Howdy
The Colt Single Action Army was the direct descendant of the earlier Colt single action Cap & Ball revolvers.
First introduced in 1873, the SAA was in continuous production until 1940, when Colt switched production to making firearms for the War.
After WWII, Colt had no intention of starting up production of the old design, expecting no one would be interested in such an old revolver.
What Colt did not count on was thousands of GIs returning home after the War, going to college and buying homes on the GI bill, and installing televisions in those new homes.
Suddenly Roy Rogers, Hopalong Cassidy, and dozens of other silver screen cowboys were galloping through living rooms in all those new houses.
An enterprising young man named Bill Ruger introduced a small, 22 caliber single action revolver in 1953. There was so much pent up demand that Ruger could not produce enough Single Sixes to satisfy the demand.
In 1955 Ruger introduced a full sized 357 Magnum single action revolver.
In 1956 Colt finally saw the handwriting on the wall and started making the Single Action Army again.
Yes, it is absolutely a generational thing.
I used to love watching all the old Westerns on TV when I was a kid. Gunsmoke, Have Gun Will Travel, Sugarfoot, Cheyenne, Bonanza, and Maverick to name a few.
I will be 72 in a few days.
I bought my first single action revolver, a replica of the Colt Navy Cap & Ball revolver in 1968.
I started collecting and shooting single action revolvers, reliving my childhood fantasies about 20 years ago.
If a single action revolver thumps your hand, you are not holding it correctly. Too many novices try to cram their entire hand onto the grip and hold it with a vice like grip.
I learned a long time ago to curl my pinky under the grip, hold it relatively lightly, and allow the revolver to rotate up in recoil. Then bring it down and cock the hammer for the next shot.
Trust me on this.
View attachment 1098509
