41 colt

[jed45]

I have a old colt single action colt w/ markings on top of barrel of " COLTS PT.F.A.MFG. Co. HARTFORD CT. U.S.A." ON SIDE "41 COLT" ON FRAME "PAT SEPT.19. 1871, JULY 2 72 JAN 19, 75"
Can someone halp me to know what it is ? / ARMY? PEACE MAKER?
Lot's of people think they know.

 

[22-rimfire]

I would suggest you take your question over to the coltforum. Lots of knowledgeable people there. They do post here too for the most part though. http://www.coltforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php

 

[ChristopherG]

It's a 'Thunder' in .41 Long colt. It's not a Peacemaker or a SAA; it is Colt's first commercial double action revolver. They made bunches of this model, though I think it was surpassed in popularity by its little brother the 'Lightning' in .38 Long Colt, which was patented in 1877.

Its trigger is a true DA, but it does not share with all modern DA revolvers the swing-out cylinder for reloading; it still has a little loading gate through which brass is ejected and cartridges are inserted one at a time. The spring work on these is tricky and delicate and hard to get repaired these days. Almost no-one makes ammunition for it anymore. Do NOT make the mistake of thinking that .41 magnum ammunition will work in this gun. If you could jam it in and get it to shoot, I'd guess it would blow a Thunder into shrapnel.

 

[swampdog]

I thought the Thunderer was an 1877?? That was my first thought, too, when I read ".41 Colt". It also has a distinctive grip frame. The OP said it was an "old colt single action colt".
Lots of pictures of a Thunderer here.

This revolver was used by both Billy the Kid and John Wesley Hardin, btw.

If it's DA, that's probably what you have. If it's really a SA, it's a Colt Single Action Army. There were quite a few made in .41 Colt.