘Pirate’ pist0ls. That;
however, is another story for another time, and hopefully, one
that I will still be around to write.
Perhaps you might want to take a
break from the here and now? You
have one or more modern rifles,
shotguns, revolvers, and pistols
so plunk down a few dollars and
pick up a reproduction of an
early revolver, place yourself
in a time when the West was
truly wild and civil strife was at its height, shoot the
revolver, and better understand what it was like in those days
of soldiers, desperadoes, and Indians crying out for your
blood. You will quickly realize why multiple handguns were
carried by many in their times of need and you will quickly
appreciate what we have today. After all, self-defense needs
have changed – or have they?
RESOURCES AND ATTRIBUTIONS:
Rollin White: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollin_White
Remington
Model
1858:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remington_Model_1858
Smith
&
Wesson
Model
3:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith_%26_Wesson_Model_3
Colt
Model
1871-72
Open
Top:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colt_Model_1871-72_Open_To
p
Colt
Single
Action
Army:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colt_Single_Action_Army
Remington
Model
1875:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remington_Model_1875
Uberti: http://www.uberti.com/
Cimarron Firearms: http://cimarron-firearms.com/
Taylor & Company, Inc.: http://www.taylorsfirearms.com/
E.M.F Company, Inc.: http://www.emf-company.com/
1871 Navy Colt Conversion (Early Version) by A. Uberti:
http://guntoters.com/blog/2015/09/01/1871-navy-colt-conv
ersion-early-version-by-a-uberti/
1858 Remington New Army Conversion by A. Uberti:
http://guntoters.com/blog/2015/08/29/1858-remington-newarmy-conversion-by-a-uberti/